Max Contract Limits and Position Sizing Controls

Every follower account in MimikTrader has a configurable max contract limit. This setting defines the absolute ceiling on how many contracts can be placed on a single order for that account, regardless of what the leader trades. It is one of the most important risk parameters you will configure, especially when running smaller accounts alongside a leader who trades larger size.

What Is the Max Contracts Setting?

The max contracts value is a per-follower setting found on the Risk Management page. It represents the largest number of contracts that MimikTrader will ever place in a single order on that follower account. If the leader trades 10 contracts but your follower's max is set to 3, the follower will receive at most 3 contracts on the opening trade.

This setting applies only to new or adding trades. Closing trades use a separate proportional calculation that is not subject to the max contracts cap, because MimikTrader needs the freedom to fully close a position even if the position size exceeds what would normally be allowed on a new entry.

How Max Contracts Interacts with Sizing Modes

The max contracts setting works in tandem with the position sizing mode configured on each follower. MimikTrader supports two sizing modes, and the max contracts value behaves differently in each.

Fixed Quantity Mode

In fixed quantity mode, the follower always trades the same number of contracts regardless of what the leader trades. The quantity used is the max contracts value itself. If you set max contracts to 2 in fixed quantity mode, every opening trade will be exactly 2 contracts, whether the leader traded 1, 5, or 20.

• Leader buys 1 ES → Follower buys 2 ES
• Leader buys 5 ES → Follower buys 2 ES
• Leader buys 20 ES → Follower buys 2 ES

Multiplier Mode

In multiplier mode, the follower's quantity is calculated by multiplying the leader's trade size by the configured multiplier, then rounding to the nearest whole number. The result is then clamped between 1 and the max contracts value. The formula is: clamp(round(leaderQty × multiplier), 1, maxContracts).

• Leader buys 4 ES, multiplier is 0.5, max contracts is 10 → round(4 × 0.5) = 2 → Follower buys 2 ES
• Leader buys 10 ES, multiplier is 1.0, max contracts is 3 → round(10 × 1.0) = 10, clamped to 3 → Follower buys 3 ES
• Leader buys 1 ES, multiplier is 0.1, max contracts is 5 → round(1 × 0.1) = 0, floored to 1 → Follower buys 1 ES

Clamping Behavior Explained

Clamping is the process of forcing a calculated value into a valid range. For follower quantities, the valid range is 1 to maxContracts. This means two things happen automatically:

• Upper clamp: If the calculated quantity exceeds max contracts, it is reduced to the max contracts value. The excess is silently discarded. No rejection is logged — the trade proceeds at the capped size.
• Lower clamp: If the calculated quantity is less than 1 (possible with very small multipliers), it is raised to 1. This ensures the follower always participates when a trade passes risk checks.

Clamping happens silently during the risk evaluation phase. You will see the final clamped quantity in the order log, not the pre-clamp value. If you notice your follower consistently trading fewer contracts than expected, check whether the max contracts setting is lower than the multiplier calculation would produce.

What Happens When the Leader Trades More

When a leader places a trade that would result in a follower quantity exceeding the max contracts limit, MimikTrader does not reject the trade. Instead, it clamps the quantity down and places the order at the reduced size. This is intentional: the goal is to keep the follower participating in every trade while respecting its size constraints.

Consider a scenario where a leader trades 10 NQ contracts and you have three follower accounts with different max contracts settings:

• Follower A: multiplier 1.0, max 10 → gets 10 contracts (no clamping)
• Follower B: multiplier 1.0, max 5 → gets 5 contracts (clamped from 10)
• Follower C: multiplier 0.5, max 3 → round(10 × 0.5) = 5, clamped to 3 contracts

How Closing Trades Work with Max Contracts

Closing and reducing trades bypass the max contracts limit entirely. When the leader closes a position, MimikTrader uses proportional ratio math to determine how many contracts the follower should close. If the leader closes half their position, the follower closes half of theirs, regardless of the max contracts setting.

When the leader goes completely flat (position reaches zero), MimikTrader closes all of the follower's remaining contracts in that instrument. This full-close behavior ensures followers never get stuck with orphaned positions after the leader exits.

Recommended Settings by Account Size

There is no universal right answer for max contracts — it depends on your account size, risk tolerance, and prop firm rules. Here are some general guidelines:

• $50K prop firm evaluation: Start with 1-3 max contracts on ES/NQ. A single NQ contract can move $500+ in minutes during volatile sessions.
• $150K funded account: Consider 3-5 max contracts depending on the instrument's point value and your drawdown limit.
• Micro contract accounts: You can safely use higher max contracts (5-20) because each contract has 1/10th the dollar exposure. Combine this with cross-contract copying to trade MES when the leader trades ES.