Managing risk like a desk

Survival comes before performance. Desks impose hard limits, because they know a trader under pressure would not respect them if given the choice.

The capital actually at risk

On a personal account, it is the capital. On a prop firm account, it is the allowed drawdown, not the nominal size of the account: $100,000 with a $3,000 trailing drawdown is $3,000 of capital at risk. At 1%, you risk $30 per trade. That is small, and it is the only way to survive a normal losing streak.