Rules and Mechanics

These posts document the clauses that end or preserve a prop firm account: loss limits, drawdown design, news windows, holding rules and the consistency clause. Each one names the exact rule, cites the firm that enforces it, and states Ordane's own position by clause number. Written for a trader placing trades inside a rulebook, not around one.

Articles in this category

• Alpha Capital Group Consistency Rule Explained

  Learn exactly how the Alpha Capital Group consistency rule works, how the 25% to 200% lot size range is calculated, and how it impacts your payout.

• Alpha Capital Group Drawdown Rules

  Understand Alpha Capital Group's 5% daily and 10% maximum drawdown rules. Learn how the end-of-day equity calculation impacts your daily loss limit.

• Alpha Capital Group EA Rules: What Is Prohibited

  Understand Alpha Capital Group's EA execution rules. Learn which Expert Advisors are allowed and why HFT, latency arbitrage, and grid trading are banned.

• Alpha Capital Group Max Loss Limit

  Understand Alpha Capital Group's 5% daily and 10% overall loss limits, how end-of-day equity calculations work, and what triggers an account breach.

• Alpha Capital Group News Trading Rules

  Learn Alpha Capital Group's news trading rules. Understand why weekend holding is banned and the real execution risks during high-impact releases.

• Alpha Capital Group Scaling Plan Explained

  Learn how the Alpha Capital Group scaling plan works. Understand the 10% profit target, the $2M simulated limit, and rules that can reset your progress.

• Alpha Capital Inactivity Rule Explained

  Understand the Alpha Capital Group 30-day inactivity rule. Learn why logging in doesn't reset the timer and what counts as a trade to avoid a breach.

• Alpha Capital Static Drawdown Explained

  Understand how Alpha Capital Group calculates its 10% static drawdown limit from the initial balance, avoiding trailing watermarks.

• Apex Intraday Trailing Drawdown Rule

  Understand how the Apex Trader Funding intraday trailing drawdown is calculated based on open equity, and when the threshold stops moving.

• Apex Scaling Plan: Contract Limits Explained

  Understand how the Apex scaling plan restricts your position size, limits the $50k account to 2 contracts, and how it compares to real CME margin.

• Apex Trader Funding EA Rules & HFT Restrictions

  Understand Apex Trader Funding's rules on Expert Advisors (EAs). Learn which bots are allowed during evaluations and why HFT strategies are prohibited.

• Apex Trader Funding Max Loss Limit Explained

  Learn how the Apex Trader Funding max loss limit works, including the intraday trailing threshold, unrealized profit tracking, and when the drawdown stops.

• Apex Trader Funding Rules: What the Docs Say

  Apex Trader Funding's two drawdown models, the 50% consistency formula and the Safety Net, worked in dollars on a $50,000 account, from its own docs.

• Apex Trader Funding Static Drawdown Explained

  Understand how the Apex static drawdown works. Learn why it remains fixed at its initial limit and does not trail your open profits or account balance.

• Apex Weekend Holding Rules: Times & Penalties

  Understand the exact Apex Trader Funding weekend holding rules. Learn the 4:59 PM EST Friday deadline, CME hours, and why holding causes immediate failure.

• Audacity Capital Max Loss Limit Explained

  Understand how the Audacity Capital 10% max loss limit works. Learn why it uses initial balance instead of trailing drawdown and what happens if you breach

• Audacity Capital Trailing Drawdown Explained

  Learn how Audacity Capital's drawdown works. They use a fixed 10% absolute drawdown rather than a complex trailing drawdown, offering clear rules for traders.

• Audit a Prop Firm in 5 Checks Before You Pay

  Five checks, 15 minutes, before you pay: the payout clause, the rulebook version, the reserve address, the survival test, the real price. Ordane included.

• Best Prop Firms for Swing Trading

  Compare the best prop firms for swing trading. Find accounts that allow overnight and weekend holding without hidden rules or penalties.

• Best Prop Firms With No Minimum Trading Days

  Compare the best prop firms with 0 minimum trading days. Learn which evaluations allow you to pass in one day and the hidden rules to watch out for.

• Can a Prop Firm Enforce an Unwritten Rule?

  Sole-discretion clauses let a firm void an account on a rule you never saw. What a closed rules list is, and why 'not listed is not a violation'.

• Can You Scalp on a Prop Firm? The Rules

  Scalping is rarely banned by name. The exact clauses that catch fast traders at FTMO, Topstep, FundedNext, MyFundedFutures and Ordane, each sourced.

• Can You Use a VPN With a Prop Firm Account?

  Check VPN, IP-address and travel rules before logging in from a new location, and preserve proof that you still controlled the account.

• Can You Use a VPS With a Prop Firm?

  Learn if prop firms allow VPS and VPN use, which hidden geolocation rules apply, and what connection evidence you need to protect your payouts.

• Do Prop Firms Allow Hedging?

  Simple hedging is often fine; hedge arbitrage across correlated positions is what firms ban. The line, and why a closed rule list protects you.

• Do Prop Firms Manipulate Your Trades?

  Slippage, bad fills, stop hunts: what a prop firm can and cannot do to your trades on a simulated account, where the spread comes from, and how to check.

• Every Clock Running on a Prop Firm Account

  Five clocks run on one prop firm account, each started by a different event, on a different calendar. The one you can miss without noticing.

• Find a Prop Firm for Your Trading Style

  Learn how to choose a prop firm that matches your actual trading style. Compare hidden rules on news trading, scalping, and holding overnight positions.

• FTMO EA Rules: What Is Actually Allowed?

  Understand FTMO's Expert Advisor (EA) rules. Learn which EAs are allowed, the hidden rules against HFT arbitrage, and the execution limits you must know.

• FTMO Inactivity Rule Explained: Are There Limits?

  Learn how the FTMO inactivity rule works. Discover whether FTMO enforces time limits on evaluations or penalizes funded accounts for not trading.

• FTMO News Trading Rules Explained

  Understand the FTMO news trading rule, the 2-minute restriction window, and how the Swing account exempts you from macroeconomic news limits.

• FTMO Scaling Plan Rules and Targets

  Learn exactly how the FTMO scaling plan works. Understand the 10% profit target, the two-payout requirement, and how to get the 90/10 profit split upgrade.

• Funded Engineer Consistency Rule Explained

  Understand the Funded Engineer 50% consistency rule, why it prevents windfall trades, and what it means for your evaluation before paying any fees.

• Funded Engineer Inactivity Rule Explained

  Understand the Funded Engineer 30-day inactivity rule. Learn how placing or closing a trade resets the timer and prevents a breach on your funded account.

• Funded Engineer News Trading Rules Explained

  Learn Funded Engineer's news trading rules, the 4-minute restricted window, and how violations lead to profit deductions or a hard breach.

• Funded Engineer Static Drawdown Explained

  Understand how the Funded Engineer static drawdown works. We explain the fixed risk limits, compare them to trailing rules, and review CFTC guidance.

• Funded Trader: What the Term Really Means

  A funded trader may still use a simulated account. Learn what the label means for payouts, rules, legal status, capital and costs.

• How Do Prop Firms Work? The Basic Mechanics

  Understand how proprietary trading firms work, from passing the evaluation challenge to getting funded, risk management rules, and profit split mechanics.

• How Many Prop Firm Accounts Can You Have at Once

  Understand the rules for holding multiple prop firm accounts at once, including max capital limits, copy trading restrictions, and true scaling costs.

• How Prop Trading for Futures Works

  How prop trading works for futures: what an evaluation tests, how funding works, what a payout costs you, and which rules can void it.

• How to Set a Personal Daily Loss Cap

  Learn how to set and enforce a personal daily loss cap tighter than a prop firm's limits, protecting your account from slippage and execution risks.

• Instant Funding vs Evaluation Prop Firms Compared

  Compare instant funding prop firms against evaluations. Learn the hidden rules, profit targets, and true costs before you pay for a funded account.

• MyFundedFutures Static Drawdown Rule Explained

  Learn how the MyFundedFutures static drawdown is calculated on Starter accounts, including the fixed $1,500 loss limit for the $50,000 evaluation.

• Ordane vs FTMO: Instant vs Challenge

  Ordane Instant Account vs FTMO Challenge: fees, drawdown types, refunds, and payout gates from each firm's own pages.

• Ordane vs Topstep: Instant vs Combine

  Ordane Instant Account vs Topstep Trading Combine: monthly vs one-time fees, trailing MLL vs static drawdown, futures vs Instant.

• Overnight and Weekend Holding in Prop Firms

  Prop firm overnight holding and weekend holding are different rules. See session cutoffs, gap risk, account-type exceptions and what to verify before

• Pass a Prop Firm Challenge With an EA

  Understand which prop firms allow Expert Advisors, which EA strategies trigger a breach, and how to safely pass a challenge with an automated bot.

• Prop Firm API Trading Rules: What to Verify

  Check whether a prop firm allows API trading, the approved access route, hidden device limits, separate fees, sandbox access, and failure liability.

• Prop Firm Calculators: What Each One Computes

  A drawdown calculator cannot see a consistency rule. Match the calculator to the clause it models, and learn which number it never checks.

• Prop Firm Consistency Calculator: Check Your Payout

  Calculate your prop firm consistency rule limit before requesting a payout. Learn how the Topstep 50% and Earn2Trade 30% rules affect your withdrawal.

• Prop Firm Copy Trading: Who May Copy Whom

  Copying between your own accounts, between two people, and letting someone else log in are three separate clauses. Read them apart.

• Prop Firm Crypto Trading Rules: What Changes

  Crypto on a prop firm account is a CFD, the contract size can be redefined overnight, and the reset clock is European. What changes, from the specs.

• Prop Firm EA & Copy Rules That Ban You

  Which automation closes a prop firm account: own-strategy EAs, copy between your own accounts, or external signals—firm-by-firm rules.

• Prop Firm Gold Rules: Leverage, News, Costs

  Gold carries its own leverage, its own news window and its own cost line at prop firms. Read the three before you trade XAUUSD or GC.

• Prop Firm Inactivity Rules: How Many Days You Have

  How a prop firm inactivity clause really works: the window, calendar vs trading days, what resets the clock, and what happens to your profit.

• Prop Firm Minimum Trading Days Explained

  Learn what counts as a trading day, why holding one position may count once, and how to verify the rule before starting an evaluation.

• Prop Firm News Trading: Buffer Window

  Prop firm news trading rules define a blackout window around high-impact releases. See the minutes, affected instruments, pending orders and breach cost.

• Prop Firm Rules for Automated Trading

  Discover which prop firm rules constrain automated and EA trading strategies. Learn how hyperactivity limits, VPS bans, and duplicate algorithms affect you

• Prop Firm Rules That Matter for Day Traders

  Identify the critical prop firm rules day traders must confirm before paying, including trailing drawdowns, news limits, and how to verify them.

• Prop Firm Scaling Plan Explained

  The milestones that raise your account size, capital vs contract scaling, and the four questions to ask before you count on a scaling plan. Sourced and...

• Prop Firm Thin Liquidity Rules

  Understand how thin liquidity and rollover hours cause spread widening that can trigger hidden prop firm daily loss limit breaches.

• Prop Firm Trading Strategy: Test Every Rule

  Stress-test a prop firm trading strategy against profit, time, consistency and loss constraints before one rule invalidates the whole plan.

• Prop Trading Firms for Stocks: Rules to Compare

  Compare stock prop firms by exposure type, PDT treatment, session hours, intraday and overnight buying power, and payout split before choosing.

• TFT Weekend Holding Rules Explained

  Understand The Funded Trader weekend holding rules, which accounts restrict open positions, and how CFTC gap risks can affect your evaluation before you pa

• The Funded Trader Consistency Rule Explained

  Understand The Funded Trader's consistency rule, the 0.25x to 2.0x lot size limit, and how it tied into the firm halting payouts in March 2024.

• The Funded Trader Inactivity Rule Explained

  Understand The Funded Trader's 30-day inactivity rule. Learn what counts as a simulated trade, why logging in isn't enough, and how to avoid a breach.

• The Funded Trader Max Loss Limit Explained

  Understand how The Funded Trader calculates its maximum daily and overall loss limits, the rules that trigger a breach, and how to track your drawdown.

• The Funded Trader Scaling Plan Explained

  Learn how The Funded Trader's scaling plan works, the 3-month consistency rule required for the 25% increment, and CFTC regulatory risks before you pay.

• Topstep Consistency Rule & Payouts Explained

  Learn how the Topstep consistency rule works during the Trading Combine, and how the 5-day $200 metric affects payouts for funded futures accounts.

• Topstep EA Rules: Custom vs. Commercial Bots

  Understand Topstep's EA execution rules. Learn why custom algorithmic trading is allowed, while commercial off-the-shelf bots are banned.

• Topstep Funded Accounts: Rules and Payouts

  Learn how Topstep funded accounts work, including the Trading Combine evaluation rules, pricing, scaling payouts, and CFTC regulatory standing.

• Topstep Inactivity Rule Explained

  Understand Topstep's 30-day inactivity rule, what happens to your account if you stop trading, and if there are any hidden fees involved.

• Topstep Max Loss Limit: End of Day Rule Explained

  Learn how the Topstep Maximum Loss Limit works. Understand the end-of-day trailing calculation, when it stops trailing, and what happens on a breach.

• Topstep Scaling Plan Explained (2026)

  Learn how the Topstep scaling plan limits position sizes, how end-of-day buying power works, and what it takes to unlock 5 contracts on a $50k account.

• Topstep Weekend Holding Rules Explained

  Understand Topstep's weekend holding rules, the exact Friday 3:10 PM CT cutoff time, and why keeping positions open during CME halts fails your account.

• Trade Day 30% Consistency Rule Explained

  Understand how the 30% consistency rule works in prop trading, why it prevents lucky trades, and how it impacts your payout eligibility and evaluation cost

• Trade Day Max Loss Limit Explained

  Understand how the Trade Day max loss limit works, including end-of-day trailing drawdown calculations, daily loss limits, and account locks.

• Trade Day Static Drawdown Explained

  Learn how Trade Day's trailing drawdown stops at the initial balance and becomes static. Understand the rules to protect your evaluation account.

• Trading Multiple Prop Firms: The Real Rules

  Two firms is allowed. Same orders on both is the clause that suspends you. Read the difference before you buy.

• Trading With a Prop Firm: Rules and Payouts

  Understand how trading with a prop firm works day to day, including supported platforms, daily loss limits, profit splits, and payout mechanics.

• What Can You Trade on a Prop Firm Account?

  FX, metals, indices and crypto are the usual menu. Exotics, stocks and futures are the usual gaps. How to read an instrument list before you pay.

• What Is a Funded Account? Meaning, Not Marketing

  A funded account is a marketing label, not a regulated status. What the term hides about simulated capital and your right to a cash payout.

• What Is Proprietary Trading

  A plain-English definition of proprietary trading, how prop firms work, the rules that decide your payout, and what to check before you pay a fee.

• What Is the Consistency Rule?

  The consistency rule caps how much profit can come from one day. How it is calculated, why it delays rather than fails, and how to find it.

• Why Does a Prop Firm Account Start at Zero?

  A zero starting balance can sit beside large buying power. Learn which field pays out, which field limits orders, and where the loss floor begins.