Futures Prop Firm Glossary

A one-time fee charged by most prop firms to activate the funded account stage after passing the evaluation, typically $85-$200.

The simulated capital amount of a prop firm evaluation or funded account — typically $25K, $50K, $100K, $150K, $200K, or $300K, with proportional position-size limits and profit targets.

The maximum number of funded accounts a single trader can hold simultaneously with one prop firm — ranging from 3 at conservative firms to 20 at Apex.

Trading executed by computer algorithms rather than manual orders — explicitly allowed at some prop firms (Lucid, Tradeify) and restricted at others.

The monthly private-sector employment report from ADP — a leading indicator for NFP released the Wednesday before each first-Friday NFP.

A volatility measure of how much a contract typically moves per bar — the standard tool for sizing stops and positions to current conditions.

In ICT/SMC trading, an order block that failed to hold and was broken through — often becoming resistance/support on the OPPOSITE side when retested. A flipped order block.

A momentum-based strategy that enters when price breaks decisively above resistance or below support — capturing the explosive moves that often follow extended consolidations.

The Bitcoin futures contract on CME — 5 BTC per contract with $5 tick size and $25 per tick. The dominant institutional bitcoin trading vehicle.

A grouped order combining an entry order with two protective exit orders (target and stop loss) — the entry triggers the bracket; once filled, target and stop become active as an OCO pair.

The Federal Reserve's anecdotal summary of US regional economic conditions, published eight times per year ahead of FOMC meetings.

A futures curve where near-dated contracts price higher than later ones — the signature of scarcity, and a tailwind for long roll strategies.

A rule limiting how much of your total profit can come from a single trading day, designed to prevent payout cycles built on one lucky session.

The WTI Crude Oil futures contract on NYMEX — 1,000 barrels per contract with $0.01 tick size and $10 per tick. The most actively traded oil futures contract in the world.

The per-trade fee charged by your platform/broker plus exchange fees per contract — typically $1.00-$5.00 round-trip on E-minis depending on platform tier and prop firm structure.

The process of closing a near-expiration futures contract and opening an equivalent position in the next contract month — required to maintain exposure beyond a single contract's lifecycle.

A trading approach where one source account's trades are automatically replicated across multiple destination accounts — heavily restricted at most prop firms.

A premium futures market data and execution provider used primarily by professional and institutional traders — alternative to Rithmic with similar reliability but more expensive and complex.

The CME Group's free tool showing implied probabilities of Federal Reserve rate moves at upcoming FOMC meetings, derived from fed funds futures pricing.

The monthly US inflation measurement released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics — the single most important data release after NFP and FOMC for futures trading.

Exchange mechanisms that pause or bound trading during extreme moves — including the overnight ±7% limits on index futures and the cash market's 7/13/20% halts.

CME's electronic trading platform — the venue where futures actually trade nearly 24 hours a day, Sunday evening through Friday close.

A futures curve where later-dated contracts price higher than near-dated ones — the normal state for markets with storage costs, and a headwind for long roll strategies.

A running total of aggressive buying minus aggressive selling — the session-long scoreboard of which side is initiating.

A cap on how much an account can lose in a single trading session — independent of cumulative drawdown — designed to prevent one bad day from ending the account.

A threshold at which a trailing drawdown stops moving up — the floor "locks" at starting balance plus a small buffer, so further profits don't tighten the drawdown floor.

A trading style where all positions open and close within a single session — the default approach for most futures prop firm traders and the strategy every major firm is structured around.

The real-time stream of market prices, bid/ask quotes, and trade ticks delivered to a trading platform from the exchange via providers like Rithmic, CQG, or Tradovate.

A reduced margin requirement set by brokers (not exchanges) for positions opened and closed within the same trading session — typically 5-10% of overnight initial margin.

A prop firm rule governing whether traders can scale into positions by adding contracts at multiple price levels — allowed when planned, restricted when emotional/martingale-style.

A real-time display of all resting buy and sell limit orders at every price level — the "order book" view that shows market structure and liquidity.

The distance between your current account value and your drawdown floor — the real measure of how much room you have before a breach.

The E-mini S&P 500 futures contract — the most actively traded equity index future in the world, tracking the S&P 500 index with $50 per point and $12.50 per 0.25-tick.

The simulated trading account a trader uses to demonstrate skill and risk management before being granted access to a funded prop firm account.

A trailing drawdown that updates only at the end of the trading day based on closing balance, ignoring intraday peaks — significantly more forgiving than intraday trailing.

The date a futures contract terminates — at which point all open positions either physically deliver or cash-settle, depending on contract specifications.

The weekly US crude oil supply report from the Energy Information Administration — the highest-impact scheduled event for crude oil futures (CL, MCL).

A trading account capitalized by a prop firm — usually after evaluation — where the trader executes real strategies and receives payouts under firm-defined rules.

A 3-candle pattern from ICT/SMC trading where a strong move leaves an unfilled gap between candle wicks — a price imbalance that often gets revisited as institutions rebalance order flow.

The nearest-to-expiration futures contract month with active trading — typically the most liquid contract, where the vast majority of volume and open interest concentrates.

A standardized agreement to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying asset at a predetermined price on a specified future date — the foundational instrument of futures markets.

The Federal Reserve committee that sets US interest-rate policy — its eight scheduled meetings per year are the single highest-volatility events for index, bond, and currency futures.

A chart type that displays executed bid and ask volume at every price inside each candle — the X-ray view of what happened within the bar.

The standard Gold futures contract on COMEX — 100 troy ounces per contract with $0.10 tick size and $10 per tick. The dominant gold trading vehicle for futures prop firms.

A trading strategy that places multiple orders at predefined price intervals around a base price — generally restricted at prop firms when combined with martingale-style sizing.

The quarterly US economic growth measure released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis in three estimates per quarter — sets the broad growth backdrop for futures market positioning.

A rule restricting traders from holding simultaneous opposing positions (long and short) on the same instrument or correlated instruments — varies widely by firm.

Algorithmic strategies that place hundreds or thousands of trades per session, often with sub-second hold times — heavily restricted at most prop firms.

A prop firm program structure that grants the trader a funded account immediately upon purchase, skipping the traditional simulated evaluation phase entirely.

A discretionary trading framework popularized by Michael J. Huddleston (ICT) built around institutional order flow concepts: liquidity sweeps, fair value gaps, order blocks, killzones, and time-of-day structure.

A rule that closes funded accounts after a set period without qualifying trading activity — typically 30 days at most major prop firms.

A pattern flag where a trader uses dramatically different position sizes across trades — often indicating undisciplined risk management or an attempt to swing for a windfall payout.

A rule requiring that each prop firm account is used by only one trader — sharing accounts, account-stuffing, or trading on behalf of others is universally prohibited.

Monthly purchasing managers' surveys from the Institute for Supply Management — leading indicators for US manufacturing and services economic activity.

The exchange-set deposit required to hold one futures contract overnight — much larger than the intraday margins prop traders are used to.

The annual late-August economic symposium hosted by the Kansas City Federal Reserve — historically the venue where Fed Chairs signal major policy shifts.

The Chair of the US Federal Reserve — his public statements, speeches, and press conferences are among the most market-moving events for index, bond, and currency futures.

Monthly labor market report from the BLS measuring job openings, hires, and quits — a leading indicator for labor market tightness and Fed policy.

In ICT trading, specific time windows where institutional order flow concentrates — primarily London Open (2-5 AM ET) and NY Open (8:30-11:00 ET) for futures markets. Trading inside killzones produces higher-quality setups than off-hours trading.

The identity-verification step prop firms require before your first payout — government ID, proof of address, and sometimes a selfie match.

A trailing drawdown that updates in real time on every tick of unrealized profit, including intraday peaks — the most punishing drawdown variant.

A price move that briefly takes out a swing high or swing low (where stop-loss orders cluster) before reversing — interpreted in ICT/SMC as institutional liquidity collection ahead of a structural move.

An order to buy at or below a specified price, or sell at or above a specified price — guaranteeing your fill price but not guaranteeing execution.

Exchange-defined daily price boundaries (typically 7%, 13%, 20% for equity index futures) that trigger trading halts when reached — designed to prevent disorderly markets during extreme volatility.

The ease with which a futures contract can be bought or sold without significantly moving the price — measured by trading volume, open interest, and order book depth.

A funded account where your orders route to the real market with the firm's capital, as opposed to a simulated funded account paid from evaluation revenue.

The total dollar amount your account can lose from its highest point (or starting balance) before the account is automatically closed.

The Micro E-mini S&P 500 futures contract — exactly one-tenth the size of ES, tracking the S&P 500 index with $5 per point and $1.25 per 0.25-tick. The most popular contract for new and small-account traders.

The Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures contract — exactly one-tenth the size of NQ, tracking the Nasdaq-100 index with $2 per point and $0.50 per 0.25-tick.

A trading approach that bets on price returning to its average — fading extended moves at statistical extremes rather than trading with momentum. Popular in algo trading and futures range scalping.

The smallest profit amount a trader can request as a payout — typically $1,500-$5,000 for first payout, lower for subsequent payouts at most prop firms.

The Micro WTI Crude Oil futures contract — exactly one-tenth the size of CL, representing 100 barrels of WTI crude with $0.01 tick size and $1 per tick. The retail-friendly entry-point to crude oil futures.

The Micro Gold futures contract — exactly one-tenth the size of GC, representing 10 troy ounces of gold with $0.10 tick size and $1 per tick. Preferred gold contract for retail and small-account prop firm traders.

A strategy that enters in the direction of strong recent price action — buying strength and selling weakness, riding the persistence of established moves rather than fading them.

The Micro E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract — exactly one-tenth the size of RTY, tracking the small-cap Russell 2000 index with $5 per index point and $0.50 per tick. Most volatile US index micro on a percentage basis.

The minimum account equity required to keep an existing futures position open — typically 75-90% of initial margin; falling below triggers a margin call.

The capital deposit required to open and hold a futures position — set by the exchange (initial margin) and broker (day-trade margin), typically 5-15% of contract notional value.

The daily process where futures positions are valued at the current settlement price and unrealized P&L is converted to realized cash flow — the operational core of how futures clearing works.

An order to buy or sell immediately at the best available price — guaranteeing execution but exposing the order to slippage based on order-book depth.

A strategy that doubles position size after each loss to recover prior losses with a single win — universally banned or heavily restricted at prop firms due to catastrophic risk.

The maximum number of contracts a trader can hold simultaneously on a prop firm account, scaling with account size — typically 10 contracts on a $50K account.

Smaller-sized versions of major futures contracts (typically 1/10th the size of mini futures), designed for retail and prop firm traders to manage risk with less capital.

Mid-sized futures contracts (typically 10x the size of micro futures, 1/5th to 1/10th the size of pit-traded contracts) — the most-traded futures contracts on US exchanges.

The Micro E-mini Dow Jones futures contract — exactly one-tenth the size of YM, tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average with $0.50 per index point and $0.50 per tick. Smallest dollar exposure of any major US index futures contract.

A rule invalidating profits from trades held less than a firm-defined duration — thresholds range from 5 seconds at fair firms to 2 minutes at restrictive ones.

The E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures contract — the most volatile of the major equity index futures, tracking the Nasdaq-100 index with $20 per point and $5 per 0.25-tick.

The most popular full-featured futures trading platform among US prop firm traders — Windows-native (Mac via Parallels/Wine), free for charting and demo, paid tiers for live trading.

A rule capping the unrealized loss on a single open trade — prevents traders from holding deeply losing positions hoping for recovery.

A trading approach that takes positions around major economic news events — restricted, banned, or fully allowed depending on the prop firm.

The Natural Gas (Henry Hub) futures contract on NYMEX — 10,000 MMBtu per contract with $0.001 tick size and $10 per tick. One of the most volatile commodity futures.

The monthly US employment report released the first Friday of each month at 8:30 AM ET — one of the highest-volatility scheduled events for index, currency, and bond futures.

A day trading strategy that defines the high and low of the first 5-30 minutes of a session, then trades the breakout above or below that range with structured stop and target placement.

An evaluation structure with a single qualifying phase — pass the profit target without breaching rules and you go directly to a funded account.

In ICT/SMC trading, the last candle of opposite color before a strong directional move — interpreted as the institutional accumulation/distribution zone where smart money built positions before the breakout.

A pair of linked orders where executing one automatically cancels the other — used to set a profit target and stop loss simultaneously without holding both as live exposure.

The total number of outstanding (not-yet-closed) futures contracts at a given moment — distinct from volume; measures market participation and sentiment.

The 13-member oil-producing cartel whose periodic production decisions are among the highest-impact discretionary events for crude oil futures.

The study of executed trades and resting liquidity — who is buying, who is selling, and at what price — as the basis for trade decisions.

The percentage of profits a funded trader keeps versus the percentage retained by the prop firm, typically ranging from 80% to 100%.

The profit amount or percentage required to pass an evaluation phase, typically 6-10% of the account size depending on firm and product.

A structured evaluation program — usually with profit targets, drawdown limits, and trading rules — that traders must complete to qualify for a funded account.

A real-money transfer from a prop firm to the trader, settling the simulated profits earned on the trader's funded account based on the firm's profit-split percentage.

The recurring frequency at which a prop firm processes payout requests — daily, biweekly, monthly, or on-demand depending on the firm and account type.

The dollar value of a one-point price movement on a futures contract — equal to the contract multiplier; a key input to position sizing math.

A rule restricting trading during exchange-imposed price limit halts (limit-up or limit-down moves) — typically required by firm risk policies during extreme volatility events.

The monthly US wholesale inflation measure — the prices producers receive for their output — released by the BLS, often viewed as a leading indicator for CPI.

A per-cycle limit on how much profit you can withdraw from a funded account, regardless of how much you earned.

The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, released monthly — Core PCE is the number the Fed's 2% target actually refers to.

A multi-asset desktop trading platform known for its DOM and order-flow tools — futures prop firm traders connect it through Rithmic or dxFeed data feeds depending on the firm.

A fee paid to restart a failed evaluation account from scratch, typically $50-$100 per reset, allowing traders to retry without buying a new evaluation.

The E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract — tracks the Russell 2000 small-cap index with $50 per point and $5 per 0.10-tick. Higher volatility than ES, smaller liquidity than NQ.

A list of countries from which a prop firm will not accept traders, typically driven by US OFAC sanctions, payment processor limitations, or regulatory compliance.

A market data and execution infrastructure provider behind most US futures brokers and prop firms — powers R|Trader Pro plus the back end of NinjaTrader, Sierra Chart, and similar platforms.

Any violation of a prop firm's trading rules — some breaches are warnings, others permanently end the account.

Monthly Census Bureau report measuring US consumer spending at retail establishments — a leading indicator for GDP and a real-time gauge of consumer health.

The split between the high-volume day session aligned with US cash markets (RTH) and the thinner overnight session (ETH) — two auctions with different rules of behavior.

A drawdown limit fixed at a single dollar amount below starting balance that does not move up as the account grows — the simplest and most predictable drawdown model.

A short-timeframe strategy that profits from small price moves over seconds to minutes — ideally suited to intraday trailing drawdown accounts but high-friction with consistency-rule firms.

A trading style holding positions overnight to multiple days — capturing larger moves than day trading but requiring prop firm accounts that explicitly allow overnight holds (most don't).

A prop firm program structure that automatically increases account size, position-size limits, or profit splits as the trader hits performance milestones (cumulative payouts, sustained profitability).

A rule restricting the maximum number of contracts a trader can hold based on current account profit — typically reducing position-size limits at the start of an account and unlocking full size only after meeting profit thresholds.

The official price set by an exchange at the end of each trading day, used to mark all open positions to market and determine daily P&L for futures contracts.

The Silver futures contract on COMEX — 5,000 troy ounces per contract with $0.005 tick size and $25 per tick. Higher volatility cousin of gold; smaller liquidity but bigger swings.

A funded prop firm account that runs on simulated capital rather than live exchange-cleared positions — the dominant model in the futures prop firm industry.

The difference between the expected price of a trade and the actual fill price — typically larger on market orders, during volatile conditions, and on illiquid contracts.

A conditional order that activates when price reaches a specified trigger level — typically used for stop-losses (sell stops below long entries) or breakout entries (buy stops above resistance).

The micro-sized silver future — 1,000 troy ounces, one-fifth of the full SI contract, with $1 ticks suited to silver's violent percentage moves.

A drawdown limit that follows your account's high water mark, tightening as you profit and capping your maximum loss from peak balance — the dominant risk model in the futures prop firm industry.

A web and mobile-native futures brokerage and trading platform with simple flat-fee pricing — popular with prop firm traders for its mobile app, server-side bracket orders, and absence of platform-license fees.

A long-timeframe strategy that enters established trends and rides them — capturing large multi-day to multi-month moves while accepting many small losses on whipsaws.

The smallest price movement allowed on a futures contract — a fixed increment defined by the exchange that determines how prices step up and down.

The dollar value per minimum price movement on a futures contract — multiplying tick value by ticks moved gives your dollar P&L change per contract.

The minimum number of separate days a trader must be active on an account — typically 5 — before passing evaluation or qualifying for the next payout.

The defined daily windows during which a futures contract is open for trading on the exchange — typically split into Regular Trading Hours (RTH) and Extended/Globex sessions covering near-24-hour cycles.

A legacy evaluation structure with two distinct qualifying phases — pass Phase 1 (typically the harder target), then pass Phase 2 (lower target with longer time horizon) before reaching the funded stage.

A Rithmic-based futures trading and analytics platform combining the Station workspace, Compass journal, and Polaris AI — traders connect prop firm accounts with firm-issued Rithmic credentials.

A browser-based charting and analysis platform with Pine Script indicators and social features — prop firm traders use it for charts while executing through connected platforms or integrations.

The quarterly Friday when index futures, index options, and stock options all expire together — third Friday of March, June, September, and December.

The second qualifying phase in a two-step evaluation, designed to prove that a trader's Phase 1 success is repeatable rather than a single lucky run.

A histogram of traded volume at each price level, revealing where the market found acceptance — and the high-volume and low-volume zones that act as future reference.

The average price of a session weighted by volume — the institutional benchmark for fair value and one of the most-watched intraday levels in index futures.

The near-universal prop firm requirement that all positions be closed before the Friday session close — no holding through the weekend gap.

The E-mini Dow Jones futures contract — tracks the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average with $5 per point and $5 per 1-tick. Lower-volatility cousin of ES.

The 10-Year US Treasury Note futures contract on CBOT — $100,000 face value per contract with 1/64th tick increments and $15.625 per tick. The most actively traded treasury futures contract.

The 30-Year US Treasury Bond futures contract on CBOT — $100,000 face value per contract with 1/32nd tick increments and $31.25 per tick.

The Euro FX futures contract on CME — 125,000 euros per contract with $0.00005 tick size and $6.25 per tick. The dominant euro/USD vehicle in centralized futures markets.