Minis and micros

In lesson 2 you saw that every popular contract comes in 2 sizes. This lesson shows you how to pick between them, and why most new traders should start small.

Minis and micros

The full-size index contracts like NQ and ES are often called minis. Their smaller versions, MNQ and MES, are called micros. A micro tracks the exact same market as its mini. The only difference is size.

1 micro is 1/10 of a mini. So:

• 1 NQ point is $20. 1 MNQ point is $2.
• 1 ES point is $50. 1 MES point is $5.
• 10 MNQ move the same dollars as 1 NQ.

Why micros matter for new traders

Learning to trade costs money. Every trader makes mistakes early: entering too soon, holding too long, moving a stop. On a mini, each mistake is expensive. On a micro, the same mistake costs 1/10 as much.

That means more time in the market and more lessons learned for the same budget. The chart, the setup and the decisions are identical. Only the dollar amounts shrink.

Micros give you finer control

Micros also help experienced traders. With minis, you can only adjust size in big steps: 1 contract, then 2, then 3. With micros you can trade 3, 7 or 12 contracts and match your size to your risk much more precisely.

Say your plan allows a $150 risk on a trade with a 15-point stop on the Nasdaq. On NQ, 1 contract risks 15 × $20 = $300, which is too much. On MNQ, each contract risks 15 × $2 = $30, so 5 MNQ fit your $150 exactly. Module 3 turns this into a formula you can use on every trade.

How to choose

Ask 2 questions before every trade:

1. How many dollars am I willing to lose if I am wrong?
2. How far away is my stop?

If 1 mini at that stop distance risks more than your limit, trade micros. If you need 10 or more micros, 1 mini does the same job.

The most traded contracts at BluSky

NQ and MNQ are the most traded contracts in the BluSky community. The Nasdaq 100 moves a lot during the day, which creates opportunity and also demands careful sizing. Many traders practice on MNQ until their results are steady, then size up.

A simple rule to start

Start with micros. Move up only when your journal shows you follow your plan day after day. Sizing up is easy. Recovering from a big early loss is hard, as you will see in lesson 9.