Basket tonnage: why 10 orders at 0.02 are almost the same grid as 11 at 0.01

Basket tonnage is the total lots of a full grid basket, and on a cent account every $1 gold moves against that basket costs as many dollars as it has lots: 11 orders from 0.01 carry 20.47 lots and 10 orders from 0.02 carry 20.46, so on $1,000 their stop-out comes almost at the same place ($65.58 and $63.66 from the first order), while every small basket of the second grid is twice as big.

Arithmetic of settings, not a forecast and not advice. Trading with leverage carries risk: if the deposit is too small, a stop-out is possible.

See also: 7 protections for a martingale grid bot on gold →

What is basket tonnage?

Basket tonnage is the sum of the lots of all orders of a grid basket when every order is open. With a start lot of 0.01 and a multiplier of ×2 it is 5.11 lots for 9 orders, 10.23 lots for 10 orders and 20.47 lots for 11 orders. On a cent account 1.00 lot changes by $1 for every $1 of gold price, so the tonnage is also the number of dollars of deposit that each further $1 against the full basket costs. On a standard account the same tonnage costs 100 times more.

Why it matters: once every order is open, the grid can no longer average. From that point the deposit drains at a fixed speed, and that speed is the tonnage. Two grids with the same tonnage use up the same deposit at the same rate, whatever their start lot and number of orders.

How does tonnage grow with the number of orders?

Start lot 0.01, multiplier ×2, step $1.95. Each order doubles the previous one, so each extra order roughly doubles the tonnage.

The formula for ×2 is simple: tonnage = start lot × (2^N − 1), where N is the number of orders. 0.01 × 2,047 = 20.47 lots for 11 orders. On $1,000 (cent account, 1:2000, stop-out 40%) the 12th order cuts the room to stop-out from $65.58 to $43.09: one more order doubles the speed at which the deposit drains.

Same tonnage, different shapes

Now keep the deposit and change the shape: fewer orders, bigger start lot. Inputs: cent account, $1,000, ×2, step $1.95, gold $4,170, leverage 1:2000, stop-out 40%. Spread, swap and commission are left out.

Read it in two steps:

1. Equal tonnage gives almost equal room. The three shapes with about 20.5 lots stop out within $4 of each other ($61.77 to $65.58). After their last order each has about $46 of room left ($46.08, $46.11 and $46.17): the same tonnage drains the same deposit at the same speed. The small difference is where the ladder ends. A shorter ladder ends sooner, so its stop-out comes roughly one step earlier.
2. Less tonnage gives more room even with a bigger lot. 9 × 0.03 carries 15.33 lots, a quarter less than 11 × 0.01, so its stop-out comes at $78.08, $12.50 further than 11 × 0.01, with a start lot three times bigger.

The same comparison as a deposit: to survive a $100 move against the first order, 11 × 0.01 needs $1,705, 10 × 0.02 needs $1,743, 9 × 0.03 needs $1,336 and 9 × 0.04 needs $1,781.

Why do small baskets scale with the start lot?

A grid closes many baskets after only the first few orders, when price turns back early. Such a basket earns its exit distance times its lots. With a start lot of 0.02 every order is twice as big as with 0.01, so the same exit brings twice the dollars; with 0.03, three times; with 0.04, four times. That is the last column of the table above: the shape changes what the small baskets earn, while the tonnage sets the risk of the full basket.

This is arithmetic, not a promise of income. The same multiplier applies to losses on the way down: a basket stopped at 7 orders has a floating loss of $2.34 with 11 × 0.01 and $9.36 with 9 × 0.04, four times more.

What is the price of fewer orders?

• The grid stops adding sooner. With a $1.95 step the last order opens $19.50 from the first with 11 orders, $17.55 with 10 and $15.60 with 9. After the last order the move goes on without new orders, and the break-even of the basket stops following price.
• A bigger pullback to close. After a $40 move against the first order, the basket has to come back $22.44 to break even with 11 × 0.01, $24.38 with 10 × 0.02 and $26.32 with 9 orders. It can stay in drawdown longer.
• The middle of the basket is heavier. Every order is bigger, so baskets that stop halfway down show a bigger floating loss in dollars, as in the example with 7 orders above.
• The stop-out moves a little closer at equal tonnage. In our example by $1.92 to $3.81, because the shorter ladder starts its last stretch earlier.
• Other settings change the picture. A different deposit, step, leverage or multiplier gives other numbers. Count your own before you change the shape.

What the shape does not change: if gold runs far enough in one direction without a pullback, any grid reaches its stop-out. The why grid EAs blow gold accounts article shows how far that is for $1,000 and how much reserve a bigger move needs.

How do I compare shapes for my deposit?

• The martingale lot size calculator has the block "Same deposit, different shapes": for your balance, step and target move it lists the largest start lot for 7 to 12 orders, the basket tonnage, the room to stop-out and the last order. "Apply" puts the shape into the calculator, "Check on real ticks" opens it in the emulator.
• The grid calculator shows the total lots order by order and the line "every $1 against you costs about … of your deposit".
• The pullback calculator shows how far price must come back to break even after each order.
• The cent account calculator converts cents to dollars and shows what a lot costs per $1.
• The Midas Grid emulator runs your settings day by day on real gold ticks since January 2025 and replays any day tick by tick. Free, in the browser. This is the place to see how a shape behaves on real price, not in arithmetic.

FAQ

What is basket tonnage in a grid EA?

It is the total lots of the full basket, the sum of the lots of all its orders. On a cent account each further $1 against the full basket costs that many dollars of deposit: 20.47 lots means about $20.47 per $1. With 0.01 and ×2 it is 5.11 lots for 9 orders, 10.23 for 10 and 20.47 for 11.

Is 10 orders at 0.02 the same risk as 11 orders at 0.01?

For the full basket almost: 20.46 against 20.47 lots, and on $1,000 the stop-out comes $63.66 against $65.58 from the first order. The difference is the shape: the 10-order grid stops adding $1.95 sooner, needs a bigger pullback to close, and its small baskets are twice as big.

Why does 9 × 0.03 withstand more than 11 × 0.01?

Because its tonnage is lower: 15.33 lots against 20.47. Each further $1 costs $15.33 instead of $20.47, so on $1,000 the stop-out comes $78.08 from the first order instead of $65.58, even though the start lot is three times bigger.

Does a bigger start lot mean more profit?

Small baskets that close after their first orders earn in proportion to the start lot, so 0.02 gives twice the dollars of 0.01 on such a basket. Losses scale the same way, and the risk of the full basket depends on the tonnage. It is arithmetic of settings, not a promise of income.

How do I calculate basket tonnage?

Add up the lots of all orders. With a ×2 multiplier: start lot × (2^N − 1), where N is the number of orders. 0.01 × (2^11 − 1) = 20.47 lots; 0.02 × (2^10 − 1) = 20.46 lots. The grid calculator shows it in the Total lots column.

Does tonnage matter on a standard account?

Yes, it is 100 times more expensive there: 1.00 lot changes by $100 per $1 of gold, so 20.47 lots cost about $2,047 per $1. The percentages and the stop-out distance are the same as on a cent account with a deposit 100 times smaller.