How to correctly measure the pips won in an operation?

Suppose you're winning 10 pips in a 0.2 lot position. Would you count it as "10 pips" or "20 pips"? I'm assuming you opened those 0.2 lots in a single operation. I love the forex. Someday, he'll love me too.

When you use the "pipes" as a reference to assess whether a strategy is good, you don't need to adjust them to the lot size. The pips help you to know if your inputs and outputs are effective, without taking into account the management of capital. If you want to value your performance including the size of the position, it's best to measure it in percentage.

Gain on Pips = 10 Gain on $ = $3 x10 = $30.00

Measuring the pips without taking into account the size of the position is like saying that you scored a goal without mentioning whether it was in a professional game or in the park. Sure, 10 pips are 10 pips, but the impact on your account is not the same if you operate with 0.01 lots or with 1 whole batch. Ideally it is to separate things: the pips to see if your technical analysis is fine-tuned, and the money or percentage to know if your risk management is decent. If you only focus on pips, you might think that you are making gold, but have the account in red.

Many people get obsessed with the pips as if they were medals, but that doesn�t say anything if you don�t know how much you�re playing in each operation. You can win 50 pips in a mini position and keep losing money for mismanagement. In my case, what really matters is how much I�m risking for operation and how much return it gives me. Pipes are a part of the story, but if you don�t complete it with volume and risk, it�s an incomplete story.

It's funny how there are still so many confused with something so basic. Pipes are just a unit of measurement, like saying "meters" or "liters." It doesn't change if you operate with 0.2 or with 2 batches, the pipes are the same. Now, if you're talking about profit, there you do have to insert the factor of volume. And that's no longer a matter of pipes, but of knowing how much each one is worth according to your position. Don't mix churras with merins.

The question is valid, many novice traders have that doubt at first. But if you�re going to get stuck in that, you�re going to have problems when you have to analyze the actual performance of your operations. The most useful thing is to keep a separate record: one of the pips to evaluate your analysis, and another one in money to see the impact on your account. If you mix them, you�re going to have chaos that won�t let you learn anything useful.

Now, let's be clear. If you win 10 pips, you win 10 pips. Period. That doesn't change by the volume you use. What does change is how much you get paid for those pips, and that's where the lot size comes in. But if you're analyzing strategies or inputs/outputs, using the number of pips is the best way to measure effectiveness. If you put the money into the equation, you end up confused between luck and skill.

What happens is that many get excited about the dollars earned and forget that the market is not measured in money, but in motion. The pips show how well you read the market, the money only reflects how much you dared to bet. And we already know that betting more doesn�t mean to know more. So if you want to improve as a trader, focus on adding pipes with constancy first. You�ll adjust the volume later.

If you operate thinking about how much dollars you earn per pip, you're going to get carried away by greed. And that in forex is the fastest way to the margin call. You have to separate the emotional from the technical. Count the pips as if they were points in a game. And when you see that you're gaining points consistently, that's when you can think about raising the size of your positions.

Measuring in contextless pips is like saying that you ate 3 dishes without saying what. Was it 3 salad or lasagna dishes? There is a huge difference. Well, the same thing with lots. You better start recording your operations as a professional: winning pips, lot size, and result in % on your account. So you'll know what part you need to improve.

There is a serious problem with how forex is taught on YouTube and networks: they all talk about pips as if they were tickets. �Today I won 50 pips,� yes, but with what lotage? At what risk? They don�t say that. I learned by the bad that you can have a strategy that accumulates pips and still melts the account for mishandling money. Don�t repeat that mistake, separate the concepts from now on.

I don't want to sound hard, but if you're confusing pips with monetary benefit, you need to go back to the basics. And I'm not saying it in the spirit of offending, but because that kind of confusion can cost you expensive. In the first few months it's normal not to be clear, but you should spend some time understanding the basics. There are thousands of free resources where they explain this to you with manzanitas.

Personally, I measure the success as a percentage of growth on my account, not in pips or dollars. Pipes are just a way to know if your technical analysis is working. But if every week you win 200 pips and lose 5% of your account because of over-leverage, you are doing something wrong. That�s why the important thing is not how much the market moves, but how you manage it.

Many people think that winning pips automatically is making money. But that�s only true if you have control of the size of your positions. If you operate without control, you can earn pips and lose money. It happened to me at the beginning. I became obsessed with taking out pips, and I didn�t notice the risk I was taking. When I wanted to realize, I had already burst two accounts.

The simple answer is: you won 10 pips. The complete answer is: you won 10 pips with a 0.2 lot position, which is equivalent to about $20. It�s not the same, but you don�t have to complicate it too much either. The important thing is to understand what you�re measuring for. Do you want to know if your analysis is good? Then the pips are enough. Do you want to know how much you�re actually earning or losing? Then you need to see the value per pip and the % of risk.

Don't get so close to technicalities. Win pips, adjust the risk, and don't get obsessed with metrics from day one. Most people don't even get to first year operating. First learn to survive. Then you'll see if you measure in pips, dollars, percentage or candy. But if you don't know how to stay afloat, it doesn't matter how much you know how to measure.

The pips are overrated as a measure of success. You can have a system that takes out 5 pips a day with brutal precision, and another one that goes for 50 pips with a ridiculous hit. Which is better? It all depends on your risk profile, leverage and your strategy. Measuring only in pips is simplistic. Trading is a game of probability, risk and consistency. Pipes are just part of that puzzle.

I've seen traders brag about their 100-pips won as if they were the holy grail. Then you ask them how much they actually won, and it turns out that they went in with 0.01 lots. There's nothing wrong with it, we all start there. But if you're going to measure your progress, do it with judgment.

It seems to me that the traders community gives too much importance to things that don�t make sense out of context. Pipes are neither good nor bad, they�re just data. The key is how you interpret that data. If you use them to improve your input and output, great. If you use them to brag on social networks without understanding what they mean, you�re on the wrong path.

Thank you all for the answers. Actually, I�m getting much clearer about all this. I�m going to focus on keeping a separate record of pips, % and lot size. I think part of the problem is that you start operating without really knowing what you�re doing. But each clarified doubt is a step forward. You�re grateful for the patience.

It's not a lack of intelligence, it's a lack of structure. Nobody teaches you well from the start. That's why there are so many who end up burning accounts. I'm glad you understand. If you really want to improve, build a trading journal with all the variables. There you will see your mistakes and your successes without having to guess.

I've been in that same doubt for years. It's normal. But believe me that understanding the difference between measuring performance in pips and for real benefit will save you a lot of dislikes. There are people who never learn it and spend their lives operating blindly. So if you're already asking these questions, you're on the right track.