How do I check the consistency rule before a payout?

Divide your best day by your total profit and compare it with the cap. Example: a $1,150 best day out of $3,200 is 35.9%. Against a 35% cap you would need about $3,286 of total profit, so $86 more, with no new day above $1,150.

How much can I ask for in a payout?

The smaller of two numbers: what's above the buffer your firm wants left in the account, and the largest single payout allowed. Example: $53,200 balance, $50,000 start and a $500 buffer leaves $2,700, even if the largest payout allowed is $3,000.

Payout readiness · Free to read

Prop firm payout readiness: 5 checks before you request

Q: I hit the profit target. Why can't I withdraw?

Passing and getting paid are separate sets of rules. A payout request clears when five checks pass: enough qualifying days, a best day that isn't too big a share of your profit, a buffer left in the account, an amount inside the payout limits, and enough room above your drawdown line afterwards.

By Ruben Roman · Last updated 2 October 2026 · How we check the maths

Hitting the profit target and being able to withdraw are two different things. A payout request clears when five checks all pass: enough qualifying days, a best day that isn’t too big a share of your profit, a buffer left in the account, an amount inside the payout limits, and enough room above your drawdown line afterwards.

Your firm’s rules decide the exact numbers, so the figures below are an example. The order of the checks is what carries over.

The example we’ll use

A $50,000 account, seven trading days since your last payout, $3,200 up:

day 1 +$1,150 day 2 +$620 day 3 +$480 day 4 +$310 day 5 +$90 day 6 +$420 day 7 +$130 total +$3,200 balance $53,200

Example rules (yours will differ): a qualifying day is at least $150 of profit, you need 5 of them, the consistency cap is 35%, you must leave a $500 buffer, and the largest single payout is $3,000.

1. Qualifying days PASS

Count only the days that clear the amount. Days 5 and 7 made money but didn’t reach $150.

days of $150 or more: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 = 5 days needed: 5 result: pass, with no days to spare

2. Consistency FAIL

Your best day, as a share of your total profit, has to sit under the cap.

best day 1,150 / 3,200 = 35.9% cap 35% needed 1,150 / 0.35 = $3,286 to make $86 more, with no new day above $1,150

Read your firm’s wording. Some use total profit and others use winning days only. Some raise the target instead of failing you. “At most” and “under” treat a day that lands exactly on the cap differently.

3. Buffer and limits CHECK

Many firms want some profit left in the account after a payout, and many cap each request.

balance now $53,200 starting balance $50,000 buffer to leave $500 available $2,700 largest payout allowed $3,000 most you can ask for $2,700

Ask for $3,000 and the request fails, even though you’re $3,200 up. The check is the smaller of the two numbers.

4. A rule outside the numbers CHECK

Some firms also look at how you traded: minimum trade length, banned news times, copied trades, linked accounts. These sit in the terms you agreed to. No calculator can read them for you, so find yours before payout day. The rules that aren’t about numbers are a good place to start.

5. Room after the payout CHECK

A payout lowers your balance. Before you ask, work out how far above your drawdown line you’ll be once the money has left. The drawdown runway calculator shows that room in dollars and in losing trades.

The result in this example

Not yet. The consistency check fails by $86 of profit, and the amount you can ask for is $2,700, not $3,000. Fix those two and the request is ready. Nobody was looking for a reason to say no; these are the terms of the product, the same for everyone who bought it.

If a check fails

Ask which rule, in writing. You need the exact clause to fix it.
Fix that one thing. Usually that means more qualifying days, or more profit without a new best day.
Check again before you resubmit. A second refusal can cost more days.

If a request was refused or denied and you want the longer version, read why a prop firm payout is refused or denied.

Run your own numbers

The free payout-day check takes your daily results and your firm’s payout rules, then shows each check as pass or fail. Nothing leaves your browser.

Open the payout-day check

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

Payout-day checkCan you request a payout yet? All checks, pass or fail. Consistency rule calculatorHow much more you need, and the day size to stay under. Drawdown runway calculatorRoom above the line, in dollars and in losing trades. Free lesson: know what you’re buyingThe rules to read before you buy an evaluation.

Nobody pays us. No referral fee, affiliate commission or rebate from any prop firm, broker or platform. Firms word their rules differently; your firm’s own rules page always wins. Risk Disclosure

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

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Prop firm rules checklist

The questions to answer from a firm’s own rules page before you buy an evaluation. Drawdown type, daily limit, consistency, payouts, every fee.

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The Desk (new)Write 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.Payout-day checkCan you request a payout yet? Qualifying days, consistency, buffer and limits.Prop firm rule decoderWhere the line that closes your account actually sits, and what open profit costs you.Am I ready to size up?Four checks on your own record. Not yet, hold, or one step up.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.

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Every result here is arithmetic on the numbers you type, not a prediction. Futures trading carries real risk of loss: read the Risk Disclosure.

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Journal & Workbook

The same arithmetic in a 500-row trade log that keeps score: your win-rate range, break-even, average result per trade, results by setup, and what rule breaks cost you. Plus an 18-page printable workbook.

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