Trading Futures on Robinhood: How Much Money You Really Need

Trading Futures Just Got Easier - with Robinhood

Trading Futures Just Got Easier! Want to Trade Futures on Robinhood With Your Own Cash? Here’s the Real Talk:

Thinking about skipping the funded account route and trading futures with your own money on Robinhood? Smart move — if you’re ready. Here’s the quick breakdown:

How Much Money Do You Need?

• Trading 1 Micro (MES or MGC)? You’ll want at least $2,000–$2,500 in your account to trade comfortably.

• Trading 5 Micros at once? Better have around $8,000–$10,000 ready to roll.

Why? Because you don’t want to sit right on top of margin limits. Give yourself breathing room so you can survive normal market moves without stressing or getting hit with margin calls.

Real Trade Example: Why Proper Account Size Matters Let’s say you only have $5,000 in your Robinhood account and you decide to trade 5 MES (Micro S&P 500 Futures) contracts at once.

You enter a trade at 5,300 on MES, expecting a bounce. But the market drops 25 points against you — pretty normal volatility for a day. Here’s what happens without a proper stop loss:

• Each MES contract moves $5 per point.
• So 5 contracts × 25 points = 125 points total movement.
• 125 points × $5 per point = –$625 loss.

💥 In just one normal-sized move, you're down –$625 — over 12% of your account, on one trade.

Now imagine if you let it slip 50 points without a stop? You’d be down –$1,250 — 25% of your entire account gone in one bad trade.

Moral of the Story: Trading 5 micros on a $5,000 account puts you way too close to blowing up. You have no room to survive normal moves without bleeding badly. Good stop loss placement + proper account sizing = staying in the game long enough to win.

A good rule of thumb we use at GAR Capital is to put our Stop Loss at around 1-2% risk per trade. Contract sizing should be based on 1-2% of your entire portfolio. If your stop loss is hit - you only lose 1-2%. Major Key.

Why Trading Your Own Capital Is a Win:

• No Combines. No Challenges. You skip the fees, pass/fail rules, and headaches.

• Full Freedom to Trade Your Way. Hold overnight, scale into winners, manage your positions without any rules holding you back.

• Instant Access to Profits. You make it, you keep it — no waiting for payouts.

• Super Cheap Fees. Robinhood charges just $0.20 per side per micro contract — very beginner-friendly.

Here is a view on tick sizes based on product on Robinhood: _Real Talk:* If you’re disciplined, know your setups, and manage risk smartly, trading your own account can be a game changer. No gatekeepers. No rules. Just you, the charts, and the grind. Oh and make sure to use us at GAR Capital as your navigation through this life of trading!

Happy Hunting!