Everyone has a strategy, that strategy fits them. Your strategy is not my strategy. If you're comfortable and happy with low leverage, then you're happy and comfortable with it.
I, for one, like a little higher leverage.
I put my stoplosses beyond recent S&R, levels that if broken usually translate into a more substantial move. 40 to 70 pips is a typical risk. I risk 2% of my account each trade. So let's say I have $10,000 in the account, that's $200 risk. 200/70= $2.85/pip. A mini lot, $10000 USD, assuming a USD base pair, equates to $1/pip. So we're looking at a trade of $28500, a 70 pip SL and a trade account of $10,000. Now that's a 2.85:1 leverage on that single trade, right? On a 50 pip SL that''s $40,000 or a 4:1 leverage.
Now what happens if I want to take a 2nd or 3rd trade at the same time? we quite quickly get to 10:1 leverage very easily. Add in trade management and moving an SL to breakeven, stacking trades, etc, and it's quite easy to get past 10:1 and do so safely.
Now factor in organizational risk. See, I might have $100,000 in an account to trade with, but only want $10000 of it exposed to the possibility of broker failure. In that case, I might be looking to trade 2% of the $100,000 account, but only expose $10,000 to broker risk. In that case I'd be looking for a $2000 per trade risk. With that we're looking at 30:1 and 40:1 leverage.
This is why the "high leverage is risky" myth is just that, a myth. Leverage is a tool. Improperly used it can blow an account, but then again improper trading can blow your account with or without leverage. Properly used leverage improves your gains while actually decreasing your net risk.
But... you might not trade that way. You might like to trade on larger TFs and go for 200 pip SLs. You might not like moving money between accounts. Your strategy might not be my strategy. Both are okay, both are fine, but that says nothing of the tools upon which either are based.
I, for one, like a little higher leverage.
I put my stoplosses beyond recent S&R, levels that if broken usually translate into a more substantial move. 40 to 70 pips is a typical risk. I risk 2% of my account each trade. So let's say I have $10,000 in the account, that's $200 risk. 200/70= $2.85/pip. A mini lot, $10000 USD, assuming a USD base pair, equates to $1/pip. So we're looking at a trade of $28500, a 70 pip SL and a trade account of $10,000. Now that's a 2.85:1 leverage on that single trade, right? On a 50 pip SL that''s $40,000 or a 4:1 leverage.
Now what happens if I want to take a 2nd or 3rd trade at the same time? we quite quickly get to 10:1 leverage very easily. Add in trade management and moving an SL to breakeven, stacking trades, etc, and it's quite easy to get past 10:1 and do so safely.
Now factor in organizational risk. See, I might have $100,000 in an account to trade with, but only want $10000 of it exposed to the possibility of broker failure. In that case, I might be looking to trade 2% of the $100,000 account, but only expose $10,000 to broker risk. In that case I'd be looking for a $2000 per trade risk. With that we're looking at 30:1 and 40:1 leverage.
This is why the "high leverage is risky" myth is just that, a myth. Leverage is a tool. Improperly used it can blow an account, but then again improper trading can blow your account with or without leverage. Properly used leverage improves your gains while actually decreasing your net risk.
But... you might not trade that way. You might like to trade on larger TFs and go for 200 pip SLs. You might not like moving money between accounts. Your strategy might not be my strategy. Both are okay, both are fine, but that says nothing of the tools upon which either are based.