Rules & Risk

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.

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.

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

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 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 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 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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.