When it moves: at the close
Your drawdown level is your highest session-close balance less your allowance. It is recalculated once a day, at the 5:00 p.m. New York close, and it only goes up. A high during the day does not move it. Once it reaches your starting balance plus $100 it stops rising and stays there.
When it is checked: all session
The check is live. If your equity, your balance plus open profit and loss, touches the level at any moment during a session, the account breaches and trading on it ends.
| Account | Allowance | Level starts at | Level stops at |
|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000 | $1,000.00 | $24,000.00 | $25,100.00 |
| $50,000 | $1,675.00 | $48,325.00 | $50,100.00 |
| $100,000 | $3,050.00 | $96,950.00 | $100,100.00 |
| $150,000 | $4,425.00 | $145,575.00 | $150,100.00 |
| $300,000 | $8,550.00 | $291,450.00 | $300,100.00 |
Example: a $50,000 account
- You start at $50,000.00, so your level is $48,325.00.
- You close the day at $51,000.00. The next day’s level is $49,325.00.
- During the next day you are up to $51,600.00 but close at $51,200.00. The level moves to the new closing high less the allowance; the $51,600.00 intraday high never counts.
- Once you close at $51,775.00 or higher, the level reaches $50,100.00 and stops there. Every gain after that adds to your room.
- A losing day never lowers the level.
Payouts and resets
A payout does not move the level. It comes out of your room above the level, so you can only take what sits above it, and a payout can never be what breaches your account. Only a reset puts the level back to where it started.
The level stops rising at your starting balance plus $100. However large the balance grows after that, the level stays there.
This article is a summary. Your signed Plan and Rules Snapshot, the Trader Agreement and the Payout Policy govern where they differ.