{quote} I'm rusty with this shit, but why are you even mentioning leverage? 1 lot is 1 lot. Leverage (and thus margin) is only relevant when discussing account sizes. So often on this forsaken forum I see people talking about leverage in ways that just don't resonate. Unless my brain has fallen out of my ass (possible) then mentioning leverage here is no more relevant than mentioning the ratio of noodles to soup in my pantry.
After you open a position there are four variables that are important to you: equity, used margin (constant), free margin and margin level.
Margin (used) is position size divided by leverage multiplied by "the trade's base currency"/ USD exchange rate (if your account is in USD).
Equity is Balance - Floating P/L (profit/loss - swaps - spreads - commission)
Free margin is equity - used margin.
and finally, margin level = used margin/equity
When you add a new position, respective used margin and floating P/L are added up to the used margin and floating P/L of the first position. Equity and margin level (for combined position) is recalculated according to new values of used margin and aggregated floating P/L.
You are required to keep margin level for all your positions combined above 50%. Dropping below 50% you get margin call, if you reach 30% you get stopped out.
