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Prop Account Survival Kit
Most funded accounts are lost to one bad day, not to a bad strategy. Work out how much you can still lose today, then set a hard stop that enforces it.
1. Daily-loss calculator
Enter your numbers. The calculator uses the common rule: the daily limit is a percent of the starting balance, counted down from today's starting equity, and the max loss is a percent of the starting balance. Check how your firm measures both.
The daily line ($95,000.00) is above the max-loss line ($90,000.00), so the daily line binds today.
2. Equity Guardian presets
Pick the row that matches your firm's published limits and type the values into the inputs. Leave Close_On_Trip off on day one: the Journal prints WOULD TRIP lines with the limits in money. Switch it on once the numbers match your firm's.
| Your firm's rule | Daily limit / buffer (%) | Max loss / buffer (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 % daily, 10 % max | 5 / 1 | 10 / 1 |
| 4 % daily, 8 % max | 4 / 0.8 | 8 / 1 |
| 3 % daily, 6 % max | 3 / 0.6 | 6 / 1 |
| Your own account | 2 / 0.4 | 10 / 1 |
Inputs: Daily_Limit_Percent / Daily_Buffer_Percent and Max_Loss_Percent / Max_Loss_Buffer_Percent. Also set Percent_Reference_USD to your starting balance (for example 100000), Day_Reset_Server_Hour to the server hour your firm's day starts, and Close_On_Trip to true after day one.
A buffer of about a fifth of the daily limit leaves room for slippage and for the time a close takes. On a prop-firm demo server a forced trip left the account flat 688 ms later (one measurement).
Run it on a VPS and keep the terminal connected, and your protection works around the clock.
3. Eight checks for choosing an EA
A good EA answers these in numbers; see how PropGold answers them on its product page.
- Was the backtest run on real ticks or on generated ticks? Ask for the tick model: generated ticks often flatter a strategy.
- Which spread was used? Compare the tester's spread with your broker's live spread at the hour the EA trades.
- What was the worst equity drawdown, not only the balance drawdown? Open trades can sink far below the closed-trade curve.
- Is there a stop loss on every trade? Then every loss is capped before the trade even opens.
- Was it tested in both trending and trendless years? Ask for results per period, not one total.
- Does it fit your prop firm's rules: daily loss, max loss, news trading, consistency, and limits on EAs or copy trading?
- What does it need to run: a VPS, a particular broker server time, a hedging or netting account, a minimum balance?
- What does the seller promise? A fixed monthly percent, or a promise of no losing months, is a reason to walk away.
Questions about your firm's rules or these settings? Message us on Telegram
Trading forex and CFDs carries a high risk of losing money. This kit is general information, not advice, and FX4You is not affiliated with any prop firm.