Leverage and margin

• Margin: the trade's value ÷ the leverage. It is set aside when the trade fills and given back when it closes, or in part on a partial close. Nothing is set aside for pending orders.
• Equity: your balance plus the profit or loss of your open trades.
• Free margin: equity minus margin. A new trade opens only if your free margin covers its margin.
• Margin level: equity ÷ margin × 100%.

A trade that only reduces or closes a position needs no margin. One that turns a position around needs margin for the new part only.

A limit or stop order is checked when it fills, not when you place it. If your free margin is short at that moment, the order is cancelled and you get a notification.

If your margin level falls to 50% or lower, the position losing the most is closed at the market. If the level is still 50% or lower, the next one closes, one at a time, until it is back above 50%. Only markets with a price can be closed. You get a "Stopped out" notification for each.

Because a trade only opens when your free margin covers it, your max loss is usually reached long before a stop-out.

Your account has $25,000 and nothing open. You buy 1 lot of gold at $4,000. To keep the sums simple, this leaves the spread aside.

• Value: 100 oz × $4,000 = $400,000.
• Margin at 1:30: $400,000 ÷ 30 = $13,333.34 (margin rounds up to the cent).
• Free margin: $25,000 − $13,333.34 = $11,666.66.
• Margin level: $25,000 ÷ $13,333.34 = about 187%.

Gold falls $10. You lose 100 oz × $10 = $1,000, so equity is $24,000, free margin $10,666.66 and the margin level about 180%. A stop-out would need equity down to $6,666.67, far past any max loss a challenge can set.

The terminal shows each position's margin. When a size is more than your free margin covers, the ticket shows the most you can trade.