Reference
The prop-firm rule glossary
Every rule term we use, defined in plain English. Neutral and educational — always verify exact meanings on the firm's own terms.
The Prop Examiner · Independent analysisLast updated
Plain English, neutral
Rule terms, defined
Understand what each rule means, then confirm the figures on the firm’s pages. These terms appear inline across our dossiers.
- Profit target
- The percentage gain a trader must achieve on a challenge or evaluation account to advance to the next phase or become funded. It is usually measured against the starting balance and must be met without breaching any loss limit.
- Max daily loss
- A cap on how much an account may fall within one trading day, measured from either the day's starting balance or starting equity. Breaching it typically fails the account, even if the overall loss limit is untouched.
- Max overall loss
- Also called maximum total loss or overall drawdown — the furthest an account may fall from its baseline before it is failed. Whether the baseline is fixed or moves with profits depends on the drawdown type.
- Static drawdown
- A maximum-loss level calculated once from the starting balance and held fixed for the life of the account. Profits do not raise it, so the buffer below your equity grows as you gain.
- Trailing drawdown
- A maximum-loss level that follows the account upward as it reaches new equity or balance highs, locking in some gains. Once it ratchets up it usually does not fall back, so giving back profits can still breach it.
- End-of-day (EOD) drawdown
- A trailing drawdown that recalculates from the highest end-of-day balance rather than intraday peaks. Open-trade spikes during the day do not move the limit — only the closing figure does.
- Minimum trading days
- A requirement to place trades on a set number of distinct days before an account can pass a phase or request a payout. It discourages passing on a single lucky trade.
- Consistency rule
- A limit on how concentrated profits may be — for example, no single day may account for more than a set percentage of total profit. It is meant to reward steady performance over one-off windfalls; breaching it can delay a payout or block a pass.
- Profit split
- The percentage of profits a funded trader keeps, with the rest retained by the firm (e.g. an 80% split means the trader keeps 80%). Advertised "up to" splits are usually ceilings reached only at higher tiers or after scaling.
- Scaling plan
- A structured path that increases a funded trader's account size (and sometimes profit split) after meeting performance and consistency conditions. Terms and timelines vary widely between firms.
- Leverage
- The ratio between position size and the capital backing it (e.g. 1:100 means $1 controls $100 of exposure). Higher leverage amplifies both gains and losses against your drawdown limits.
- Evaluation / challenge
- A simulated trading test — sometimes called a challenge — where a trader must hit a profit target without breaking the rules to earn a funded (or simulated-funded) account. It usually carries a one-time fee.
- Instant funding
- A product that skips the evaluation and grants a funded account immediately, typically for a higher upfront fee and often with stricter rules, lower initial splits, or tighter drawdown than evaluation paths.
- 1-step
- An evaluation that funds a trader after one phase, requiring a single profit target to be hit within the loss limits. Fewer phases can mean a tighter target or drawdown.
- 2-step
- An evaluation split into two phases, each with its own profit target, before funding. The two-phase structure is the most common model across the industry.
- 3-step
- An evaluation with three sequential phases before funding, usually with lower per-phase targets spread across the stages. More phases can mean a longer path but gentler individual targets.
- Payout / withdrawal cycle
- The schedule and conditions for withdrawing funded profits — for example, on-demand, bi-weekly, or monthly, sometimes after a minimum profit or a set number of trading days. Early-payout terms and minimums vary by firm.
- Prohibited strategies
- Approaches a firm bans in its rules — breaching them can void profits or fail an account. Commonly restricted styles include martingale, grid, certain hedging or arbitrage, high-frequency or tick scalping, news trading, copy trading, and all-in gambling-style bets.
- Martingale
- A strategy that raises trade size after each loss in an attempt to recover prior losses with one win. Firms often prohibit it because it concentrates risk and can blow through drawdown limits quickly.
- Grid trading
- A system that places a ladder of buy and sell orders at fixed intervals regardless of direction. It is frequently restricted because it can build large, correlated exposure that strains risk limits.
- Hedging
- Opening opposing positions in the same or correlated instruments to offset risk. Some firms allow internal hedging but prohibit hedging across accounts or between traders to game evaluations.
- Arbitrage
- Profiting from price discrepancies between brokers, feeds, or instruments, including latency arbitrage. It is commonly banned because it can exploit a firm's simulated pricing rather than reflect genuine market skill.
- HFT / tick scalping
- High-frequency trading and tick scalping involve large numbers of trades held for seconds or less, often automated. Firms frequently restrict them, sometimes via minimum hold-time rules, because they can exploit feed latency.
- News trading
- Opening or holding positions through scheduled high-impact news events to capture volatility. Some firms restrict trading within a window around major releases on evaluation or funded accounts.
- Copy trading
- Automatically replicating one account's trades onto others, or copying signals from a third party. Firms often limit it to a trader's own accounts and prohibit copying between unrelated traders.
- Expert Advisors (EAs)
- Algorithms or robots — often MetaTrader Expert Advisors — that place trades automatically. Policies range from fully allowed to banned; many firms permit personal EAs but forbid shared or exploit-oriented bots.
- Gambling / all-in
- Staking an outsized share of the account on a single trade in hope of a fast pass. Firms restrict it because it relies on luck rather than risk management and undermines consistency rules.
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