The prop firm consistency rule, explained with one example

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The prop firm consistency rule, explained with one example

You can hit the profit target and still not get paid. Usually it is the consistency rule. Here is how it works, and how to work out what it asks of you.

What the rule says

Most versions read like this: no single day can be more than a set share of your total profit. Common caps run from about 15% to 50%.

best day share = best day / total profit it passes when best day share ≤ cap

It exists so one lucky day can’t carry an account. Once you know it is there, it is straightforward to plan around.

One worked example

Your target is $3,000 and you have made exactly $3,000. Your best day was $1,200. The cap is 30%.

  • Best day share: $1,200 / $3,000 = 40%. Over the 30% cap.
  • Total you need: $1,200 / 0.30 = $4,000.
  • Still to make: $1,000, even though the target is already hit.
  • At $300 a day: 4 more trading days.

The part people miss

Every new day has to stay at or under your current best day. Make $1,500 tomorrow and that becomes the new best day, which raises the total you need to $5,000. A big day while you are trying to fix the ratio moves the finish line further away.

The practical answer is dull and it works: smaller, steadier days until the share drops under the cap.

Four things to check in your firm’s wording

  1. Does it apply to the evaluation, the payout, or both?
  2. Is the share measured against total profit or against the profit target? They give different answers.
  3. And if you go over, does it fail you, or raise your target to best day ÷ cap? At some firms it’s the second, and profit made later that same day adds to the best day.
  4. What is the cap? Firms change it. Copy it from their page on the day you start.

Work out yours

The consistency rule calculator takes your best day, total, cap and a typical day, and tells you how much more you need, how many days, and the largest day you can take on the way. Free, no signup, nothing leaves your browser.

The DeskWrite your rules once, then check each trade against them. Yes or no, with the reason. What it has cost you so farEvery evaluation, reset and monthly fee against every withdrawal. The net. Evaluation simulatorTen thousand simulated evaluations on your numbers. How often do you pass? Consistency rule calculatorYour best day is too big a share. How much more, and the day size to stay under. Prop firm rule decoderWhere the line that closes your account actually sits, and what open profit costs you. The one-page rulebookRules specific enough that a trade either followed them or it didn't. Position size calculatorContracts, dollar risk, and the copied-account multiplier. Drawdown runway calculatorHow many maximum-loss days your account can survive. What do your trades actually prove?Your win rate over a small sample is mostly noise. Find out how much.

Check your numbers

Best day, total, cap. Thirty seconds.

Open the calculator

Track it as you go

The Rules Desk Journal & Workbook is a 500-row trade log that works out your win-rate range, break-even, average result per trade and what rule breaks cost you. $39, instant download.

See what's in it

Educational material only. Not investment advice. Trading futures involves substantial risk of loss and most people who try it lose money. Check your account rules with your firm; they change.