How do you count pips?

Say I make this trade (disregard spread for simplicity):

10:00EST 2 lots long EURUSD @ 1.4750

10:05EST 1 lot sell EURUSD @ 1.4760

10:10EST 1 lot sell EURUSD @ 1.4770 (all positions closed)

Profit is $300. Pips are 10 on the first sell and 10 again on the next, for a total of 20 pips. However, because I had 2 lots, should the total pips be 30, which aligns with my profit?

You counted wrong. You make profit too in you long , not just sell.
Review again into your chart


Best Regards,
Marcelo Marques

You have 10 pips from the first sell (from 50 to 60), and 20 pips from the second sell (from 50 to 70). So, a total of 30 pips.

Hi.

It all depends on different things.
If you are posting how much pips/profit YOU personally made then i agree to the way you calculate. The result will be 30 pips.

Also if you are trading a specific system that have clear rules where some sort of MM are included in the system itself where the rules are exit half the position at a number of pips and the rest at another point like in your example then you also report it the way you did. The systems result is 30 pips because that was the result you made when you followed the rules.
But remember if you then personally enter with a total of lets say 5 lots and exit 3 of them at 10 pips and the other 2 at 20 pips the result of the system will still be 30 pips even if you personally made 70 pips.

A important thing to remember is that you also report your loss the same way as your profit.
So if you have a stop loss of lets say 10 pips in your example trade and you are stopped out your loss will not be 10 pips. It is 20 pips if you are stopped out with your full position. If you reach your first target before stopped out you have 10 pips loss on one position and 10 pips profit on the other so the result on the trade was break even.

But in many other situations i will say it is natural to report profit/loss in "market moves"
That means in your example 20 pips profit and if your stop was 10 pips it is 10 loss.

So how to calculate and post profit/loss is not always the same and will some times be different but in my opinion it is important to tell how you do it because it can be very misleading some times.

Arctic4x