Rule Presets
Challenge Mode ships with ten rule presets — six futures, four forex. The three futures presets on this page share one rule shape: end-of-day trailing drawdown that locks at the starting balance, a daily loss limit, a single evaluation phase with a profit target, a 50% consistency soft gate, a contract scaling plan, and simulated withdrawals in the performance phase. This page covers what each preset contains, how every rule is calculated, and where the simulation simplifies.
Preset account sizes
Each preset carries its own drawdown limit and profit targets. Load one as-is, or choose Custom and set every value yourself.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Starting balance | $50,000 |
| Max trailing drawdown | $2,000 |
| Daily loss limit | $1,000 |
| Profit target | $3,000 |
| Minimum trading days | 2 |
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Starting balance | $100,000 |
| Max trailing drawdown | $3,000 |
| Daily loss limit | $2,000 |
| Profit target | $6,000 |
| Minimum trading days | 2 |
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Starting balance | $150,000 |
| Max trailing drawdown | $4,500 |
| Daily loss limit | $2,500 |
| Profit target | $9,000 |
| Minimum trading days | 2 |
How each rule is calculated
Trailing drawdown calculation
The trailing drawdown is the most commonly misunderstood rule and the number one reason traders fail. The presets use the EOD-trailing-with-lock model:
- Your maximum drawdown starts at a fixed amount below your starting balance (e.g., $2,000 below $50,000 = $48,000 floor)
- The floor trails your end-of-day closing balance high-water mark: at each trading-day rollover, if the previous day closed at a new balance high, the floor moves up to (new high − max drawdown). It does not move intraday — winning trades during the session do not ratchet the floor up until the day rolls over (this is the “EOD with lock” variant)
- The floor never moves down — it only goes up or stays flat
- Once the end-of-day high-water mark reaches (starting balance + max drawdown), the floor locks at your starting balance and stops trailing
Example: You start at $50,000 with a $2,000 trailing drawdown. Your floor is $48,000. The floor is re-evaluated only at each end of day:
| Day | End-of-day balance | Drawdown floor after rollover | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | $50,000 | $48,000 | Floor = balance - $2,000 |
| Day 1 EOD | $51,200 | $49,200 | New high — floor trails up to $51,200 - $2,000 |
| Day 2 EOD | $50,800 | $49,200 | No new high — floor stays (doesn’t go down) |
| Day 3 EOD | $52,500 | $50,000 | High-water reached $52,000+ — floor locks at starting balance |
| Day 4 EOD | $54,000 | $50,000 | Locked — floor stays at $50,000 forever |
If your equity ever touches or drops below the current floor — including intraday, on unrealized losses — you fail the evaluation. Trading days roll over at 22:00 UTC (~5:00 PM CT, the Globex open).
Daily loss limit
Each trading day has a separate loss cap. TestMax tracks your daily P&L from the start of each session and flags a violation if you exceed the limit. This is calculated on realized and unrealized P&L combined — an open losing position counts against your daily limit.
Profit targets
Each phase has a net profit target you must reach. TestMax measures profit from your balance at the start of the current phase (Phase 2’s target is measured from the balance you carried into it, not from the account size) and advances you when the target is met (provided you have also met the minimum trading days requirement).
Minimum trading days
You must trade on at least the required number of distinct trading days before you can pass a phase. A “trading day” counts if at least one order filled on that simulation date (days roll over at 22:00 UTC). The requirement applies per phase — the counter resets when you advance to Phase 2.
Consistency (soft gate)
The presets apply a consistency soft gate: your single best day must stay at or below 50% of the profit target. Exceeding it never fails the account — your effective profit target rises to best day ÷ 0.50 and you keep trading until you reach it. See Rules & Limits for a worked example.
Contract limits and scaling plan
Each preset enforces a maximum position size and includes a progressive scaling plan: the contract cap grows as your account profit crosses each scaling step. The cap is re-evaluated on every order and fill against your current profit (balance above the starting balance), so it steps up when you pass a threshold — and steps back down if your balance later falls below one.
| Preset | Starting cap | Scales up with profit |
|---|---|---|
| $50K | 5 contracts | 7 at +$1,500 · 10 at +$2,500 |
| $100K | 10 contracts | 14 at +$3,000 · 20 at +$5,000 |
| $150K | 15 contracts | 21 at +$4,500 · 30 at +$7,000 |
An order that would push your open position above the current cap is rejected — the challenge continues; exceeding the cap is not a violation. The scaling steps are editable in the challenge configuration, or scaling can be disabled for a fixed cap.
Simulated withdrawals (performance phase)
Once you pass into the performance phase, you can request simulated withdrawals from the web app while the challenge is active; the same endpoint is also exposed through the Simulator API. The presets apply these rules:
| Requirement | Value |
|---|---|
| Winning days since last withdrawal | 5 days of $150+ net P&L each (non-consecutive) |
| Net profit since last withdrawal | Must be positive |
| Minimum withdrawal | $125 |
| Maximum per request | 50% of performance-phase profit, up to $2,000 / $3,000 / $5,000 ($50K / $100K / $150K) |
| Consistency path (optional) | Best day ≤ 40% of window profit to be eligible |
When a withdrawal completes:
- The amount is deducted from your account balance immediately
- The maximum-loss floor locks at your starting balance permanently
- The winning-day count and consistency window reset — the new window starts on the next trading day
Only profit earned after entering the performance phase can be withdrawn; evaluation-phase profit does not count. Withdrawals are simulated numbers — nothing is transferred.
What TestMax simplifies
While TestMax aims for accuracy, there are some practical differences from trading the same rule set in real time:
Historical data
TestMax replays historical data, which means you know the market date in advance. This is inherent to any backtesting/replay system. To get the most realistic practice, avoid looking ahead at dates you already remember.
Commission and fees
TestMax does not currently deduct per-trade commissions or exchange fees from your account balance. Real-world commissions (typically $3-5 per round turn for NQ) reduce net P&L. Keep this in mind when evaluating your results — if your simulation P&L is barely above the profit target, commissions would put you under.
Restarting
Start a new challenge at any time; the previous one is archived. There is no cost to another attempt.
Starting a challenge
- Navigate to Challenge Mode in the session setup
- Select a preset account size or choose Custom to set your own parameters
- Choose your drawdown type — the built-in presets use “Trailing EOD with Lock”
- Verify the profit targets, daily loss limit, and minimum trading days match the rule set you want to practice
- Click Start Evaluation to begin Phase 1
You can have one active challenge at a time. Starting a new challenge will archive your current one.
Building a custom rule set
Choose Custom and set every value yourself: drawdown model (static, trailing intraday, trailing EOD, or trailing EOD with lock), drawdown amount, per-phase profit targets, daily loss limit, minimum trading days, consistency percentage, session window, and overnight or weekend holding rules. Rules & Limits explains how each one is calculated.