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PO_BASE_STAKE

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The minimum stake per trade, in dollars. Every computed stake is floored at this value, and it is also the stake used whenever the Kelly formula finds no edge.
Typefloat ($)
Default25.0
RequiredNo
Maps toBotConfig.base_stake
Read inmain.py (build_config())

What it does

build_config() parses it with float(env("PO_BASE_STAKE", "25.0")) — a non-numeric value raises ValueError and crashes at startup.

It is consumed in MoneyManager.compute_stake() (src/trading/money_manager.py), called from _trade_loop() in src/bot.py just before each trade with the model’s confidence, the running win rate, and an assumed payout of 0.85:

  1. If payout ≤ 0 or the Kelly edge (win_rate * payout - (1 - win_rate)) is ≤ 0, the function returns base_stake directly.
  2. Otherwise the stake is interpolated between the base and ceiling: stake = base_stake + kelly_fraction_scaled * (max_stake - base_stake).
  3. The stake is then multiplied by a confidence factor max(0.5, (confidence - 0.45) * 2.0) (60% conf → 0.50×, 70% → 0.80×, 75% → 0.95×).
  4. Finally it is clamped: max(base_stake, min(stake, max_stake)) and rounded to 2 decimals.

Because of the final clamp, no trade is ever smaller than PO_BASE_STAKE — even at the minimum-allowed confidence. The value is in your account currency (dollars); it is passed directly as the amount to client.buy() / client.sell().

Valid values

A positive number no larger than PO_MAX_STAKE, and at or above PocketOption’s platform minimum (typically $1). If you set base_stake > max_stake, the clamp max(base, min(stake, max)) resolves to base_stake — every trade uses the base and the ceiling is silently ignored.

Examples

export PO_BASE_STAKE=10
$env:PO_BASE_STAKE = '10'
# .env
PO_BASE_STAKE=25

Interactions

  • PO_MAX_STAKE is the other end of the Kelly interpolation.
  • kelly_fraction (0.50, config-only) scales the Kelly edge: kelly-fraction.
  • Losses accumulate against PO_MAX_DAILY_LOSS; a larger base stake reaches the daily stop in fewer losses.

Risk note: binary options trading can lose money, and past performance does not guarantee future results. The base stake is the smallest amount at risk on every single trade — size it against your account balance.

See also

💬 Unsure how this interacts with the rest of the configuration? Ask in the Chipa Discord — or prototype strategies no-code with ChipaEditor.