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Why did my profit target go up?
You were close to passing, then the target moved. It’s almost always the consistency rule. At some firms, one big day doesn’t fail you. It raises the finish line instead.
How it works
The rule caps how much of your total profit can come from your best single day. At firms that work this way, going over the cap doesn’t end the evaluation. Your target rises to whatever total would bring your best day back under the cap:
One example
Example: a $3,000 profit target and a 55% cap. You have a great day: $1,800.
You now need $3,273 in total, not $3,000, and no day bigger than $1,800 on the way.
It can keep moving
Every new best day raises it again. The next day you make $2,200. That’s your new best day:
The bigger the day, the further away the finish line.
The same-day trap
Profit you make later in the same session adds to that day. Keep trading after a big morning and you’re not getting closer. You’re making the best day bigger. The rest of the profit has to come on other days.
The number to know before it happens
The biggest day you can have without moving the target:
Keep every day at or under $1,650 and the target stays at $3,000. Check whether your firm says “at or below” or “below”: landing exactly on the cap passes one and not the other.
Why the rule exists
It’s there so a pass is earned over several days, not carried by one lucky one. That isn’t a trap. It’s the firm checking that your results come from something you can repeat, which is the same thing you should want to know.
What to do with this
- Read your firm’s wording. What’s the cap, is it “at or below” or “below”, and does going over fail you or raise the target?
- Work out your biggest allowed day before the session: target × cap.
- Stop for the day when you reach it. Write it on your one-page rulebook so it’s decided before the big day, not during it.
How much more do you need?
Your best day, your total, your cap and your target. The new finish line in one line.
Open the consistency calculator
Track it as you go
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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.