> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.turbo.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Margin: isolated and cross

> The collateral behind each position, and the two margin modes that decide your worst case.

Margin is the money that backs a leveraged position — the collateral behind the trade. Understand margin, and which *margin mode* a market uses, and you understand your real risk on every position.

## What margin does

When you open a position with [leverage](/leverage), you're controlling more exposure than the cash you put up. The cash you do put up is the margin. It absorbs the position's losses as the market moves: if the position loses value, the loss comes out of the margin.

If the losses approach the point where the margin can no longer cover them, the position is closed by [liquidation](/liquidation).

## Two margin modes

Every market on Turbo uses one of two margin modes. The mode is a property of the market, shown on its trade screen — check it before you size up, because it decides your worst case.

### Isolated margin

The position has its own dedicated margin, ring-fenced from everything else.

* **You know your worst case before you start.** If the position is liquidated, you lose that position's margin — your other positions and your available cash are untouched. One bad trade can't cascade through your account.
* **Positions don't rescue each other.** A winning position's profits don't automatically prop up a losing one. Each trade lives or dies on its own margin.

Most newer listings trade on isolated margin — including [Pre-IPO markets](/pre-ipo-markets).

### Cross margin

The position shares collateral with your other cross positions — your balance backs them collectively.

* **Bigger cushion per trade.** A cross position can draw on the shared balance, so it can ride out moves that would liquidate an equivalent isolated position.
* **Bigger worst case.** Losses aren't capped at what you first posted — a cross position that moves far enough against you can draw down the shared balance backing all your cross positions.

Some of the most established markets — gold, or BTC — trade on cross margin.

In short: isolated caps the damage per trade; cross gives a trade more staying power but puts more at stake. Not sure which you're in? The trade screen tells you.

## Managing margin on an open position

On an isolated position, you can add margin from the position screen — this pushes its liquidation price further away and improves its [margin health](/balance). On cross positions, the cushion is your shared balance, so adding funds to your account strengthens every cross position at once.

Either way, make it a deliberate choice, not a reflex — repeatedly topping up a losing trade is how small losses become large ones. Often the honest alternative is closing part of the position, or letting a [stop loss](/take-profit-stop-loss) do its job.

## Related

* [Your balance](/balance) — where used margin and health show up on screen.
* [Liquidation](/liquidation) — the mechanics of the worst case, in both modes.