Rules & Guidelines
The drawdown type determines how much room you have, when your account gets terminated, and how you manage every single trade. Picking the wrong one for your strategy is avoidable pain.
There are three main drawdown types used across prop firms: intraday trailing, end-of-day (EOD), and static. Each one handles risk differently, and each one rewards a different kind of trader.
Floor adjusts in real time. Every new equity high (including unrealized) pushes the floor up permanently.
DayTraders: Trailing evals, S2L liveFloor only updates at session close. Intraday peaks do not count. Most room during active sessions.
DayTraders: S2F programFixed floor that never moves. Cushion grows as your account grows. Simplest mental model.
DayTraders: Static evals (25K-150K)An intraday trailing drawdown adjusts in real time as your equity changes during the session. Every new equity high pushes the floor up. The floor never moves back down. This applies to both realized profits and unrealized gains on open positions.
Intraday trailing is the tightest drawdown type. It demands constant awareness of where the floor is and how each trade affects it.
End-of-day drawdown only evaluates your account balance at the close of the trading session. Intraday equity peaks do not count. If your account hits $55,000 during the session but closes at $51,000, the floor only adjusts based on the $51,000 close.
DayTraders.com uses EOD drawdown on the Straight to Funded (S2F) program, which also has no daily loss limit on the 25K tier.
Static drawdown uses a fixed floor that never moves, regardless of how high your equity goes. If you start with a $50,000 account and a $1,000 static drawdown, the floor is $49,000. Whether your equity reaches $55,000 or $60,000, the floor stays at $49,000.
This is the most forgiving drawdown type. It gives you a permanent safety cushion that grows larger as your account grows. The tradeoff is that static accounts typically have lower contract limits and tighter profit targets.
Works if you can track the floor in real time and manage size after winning streaks. Highest contract limits. Every peak raises the floor immediately.
Swing strategies need room to breathe. S2F with EOD drawdown and no daily loss limit is purpose-built for this style.
Reduces complexity. Floor never changes. Focus on learning execution. Small static accounts are the simplest entry point.
Each option serves a different trader. The trailing offers the most contracts. The static offers the most predictable risk. The S2F offers the fastest path to funded with the most forgiving drawdown timing.
2 ES contracts on a 50K account. Long entry. Runs 30 ticks (+$750 unrealized). Pulls back 20 ticks. You hold. Reverses and you close at +15 ticks ($375 realized).
Floor moved up $750 during the unrealized peak. Closed at +$375 but floor locked in $750. Effective room shrunk by $375 even though the trade won.
Room reduced on a winning tradeFloor only updates at session close. Closed the day at +$375, floor moves up $375. The intraday peak of $750 was invisible to the calculation.
Full credit for realized profitFloor does not move at all. $375 profit adds to your cushion above the fixed floor. No adjustment, no trailing, no reduction.
Cushion grows, floor unchangedAnswer these three questions:
Yes → Intraday trailing is your worst enemy. Unrealized peaks permanently raise the floor. Use EOD (S2F) or Static.
Yes → Intraday trailing accounts offer the most contracts (up to 40 on 300K). Tradeoff: tightest drawdown model.
Yes → Static is the only option. Simplest mental model. Easiest to manage for newer traders.
There is no wrong answer. There is only a mismatch between your strategy and the drawdown type. Read about how trailing drawdown works and which rules create the most friction.
