Most MT5 accounts do not die from a bad thesis. They die from 0.40 lots on gold with a 300-point stop, sized because "it looks small on a 10k."

Do the arithmetic once, cold:

Risk money = equity × risk %.

Lots = risk money ÷ (stop pips × pip value).

Then floor to the broker step. Never round up.

On XAUUSD a standard lot is $10 per 0.10. A 200-pip stop at 0.5% on $10,000 is 0.25 lots — not 1.00, not "half a lot because gold is expensive."

Then stack it. Three correlated USD pairs, all long, all 0.5%, is not 0.5%. It is 1.5% with the same dollar bet. Prop daily limits do not grade your correlation chart. They halt you.

Before the London open, write three numbers on the desk and do not negotiate them: risk per trade, max open, daily loss. Size from the stop. If the ticket does not fit, skip the trade. The setup will still be there tomorrow. The challenge account will not.