He shouldn't be trading at all yet, but obviously needs to learn the hard way. Jdesey seriously take a step back and do some research. All these questions you should be able to answer yourself before you make another trade. If you want it there are people here that are very generous with their knowledge.
This was very much my impression (and that of several others) but it's just turned out to be mistaken.
Yeah I saw that. Apparently he was trading for a living a few years ago according to a post on another forum, so he's a seasoned vet by now.
But so I'm not just being critical here is my answer to some of your questions posted across multiple threads. I don't trade with targets or stops. I enter a position based on a condition I believe gives me positive expectancy. I keep the position until that condition no longer exists. I use historical and implied volatility to give me an estimate of risk. I eyeball the two and if they differ greatly I try to find out why. I hope that is helpful. Our strategies and timelines are not the same so take it for what it is worth and do your own research. I learned to program and wrote my own software to test my ideas and analyze the markets I trade. You will be better served by putting in the work than you will be by the advice of strangers.
You gotta take leverage into account too when looking at historical volatility %. A 5% move right now in CL would be worth $2,367 per contract. A 5% move in NQ would be $5,932 per contract. This makes sense when you compare the overnight margin requirements for each instrument.