# Get Funded Now (GFN) - full corpus > Every rules explainer, glossary definition, guide, trading lesson, instrument page and market page > published at https://getfundednow.com, as markdown. The brief - prices, programmes, the full rules handbook and > every FAQ answer - is https://getfundednow.com/llms.txt. Generated 2026-09-25. All trading at Get Funded Now is simulated. "Funded" always means a simulated or virtual account. GFN is not a broker, does not hold client funds and does not undertake regulated activities. Nothing here is investment advice. Every section ends with the URL of the page it came from; cite that page. ## Rules explained one at a time (30 topics) ### What is the daily loss limit? The daily loss limit is the most you may lose in one trading day before the account breaches. It is 3% on Instant and 5% on 1 Step and 2 Step, which is $3,000 or $5,000 on a $100,000 simulated account. Floating losses, closed losses and trading costs all count toward it. - Instant daily loss limit: $3,000 - 1 Step daily loss limit: $5,000 - 2 Step daily loss limit: $5,000 - 2 Step free retake: $3,000 - What counts toward it: Everything - Measured from: The prior day's close #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | 3% ($3,000) | Instant runs the tightest daily limit of the three: 3%, or $3,000 on a $100,000 account. | | 1 Step | applies | 5% ($5,000) | 5% in both the evaluation and the simulated funded account that follows it. | | 2 Step | applies | 5% ($5,000) | 5% across both phases. A free retake drops to 3%. | #### Why the rule exists A daily limit stops one bad session from ending an account that a trader has otherwise managed well, and it stops the firm carrying a position it never agreed to. It is also the rule that ends most evaluations, which is why it is published in dollars here rather than left as a percentage for you to convert under pressure. #### A losing day on a $100,000 1 Step account You closed yesterday at $100,000. That closing balance, not your starting balance, is what today's limit is measured from. - Today's loss limit: $5,000 - 5% of the prior day's closing balance. - Breach level for the day: $95,000 - Equity, not balance. An open trade sitting at this level breaches it. - After a $3,000 realised loss: $2,000 left - Commission and spread on the day come out of the same buffer. If equity touches $95,000 at any point, even for a few seconds, the account is breached. A recovery later in the session does not reverse it. #### Common misreadings - **It resets at midnight in my timezone** It resets at the time shown in your dashboard. Assuming local midnight is how traders end up opening a position into the last ten minutes of the old day. - **Only closed losses count** Equity is monitored, so an open position in drawdown counts against the limit while it is still running. - **I went through it briefly but recovered** A hard limit is absolute. Crossing it for seconds breaches the account, and a later recovery does not undo the breach. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/daily-loss-limit ### What is maximum drawdown? Maximum drawdown is the total loss an account may take before it is closed. It is 5% on Instant and 8% on 1 Step and 2 Step, which is $5,000 or $8,000 on a $100,000 simulated account. It is measured on equity, so an open position can breach it. - Instant max drawdown: $5,000 - 1 Step max drawdown: $8,000 - 2 Step max drawdown: $8,000 - 2 Step free retake: $4,000 - Measured on: Equity #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | 5% trailing ($5,000) | Starts at $95,000 on a $100,000 account and trails your equity high upward. | | 1 Step | applies | 8% trailing, locks at starting balance ($8,000) | The floor starts at $92,000 and trails $8,000 below your equity high. Once equity peaks at $108,000 the floor reaches your $100,000 starting balance and locks there - it does not trail past it. 8% is standard; 10% needs the optional add-on at checkout. | | 2 Step | applies | 8% fixed ($8,000) | Never trails. The stop-out level sits at $92,000 from day one and stays there. | #### Why the rule exists Maximum drawdown is the limit on the whole account rather than the day. Without it a trader could lose a little every day indefinitely and never technically breach anything. It is the rule that decides how long a losing run can go on, which makes it the number worth knowing before the run starts rather than during it. #### The same 8% on two programmes Both the 1 Step and the 2 Step publish 8%. What the figure does once you are in profit is not the same. - 2 Step floor at $100,000: $92,000 - Fixed. It does not move. - 2 Step floor after a $10,000 run: $92,000 - Still fixed. Your cushion is now $18,000 rather than $8,000. - Instant floor at $100,000: $95,000 - Trailing, and only $5,000 below the start. - Instant floor after a $6,000 run: $101,000 - The floor has followed the equity high up. A trailing drawdown protects gains you have already made and tightens the account as you profit. A fixed one gives you more room the further you run. Neither is better in the abstract - they suit different traders, which is why we publish both. #### Common misreadings - **A new trading day clears it** It does not. The daily loss limit resets each day; maximum drawdown is cumulative over the life of the account. - **Profits later on cancel an earlier breach** A hard breach is recorded at the moment the level is crossed. Recovering afterwards does not reverse it. - **Only closed trades matter** The measurement is on equity. An open position in drawdown can breach the account before you have closed anything. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/max-drawdown ### What is trailing drawdown? A trailing drawdown moves up as your equity makes new highs, so the stop-out level tightens as you profit. Instant uses a 5% trailing drawdown, $5,000 on a $100,000 simulated account. The 2 Step drawdown does not trail. Check which one your programme uses before you size a position. - Instant trailing drawdown: $5,000 - Floor after a $6,000 run: $101,000 - 1 Step: 8% trailing, locks at starting balance - 1 Step lock point: $108,000 - 2 Step: Does not trail - Tracked on: Equity high #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | Yes - 5% trailing | The floor starts at $95,000 and rises with each new equity high. This is the trade-off for having no evaluation to pass. | | 1 Step | applies | Yes - 8% trailing, locks at starting balance | The floor starts at $92,000 and trails $8,000 below your equity high. Once equity peaks at $108,000 the floor reaches your $100,000 starting balance and locks there - it does not trail past it. | | 2 Step | none | No | The 2 Step uses a 8% non-trailing drawdown. The floor sits at $92,000 and does not move. | #### Why the rule exists A trailing drawdown locks in gains on an account that was funded without an evaluation. It is a fair exchange rather than a trick: you skipped the phase that proves the strategy, so the account protects what the strategy earns as it earns it. It also means a strong run makes the account tighter, not looser, which is the part worth planning for. #### A trailing floor on a $100,000 Instant account Follow the floor rather than the balance. The floor is what ends the account. - Day 1 equity: $100,000 - Floor: $95,000 - Day 8 equity high: $106,000 - Floor moves to $101,000 - Day 12 equity: $102,000 - Floor stays at $101,000. It never comes back down. At $102,000 you are $2,000 up on the start and $1,000 above the floor - less room than you had on day one, despite being in profit. #### Common misreadings - **The floor comes back down if I give profit back** It does not. A trailing floor ratchets upward only. - **It trails my balance** It follows the equity high, which includes unrealised gains on open positions. A trade that goes well and then comes back can move the floor up on the way. - **Every prop account works this way** Ours do not. The 2 Step uses a fixed 8% floor, which is the opposite behaviour and a deliberate choice between the two. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/trailing-drawdown ### What is static, non-trailing drawdown? A non-trailing drawdown is measured against your starting balance and never follows your equity up. The 2 Step uses 8%, so a $100,000 simulated account stops out at $92,000 however far into profit you run. Instant trails instead, which is the tighter arrangement. - 2 Step max drawdown: $8,000 - Stop-out level: $92,000 - Cushion at break-even: $8,000 - Cushion at $115,000: $23,000 - 2 Step free retake: $4,000 #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | none | No - trails | Instant uses a 5% trailing drawdown. The floor follows your equity high, so it is not fixed. | | 1 Step | none | No - trails, then locks at $100,000 | The floor starts at $92,000 and trails $8,000 below your equity high. Once equity peaks at $108,000 the floor reaches your $100,000 starting balance and locks there - it does not trail past it. From that point it is a fixed floor, but not from day one. | | 2 Step | applies | Yes - 8% fixed | The floor is $92,000 on a $100,000 account from the first trade to the last. | #### Why the rule exists A fixed floor lets a trader plan a whole evaluation from one number. It also means a good run genuinely buys room rather than tightening the account, which suits a strategy with long, uneven profit curves. The cost is on the other side of the ledger: the 2 Step is two phases, carries a consistency rule, and asks for three trading days. #### A $100,000 2 Step account through a good month The floor is the same number at every step of this. - Start: $100,000 - Floor $92,000, cushion $8,000 - After phase 1 target: $108,000 - Floor $92,000, cushion $16,000 - Drawdown back to break-even: $100,000 - Still inside the rules. You gave back profit, not room. On a trailing account the same sequence would have moved the floor up to roughly $103,000 and the retracement would have been a breach. That is the whole difference between the two. #### Common misreadings - **Non-trailing means balance-based** It is still measured on equity. An open floating loss that takes equity through the floor breaches the account even though the balance has not moved. - **It applies to every GFN programme** It does not. Instant uses a 5% trailing drawdown, and the 1 Step's 8% trails too until it locks at your starting balance. This page exists so nobody buys the wrong one on that assumption. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/non-trailing-drawdown ### Is there a consistency rule? Instant and 1 Step have no consistency rule. The 2 Step does: no single trading day may account for more than 35% of your total profit. Anyone telling you GFN has no consistency rule at all is describing two of our three programmes, and this is the page that says which two. - Instant consistency rule: None - 1 Step consistency rule: None - 2 Step consistency rule: 35% max in one day - Total profit needed to carry a $4,000 best day: $11,429 - Phase 1 target on a $100,000 2 Step: $8,000 #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | none | None | No consistency rule at any stage. One outsized day does not need to be balanced by others. | | 1 Step | none | None | No consistency rule in the evaluation or on the simulated funded account that follows it. | | 2 Step | applies | 35% max in one day | This is the rule traders most often misread. One large day on an otherwise flat account does not pass, even when the balance is above target. | #### Why the rule exists A consistency rule asks whether a result came from a strategy or from one position that happened to work. It is a real constraint and it does fail accounts that are technically in profit, which is why it is stated here in full rather than as a footnote. The two programmes without it are priced and structured differently precisely because they carry more of that risk. #### Clearing the 35% rule on a $100,000 2 Step Phase 1 asks for $8,000. Here is a run that reaches it and still is not finished. - Day 1: +$4,500 - A strong session. - Days 2-6: +$3,500 - Total profit $8,000, target met. - Best day as a share: 56% - Above the 35% limit, so the phase is not complete. - Total profit needed: $12,857 - At that total, the $4,500 day is 35% of profit and the rule is satisfied. You keep trading until total profit reaches about $12,857, or until the best day is no longer the outlier. The dashboard calculation is the official one. #### Common misreadings - **GFN has no consistency rule** True of Instant and 1 Step. Not true of the 2 Step, which applies 35%. Buying the 2 Step on the strength of the first half of that sentence is the single most common misunderstanding on this site. - **It applies to the funded account too** The consistency metric is an evaluation requirement on the 2 Step. Check your dashboard for what is active on your account rather than assuming either way. - **I can fix it by closing a losing trade** The ratio is best day over total profit. It improves by adding profit on other days, not by reducing the best one. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/no-consistency-rule ### Is there a time limit? None of the three programmes has a deadline. There is no 30-day window and no expiry on an evaluation. The trade-off is that the risk limits apply for as long as the account is open, so a slow pace does not soften the daily loss limit or the maximum drawdown. Inactivity rules still apply. - Instant time limit: None - 1 Step time limit: None - 2 Step time limit: None - Minimum trading days: 3 on 2 Step only - Inactivity: Still applies #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | none | No time limit | There is no evaluation to finish, so there is nothing to finish it by. | | 1 Step | none | No time limit | The 10% target has no deadline. It can be completed in one day if every rule is followed. | | 2 Step | none | No time limit | Neither phase expires, though the 3-day minimum means the 2 Step cannot be finished in a single session. | #### Why the rule exists A deadline changes how people trade, and rarely for the better - it pushes size up in the last week of a window. Removing it is not generosity; it simply moves the constraint to where it belongs, which is the risk limits. Those do not relax with time. #### Two traders, same programme Both buy a $100,000 1 Step with a $10,000 target. - Trader A: 9 days - Two good weeks, target cleared. - Trader B: 7 months - Trades a few sessions a month around a job. - Rules applied: Identical - 5% daily loss limit and 8% maximum drawdown throughout, for both. Neither pays anything further and neither is penalised for pace. Trader B's only additional consideration is the inactivity policy, which asks for occasional activity rather than a schedule. #### Common misreadings - **No time limit means I never have to trade** An account with no activity at all can be closed under the inactivity policy. The absence of a deadline is not an absence of a relationship. - **It means the account never expires** A breach ends it at any point, at any pace. Time is not the constraint; the risk limits are. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/no-time-limit ### Is there a minimum number of trading days? Instant and 1 Step have no minimum trading days, so a 1 Step evaluation can be completed in a single session. The 2 Step requires at least 3 separate trading days with 0.5% profit, which is $500 on a $100,000 simulated account. Every other rule applies on those days as normal. - Instant minimum days: None - 1 Step minimum days: None - 2 Step minimum days: 3 days - 2 Step profit requirement: $500 - What counts as a trading day: A day with a trade #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | none | None | The account is funded from day one, so there is no day count to satisfy. | | 1 Step | none | None | Clear the 10% target inside the rules and the number of days it took is not a factor. | | 2 Step | applies | 3 days, 0.5% profit | You need $500 of virtual profit on a $100,000 account spread across at least 3 separate days. This rules out passing the 2 Step in one session. | #### Why the rule exists A day count is a light test of whether a result is repeatable. It is also the reason the 2 Step is the cheapest way in: the programme asks for more evidence and charges less for the attempt. If trading infrequently is the plan, that combination is worth reading twice before buying. #### Hitting phase 1 in two days on a $100,000 2 Step The $8,000 target is met. The phase is not. - Day 1: +$5,000 - Day 2: +$3,000 - Total $8,000 - target reached. - Trading days so far: 2 of 3 - One more day with a trade is still required. - Consistency check: Best day 63% - Also above the 35% limit, so there is more to do than one extra day. Two rules are open at once here, which is the usual shape of a stalled 2 Step. Both are published, both are in the dashboard, and neither is discretionary. #### Common misreadings - **GFN has no minimum trading days** True of Instant and 1 Step, false of the 2 Step, which asks for 3 days and 0.5% profit. - **Opening a platform counts as a trading day** A day counts when a trade is placed on it. The dashboard is the record. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/no-minimum-trading-days ### How much of the profit do I keep? The virtual profit share is 70% on Instant and 80% on 1 Step and 2 Step. It rises to 90% with an optional add-on bought at checkout, which is an extra rather than the default. A 2 Step free retake pays 60%. Simulated profits are shared; the account is never real capital. - Instant virtual profit share: 70% - 1 Step and 2 Step, standard: 80% - With the checkout add-on: 90% - 2 Step free retake: 60% - Your share of $10,000 at 80%: $8,000 - Your share of $10,000 at 90%: $9,000 #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | 70% | 70%, with no upgrade available. Withdrawals are also capped at 2% of the account per cycle, which matters more than the split for most Instant traders. | | 1 Step | applies | 80%, or 90% | 80% as standard. 90% requires the optional add-on at checkout. | | 2 Step | applies | 80%, or 90% | 80% as standard, 90% with the add-on - and 60% on a free retake. | #### Why the rule exists The split is how the firm is paid for carrying the simulated risk and running the programme. Publishing it with its conditions attached is the part most firms skip: 'up to 90%' on its own is not a rate, it is a ceiling, and the difference between the ceiling and the standard rate is a paid add-on. #### What a $10,000 virtual profit pays Same profit, three programmes, before any payout processing. - Instant at 70%: $7,000 - Capped at $2,000 per cycle on a $100,000 account, so this arrives across several cycles. - 1 Step at 80%: $8,000 - 1 Step at 90%: $9,000 - With the add-on bought at checkout. - 2 Step retake at 60%: $6,000 Profits are simulated and the share is paid on them. Nothing here is a projection of what an account will make - it is arithmetic on a figure you choose. #### Common misreadings - **Everyone gets 90%** The standard rate is 80% on 1 Step and 2 Step and 70% on Instant. 90% is an optional paid add-on at checkout. - **The split is what I can withdraw** On Instant, withdrawals are separately capped at 2% of the account per cycle above a 3% buffer. The split and the cap are two different rules. - **A retake keeps my original rate** It does not. A 2 Step free retake leads to a 60% share. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/profit-split ### How often do I get paid? Payouts run on a 14-day cycle. The clock starts at your first trade on a simulated funded account, not at purchase and not at your first evaluation trade, so buying an account on the 1st does not make the 15th a payout date. Subsequent cycles run every 14 calendar days while the account stays eligible. - Standard payout period: Every 14 days - Clock starts: First funded trade - Counted in: Calendar days - Faster cycle: 7 days, as an add-on - Instant withdrawal cap: $2,000 per cycle - KYC: Before payout #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | Every 14 days, capped | The account is funded from purchase, but the timer still starts at your first trade. Each cycle is capped at $2,000 on a $100,000 account, above a $3,000 buffer. | | 1 Step | applies | Every 14 days | Starts at the first trade on the funded account after you pass. Evaluation trades do not start the clock. A 7-day cycle is available as a paid add-on. | | 2 Step | applies | Every 14 days | Same rule: the timer begins on the funded account, after both phases are complete. | #### Why the rule exists A fixed cycle is easier to plan around than a discretionary one, and stating where the clock starts prevents the most common payout dispute on the site. The honest part of this page is the limitation: the timer ignores everything you did during the evaluation, however long that took. #### A 1 Step from purchase to first payout Dates are illustrative; the rule is the sequence, not the calendar. - 1 January: Account purchased - The payout clock does not start here. - 3 January: First evaluation trade - Still does not start here. - 20 January: 10% target cleared - Funded account issued after any checks. - 22 January: First funded trade - The 14-day clock starts here. - 5 February: First payout eligible - 14 calendar days later. You are not obliged to withdraw on an eligible date. Profits can stay in the account, though a payout does reduce the cushion above your drawdown level. #### Common misreadings - **The 14 days start when I buy** They start at the first trade on the funded account. This is the most common payout misunderstanding we see. - **I have to trade every day in the cycle** You do not. The cycle counts calendar days. - **A payout closes the account** It does not. It reduces the profit in the account, which reduces the cushion above your drawdown level - that is the consequence worth planning for. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/payouts ### Is there a withdrawal cap? Instant caps each 14-day withdrawal at 2% of your starting balance, and you must be 3% above that balance first. On a $100,000 simulated account that is $2,000 per cycle, available from $103,000. The 1 Step and 2 Step programmes have no withdrawal cap. - Instant cap per cycle: $2,000 - Minimum withdrawal buffer: $3,000 - What happens above the cap: Deducted, not paid - 1 Step cap: None - 2 Step cap: None #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | 2% per cycle, 3% buffer | $2,000 per cycle on a $100,000 account. Profit above the buffer leaves the account whether or not it is inside the cap. | | 1 Step | none | No cap | Eligible virtual profits can be requested in full on a payout date. | | 2 Step | none | No cap | Same as 1 Step: no per-cycle ceiling. | #### Why the rule exists Instant funds an account without an evaluation, and the cap is part of how that is underwritten. It is the single most important thing to understand about the programme, and it is why the Instant page states it above the fold rather than in a footnote. If withdrawing everything in a cycle matters to you, the 1 Step and 2 Step do not cap. #### Requesting a withdrawal on a $100,000 Instant account The account shows $6,000 of virtual profit at $106,000. - Buffer that must stay: $3,000 - The account cannot go below $103,000 through a withdrawal. - Profit above the buffer: $3,000 - All of it leaves the account on the request. - You receive: $2,000 - The 2% cap. - Deducted but not paid: $1,000 - The amount above the cap. - Account resets to: $103,000 - Against a $98,000 drawdown floor. Requesting at $5,000 of profit rather than $6,000 would have left nothing deducted above the cap. Timing the request against the cap is the difference, and it is worth doing the arithmetic first. #### Common misreadings - **Profit above the cap stays in the account** It does not. On a withdrawal request, everything above the buffer leaves; you are paid up to the cap and the balance above it is deducted. - **The cap applies to every GFN programme** Only Instant has a withdrawal cap. 1 Step and 2 Step have none. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/withdrawal-cap ### What leverage do I get? Leverage is up to 1:50 on Instant, 1 Step and 2 Step, and can be lower on some instruments. It sets how large a position your margin supports. It does not change the daily loss limit or the maximum drawdown, so more leverage buys size, not room. - Instant leverage: Up to 1:50 - 1 Step leverage: Up to 1:50 - 2 Step leverage: Up to 1:50 - Varies by instrument: Yes - Daily loss limit at up to 1:50: $5,000 #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | Up to 1:50 | Same leverage as the other two, against the tightest daily loss limit we publish at 3%. | | 1 Step | applies | Up to 1:50 | Can be lower on individual instruments. | | 2 Step | applies | Up to 1:50 | Can be lower on individual instruments. | #### Why the rule exists Leverage is a margin mechanism, not a risk allowance. Publishing one figure across all three programmes keeps the difference between them where it belongs - in the loss limits - rather than hiding a second variable in the margin table. #### What up to 1:50 means on a $100,000 account Position size is set by margin. The loss limits are set by the programme. - Account: $100,000 - Notional supported: $5,000,000 - At up to 1:50, subject to the instrument. - 2 Step daily loss limit: $5,000 - Identical whether you use the leverage or not. - 2 Step drawdown floor: $92,000 - Also unchanged. A larger position reaches the daily loss limit faster. That is the practical effect of leverage here: it shortens the distance to the limit rather than moving it. #### Common misreadings - **Higher leverage means a bigger drawdown allowance** It does not. Leverage and the risk limits are separate rules and the limits do not move. - **Every instrument gets the same leverage** Up to 1:50 is a ceiling. Individual instruments can carry less. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/leverage ### What does trading cost? Commission is $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn on all three programmes, charged on the simulated account. It is not a separate bill. It comes out of the same buffer the daily loss limit measures, so costs on a heavy day reduce the room you have left before a breach. - Commission per side: $3.50 - Round turn per lot: $7.00 - Charged on: The simulated account - Cost of 10 round-turn lots: $70 - Account fee: One-time #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn | Against a 3% daily loss limit, so costs eat a larger share of the buffer here than on the other two. | | 1 Step | applies | $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn | Against a 5% daily loss limit. | | 2 Step | applies | $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn | Against a 5% daily loss limit. | #### Why the rule exists Costs are the part of the arithmetic traders most often leave out of a risk plan, and they are the reason an account can breach on a day that looked flat. Publishing them per lot, rather than as a spread footnote, makes the daily buffer calculable before the session rather than after it. #### A busy day on a $100,000 Instant account The daily loss limit is $3,000. Costs come out of that. - 40 round-turn lots: $280 (40 × $7.00) - Realised trading loss: $2,600 - Total against the limit: $2,880 - Buffer remaining: $120 A day that felt like a $2,600 loss is $2,880 against the limit. On the tighter Instant buffer that is the difference between a bad day and a breached account. #### Common misreadings - **Commission is billed separately** It is charged on the simulated account, which is why it affects the risk limits. - **Costs do not count toward the daily loss limit** Commission, spread and slippage all reduce the available daily buffer. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/commission ### Can I trade the news? News trading is permitted during an evaluation. On a simulated funded account the published restriction applies: profits from trades opened or closed within three minutes before or after a high-impact release may be removed. Instant starts at the funded stage, so that window applies from your first trade rather than later. - During an evaluation: Permitted - On a funded account: Restricted window - Consequence: Profits may be removed - Instant: Funded from day one - Spreads around releases: Widen #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | Funded rule from day one | Because Instant begins at the funded stage, there is no evaluation period during which news trading is unrestricted. | | 1 Step | partial | Free in evaluation, restricted when funded | News trading is permitted while you work toward the 10% target. Once funded, the three-minute window applies. | | 2 Step | partial | Free in both phases, restricted when funded | Same structure: unrestricted during the evaluation, restricted on the funded account. | #### Why the rule exists Execution around a high-impact release is not a fair test of a strategy for either side - spreads widen, fills move, and a result can turn on latency rather than judgement. Removing the profit from that window is a narrower response than closing an account, which is why the published rule is written that way. #### A release on a funded account The window is six minutes wide in total, centred on the release. - 13:27: Position opened - Inside the three minutes before. The window applies. - 13:30: Release - 13:33: Window closes - Trade result: +$900 - Profit from that trade may be removed under the published rule. Opening at 13:24 and closing at 13:26 would sit outside the window, but would also be inside the two-minute minimum hold if opened later than 13:25. The two rules interact, and both are checked. #### Common misreadings - **News trading is banned** It is not. It is unrestricted during an evaluation and restricted to a window on a funded account. - **The restriction only applies to the release I traded** It applies to relevant high-impact events. An economic calendar before the session is the practical answer. - **A wide spread during news excuses a breach** It does not. Widening and slippage are conditions you are trading in, and a breach stands. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/news-trading ### Are expert advisors allowed? Automated trading is allowed on all three programmes where it represents legitimate trading and follows every other rule, including the two-minute minimum hold. An advisor you built yourself is fine. Third-party systems designed or marketed to pass prop-firm evaluations may be prohibited, and identical activity across many accounts is reviewed. - Your own advisor: Allowed - Challenge-passing systems: May be prohibited - Minimum hold still applies: 2 minutes - Shared advisors across accounts: Reviewed - Hosting: VPS permitted #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | Allowed, with conditions | Same rule on all three programmes. | | 1 Step | applies | Allowed, with conditions | In the evaluation and on the funded account. | | 2 Step | applies | Allowed, with conditions | In both phases and on the funded account. | #### Why the rule exists The distinction is between automating a strategy you own and buying a tool whose purpose is to defeat the evaluation. The first is a way of trading; the second makes the result meaningless for both sides. Nothing here is a judgement on automation generally - it is about whose strategy the account is testing. #### Two automated accounts Same technology, different answers. - Trader A: Own advisor - Holds positions for 15 minutes, manages its own risk, one account. - Outcome: Compliant - Nothing about the automation itself is a problem. - Trader B: Bought a pass-the-challenge bot - Identical fills to dozens of other accounts, 40-second holds. - Outcome: Two rules broken - Prohibited system, plus every trade inside the 2 minutes minimum hold. If you are unsure which side a system falls on, ask support before you run it rather than after the evaluation is complete. #### Common misreadings - **Bots are banned** They are not. Legitimate automation of your own strategy is allowed on every programme. - **An advisor is exempt from the minimum hold** It is not. Every trade on every programme has to stay open 2 minutes. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/expert-advisors ### Is copy trading allowed? Copying trades between accounts you personally own may be permitted within the rules. Copying another trader's positions, letting someone else manage your account, using a passing service, or trading as a coordinated group is prohibited on all three programmes. The account, the identity and the payout details must belong to one person. - Between your own accounts: May be permitted - Copying another trader: Prohibited - Someone else managing your account: Prohibited - Paid passing services: Prohibited - Maximum total allocation: $400,000 #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | Same rule | No programme-specific exception. | | 1 Step | applies | Same rule | In the evaluation and when funded. | | 2 Step | applies | Same rule | In both phases and when funded. | #### Why the rule exists An evaluation is a test of one trader. If the trades are someone else's, the result says nothing about the person who will hold the funded account, and the payout would go to the wrong person. That is also why identity checks tie the account, the verification and the payout together. #### Three arrangements The question is always whose decisions these are. - Two of your own accounts: May be permitted - Within the $400,000 allocation limit. - Following a signal provider: Prohibited - The strategy is not yours. - A friend trading it for you: Prohibited - And you remain responsible for everything done on the account. Sharing login details is prohibited in itself, separately from what is then traded. See the account sharing rules. #### Common misreadings - **It is fine if the other account is my brother's** It is not. Household or not, the account belongs to one named person. - **A copier is a tool, so it cannot be prohibited** The rule is about whose trades are being taken, not which software takes them. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/copy-trading ### Can I scalp? Scalping is allowed on Instant, 1 Step and 2 Step. The condition is a minimum hold of 2 minutes on every trade, in both evaluation and funded stages. A strategy that depends on holding for seconds will not fit. Latency arbitrage and price-feed exploitation are prohibited separately from this rule. - Minimum hold time: 2 minutes - Normal scalping: Allowed - Sub-two-minute strategies: Do not fit - Latency arbitrage: Prohibited - Cost per round turn: $7.00 #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | 2 minutes minimum | Against the tightest daily loss limit at 3%, which is $3,000 on a $100,000 account. | | 1 Step | applies | 2 minutes minimum | Evaluation and funded account alike. | | 2 Step | applies | 2 minutes minimum | Both phases and the funded account. | #### Why the rule exists A minimum hold removes the strategies that profit from execution mechanics rather than from a market view. It is a blunt rule and we would rather publish it plainly than review each case after the fact. If your edge lives inside two minutes, these are not the right programmes and that is a straight answer rather than a soft one. #### A scalping session that works and one that does not The clock is per trade, from fill to close. - Opened 09:31:10, closed 09:34:02: Compliant - 2 minutes 52 seconds. - Opened 09:36:00, closed 09:37:30: Breaks the rule - 90 seconds. - 18 round-turn lots on the session: $126 (18 × $7.00) - Share of a $5,000 daily buffer: 2.5% - Before any losing trade. Frequency is allowed; speed below two minutes is not. Plan the hold time into the strategy rather than into the exit. #### Common misreadings - **The two minutes is an average** It is per trade. One 90-second trade is one breach of the rule. - **It only applies during an evaluation** It applies at every stage on every programme, funded accounts included. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/scalping ### Can I hold trades overnight and over the weekend? Holding overnight and over the weekend is permitted on Instant, 1 Step and 2 Step where the specific account and the underlying market allow it. Swing trading is allowed. The limitation is that a weekend gap can move equity through your drawdown level before you can act, and that breach stands. - Overnight holding: Permitted - Weekend holding: Permitted - Swing trading: Allowed - Gap risk: Yours - Drawdown floor still applies: $92,000 #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | Permitted | Against a 5% trailing floor, which leaves less room for a gap than the other two. | | 1 Step | applies | Permitted | Against a 8% drawdown. | | 2 Step | applies | Permitted | Against a fixed 8% floor at $92,000. | #### Why the rule exists Banning overnight positions would rule out swing trading entirely, which is a legitimate way to trade. Allowing it means being clear about where the risk sits: the firm does not absorb a weekend gap, and a position carried into a closed market is a position you cannot manage. #### Carrying a position over a weekend on a $100,000 2 Step Friday close at $104,000, with a fixed floor at $92,000. - Friday equity: $104,000 - $12,000 above the floor. - Position held: Open over the weekend - Monday gap against you: -$13,000 - The stop does not fill at your level. - Monday equity: $91,000 - Below $92,000. The account is breached on the gap. Position size before the weekend is the only control over this, which is why it belongs in the plan rather than in the Monday morning support ticket. #### Common misreadings - **A stop-loss protects me over the weekend** A stop is an instruction, not a guarantee of price. A gap fills past it. - **The drawdown is not checked while markets are closed** Equity is measured when the market reopens, and the breach is recorded at that point. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/overnight-and-weekend ### Can I hedge? Normal hedging within a single account may be permitted where it represents genuine trading activity. Deliberately taking opposite sides across two accounts, or coordinating with another trader so one account succeeds at the other's expense, is prohibited on all three programmes and is treated as prohibited trading. - Within one account: May be permitted - Across your own accounts: Prohibited - With another trader: Prohibited - Consequence: Prohibited trading - Costs still apply: $7.00 per lot #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | Same rule | No programme-specific exception. | | 1 Step | applies | Same rule | Evaluation and funded account. | | 2 Step | applies | Same rule | Both phases and the funded account. | #### Why the rule exists Hedging across two accounts converts an evaluation into a coin flip paid for twice: one account passes, one breaches, and nothing has been demonstrated. Within one account the position is just a position, with its own costs and its own risk, which is why the two cases are treated differently. #### Two hedges The difference is whether the risk is real. - One account, long and short the same instrument: May be permitted - Costs and spread are paid on both legs. - Account A long, account B short: Prohibited - One account is designed to fail. - You and a friend on opposite sides: Prohibited - Coordinated trading, reviewed as such. If a position only makes sense because a second account exists, it is the arrangement the rule is about. #### Common misreadings - **Hedging is banned outright** Within one account it may be permitted. The prohibition is on coordinated positions across accounts. - **Separate customer profiles make it two unrelated traders** Creating several profiles to hold opposite positions is itself prohibited. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/hedging ### What are the profit targets? Instant has no profit target: the account is funded from day one. The 1 Step asks for 10%, which is $10,000 on a $100,000 simulated account. The 2 Step asks 8% then 5%, so $8,000 then $5,000, and phase 1 profit does not carry into phase 2. - Instant target: None - 1 Step target: $10,000 - 2 Step phase 1: $8,000 - 2 Step phase 2: $5,000 - 2 Step total to clear: $13,000 - Measured on: The dashboard figure #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | none | No target | Funded from purchase, with a tighter daily loss limit as the trade. | | 1 Step | applies | 10% ($10,000) | One phase, no deadline, no minimum days and no consistency rule against a 8% drawdown. | | 2 Step | applies | 8% then 5% | $8,000 then $5,000 on a $100,000 account, with 3 minimum trading days and the 35% rule applying to both. | #### Why the rule exists A target is the evidence the programme is buying. The reason to publish all three side by side in dollars is that the comparison is not obvious as percentages: the 2 Step's two phases total more than the 1 Step's single target, and the 2 Step is also the cheapest of the three. That is a real trade, not a bargain. #### The three routes on a $100,000 account Same simulated capital, three different things to clear. - Instant: Nothing to clear - 70% share, $2,000 withdrawable per cycle. - 1 Step: $10,000 - One phase, against $8,000 of drawdown. - 2 Step phase 1: $8,000 - Against $8,000 of fixed drawdown. - 2 Step phase 2: $5,000 - A fresh start; phase 1 profit does not carry. The 1 Step asks for the largest single number and the fewest conditions. The 2 Step asks for more in total and costs the least to attempt. Which is better depends on the strategy, not on the headline percentage. #### Common misreadings - **Phase 1 profit counts toward phase 2** It does not. Phase 2 begins with its own objective from its own starting balance. - **Hitting the target mid-trade completes the phase** The dashboard's treatment of open positions is the official one. Check it before assuming a phase is closed. - **Passing is about the target alone** On the 2 Step, the 3-day minimum and the 35% consistency rule have to be satisfied as well. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/profit-target ### How much simulated capital can I run in total? Total simulated allocation across every account you hold is capped at $400,000. You can reach it with several accounts on any mix of the three programmes. Accounts are not merged, and each one carries its own drawdown, so the cap is on capital rather than a single combined account. - Maximum total allocation: $400,000 - Largest single account: $200,000 - Two $200,000 accounts: $400,000 - Accounts merged: No - Drawdown applied: Per account #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | Counts toward $400,000 | Instant sizes run from $5,000 to $200,000. | | 1 Step | applies | Counts toward $400,000 | 1 Step is the only programme with a $150,000 size. | | 2 Step | applies | Counts toward $400,000 | 2 Step sizes run from $5,000 to $200,000. | #### Why the rule exists A ceiling on total allocation is a risk control for the firm, and stating it up front is better than discovering it at the point of a fourth purchase. It also sets the honest limit on what these programmes are: there is a top, and it is published. #### Reaching $400,000 Three combinations that all land on the ceiling. - Two $200,000 accounts: $400,000 - Four $100,000 accounts: $400,000 - Four separate drawdown floors. - One $200,000 and two $100,000: $400,000 - Any mix of programmes. - A fifth $100,000 account: Above the cap - Not available once the ceiling is reached. Spreading the same allocation over more accounts gives more independent drawdown floors and more payout cycles to manage. It also multiplies the number of sets of rules you are tracking at once. #### Common misreadings - **Accounts can be combined into one larger one** They cannot be merged. Each stays separate with its own limits. - **A breach on one account ends them all** Drawdown is applied per account. A breach on one does not close the others. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/scaling-and-allocation ### What happens if I fail? The 2 Step includes one free retake if you fail it by breaching a hard rule. The retake is not the same account: the daily loss limit drops to 3%, the non-trailing drawdown to 4%, and the virtual profit share to 60%. Instant and 1 Step do not include a retake. - Included on: 2 Step only - Retake daily loss limit: $3,000 - Retake max drawdown: $4,000 - Retake virtual profit share: 60% - Retakes included: One - Every other 2 Step rule: Unchanged #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | none | No retake | A breach ends the account. A new one is a new purchase. | | 1 Step | none | No retake | The 1 Step does not include a free retake. | | 2 Step | applies | One free retake | Granted after a hard breach, on tighter limits: 3% daily, 4% drawdown, 60% share. | #### Why the rule exists One bad session is not always a verdict on a strategy, and a second attempt at no extra cost is a reasonable thing to include in the cheapest programme. The tighter terms are the other half of that: the retake carries more risk for the firm, so it runs with less room and a lower share. Stating both halves is the point of this page. #### A retake on a $100,000 2 Step Same target, less room. - First attempt daily limit: $5,000 - Retake daily limit: $3,000 - $2,000 less. - First attempt floor: $92,000 - Retake floor: $96,000 - Half the room. - Phase 1 target: $8,000 - Unchanged. The retake asks for the same $8,000 with $4,000 less drawdown to work with. It is worth having, and it is worth not relying on. #### Common misreadings - **The first attempt is free** It is not. The retake is free after a failed paid attempt. That is the whole of the claim. - **The retake is the same account again** It runs on tighter limits and leads to a 60% share rather than 80%. - **Every programme includes one** Only the 2 Step does. Instant and 1 Step do not. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/free-retake ### What trading is prohibited? Exploiting platform or pricing errors, latency arbitrage, coordinated trading across accounts or with other traders, third-party passing services and account sharing are prohibited on all three programmes. Consequences run from removed profits to a closed account and an invalidated payout, depending on what is found. - Exploiting platform or price errors: Prohibited - Latency arbitrage: Prohibited - Coordinated group trading: Prohibited - Passing services: Prohibited - Account sharing: Prohibited - Consequences: Up to account closure #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | All of it | From the first trade, because the account is funded from day one. | | 1 Step | applies | All of it | Evaluation and funded account alike. | | 2 Step | applies | All of it | Both phases and the funded account. | #### Why the rule exists These rules are about results that do not come from trading. A profit taken from a mispriced tick or a stale quote is not a strategy the account can be funded on, and the review exists to tell the two apart. One unusual trade is not treated as a pattern - a pattern is. #### What a review looks at The question is whether the profit came from a market view. - One odd fill in six months: Reviewed, usually fine - An isolated event is not a pattern. - Repeated fills on stale quotes: Prohibited - Latency exploitation. - Identical trades across many accounts: Reviewed - Examined as coordinated trading. - A third party trading the account: Prohibited - And the payout would go to the wrong person. If a strategy might sit near one of these lines, ask support before running it. An answer before the evaluation is worth more than an appeal after it. #### Common misreadings - **One unusual trade will close my account** It will not. Isolated events are reviewed in context; patterns are what the rules address. - **If the platform showed the price, trading it is fair** Trading a price you know to be wrong is exploitation of an error, and it is listed as prohibited. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/prohibited-trading ### When can I trade? There is no GFN-imposed trading schedule. Hours follow each instrument and the liquidity available in it, so forex runs through the week while indices and commodities keep session hours. Public holidays can bring late opens, early closes or closures. The daily loss limit resets at the time shown in your dashboard. - GFN trading window: None imposed - Markets open 24/7: No - Public holidays: Can move hours - Daily reset: Shown in the dashboard - Open position at a close: Stays open #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | Market hours | Same for all three programmes. | | 1 Step | applies | Market hours | No programme-specific schedule. | | 2 Step | applies | Market hours | No programme-specific schedule. | #### Why the rule exists Firms that impose their own hours usually do it to limit exposure around illiquid periods. We would rather publish the liquidity reality and let traders plan against it, which means the responsibility for trading a thin market sits with the trader. #### A holiday week The same strategy meets three different conditions. - Monday: Normal hours - Tuesday, index holiday: Closed - An open position cannot be managed until it reopens. - Wednesday, half day: Early close - Thin liquidity into the close widens spreads. - Daily limit reset: Unchanged - $5,000 on a $100,000 1 Step, resetting at the dashboard time regardless. An economic calendar and the instrument's own hours are the practical preparation. The risk limits do not adjust for a quiet week. #### Common misreadings - **The daily limit resets at midnight where I live** It resets at the time shown in the dashboard. Assuming otherwise is a common way to breach. - **Everything trades 24/7** Most instruments close for the weekend, and several keep session hours during the week. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/trading-hours ### Does slippage excuse a breach? Slippage, widening spreads and market gaps are conditions you are trading in, not exemptions from the rules. A breach caused by a fill worse than you expected still stands. A genuine platform fault is a separate matter, reviewed on evidence, and is not the same thing as an unfavourable fill. - Slippage: Not an exemption - Spread widening: Not an exemption - Weekend gaps: Not an exemption - Zero slippage: Not offered - A genuine platform fault: Reviewable #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | Same treatment | With a 3% daily limit there is less room to absorb a poor fill, which is worth sizing for. | | 1 Step | applies | Same treatment | Evaluation and funded account alike. | | 2 Step | applies | Same treatment | Both phases and the funded account. | #### Why the rule exists Every account on every programme trades in the same conditions, and a rule that made exceptions for bad fills would be a rule that exempts whoever complains. The line is between the market being unkind, which is trading, and the environment being broken, which is ours to investigate. #### A gap through a stop A $100,000 2 Step account with a fixed floor at $92,000. - Stop placed at: $94,000 - $2,000 above the floor. - Market gaps to: $90,500 - The stop fills below the floor. - Equity at fill: $90,500 - Result: Breach - The floor was crossed, and the fill is not reversed. Position size is the only control over a gap. Leaving a buffer above the floor rather than placing a stop exactly on it is the practical version of that. #### Common misreadings - **My stop was above the floor, so I cannot breach** A stop does not guarantee a price. A gap fills past it and the breach is measured on equity at the fill. - **A widening spread during news is a platform fault** It is a market condition. A fault is something that stops the environment working, and it is reviewed on evidence. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/slippage-and-spreads ### Is there a maximum lot size? There is no single published maximum lot size. Position size is limited by leverage, margin and buying power, and in practice by the daily loss limit long before margin runs out. On a $100,000 1 Step account the daily limit is $5,000, which is the number worth sizing against. - Universal maximum lot size: None published - Bounded by: Leverage and margin - Practical bound, 1 Step: $5,000 - Practical bound, Instant: $3,000 - 1% risk on a 20-pip stop: $1,000 - Insufficient margin: Order rejected #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | No max lot; $3,000 daily bound | The 3% daily loss limit is the effective ceiling on size here. | | 1 Step | applies | No max lot; $5,000 daily bound | 5% of the prior day's close. | | 2 Step | applies | No max lot; $5,000 daily bound | 5% of the prior day's close. | #### Why the rule exists A fixed lot cap would be arbitrary across instruments with different tick values. Letting the risk limits do the work is more honest, and it puts the constraint where a trader should be looking anyway. The consequence is that nothing stops an oversized position except the limit it runs into. #### Sizing against the limit on a $100,000 Instant account The daily loss limit is $3,000. - Risk per trade at 1%: $1,000 - Trades before the limit: 3 - Three full losses take the day to the limit. - With commission at 5 lots per trade: $105 - Costs reduce the room further. - Remaining buffer: $-105 - Already through the limit before the third trade closes. On the tighter Instant buffer, 1% per trade leaves almost no margin for costs. The position size calculator will do this arithmetic against your own numbers. #### Common misreadings - **No maximum lot size means I can trade any size** Margin bounds it, and the daily loss limit bounds it sooner. The absence of a cap is not an absence of a limit. - **Margin and drawdown are the same constraint** They are separate. An order can be accepted on margin and still take the account through the daily limit. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/margin-and-lot-size ### Can someone else trade my account? No. Each account belongs to one named person, who trades it. Sharing login details is prohibited in itself, separately from what is then traded, and you remain responsible for everything done on the account. Selling or transferring an account, or trading one in another person's name, is also prohibited. - Someone else trading it: Prohibited - Sharing login details: Prohibited - Responsibility after sharing: Still yours - Selling or transferring an account: Prohibited - Identity, account and payout: Must match - GFN asking for your password: Never #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | Same rule | From purchase, because the account is funded from day one. | | 1 Step | applies | Same rule | Evaluation and funded account. | | 2 Step | applies | Same rule | Both phases and the funded account. | #### Why the rule exists The programme funds a trader, not an account number. If the trades are someone else's the evaluation proves nothing, and the payout is going to a person who did not do the trading. Identity checks exist to make that concrete rather than assumed. #### Three situations All three are the same rule. - A friend trades it while you travel: Prohibited - And you carry the result. - An account in a partner's name: Prohibited - The trader and the named owner must be the same person. - Selling a passed account: Prohibited - Accounts are not transferable. If your login has been exposed, contact support and change it. That is a security incident to report, not a rule breach to hide. #### Common misreadings - **It is only a problem if they lose money** Sharing access is prohibited whatever the outcome, and a profitable result can still invalidate a payout. - **A family member counts as me** It does not. One named individual holds the account, the verification and the payout details. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/account-sharing ### How many accounts can I have? You can hold more than one account, on any mix of the three programmes, up to $400,000 of total simulated allocation. Each account carries its own drawdown and its own payout cycle. Trading them at the same time is allowed; deliberately taking opposite sides across them is prohibited. - More than one account: Allowed - Total allocation ceiling: $400,000 - Instant and an evaluation together: Allowed - Drawdown: Per account - Opposite sides across accounts: Prohibited - Several customer profiles: Prohibited #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | Counts toward $400,000 | Can be held alongside an evaluation account. | | 1 Step | applies | Counts toward $400,000 | Each account has its own limits and cycle. | | 2 Step | applies | Counts toward $400,000 | Each account has its own limits and cycle. | #### Why the rule exists Splitting allocation across accounts is a legitimate way to diversify strategies and to keep one bad run from ending everything. The ceiling and the coordination rule are what stop the same freedom becoming a way to buy both sides of a coin flip. #### Two accounts, run properly A $100,000 1 Step and a $50,000 2 Step. - Total allocation: $150,000 - Within the $400,000 ceiling. - 1 Step daily limit: $5,000 - Its own limit, its own reset. - 2 Step daily limit: $2,500 - 5% of $50,000. - Same instrument, same direction: Allowed - Two expressions of one view. - Same instrument, opposite directions: Prohibited - A hedge across accounts. Two accounts means two sets of limits to track at once, on different reset times and different payout cycles. That is the practical cost of running more than one. #### Common misreadings - **My accounts share one drawdown pool** They do not. Drawdown is applied per account. - **Opposite positions on two accounts are just diversification** Deliberate opposite sides across accounts is coordinated trading and is prohibited. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/multiple-accounts ### What happens when I breach? A hard breach ends the account at the moment the level is crossed, even briefly, and a later recovery does not reverse it. The daily loss limit and the maximum drawdown are hard. A soft breach is a correctable issue, such as a missing compulsory stop, and is handled rather than fatal. - Daily loss limit: Hard breach - Maximum drawdown: Hard breach - Brief crossing: Still a breach - Missing compulsory stop: Soft breach - Support reversing a breach: No - 2 Step free retake: One, tighter #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | Account closes | A breach ends the account. There is no included retake, so a further attempt is a new purchase. | | 1 Step | applies | Account closes | No included retake on the 1 Step. | | 2 Step | applies | Account closes, one free retake | The 2 Step includes one free retake, on tighter limits: 3% daily and 4% drawdown. | #### Why the rule exists Hard limits have to be absolute or they are not limits. The firm cannot run a simulated book where the level is negotiable after the fact, and a trader cannot plan against a level that moves when someone complains. The compensation for that strictness is that everything is published in advance, in dollars, on pages like this one. #### A breach on a $100,000 Instant account The daily limit is $3,000; the trailing floor started at $95,000. - Equity intraday: $96,900 - Through the $97,000 daily level. - Duration below: About 20 seconds - Equity at the close: $99,100 - Recovered. - Account status: Breached - Recorded at the crossing, not at the close. If a technical fault is involved, raise it with timestamps, screenshots and order numbers. That is reviewed on evidence, and it is a different question from whether the level was crossed. #### Common misreadings - **I recovered, so it does not count** A hard breach is recorded when the level is crossed. Recovery afterwards does not reverse it. - **Support can make an exception** A legitimate breach is not reversible, and asking for special treatment is addressed in the handbook directly. - **A breach on one account ends all of them** Drawdown is applied per account. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/breach-and-what-happens ### What identity checks do I need to pass? Identity verification may be required before a simulated funded account is issued and again before a payout is processed. The GFN account, the verified identity and the payout details must belong to the same individual. Government photo identification is the usual requirement, and a mismatch will hold a payout rather than void it. - When: Before funding and payout - Documents: Government photo ID - Names must match: Yes - Someone else's identity: Prohibited - Minimum age: Published requirement - If verification fails: Payout held #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | Same checks | The account is funded from day one, so checks can come earlier. | | 1 Step | applies | Same checks | Typically at the point the funded account is issued. | | 2 Step | applies | Same checks | Typically at the point the funded account is issued. | #### Why the rule exists Paying a share of simulated profits to a verified person is what keeps the programme a real commercial arrangement rather than an anonymous one, and it is what the account-sharing rules rest on. It is also a legal obligation on a UK company. The cost to you is a delay if the documents are left until a payout date. #### Two payout requests Same amount, different outcomes. - Verified before the first funded trade: Processed - Nothing waiting at the payout date. - Verification started on the payout date: Delayed - The payout waits for the check, not the other way around. - Payout account in another name: Held - The names have to match. Completing verification early is the single easiest way to avoid a delayed first payout. Nothing about it is contingent on how the account performed. #### Common misreadings - **KYC is only for large payouts** It can be required before a funded account is issued at all, regardless of amount. - **Paying from my partner's account is fine** The purchase, the identity and the payout must all be the same person. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/kyc-and-verification ### What can I trade? Forex, indices, commodities, metals and cryptocurrency instruments may be traded where they are available, on all three programmes. Leverage is up to 1:50 and can be lower on individual instruments. Availability and trading hours follow the underlying market, so the list is not the same thing as a guarantee that every symbol is open. - Forex: Available - Indices: Available - Commodities and metals: Available - Cryptocurrency instruments: Available - Leverage: Up to 1:50 - Minimum hold: 2 minutes - Where to check: Your account #### Which programmes it applies to | Programme | Applies | Figure | Detail | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | applies | Same instrument set | Against a 3% daily limit, so instrument volatility matters more here. | | 1 Step | applies | Same instrument set | No programme-specific restriction. | | 2 Step | applies | Same instrument set | No programme-specific restriction. | #### Why the rule exists The instrument list is the same across programmes on purpose: the difference between Instant, 1 Step and 2 Step should be the risk terms, not a narrower market. The caveat is that availability follows the market, and a symbol being listed is not a promise it is liquid at the moment you want it. #### Instrument choice against a $3,000 daily limit A $100,000 Instant account, where the buffer is 3%. - A major forex pair: Tighter ranges - More positions fit inside the buffer. - An index at a session open: Wider ranges - One position can use a large share of the day. - A cryptocurrency instrument: Wider again - And often lower leverage, so margin binds sooner. - Daily buffer: $3,000 - The same figure whichever you trade. The limits do not adjust for instrument volatility, so position size has to. That is the whole of the instrument decision on a tight daily limit. #### Common misreadings - **Everything listed is always tradable** Availability and hours follow the underlying market, and holidays close instruments. - **Leverage is the same on every instrument** Up to 1:50 is a ceiling. Indices, metals and cryptocurrency instruments can carry less. Source: https://getfundednow.com/rules/instruments ## Glossary: 176 prop-trading and trading terms Each term is defined generally, then with Get Funded Now's own figure where it publishes one. ### Drawdown and risk limits The rules that end accounts: daily loss limits, maximum drawdown, trailing versus fixed floors, and what counts as a breach. #### Balance-based drawdown **Definition.** A drawdown measured against closed balance rather than live equity. Floating losses on open positions do not move the breach level; only realised results do, once a trade is closed. Balance-based measurement is the looser of the two, because an open position can sit well underwater without registering. It is also the more dangerous to rely on, since a trader can be far past the limit on paper and only discover it at the moment the trade closes. Most prop firms measure at least one of their limits on equity precisely to avoid that, so read which basis applies to each rule rather than assuming one covers both. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN monitors account equity, not just closed balance: floating losses on open positions count toward both the daily loss limit and the maximum drawdown on every programme. - Floating losses: Count toward the limits - Closed losses: Count within the daily calculation period - Trading costs: Commission, spread and slippage reduce the buffer Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/balance-based-drawdown #### Breach Also called: Account breach, Blown account. **Definition.** Any violation of an account's published rules. Breaches are graded: a soft one triggers corrective action, a hard one fails the account. The word is used for both, which is why the grade matters more than the term. Breaches divide into risk breaches, which are numeric and automatic, and conduct breaches, which are reviewed. A risk breach is decided by the dashboard; a conduct breach - coordinated trading, account sharing, exploiting a pricing error - is decided by a person looking at the account. The rules that governed the account when it was purchased are the ones it is judged against, so the published handbook at the date of purchase is the reference rather than a newer promotion. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN grades breaches: a soft breach may close a trade or trigger corrective action, while a hard breach - usually the daily loss limit or maximum drawdown - fails the account and ends its payout eligibility. - Risk breaches: Daily loss limit, maximum drawdown - Conduct breaches: Prohibited trading, account sharing, coordinated trading - Effect on payouts: A breached funded account is not eligible for payout Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/breach #### Buffer Also called: Cushion, Room. **Definition.** The distance between current equity and the nearest breach level. It is the only figure that tells you how much risk is available right now, and it shrinks with commission and floating losses as well as with realised ones. There are always at least two buffers: one to the daily loss limit and one to the maximum drawdown floor. The smaller of the two is the one that binds, and on a fresh account it is usually the daily one. Deliberately leaving a buffer rather than sizing up to the limit is the difference between a rule you can trade inside and a rule you meet head-on. A position sized to the exact limit breaches on the first tick of slippage. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A fresh $100,000 GFN 2 Step account opens with two buffers: $5,000 to the daily loss limit and $8,000 to the drawdown floor. Instant opens with $3,000 and $5,000. - Instant - Opening buffers on $100,000: $3,000 daily, $5,000 overall - 1 Step - Opening buffers on $100,000: $5,000 daily, $8,000 overall - 2 Step - Opening buffers on $100,000: $5,000 daily, $8,000 overall > On Instant, a withdrawal also has to leave a 3% minimum withdrawal buffer in the account. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/buffer #### Daily loss limit Also called: Daily drawdown, DLL, Max daily loss. **Definition.** The most an account may lose in one trading day before it breaches. Calculated as a percentage of the previous day's closing level, it resets at a fixed time each day and is the rule that ends most evaluations. The daily loss limit is a hard stop for the session rather than a warning. Crossing it for a few seconds is enough, and a market that recovers afterwards does not undo the breach. It is separate from maximum drawdown, and it is possible to breach either one without touching the other. Because it is a percentage of the prior day's close, it moves with the account: a profitable run widens tomorrow's daily allowance, and a losing day narrows it. Commission, spread and slippage all come out of the same allowance. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's daily loss limit is 3% on Instant - the tightest of the three - and 5% on both the 1 Step and the 2 Step. - Instant - Daily loss limit: 3% ($3,000 on $100,000) - 1 Step - Daily loss limit: 5% ($5,000 on $100,000) - 2 Step - Daily loss limit: 5% ($5,000 on $100,000) > A 2 Step retake runs on a tighter 3% daily loss limit. **Example.** Start the day on a $100,000 2 Step account and equity reaching $95,000 breaches it - a $5,000 loss, including commission, and including anything floating on an open position. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/daily-loss-limit #### Drawdown floor Also called: Breach level, Stop-out level. **Definition.** The account level at which a maximum drawdown breach is recorded. It is the starting balance minus the drawdown allowance, expressed as a dollar figure rather than a percentage, and it is the single number to trade against. Percentages are what firms publish; the floor is what you actually need. Converting the rule into one dollar figure removes the arithmetic from the moment you are least able to do it, which is mid-trade with a position running against you. Whether the floor moves is the whole question. A fixed floor is set once. A trailing floor recalculates every time the account makes a new high, so the number has to be re-read rather than remembered. **Get Funded Now's figure.** On a $100,000 GFN account the floor starts at $92,000 on the 2 Step and stays there, $92,000 on the 1 Step before the add-on, and $95,000 on Instant before it trails. - Instant - Opening floor on $100,000: $95,000, then trails up - 1 Step - Opening floor on $100,000: $92,000 standard, $90,000 with the add-on - 2 Step - Floor on $100,000: $92,000, fixed Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/drawdown-floor #### Drawdown recovery **Definition.** The gain required to return an account to its previous peak after a loss. Recovery is not symmetrical: a 10% loss needs an 11.1% gain to undo, and a 50% loss needs 100%. The asymmetry is arithmetic, not psychology. Losing a percentage of a smaller base means the recovery is calculated on less capital, so the deeper the hole the steeper the climb out of it. This is the single strongest argument for small position sizes on an account with a fixed floor. On an evaluation the recovery maths is compounded by the drawdown rule itself: you are climbing back toward a profit target from a lower base while the floor below you has not moved. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A $100,000 GFN account down to the 2 Step floor of $92,000 would need an 8.7% gain to get back to its starting balance - except that touching the floor has already ended the account. - Back from a 5% loss: 5.26% gain - Back from an 8% loss: 8.70% gain - Back from a 10% loss: 11.11% gain Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/drawdown-recovery #### Drawdown reset **Definition.** The moment a drawdown calculation is recalculated from a new reference level - most often the daily loss limit rolling over to a new day, or an account level being restated after a withdrawal. The daily reset is the one traders meet first. It happens at a fixed time set by the firm rather than at local midnight, and getting it wrong by a few hours means starting a session with a fraction of the allowance you assumed. A reset never erases the overall drawdown. A new trading day gives you a fresh daily allowance, but the losses from yesterday still sit against the account-level floor. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's daily loss limit resets at the time shown in your dashboard - not local midnight - and the reset does not erase the effect of earlier losses on maximum drawdown. On Instant, a withdrawal also restates the account level and its floor. - Daily reset: At the time shown in the dashboard - Effect on maximum drawdown: None - overall drawdown carries forward - Instant - After a withdrawal: Account level and floor are restated **Example.** On a $100,000 Instant account showing $6,000 of profit, a withdrawal takes everything above the 3% buffer: $3,000 leaves the account, you receive up to the 2% cap ($2,000), and the account restates to $103,000 against a $98,000 floor. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/drawdown-reset #### End-of-day drawdown **Definition.** A drawdown calculated only from the closing balance of each trading day, ignoring whatever happened between the open and the close. Intraday excursions are invisible to it as long as the day finishes above the level. End-of-day measurement is more forgiving than live monitoring because a trade that goes deeply against you and recovers before the close never registers. Firms that use it typically apply it to the account-level drawdown rather than the daily one. The corresponding risk is complacency: a trader used to an end-of-day limit at one firm can carry the same position sizing to a live-monitored account and breach it in the first week. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's daily loss limit is measured against the prior day's closing level and then monitored live through the day, so intraday lows count rather than only the close. The reset time is shown in your dashboard, not assumed to be local midnight. - Basis: Prior day's closing balance - Monitoring: Live, on equity, through the session - Reset time: Shown in the dashboard Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/end-of-day-drawdown #### Equity curve **Definition.** A chart of account equity over time. Its slope shows the rate of return, its smoothness shows consistency, and its deepest dip is the peak-to-trough drawdown a risk limit would have had to absorb. The shape matters more than the endpoint for a prop account. Two strategies that finish the month at the same profit are not equivalent if one got there in a straight line and the other spent a week 6% underwater - only one of them survives a fixed floor. An equity curve drawn from live equity rather than closed balance is the one worth reading, because it includes the open positions that risk limits are actually measured against. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN publishes the live equity curve for each account in the Trade Hub dashboard, alongside the objectives and the current distance to each limit - the same figures the account is judged on. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/equity-curve #### Equity-based drawdown **Definition.** A drawdown measured against live account equity, which includes the unrealised profit and loss of every open position. The breach level can be touched while a trade is still running, before anything is closed. Equity-based measurement is why a trader can breach an account without ever taking a loss on paper. A position that spikes against you intraday and recovers by the close still touched the limit on the way through, and a recovery does not reverse a breach that has already been recorded. It also means trading costs matter more than they look. Commission and spread come out of equity the moment a position opens, so a trade is already slightly underwater before the market has moved at all. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Every GFN risk limit is monitored against account equity. Open positions can breach an account before they are closed, and a later recovery does not reverse a breach that has already happened. - Instant - Daily loss limit: 3% on equity - 1 Step and 2 Step - Daily loss limit: 5% on equity - Recovery after a breach: Does not reverse it **Example.** A $100,000 1 Step account carrying an open position $5,000 underwater has already reached the 5% daily loss limit, even though nothing has been closed. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/equity-based-drawdown #### Hard breach **Definition.** A violation serious enough to fail or terminate the account immediately. Exceeding the daily loss limit or the maximum drawdown is the usual cause, and a later recovery in the market does not reverse it. The defining property of a hard breach is that it is recorded the instant the threshold is crossed. Crossing it for a few seconds counts. The trade coming back, the news being wrong, the spread being unusual - none of it changes a breach that has already happened. On an evaluation a hard breach ends that attempt. On a simulated funded account it ends the account and the profit attached to it is no longer eligible for payout. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A hard breach on a GFN account ends it: trading access to the breached account can be terminated, and a legitimately breached funded account is not eligible for a payout from that account. - Usual causes: Daily loss limit or maximum drawdown exceeded - Brief crossings: Count - a recovery does not reverse the breach - 2 Step - After a first failure: One free retake, on tighter limits > The 2 Step retake runs at a 3% daily loss limit, a 4% non-trailing drawdown and a 60% virtual profit share. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/hard-breach #### High-water mark Also called: Equity high, Peak balance. **Definition.** The highest level an account has ever reached. On a trailing drawdown it is the reference point the floor is measured down from, so every new high permanently moves the breach level upward. The high-water mark only ever ratchets up. Making a new high tightens a trailing account rather than loosening it, which is the part traders find counter-intuitive: the better the week, the less room below. The same term is used in fund management for the level a manager must exceed before performance fees are charged again. In prop trading it is almost always the drawdown reference instead. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's Instant drawdown trails the high-water mark by 5%. The 1 Step drawdown trails during the evaluation until the floor reaches your starting balance, where it locks. The 2 Step ignores the high-water mark entirely. - Instant - Trails the high: Yes, by 5% - 1 Step - Trails the high: Until the floor reaches the starting balance, then locks - 2 Step - Trails the high: No **Example.** A $100,000 Instant account that peaks at $108,000 carries a floor of $103,000 from that point on, even if equity falls back to $102,000. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/high-water-mark #### Intraday drawdown **Definition.** The worst point an account reaches during a single trading day, measured from that day's starting level. It is what a daily loss limit monitored on equity actually tests, rather than where the day happens to finish. Intraday drawdown is the gap between how a day looks in a statement and how it looked while it was happening. A day that closes flat can have been 4% down at lunchtime, and on a live-monitored limit that low is the number that counted. The practical consequence is that position sizing has to leave room for the path a trade takes, not just its outcome. A trade that eventually works but takes a deep excursion first can still end the account. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN measures the daily loss limit on live equity, so intraday lows count: 3% on Instant, 5% on the 1 Step and 2 Step. A few seconds past the threshold is a breach. - Instant - Intraday ceiling: 3% ($3,000 on $100,000) - 1 Step and 2 Step - Intraday ceiling: 5% ($5,000 on $100,000) Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/intraday-drawdown #### Maximum adverse excursion Also called: MAE. **Definition.** The furthest a trade moves against you before it closes, whatever its final result. Measured per trade, it shows how much room a strategy genuinely needs rather than how much it eventually used. MAE is the statistic that reconciles a profitable strategy with a failed evaluation. A trade that finishes at target after being 60 pips underwater consumed 60 pips of the daily allowance on the way, and on a live-monitored limit that low is what was tested. Recording MAE across a sample is also the most reliable way to set a stop distance: a stop tighter than the typical adverse excursion converts winners into losers without reducing risk. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Because GFN monitors equity rather than closed balance, adverse excursion counts against the daily loss limit - 3% on Instant, 5% on the 1 Step and 2 Step - while the trade is still open. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/maximum-adverse-excursion #### Maximum drawdown Also called: Max drawdown, Overall drawdown, MDD. **Definition.** The total loss an account may take before it is failed. Expressed as a percentage of the starting balance, it sets a floor: touch it and the account breaches, whatever the account has made up to that point. Maximum drawdown is the account-level stop, as distinct from the daily loss limit, which is the day-level one. The two are separate rules and a new trading day does not erase the effect of earlier losses on overall drawdown. What matters more than the percentage is how the floor moves. A fixed floor is calculated once against the starting balance and stays there. A trailing floor follows the account's new highs upward, which protects gains but tightens the account exactly when it is going well. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN publishes three different maximum drawdowns: 5% trailing on Instant, 8% on the 1 Step (10% with the checkout add-on), and 8% non-trailing on the 2 Step. - Instant - Max drawdown: 5%, trailing - 1 Step - Max drawdown: 8%, or 10% with the add-on - 2 Step - Max drawdown: 8%, non-trailing > A 2 Step retake runs on a 4% non-trailing maximum drawdown instead of 8%. **Example.** On a $100,000 2 Step account the 8% floor sits at $92,000 and never moves. On the same size Instant account the 5% floor starts at $95,000 and trails upward as the account makes new highs. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/maximum-drawdown #### Non-trailing drawdown Also called: Static drawdown, Fixed drawdown, Absolute drawdown. **Definition.** A maximum drawdown calculated once against the starting balance and then left alone. The breach level is the same number on your first day and after months of profit, so the cushion grows with every dollar you make. A fixed floor is the friendlier structure for a trader who runs an account far into profit, because the distance between equity and the breach level widens as the account grows. It is also the simpler one to trade against: the number never changes, so it can be written on a sticky note. The trade-off is usually made elsewhere in the programme. A firm offering a fixed floor generally asks for a profit target, a second phase, or both, because it is carrying more risk once the account is well into profit. **Get Funded Now's figure.** The GFN 2 Step uses a 8% non-trailing maximum drawdown - the only programme of the three where the floor is fixed from day one and never follows the account up. - 2 Step - Max drawdown: 8%, fixed against the starting balance - 2 Step - Floor on a $100,000 account: $92,000 - Instant - Max drawdown: 5%, trailing instead > A 2 Step retake keeps the non-trailing structure at a tighter 4%. **Example.** On a $100,000 2 Step account the floor is $92,000. Whether your equity is $100,000 or $130,000, the account breaches at $92,000 - at $130,000 that is a cushion of $38,000. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/non-trailing-drawdown #### Peak-to-trough **Definition.** The decline from an equity curve's highest point to its lowest subsequent point before a new high is made. It is the standard way of stating how deep a strategy's worst historical losing run was. Peak-to-trough is what a backtest means when it reports a maximum drawdown figure, and it is measured after the fact across the whole sample. A prop firm's maximum drawdown rule is the same shape of measurement applied live, with a hard stop attached. Comparing the two is the most useful pre-purchase check available: if a strategy's historical peak-to-trough is deeper than the account's drawdown allowance, it will eventually breach on an ordinary losing run. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A strategy whose historical peak-to-trough exceeds 8% will eventually breach a GFN 2 Step account, and one exceeding 5% will breach Instant sooner, because that floor also trails. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/peak-to-trough #### Risk of ruin **Definition.** The probability that a sequence of trades takes an account to its breach level before it reaches its target, given a win rate, a reward-to-risk ratio and a risk per trade. It is driven mostly by position size. Risk of ruin is the honest way to look at an evaluation, because it accounts for the order trades arrive in. A strategy with a positive expectancy still fails a fixed drawdown if a losing streak happens to come first, and streaks are far more common than intuition suggests. Halving risk per trade usually cuts risk of ruin by far more than half. That is why the same strategy that fails at 2% per trade frequently passes at 0.5%, with no change to the entries at all. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Against GFN's drawdown floors, risk per trade is the variable that decides survival: a 8% floor on the 2 Step absorbs 16 consecutive 0.5% losses, or four at 2%. - 2 Step - Consecutive losses to the 8% floor at 0.5% risk: 16 - 2 Step - At 1% risk: 8 - 2 Step - At 2% risk: 4 > A rough count that ignores compounding and trading costs; both make the real number smaller. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/risk-of-ruin #### Soft breach **Definition.** A rule violation that triggers corrective action - a position closed, a warning, a review - without failing the account outright. The account survives, but the trade or the profit attached to it may not. Soft breaches typically cover rules about how you trade rather than how much you lose: a missing compulsory stop, a trade held for less than the minimum duration, or profit taken inside a restricted news window. Treating a soft breach as harmless is a mistake. Repeated ones are what prompt a manual review, and a review is where an account is looked at as a pattern rather than as a single trade. **Get Funded Now's figure.** On a GFN account, a soft breach may result in a trade being closed or other corrective action rather than the account being terminated. The exact treatment depends on the rules attached to that account. - Outcome: Corrective action, not automatic termination - Typical causes: Missing compulsory stop, minimum-duration and news-window rules - Escalation: Repeated violations can prompt a review Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/soft-breach #### Trailing drawdown Also called: Relative drawdown, Moving drawdown. **Definition.** A maximum drawdown whose floor follows the account upward as it makes new highs. The distance between your peak and the breach level stays constant, so every new high moves the stop-out level with it. A trailing floor rewards a steady account and punishes a volatile one. Run a good week and the breach level rises behind you, locking in what you made; give some back and you are closer to the floor than the same drawdown on a fixed account would leave you. The detail that decides how harsh it is: whether the floor trails forever, or stops once it reaches your starting balance. A floor that locks at break-even eventually stops tightening. One that trails indefinitely never does. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's Instant programme uses a 5% trailing maximum drawdown. The 1 Step drawdown is relative during the evaluation and locks once the floor reaches your starting balance. The 2 Step does not trail at all. - Instant - Drawdown type: 5% trailing, on equity - 1 Step - Drawdown type: Relative during the evaluation, then locked at the starting balance - 2 Step - Drawdown type: 8% fixed - never trails **Example.** A $100,000 Instant account starts with its floor at $95,000. Run the account to $106,000 and the floor has trailed to $101,000 - the gain is protected, but the room below you has not grown. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/trailing-drawdown ### Evaluations and accounts Challenges, phases, profit targets, retakes and the difference between a simulated evaluation and a simulated funded account. #### Account reset **Definition.** Paying to return a failed or drawn-down evaluation to its starting balance rather than buying a new account. It is a recurring revenue line at firms that sell it, and a real cost to track. Resets look cheaper than a fresh account and frequently are not, once several have been bought. The honest way to price an evaluation is fee plus expected resets, not fee alone. A firm that sells no resets at all is making a different bet: that the one-time fee plus the trading outcome is enough, which tends to align its interest with traders who take longer and risk less. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN does not sell account resets. The evaluation fee is a one-time purchase with no subscription and nothing to buy back - the only second attempt offered is the free 2 Step retake. - Resets for sale: None - Subscription: None - 2 Step - Second attempt: One free retake, on tighter limits Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/account-reset #### Account size **Definition.** The virtual balance an account is denominated in. It scales every percentage rule into dollars, sets the fee, and determines how much a single pip of movement is worth to your objectives. The right size is the one whose daily loss limit matches the risk you actually take per trade, not the one whose profit target sounds best. A trader risking $50 a trade on a $100,000 account has a $5,000 daily allowance they will never approach and has overpaid for it. Sizing down and holding more than one account is generally cheaper than sizing up, because the fee scales with the balance while the rules stay proportionally identical. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN sells six sizes per programme, from $5,000 to $200,000, with the 1 Step also offering $150,000. Total allocation across accounts is capped at $400,000. - 2 Step - Entry price: $22 for a $5,000 account - 1 Step - $100,000 account: $473 - Instant - $100,000 account: $900 Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/account-size #### Account suspension **Definition.** A temporary restriction on trading or payouts while a firm reviews an account. It is not the same as a breach: the account still exists, but progression and withdrawals are paused pending the outcome. Suspensions usually follow a pattern rather than a single trade - identical activity across many accounts, an unresolved identity check, or trading that looks like it targets the environment rather than the market. The fastest resolution is documentary. Screenshots, trade IDs, timestamps and a clear description of what happened settle most reviews far quicker than an argument about whether the rule was fair. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Where GFN identifies prohibited trading, it may review the account, restrict trading, reject evaluation progression, reject payouts or terminate the affected accounts under the Terms & Conditions. - Common triggers: Prohibited trading, coordinated activity, failed verification - Effect on payouts: Pending payouts can be held or rejected - Evidence that helps: Trade IDs, timestamps, screenshots, account number Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/account-suspension #### Activation fee **Definition.** A charge some firms apply when a passed evaluation is converted into a funded account. It is separate from the evaluation fee, which is why it is so often missed when headline prices are compared. Activation fees are most common on futures-style programmes, where they may be monthly rather than one-off. Where one applies, the true cost of reaching a funded account is the evaluation fee plus the activation charge plus any resets bought along the way. Check whether it is charged once, per account, or per month, and whether it is deducted from the first payout rather than billed separately. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN charges no activation fee. The one-time evaluation fee is the only outlay - there is no charge to convert a passed evaluation into a simulated funded account, and no monthly subscription. - Activation fee: None - Monthly subscription: None - Charge to receive a funded account: None Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/activation-fee #### Consistency rule **Definition.** A rule capping how much of an account's total profit may come from a single trading day. It stops one outsized day from carrying an otherwise flat account through an evaluation. Consistency rules are the most frequently misread rule in prop trading, because they can be satisfied and then broken again by a later good day. The metric is a ratio, so it moves whenever either side of it moves. Where a best day is over the cap, the usual remedy is to keep trading and grow total profit until that day's share falls back under it - not to stop, and not to take a deliberate loss. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Only the GFN 2 Step has a consistency rule: no single trading day may account for more than 35% of total profit. Instant and the 1 Step have none. - Instant - Consistency rule: None - 1 Step - Consistency rule: None - 2 Step - Consistency rule: 35% of total profit, maximum, in one day **Example.** If your best day on a 2 Step account made $4,000, total profit has to reach about $11,429 before that day represents 35% or less. The dashboard calculation is the official metric. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/consistency-rule #### Demo account **Definition.** A practice account with no assessment, no rules and no payout. It exists to learn an interface or test a strategy, and nothing that happens on it qualifies you for anything. A demo account and a simulated prop account are technically similar and practically nothing alike. The prop account has hard risk limits, an assessment attached and money on the other side of it; the demo has none of those, which is why results on one rarely transfer to the other. The useful role for a demo is mechanical: confirming how orders behave, how a strategy is coded, or how an interface works, before any of it is exposed to an account with rules. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A GFN account is not a demo account. It carries enforceable risk limits, an assessment where one applies, and payout eligibility on qualifying simulated performance at the funded stage. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/demo-account #### Evaluation **Definition.** The assessment stage of a prop programme, traded on a simulated account. Profits made during an evaluation are simulated results used to decide whether you pass; they are not withdrawable. Everything about an evaluation is a test of process rather than of outcome. The target can be hit in a single day or over six months, and the firm is equally happy with either as long as no risk rule was broken on the way. The distinction that catches people out is between evaluation profit and funded profit. Only the second kind is ever eligible for a payout, and only after the account reaches the funded stage. **Get Funded Now's figure.** On GFN evaluations there is no deadline on any programme. Evaluation profits are simulated and cannot be withdrawn - the payout timer starts from the first trade on the funded account, not from evaluation trading. - Time limit: None, on all three programmes - Evaluation profits: Simulated - not withdrawable - Payout timer: Starts at the first funded-account trade Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/evaluation #### Evaluation fee Also called: Challenge fee, Account fee. **Definition.** The one-time price of an assessment. It is what the trader is genuinely risking - no customer capital is exposed on a simulated account - and it is the number to compare between firms per dollar of allocation. The useful comparison is cost per $1,000 of simulated allocation, not headline price. A cheaper account at a smaller size can cost more per unit of capital than a larger one. The second number to check is what the fee does not cover: resets, add-ons, subscription tiers and data charges all sit outside the headline price at some firms. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's evaluation fee is a one-time payment - no subscription, no resets to buy and no activation fee. The 2 Step starts at $22, the 1 Step at $123, and Instant at $36. - 2 Step - From: $22 ($5,000) - 1 Step - From: $123 ($10,000) - Instant - From: $36 ($5,000) > Commission of $3.50 per side is charged on the simulated account and is separate from the fee. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/evaluation-fee #### Free retake **Definition.** A second attempt at an evaluation included in the original fee, granted after a hard breach. It is not a free first attempt - the evaluation was paid for - and its rules are often tighter than the original. A free retake changes the arithmetic of a cheap evaluation, because the effective cost per attempt halves. It is worth reading as part of the price rather than as a bonus. It is also worth reading the terms closely. A retake at a narrower daily loss limit and a lower profit share is a meaningfully harder account, and a strategy sized for the first attempt may not fit inside the second. **Get Funded Now's figure.** The GFN 2 Step includes one free retake after a hard breach. The retake runs at a 3% daily loss limit (down from 5%), a 4% non-trailing drawdown (down from 8%) and a 60% virtual profit share (down from 80%). - 2 Step - Cost: Included - no second purchase - 2 Step - Daily loss limit: 3% - 2 Step - Max drawdown: 4%, non-trailing - 2 Step - Virtual profit share: 60% > Every other 2 Step rule still applies to the retake. The Instant and 1 Step programmes do not include one. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/free-retake #### Funded account Also called: Simulated funded account. **Definition.** The account a trader receives after passing an evaluation, or buys directly under an instant programme. At a simulated-funding firm it is a simulated account whose eligible gains can qualify for a real payout. The word "funded" describes the payout arrangement rather than a deposit. No customer capital is at stake and no customer order reaches a live market; what is real is the money paid out against qualifying simulated performance. Funded accounts keep risk rules. The daily loss limit and maximum drawdown continue to apply after passing, and a funded account can be breached in exactly the way an evaluation can. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A GFN funded account is a simulated account. It pays 70% of eligible virtual profits on Instant and 80% - or 90% with the add-on - on the 1 Step and 2 Step, every 14 days. - Account type: Simulated - no customer capital at risk - Risk rules: Daily loss limit and maximum drawdown still apply - Payout cycle: Every 14 days - Maximum total allocation: $400,000 across all your accounts Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/funded-account #### Instant funding Also called: Straight to funded, No-evaluation funding. **Definition.** A programme with no assessment phase. You buy a simulated funded account and trade it from day one, with no profit target to clear - paid for with tighter risk limits and a lower virtual profit share. Instant funding removes the assessment, not the risk rules. The firm is exposed from the first trade, so it compensates with a narrower daily loss limit, a drawdown that trails, a cap on withdrawals, or all three. It suits a trader who has already proven a strategy elsewhere and does not want to prove it again. It suits a trader who needs room for a bad day considerably less. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN Instant has no profit target, no minimum trading days and no consistency rule. The trade-off is a 3% daily loss limit, a 5% trailing drawdown, a 70% virtual profit share and withdrawals capped at 2% per cycle above a 3% buffer. - Instant - Profit target: None - Instant - Daily loss limit: 3% - the tightest of the three - Instant - Virtual profit share: 70% - Instant - Withdrawal cap: 2% per 14-day cycle **Example.** A $100,000 Instant account opens with a $3,000 daily allowance, a floor at $95,000 that trails upward, and up to $2,000 withdrawable per cycle once the account is above $103,000. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/instant-funding #### Live account **Definition.** A brokerage account holding a trader's own money, where orders reach a market and losses are the trader's own. It is the thing a simulated prop account is deliberately not. The distinction matters legally and practically. On a live account you carry the market risk and the broker relationship; on a simulated prop account the firm carries the trading outcome and you carry the fee you paid to be assessed. It also changes the failure mode. A live account fails when it runs out of money; a prop account fails when it touches a rule, which can happen while it is still well in profit overall. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN is not a broker and does not accept customer investment deposits. Evaluation and funded accounts are simulated, and no customer trades are executed in live financial markets. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/live-account #### Maximum allocation Also called: Allocation cap, Total allocation. **Definition.** The ceiling on how much simulated capital one trader may hold across every account with a firm. It is the real limit on how large a trader can get, and it is often lower than the largest account on sale suggests. An allocation cap is a risk control on the firm's side, so it is usually stated per customer rather than per account. Holding several accounts is how a trader reaches it, and how they diversify across strategies at the same time. Running multiple accounts also spreads breach risk: one account failing does not affect the others, provided each is traded independently rather than coordinated. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN caps total allocation at $400,000 of simulated capital across all your accounts combined - two $200,000 accounts, four $100,000 accounts, or any mix up to the limit. - Maximum total allocation: $400,000 - Split: Any combination of the sizes on sale - Drawdown: Each account has its own metrics > Prohibited-behaviour rules apply across your whole profile: accounts must be traded independently, not coordinated against each other. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/maximum-allocation #### Minimum trading days **Definition.** The number of separate days on which an account must trade before an evaluation phase can pass. Some firms also require a minimum profit on each qualifying day for it to count. The rule exists for the same reason a consistency rule does: to make a single session less likely to carry an assessment. It also sets a floor on how quickly a programme can possibly be completed. A day generally counts as qualifying only if it meets the stated profit condition, so three days of tiny scratches may not be three qualifying days. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN requires 3 minimum trading days on the 2 Step, each needing 0.5% profit - $500 on a $100,000 account. Instant and the 1 Step have no minimum at all, so a 1 Step evaluation can complete in a single day. - Instant - Minimum trading days: None - 1 Step - Minimum trading days: None - 2 Step - Minimum trading days: 3, at 0.5% profit each Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/minimum-trading-days #### One-step evaluation Also called: 1 Step challenge, Single-phase evaluation. **Definition.** An assessment with a single profit target. Clear it without breaching and you go straight to a simulated funded account - there is no second verification phase to trade afterwards. One-step programmes are the shorter route, and firms usually price them above their two-step equivalent because the firm carries the risk of funding sooner. The target is typically higher than a two-step first phase to compensate. The number worth comparing is the ratio of target to drawdown. A 10% target against an 8% drawdown gives you roughly one unit of room per unit of target; a 10% target against a 5% drawdown is a very different proposition. **Get Funded Now's figure.** The GFN 1 Step is a 10% virtual profit target against a 8% maximum drawdown - 10% with the checkout add-on - with a 5% daily loss limit, no minimum trading days and no consistency rule. - 1 Step - Profit target: 10% ($10,000 on $100,000) - 1 Step - Max drawdown: 8%, or 10% with the add-on - 1 Step - Virtual profit share: 80%, or 90% with the add-on **Example.** A $100,000 1 Step account needs $10,000 of virtual profit, with a floor at $92,000 and a daily limit of $5,000. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/one-step-evaluation #### Pass rate **Definition.** The share of purchased evaluations that reach a funded account. Industry figures are usually low single digits, and almost every published number is unaudited and defined differently by whoever published it. A pass rate is only meaningful alongside its definition: per attempt or per customer, per phase or to funding, over what period, and including or excluding retakes. Two firms quoting the same number can be measuring different things entirely. The more useful comparison is structural. Target-to-drawdown ratio, whether the drawdown trails, whether there is a deadline and whether a consistency rule applies tell you more about difficulty than any headline percentage. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN does not publish a pass rate, because an unaudited figure defined by the firm quoting it is not evidence. The rules that determine difficulty are published in full instead. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/pass-rate #### Phase one Also called: Step 1, Phase 1. **Definition.** The first stage of a two-step evaluation, carrying the higher of the two profit targets. Clearing it without breaching a risk rule moves the account to phase two rather than to a funded account. Phase one is the larger climb, and the one most traders plan for. It is also where the drawdown structure reveals itself: a fixed floor is at its tightest here, before any profit has been banked. Trading should stop once the dashboard confirms the phase is complete. Continuing to trade a passed phase adds risk to an objective that has already been met. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Phase one of the GFN 2 Step is a 8% virtual profit target - $8,000 on a $100,000 account - against the same 8% non-trailing floor that applies in phase two. - 2 Step - Phase 1 target: 8% - 2 Step - Minimum trading days: 3, with 0.5% profit ($500 on $100,000) - 2 Step - Carried into phase 2: Nothing - phase 2 restarts from the starting balance Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/phase-one #### Phase two Also called: Step 2, Verification phase. **Definition.** The second stage of a two-step evaluation, usually at a lower profit target than the first. It exists to check the result repeats, and it is where a large share of otherwise successful attempts fail. Phase two starts from the account's starting balance again - the profit made in phase one does not carry across. That surprises traders who expect to arrive with a cushion, and it is the reason the same position sizing that worked in phase one is riskier here. The lower target is not an invitation to trade larger. The drawdown is unchanged, so sizing up simply converts a shorter climb into a steeper cliff. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Phase two of the GFN 2 Step is a 5% target - $5,000 on a $100,000 account - against the same 5% daily loss limit and 8% fixed floor. The 1 Step has no second phase at all. - 2 Step - Phase 2 target: 5% - 2 Step - Profit carried from phase 1: None - 1 Step - Second phase: None Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/phase-two #### Profit target Also called: Virtual profit target, Evaluation target. **Definition.** The virtual gain required to pass an evaluation phase, stated as a percentage of the starting balance. It is the only objective you have to reach; every other rule is something you have to avoid. A target on its own says nothing about difficulty. Read it against the drawdown: 10% against 8% of room is a materially different task from 10% against 4%, and the second one is the version most of the industry sells. There is no reward for beating a target, so a target reached is a reason to stop trading that phase rather than to press on. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's virtual profit targets: none on Instant, 10% on the 1 Step, and 8% then 5% on the 2 Step. No programme has a deadline attached. - Instant - Target: None - 1 Step - Target: 10% - $10,000 on $100,000 - 2 Step - Targets: $8,000 then $5,000 on $100,000 Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/profit-target #### Prop firm challenge Also called: Trading challenge, Funded account challenge. **Definition.** A paid assessment on a simulated account. Reach a virtual profit target without breaking the risk rules and the firm issues a simulated funded account that pays you a share of the gains you generate on it. The challenge is the firm's screening mechanism. It is cheaper for a firm to sell an assessment than to interview traders, and the rules of the assessment are the firm's statement of what it considers acceptable risk. Read the drawdown structure before the profit target. The target tells you how far you have to go; the drawdown tells you how much room you have to get there, and the ratio between them is the honest measure of how hard the assessment is. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN sells three routes: Instant with no challenge at all, the 1 Step with a single 10% target, and the 2 Step at 8% then 5%. None of them has a time limit. - Instant - Target: None - simulated funded from day one - 1 Step - Target: 10% against a 8% drawdown - 2 Step - Target: 8% then 5%, plus a free retake Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/prop-firm-challenge #### Retake Also called: Re-attempt, Second attempt. **Definition.** A second run at an evaluation after a failed one. Some firms include a retake in the original fee; others sell it, and the terms of the second attempt are not always the terms of the first. Two things to check on any retake: whether it costs anything, and whether the rules are the same. A retake at tighter limits is a genuinely different product from the one originally bought, and it is usually the firm's way of pricing the second helping of risk. A retake also resets nothing psychologically. The most common reason a second attempt fails is that it is traded as a recovery of the first rather than as a fresh account. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN includes one free retake on the 2 Step only. It runs tighter than a first attempt: a 3% daily loss limit, a 4% non-trailing maximum drawdown and a 60% virtual profit share on the funded account it leads to. - 2 Step - Retake: One, included at no cost - 2 Step - Retake daily loss limit: 3%, down from 5% - Instant and 1 Step - Retake: None included Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/retake #### Scaling plan **Definition.** A published schedule under which a firm increases an account's virtual capital as the trader meets profit and consistency milestones. Not every firm runs one, and the conditions vary widely. Scaling plans are attractive on paper and slow in practice, because the milestones usually require several consecutive profitable payout cycles before the first increase arrives. The alternative model is a total allocation cap: instead of growing one account on a schedule, a trader holds several accounts up to a published ceiling, which puts the timing under their control rather than the firm's. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN does not operate a staged scaling plan. Allocation grows by holding more accounts, up to $400,000 of simulated capital in total, and an account size cannot be upgraded after purchase. - Staged scaling: Not offered - Maximum total allocation: $400,000 - Upgrading a purchased account: Not available - buy at the size you want Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/scaling-plan #### Simulated account **Definition.** An account that reproduces live market conditions - prices, spreads, commission, slippage - without routing orders to a market. Every GFN evaluation and funded account is one, and no customer capital is ever exposed. Simulated does not mean forgiving. A simulated environment still models changing spreads, execution differences and gapping markets, and the risk limits are enforced against the results exactly as if the trades had been filled externally. What simulation changes is where the risk sits. The firm absorbs the trading outcome; the trader's exposure is the evaluation fee they paid, and the payout is a share of the gains their simulated performance produced. **Get Funded Now's figure.** All GFN evaluation and funded accounts are simulated or virtual accounts. No customer trades are executed in live financial markets, and "funded" refers to simulated or virtual funding. - Customer capital at risk: None beyond the one-time fee - Market conditions modelled: Spreads, commission, slippage, gaps - Payouts: Real money against qualifying simulated performance Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/simulated-account #### Time limit **Definition.** A deadline by which an evaluation must be completed. Where one exists it changes the strategy entirely, because it converts a test of process into a test of process under a clock. A time limit is the rule that most reliably makes traders size up. It removes the option of waiting for the setup you actually trade, which is the option that produces the results you were assessed on. Firms have largely moved away from deadlines because they raise failure rates without improving the quality of the traders who pass. **Get Funded Now's figure.** No GFN programme has a time limit. Instant, the 1 Step and the 2 Step all run at your own pace, and a slow month costs nothing but time. - Instant - Time limit: None - 1 Step - Time limit: None - 2 Step - Time limit: None > Ordinary inactivity rules still apply - an account has to be traded from time to time to stay available. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/time-limit #### Two-step evaluation Also called: 2 Step challenge, Two-phase evaluation. **Definition.** An assessment split into two phases with separate profit targets. The first phase proves the strategy, the second - usually at a lower target - checks it repeats before the firm issues a simulated funded account. Two-step programmes are the industry's oldest format and normally its cheapest, because the second phase reduces the chance that a single lucky run reaches funding. Profits from the first phase do not carry into the second: each phase starts again from the account's starting balance. The second phase is where most attempts fail, not the first. Traders arrive at it having already proven the strategy once and size up, which is precisely the wrong response to a lower target. **Get Funded Now's figure.** The GFN 2 Step runs 8% then 5% against a 8% non-trailing drawdown, with 3 minimum trading days, a 35% consistency rule and one free retake. - 2 Step - Phase 1 target: 8% ($8,000 on $100,000) - 2 Step - Phase 2 target: 5% ($5,000 on $100,000) - 2 Step - Consistency rule: 35% of total profit, maximum, in one day > The consistency rule and the 3-day minimum apply to the 2 Step only. Instant and the 1 Step have neither. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/two-step-evaluation #### Virtual capital **Definition.** The simulated balance an evaluation or funded account is denominated in. It sets the size of every percentage-based rule on the account, and it is not money held on the trader's behalf. Virtual capital is best read as a scale factor. A $100,000 account is not $100,000 of anybody's money; it is the number every limit, target and lot size is calculated from. Buying more virtual capital than your process can handle is the most common and most expensive mistake in prop trading, because a larger account does not make the percentage rules any wider in relative terms. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN sells virtual account sizes from $5,000 to $200,000, with a maximum total allocation of $400,000 across every account you hold. - Smallest account: $5,000 on the 2 Step - Largest single account: $200,000 - Maximum total allocation: $400,000 Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/virtual-capital ### Payouts and money Virtual profit share, payout cycles, withdrawal caps, payout methods and the reasons a payout gets refused. #### Bank transfer Also called: ACH, Bank wire. **Definition.** A payout delivered to a bank account, either domestically through a local clearing system such as ACH or internationally by wire. Wires are faster to arrive and usually carry higher fees. Domestic rails are cheaper and settle in business days; international wires cross correspondent banks, so they can carry intermediary fees and a currency conversion that neither the firm nor the trader controls. Bank details must match the verified account holder. A mismatch between the trading account name and the receiving account name stops a payout at the compliance stage rather than at the bank. **Get Funded Now's figure.** ACH bank transfer and international bank wire are two of the three ways to receive a GFN payout through Rise (Riseworks). The receiving account must belong to the verified GFN account holder. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/bank-transfer #### Chargeback **Definition.** A payment reversal requested from a card issuer rather than from the merchant. It is a fraud remedy, and using it as a substitute for a refund request is treated as a serious breach by every prop firm. A chargeback against a firm you still hold an account with almost always ends the relationship: accounts are restricted or terminated, and any pending payout goes with them. A genuine billing problem - a duplicate charge, a payment taken twice, an order never delivered - is resolved faster through support, and leaves the account intact. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN asks customers to contact support first about any genuine billing dispute. Fraudulent or abusive chargebacks may result in account restrictions or termination. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/chargeback #### Crypto payout **Definition.** A payout delivered in cryptocurrency rather than to a bank account. It settles independently of banking hours and is common among firms paying traders in markets where international wires are slow. Crypto settlement removes the banking delay but adds two considerations: the network and asset the payout arrives in, and the responsibility for the receiving wallet address, which cannot be corrected once a transfer is sent. Identity rules do not relax because the rail is crypto. The payout still has to go to the verified account holder. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Crypto is one of the three withdrawal options available through Rise (Riseworks), GFN's payout provider, alongside ACH and bank wire. The same identity rules apply to every method. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/crypto-payout #### First payout **Definition.** The earliest date a funded account can request money. What starts the clock differs by firm - purchase, account issue, or first trade - and that choice moves the date by days or weeks. A clock that starts at the first trade rather than at purchase means a trader who waits a week for a setup also waits a week longer to be paid. It also means there is no advantage in forcing trades to start the timer. The first payout is also the first time identity verification is enforced in practice, so completing it early removes the most common source of delay. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A GFN first payout becomes eligible 14 calendar days after the first trade on the funded account. Buying the account does not start the clock, and evaluation trades do not count toward it. - Clock starts: First trade on the funded account - Purchase date: Does not start the clock - Evaluation trades: Do not count - Before payment: KYC/compliance verification may be required Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/first-payout #### Minimum withdrawal Also called: Withdrawal buffer, Minimum payout. **Definition.** The smallest amount a firm will process, or the profit an account must hold before any withdrawal is permitted. The second form is a buffer that has to stay in the account rather than a transaction floor. A buffer requirement changes the arithmetic of an instant-funding account: the first payout only becomes possible once the account is a set percentage above its starting balance, which takes longer than the first eligibility date suggests. Buffers exist because the firm needs the account to have built cushion before profit starts leaving it, particularly where the drawdown floor trails. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's Instant programme requires a 3% minimum withdrawal buffer - on a $100,000 account the balance has to reach $103,000 before a withdrawal can be made. The 1 Step and 2 Step publish no buffer requirement. - Instant - Minimum buffer: 3% above the starting balance - Instant - On a $100,000 account: Balance must reach $103,000 - 1 Step and 2 Step - Minimum buffer: None published Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/minimum-withdrawal #### Payout **Definition.** A transfer of the trader's share of eligible virtual profits from a simulated funded account. Payouts are requested on an eligibility date, processed after checks, and paid to the verified account holder. Eligibility is the operative word. A payout requires the account to be at the funded stage, to be inside its risk limits, to have passed identity checks, and to remain compliant while the request is being processed. Taking a payout reduces the profit sitting in the account, which can reduce the cushion above the drawdown level. Checking the resulting buffer before requesting is part of the decision, not an afterthought. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN payouts are available every 14 days, starting 14 calendar days after the first trade on the funded account - not from the purchase date, and not counting evaluation trades. - First eligibility: 14 calendar days after the first funded-account trade - Afterwards: Every 14 days - Evaluation profits: Simulated - not withdrawable - After a breach: A breached funded account is not eligible for payout Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/payout #### Payout cycle Also called: Payout frequency, Payout period. **Definition.** The interval between payout eligibility dates on a funded account. It is usually counted in calendar days from a fixed starting event rather than in trading days or calendar months. Two details decide what a cycle is actually worth: what starts the clock, and whether the days are calendar or trading. A cycle that starts at purchase is materially better than one that starts at the first trade if you are slow to begin. A payout date is an option, not an obligation. Leaving eligible profit in the account is normally permitted, and on an account with a trailing floor it keeps the cushion wider. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's payout cycle is every 14 days in calendar days, measured from the first trade on the funded account. A 7-day cycle is available as an optional add-on at checkout. - Standard cycle: Every 14 days - With the add-on: Every 7 days - Days counted: Calendar days, not trading days - Trading every day: Not required **Example.** A first funded-account trade on 1 January makes 15 January the first payout eligibility date, with subsequent dates every 14 days after that. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/payout-cycle #### Payout denial **Definition.** A refused payout request. The common causes are a breach recorded before the payout was approved, incomplete identity verification, a mismatch in the receiving account, or trading that broke a conduct rule. Almost every denial traces back to one of a small number of conditions, and all of them are published in advance. The account must be at the funded stage, inside its limits, verified in the trader's own name, and compliant while the request is processed. A breach recorded while a payout is pending affects that payout. The account has to remain eligible through processing, not merely at the moment of the request. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A GFN payout can be rejected where the account is breached, where it stops being compliant with the Terms while a payout is processing, or where identity verification is incomplete. A legitimately breached funded account is not eligible for a payout from that account. - Hard breach before approval: Pending and future payouts can be rejected - Incomplete KYC: Payout held until verification is satisfied - Name mismatch: Payout details must match the verified account holder - Prohibited trading: Payouts can be rejected and accounts terminated Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/payout-denial #### Payout method **Definition.** How a firm actually sends the money: bank transfer, wire, or a payments provider that offers several rails. The method determines the paperwork, the fees and how long the transfer takes. Most firms route payouts through a third-party payments provider rather than paying from their own bank, because the provider handles contractor paperwork, sanctions screening and international transfer in one place. Whatever the rail, the receiving account has to belong to the verified account holder. Paying a third party is the fastest way to have a payout stopped. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN pays traders through Rise (Riseworks), a payments platform built for paying contractors internationally. Within Rise you can choose ACH bank transfer, international bank wire or crypto. - Provider: Rise (Riseworks) - Options: ACH bank transfer, international bank wire, crypto - Paperwork: A short contract is signed at the request stage - Account holder: Must be the same person who bought, verified and traded the account Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/payout-method #### Payout processing time **Definition.** The gap between requesting a payout and the money arriving. It covers the firm's review, any identity checks, the payment provider's own processing and finally the settlement time of the chosen rail. Most of the variance sits in the parts that are not the transfer itself. A complete identity file and a payout account already verified in the right name remove nearly all of the delay a trader can control. The rail matters at the end: crypto settles fastest, domestic bank transfer next, and an international wire slowest, particularly across a weekend or a bank holiday. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN states that payout processing times depend on verification, the payment method and the payout provider, and the status of every request is shown in your dashboard. A contract is signed through Rise before processing begins. - What affects it: Verification, method, provider - Where to check: Your dashboard shows the request status - Before processing: The Rise contract must be signed Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/payout-processing-time #### Payout proof **Definition.** Evidence that a firm has actually paid traders - screenshots, transfer statements or published totals. It is the most-requested and least-verifiable category of prop firm marketing, because an image proves only that an image exists. A screenshot proves very little on its own: it can be cropped, staged or drawn from an unrepresentative account. Treat any single image as an anecdote rather than as data, whoever published it. The stronger signals are structural. Published payout rules, a stated cycle, a named payment provider and terms that specify what makes a payout ineligible tell you more than a wall of screenshots does. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN publishes the payout rules rather than a totals figure: a every 14 days cycle from the first funded-account trade, a stated virtual profit share per programme, a named payment provider, and the written grounds on which a payout can be refused. > Testimonials and examples may not be representative of other customers and are not a promise of any outcome. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/payout-proof #### Profit share add-on **Definition.** An optional purchase at checkout that raises the trader's share of virtual profits above the standard rate. It is paid up front, so it only pays for itself if the account reaches a payout. An add-on is worth taking when the expected payouts from the account exceed the extra cost of the upgrade - which is a judgement about how likely you are to be paid, not about how good the percentage sounds. Add-ons attach to the account at purchase. An account bought without one keeps the standard rate for its lifetime, so the decision is made once. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's profit share add-on raises the virtual profit share from 80% to 90% on the 1 Step and 2 Step. It is selected at checkout and cannot be added afterwards. Instant pays 70% and has no share add-on. - 1 Step and 2 Step - Standard: 80% - 1 Step and 2 Step - With the add-on: 90% - 1 Step - Other add-ons: 10% max drawdown; 7-day payout cycle Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/profit-share-add-on #### Profit split Also called: Profit share, Trader split. **Definition.** The share of eligible gains paid to the trader, with the remainder kept by the firm. At a simulated-funding firm the gains being divided are virtual profits generated on a simulated account. Splits are quoted as "up to" more often than not, so the number that matters is the one attached to your account at checkout rather than the one on the homepage. Add-ons, programme type and retake status can all change it. A higher split on a tighter account is not automatically better. A 90% share of profits from an account you breach in week two is worth less than 70% of an account you keep. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's virtual profit share is 70% on Instant and 80% on the 1 Step and 2 Step, rising to 90% with the optional add-on at checkout. A 2 Step retake pays 60%. - Instant - Virtual profit share: 70% - 1 Step - Virtual profit share: 80%, or 90% with the add-on - 2 Step - Virtual profit share: 80%, or 90% with the add-on - 2 Step retake - Virtual profit share: 60% **Example.** $1,000 of eligible virtual profit on a 1 Step account pays $800 at the standard 80% share, or $900 with the add-on. The same $1,000 on Instant pays $700. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/profit-split #### Refund policy **Definition.** The published terms under which a firm will return the purchase price of an evaluation. Rights are usually strongest before the account has been accessed and narrow sharply once trading has begun. Digital products bought and delivered immediately sit in a specific corner of consumer law, where the right to change your mind can be waived by starting to use the product. Accessing the account is usually the moment that happens. Anything genuinely wrong with a purchase - wrong size, duplicate order, a payment problem - is settled fastest by contacting support before anything is traded. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN refund eligibility depends on the circumstances of the purchase and the published refund policy. Once an account has been accessed or trading has begun, refund rights may be limited by the Terms & Conditions and applicable consumer law. > The refund policy published on this site is the operative document; this entry summarises it and does not replace it. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/refund-policy #### Refundable fee **Definition.** An evaluation fee a firm returns under stated conditions - usually with the first payout after a trader reaches the funded stage. Where it exists it is a term of the programme, not a consumer refund right. A refundable fee is a marketing structure as much as a financial one: the firm keeps the money from every attempt that does not reach funding, and returns it on the ones that do. Check whether the refund is automatic, whether it survives a breach, and whether it applies to add-ons. It is a separate question from a consumer refund, which is about the purchase itself rather than about performance. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN does not advertise a fee refunded on your first payout. The fee is a one-time purchase with no subscription and no resets to buy - and separately, refund eligibility on a purchase follows the published refund policy and the Terms & Conditions. - Fee structure: One-time, no subscription - Resets for sale: None - Purchase refunds: Per the refund policy and applicable consumer law Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/refundable-fee #### Rise payout Also called: Riseworks. **Definition.** A payout processed through Rise (Riseworks), a payments platform used to pay contractors internationally. The trader signs a short contract in Rise, then chooses how the money is delivered. Using a contractor-payments platform is how a firm pays people in dozens of countries without operating banking relationships in each one. It also puts identity and tax paperwork in one place rather than spreading it across payment rails. The practical consequence for a trader: the Rise account has to be set up and verified in the same name as the trading account, and the contract has to be signed before processing starts. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN processes payouts through Rise (Riseworks). When you request a payout you are sent a short contract to sign; once signed, GFN processes the payment and you withdraw from Rise by ACH, bank wire or crypto. - Step 1: Request the payout on an eligibility date - Step 2: Sign the contract sent through Rise - Step 3: Withdraw by ACH, wire or crypto Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/rise-payout #### Virtual profit share **Definition.** The compliant name for a prop firm's profit split: the share of virtual profits generated on a simulated funded account that is paid to the trader. The profits are simulated; the payout is real money. The wording is not decoration. A simulated-funding firm divides the results of simulated trading, not the proceeds of trades executed in a market on a customer's behalf, and the vocabulary keeps that distinction visible. What a trader receives is a payout against qualifying simulated performance, subject to the programme rules, the applicable share, identity checks and the terms attached to the account. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's virtual profit share is up to 90%: 80% as standard on the 1 Step and 2 Step, 90% with the checkout add-on, and 70% on Instant. - Standard: 80% on the 1 Step and 2 Step - With the add-on: 90% - Instant - Instant: 70% > Subject to programme rules, remaining risk limits, KYC checks and the Terms & Conditions. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/virtual-profit-share #### Withdrawal **Definition.** The act of requesting a payout from a funded account. The requested amount leaves the account balance, which changes the distance between equity and the drawdown level for everything traded afterwards. A withdrawal is a risk decision as much as a financial one. Money taken out is money no longer acting as a cushion above the floor, and on a trailing structure the floor does not come down to compensate. Withdrawals are paid to the verified account holder. The name on the receiving account has to match the person who bought, verified and traded the account. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Withdrawing from a GFN account reduces the profit in it and can reduce the cushion above the drawdown floor. On Instant, withdrawals are capped at 2% per cycle above a 3% buffer; the 1 Step and 2 Step have no cap. - Instant - Cap per cycle: 2% of the starting balance - 1 Step - Cap per cycle: None - 2 Step - Cap per cycle: None Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/withdrawal #### Withdrawal cap **Definition.** A limit on how much may be taken out of a funded account in one payout cycle, usually a percentage of the starting balance. Profit above the cap stays in the account or is removed without being paid. Caps are most common on instant-funding programmes, where the firm is exposed from the first trade and wants profit to build before it leaves. Read the cap together with any minimum buffer, because the two interact. The mechanic to check is what happens to profit above the cap: at some firms it stays and compounds, at others it is deducted from the account at the point of withdrawal. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN caps Instant withdrawals at 2% of the starting balance per 14-day cycle, above a 3% minimum buffer. On a request, all profit above the buffer leaves the account; you receive up to the cap and anything above it is deducted rather than paid. - Instant - Cap: 2% per cycle ($2,000 on $100,000) - Instant - Minimum buffer: 3% ($3,000 on $100,000) - 1 Step and 2 Step - Cap: None **Example.** A $100,000 Instant account showing $6,000 profit: $3,000 is deducted, $2,000 is withdrawable, and the account restates to $103,000 against a $98,000 floor. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/withdrawal-cap ### Trading mechanics Pips, lots, leverage, margin, spread, commission, swap and the order types you place them all with. #### Break-even stop **Definition.** Moving a stop loss to the entry price once a trade is far enough into profit, so the position can no longer produce a loss. It removes risk from the trade at the cost of a tighter exit. Moving to break-even is genuinely useful on an account with a hard daily limit, because it retires the risk of that trade and returns the allowance it was using. Moving too early is the more common error. A stop at entry inside the instrument's normal noise will be hit by ordinary movement, turning a live trade into a scratch for no analytical reason. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Retiring a trade's risk restores the daily buffer: on a $100,000 2 Step account with a $5,000 allowance, a position risking $500 moved to break-even returns $500 of room for the rest of the session. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/break-even-stop #### Commission **Definition.** An explicit per-lot charge for executing a trade, usually quoted per side. Two sides make a round turn, so the quoted figure has to be doubled to get the cost of a completed trade. Commission is deducted from equity at execution, which means it counts against the daily loss limit and the drawdown buffer in exactly the way a losing trade does. For a high-frequency strategy it is the dominant cost. Twenty round turns a day at a standard lot is a running cost that has to be cleared before any of the day's result is profit. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN charges $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn on the simulated account. It is separate from the one-time evaluation fee, and it counts against your daily loss limit and drawdown buffer. - Per side: $3.50 per lot - Round turn: $7.00 per lot - Counts toward: Daily loss limit and maximum drawdown **Example.** Ten round turns at one standard lot costs $70. On a $10,000 Instant account that is almost a quarter of the $300 daily allowance, before a single losing trade. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/commission #### Execution **Definition.** The process of turning an order into a filled position - the price received, the delay before it arrives, and whether the order is filled in full. It is where a strategy meets reality. Execution quality is judged by fill price against requested price across many trades, not by a single good or bad fill. A strategy whose edge is smaller than its average execution cost has no edge in practice. When something looks wrong, the useful response is evidence rather than argument: trade IDs, timestamps, the instrument, the device and a description of what happened settle a query quickly. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN accounts are available on desktop, web browser and mobile, with login details issued on purchase. A simulated environment still models real conditions including changing spreads and execution differences. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/execution #### Free margin **Definition.** Equity minus the margin currently committed to open positions. It is what remains available to open new trades or to absorb floating losses on the ones already running. Free margin falls for two reasons: opening more positions, and existing positions moving against you. The second is the one that catches traders out, because no new trade was placed. On an account with an equity-based risk limit, free margin and the drawdown buffer move together - both are eroded by the same floating loss. **Get Funded Now's figure.** On a GFN account free margin is reduced by floating losses, and those same floating losses count toward the daily loss limit - 3% on Instant, 5% on the 1 Step and 2 Step. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/free-margin #### Hedging **Definition.** Holding opposing positions in the same or correlated instruments so that one offsets the other. Used genuinely it manages exposure; used across accounts it is an attempt to game an evaluation. Within a single account, a hedge is a legitimate way to neutralise exposure through an event rather than closing and re-entering. Costs still accrue on both legs, so it is not free. Across accounts it is a different activity entirely. Taking opposite sides on two accounts so that one passes at the other's expense is prohibited everywhere in the industry, and it is straightforward to detect. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN permits normal hedging within an individual account where it represents genuine trading activity. Manipulative or coordinated hedging across accounts - deliberately taking opposite sides so one account succeeds at another's expense - is prohibited. - Within one account: May be permitted as genuine activity - Across your own accounts: Prohibited where used to manipulate the evaluation - Between customers: Coordinated trading is prohibited Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/hedging #### Leverage **Definition.** The ratio between the notional size of a position and the margin required to hold it. At 1:50, $2,000 of margin supports a $100,000 position - it changes what you can open, not what you may lose. Leverage is frequently blamed for losses it did not cause. What determines risk is position size against stop distance; leverage only sets the ceiling on how large a position the account can carry at all. On a prop account the risk limits bind long before the leverage ceiling does. High leverage with a tight daily loss limit simply means the limit is reached faster if the position is sized to the ceiling. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN offers up to 1:50 on every programme - Instant, the 1 Step and the 2 Step. It can vary by instrument: forex, metals, indices, commodities and crypto carry different requirements. - Leverage: Up to 1:50 on all three programmes - By instrument: Varies - forex, metals, indices, commodities and crypto differ - Effect on the rules: None - the drawdown limits apply regardless Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/leverage #### Limit order **Definition.** An instruction to trade only at a specified price or better. It controls the price but not the fill: if the market never reaches the level, or passes through it too quickly, the order does not execute. Limit orders remove entry slippage, which makes them the natural choice for a strategy whose edge is small relative to the spread. The trade-off is missed trades. A market that moves away without filling leaves the trader flat in exactly the move they identified, which is a real cost even though it never appears in a statement. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Limit, market and stop orders are all placed on the same GFN account, on desktop, web browser and mobile, against the same daily loss limit and drawdown floor. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/limit-order #### Liquidity **Definition.** How much can be traded at a given price without moving it. Deep liquidity produces tight spreads and reliable fills; thin liquidity produces wide spreads, slippage and gaps. Liquidity varies through the day by instrument. The same pair that fills perfectly during a session overlap can slip several pips at the tail end of the Asian session on the same size. It also explains most of what traders experience as bad execution: a fill that looks wrong at 22:00 is often an ordinary fill in a market with almost nobody in it. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN trading hours depend on the instrument and the liquidity available for that market, and public holidays can cause late opens, early closes or closures. Weekend gaps and spread changes remain the trader's risk and can still trigger a breach. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/liquidity #### Lot **Definition.** The unit position size is measured in. One standard forex lot is 100,000 units of the base currency; mini and micro lots are one tenth and one hundredth of that. Lot size is the single variable that converts a market move into a dollar outcome, which makes it the main lever a trader has over whether a risk rule is survivable. Prop firms rarely publish one universal maximum lot size, because position size is already constrained by leverage, margin and the risk limits. A technically permitted size is not permission to breach. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN publishes no single universal maximum lot size. Position size is constrained by leverage of up to 1:50, available margin and your risk limits - and trading a permitted lot size does not excuse a breach of the drawdown rules. - Maximum lot size: No universal figure - constrained by margin and risk limits - Leverage: Up to 1:50 - Minimum hold time: 2 minutes Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/lot #### Margin **Definition.** The portion of account equity set aside to hold an open position. It is a deposit against the position rather than a cost, and it is returned to free margin when the position closes. Margin requirement is notional size divided by leverage, so it falls as leverage rises. On a simulated account it works identically, and it is what stops an account opening a position larger than its equity can support. Margin and risk are different numbers. A position can use a small fraction of margin and still carry a loss large enough to breach a daily limit. **Get Funded Now's figure.** At GFN's up to 1:50, a $100,000 notional position requires $2,000 of margin. Requirements vary by instrument, and where there is not enough margin the platform may prevent the order from opening. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/margin #### Margin call **Definition.** A warning issued when equity falls to a set percentage of the margin required for open positions. It signals that the account is close to being unable to support the trades it holds. On a prop account a margin call is rarely the binding constraint, because the drawdown rules are tighter than the margin rules. An account that gets close to a margin call has usually breached a risk limit some distance earlier. Where a margin call does matter is with oversized positions on a small account, which can reach margin thresholds and risk limits at nearly the same moment. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's risk limits bind well before a margin call would: on a $100,000 Instant account the daily loss limit is reached at $3,000 of loss, far above any margin threshold. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/margin-call #### Market order **Definition.** An instruction to trade immediately at the best price available. It prioritises certainty of execution over certainty of price, so it will always fill but not always where expected. In liquid conditions the difference between the expected and the received price is negligible. In thin or fast conditions it is not, which is why market orders around a scheduled release behave so differently from market orders mid-session. For a prop account the risk is that an unexpected fill starts a position further underwater than planned, consuming part of the daily allowance before the trade has begun. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Every GFN trade, whatever the order type, must stay open for at least 2 minutes on all three programmes, in both the evaluation and funded stages. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/market-order #### Micro lot **Definition.** 1,000 units of the base currency, one hundredth of a standard lot. Worth roughly $0.10 per pip on most dollar-quoted pairs, it is the smallest size most accounts can trade. Micro lots make a small account tradeable at a sensible risk per trade. On a $5,000 account, risking 0.5% is $25 - which is a 50-pip stop at five micro lots and completely impractical in standard lots. They are also the right tool for scaling into a position, because the increments are small enough that adding does not transform the risk profile in one step. **Get Funded Now's figure.** On a $5,000 GFN 2 Step account - the cheapest entry at $22 - the 5% daily loss limit is $250, which is 2,500 pips at one micro lot. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/micro-lot #### Mini lot **Definition.** 10,000 units of the base currency, one tenth of a standard lot. On most dollar-quoted pairs it is worth about $1 per pip, which is the size most small evaluation accounts actually trade. Mini lots are where position sizing becomes granular enough to respect a small daily limit. At $1 per pip, a 50-pip stop risks $50 - a figure that fits inside a small account's allowance many times over. Sizing in mini lots also makes partial exits practical, because a position can be reduced in meaningful steps without closing it entirely. **Get Funded Now's figure.** On a $25,000 GFN 2 Step account, the 5% daily loss limit is $1,250 - 1,250 pips at one mini lot worth $1 per pip, or 25 setups risking 50 pips each. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/mini-lot #### Partial close Also called: Scaling out. **Definition.** Closing part of a position while leaving the remainder open. It banks some of the result and reduces the risk carried by the trade without giving up exposure entirely. Partial exits change the arithmetic of a strategy rather than improving it automatically: they raise the win rate and lower the average win, which can help or hurt depending on how the edge is distributed. On a prop account they are most useful as a risk tool. Halving a position halves the floating loss it can produce, which directly restores daily allowance. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Each leg of a partial close is still a trade on a GFN account, so the 2 minutes minimum hold applies, and each leg pays $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/partial-close #### Pip Also called: Point in percentage, Pipette. **Definition.** The standard unit of price movement in forex - 0.0001 for most pairs, 0.01 for yen pairs. A pipette is one tenth of a pip, which is why most quotes carry a fifth or third decimal place. A pip is a distance, not a value. What it is worth depends entirely on position size and, for pairs not quoted in your account currency, on the exchange rate at the time. Converting a risk rule into pips is the practical step that makes it tradeable: a dollar limit divided by the dollar value of a pip gives the stop distance a position can afford. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A GFN daily loss limit converts straight into pips. On a $100,000 1 Step account the 5% limit is $5,000 - 500 pips at one standard lot on a pair worth $10 per pip, or 50 pips at ten lots. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/pip #### Position size **Definition.** How many lots a trade is placed in. It is calculated from the dollar amount being risked and the stop distance, not chosen first - which is the reverse of how most traders approach it. The calculation is fixed: risk in dollars, divided by stop distance in pips, divided by the value of a pip per lot. Change the stop and the size changes; keep the size and the risk changes instead. On a prop account the risk figure has to be set against the daily loss limit rather than against the account balance, because the daily limit is the constraint that actually binds. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Sized against GFN's daily loss limits, a $100,000 account risking 0.5% per trade risks $500 - one tenth of the 5% daily allowance on the 1 Step, or one sixth of the 3% allowance on Instant. - Instant - Daily allowance on $100,000: $3,000 - 1 Step and 2 Step - Daily allowance on $100,000: $5,000 - 0.5% risk per trade: $500 Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/position-size #### Raw spread **Definition.** A pricing model where the spread is passed through without a markup and the cost is charged as an explicit commission instead. It separates the price you trade from the fee you pay. Raw pricing is easier to audit because the two components are visible separately, and it usually produces a lower total cost for frequent traders than a marked-up spread does. Comparing firms means adding both parts together. A tight spread with a high commission and a wide spread with none can work out to the same round-turn cost. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN charges commission separately at $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn, so the cost of trading is an explicit line rather than something folded into the price. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/raw-spread #### Round turn **Definition.** One complete trade - the entry and the exit together. Commission quoted per side has to be doubled to get the round-turn cost, which is the only figure worth comparing between firms. Quoting per side makes a cost look half the size it is, which is why the round-turn figure is the one to hold onto. A $3.50 per side charge is a $7 trade. Multiply the round turn by expected trade frequency before choosing a strategy for an evaluation. A scalping approach can pay more in commission over a month than the evaluation fee cost. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's round-turn cost is $7 per lot - $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn. Every trade must also stay open for at least 2 minutes, on every programme. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/round-turn #### Slippage **Definition.** The difference between the price requested and the price filled. It appears when the market moves between order and execution, and it is most pronounced around news and at thin points in the session. Slippage is not always negative - fills can improve as well as worsen - but it clusters against traders in fast markets, because that is when prices move furthest between request and fill. It matters most for a stop loss. A stop is an instruction to trade at market once a level is touched, not a promise of a price, and in a gapping market the fill can be well beyond the level. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Slippage does not excuse a breach on a GFN account. Traders are responsible for position sizing with enough room for changing market conditions, and a simulated environment still models spread changes and execution differences. - Does slippage excuse a breach?: No - Zero slippage: Not offered - conditions are modelled, not idealised - Gapping markets: A stop is executed at available prices, not the requested one Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/slippage #### Spread **Definition.** The gap between the bid and the ask price. It is the cost paid on entry: a position opens slightly underwater by the width of the spread before the market has moved at all. Spreads widen when liquidity thins - around news, at session changes and into the weekend close. A strategy with a small profit per trade is the most exposed to this, because the cost is a larger share of the result. Spread costs come out of the same equity the risk limits are measured against, so they consume the daily allowance exactly as a losing trade does. **Get Funded Now's figure.** On a GFN account, spread widening, slippage and rapid price movements are treated as ordinary market conditions. Your drawdown rules still apply through them, and costs reduce the available buffer. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/spread #### Standard lot **Definition.** 100,000 units of the base currency - the full-size forex contract. On most dollar-quoted pairs it is worth roughly $10 per pip, which makes it the reference every other size is scaled from. A standard lot is a large position on a small account. Ten pips against you is $100, which is a third of the daily allowance on a $10,000 account with a 3% limit. Its usefulness is as a mental benchmark: price a trade at one standard lot first, then scale down to the size your stop distance and daily limit actually allow. **Get Funded Now's figure.** On a $10,000 GFN Instant account the 3% daily loss limit is $300 - 30 pips at one standard lot worth $10 per pip, before commission. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/standard-lot #### Stop loss **Definition.** A resting order that closes a losing position at a predetermined level. It is the mechanism that turns a risk-per-trade figure into an actual limit rather than an intention. A stop placed at a level that suits the strategy and a position sized to make the resulting loss acceptable are the same decision made in two steps. Placing the stop where the loss is comfortable instead is how strategies get stopped out of trades that would have worked. A mental stop is not a stop. Where an account requires a platform stop it has to be on the order; a stop held in your head is unavailable during a disconnection, which is exactly when it is needed. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Stop-loss requirements on a GFN account depend on the programme and options attached to it. Where a stop is compulsory it must be placed on the platform - a mental stop does not satisfy the rule, and a missing compulsory stop can trigger position closure. - Requirement: Depends on the account's programme and options - Mental stops: Do not count where a platform stop is required - Missing compulsory stop: Can trigger closure or corrective action Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/stop-loss #### Stop order **Definition.** An order that becomes a market order once a specified price is touched. Used to enter on a breakout or to exit a losing position, it fills at whatever price is available once triggered. The distinction from a limit order is the direction of the trigger: a stop is placed where the market is heading, a limit where it is not. That is why a stop can fill worse than its level and a limit cannot. A stop entry into a fast breakout is the order type most exposed to slippage, because it triggers precisely when the market is moving quickest. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A stop order on a GFN account is filled at prices available in the trading environment. Slippage on a stop does not excuse a drawdown breach, so position sizing has to leave room for it. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/stop-order #### Stop-out **Definition.** The automatic closing of positions when equity falls below the level needed to maintain them. On a prop account the phrase is also used loosely for hitting the maximum drawdown floor. The two meanings are worth separating. A platform stop-out is a margin mechanism; a drawdown stop-out is a rule breach, and only the second one ends the account. Trading against either as though it were a stop loss is the same mistake in two forms: both are the system's last resort, not a risk plan. **Get Funded Now's figure.** On GFN accounts the drawdown floor is the level that matters: $92,000 on a $100,000 2 Step account, fixed, and $95,000 on Instant before it trails upward. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/stop-out #### Swap Also called: Rollover, Overnight financing. **Definition.** The financing charge or credit applied to a position held past the daily rollover. It reflects the interest rate difference between the two sides of the pair and can be positive or negative. Swap is charged once per night, and typically three times on one weekday to cover the weekend. For a position held for weeks it can become a larger cost than the spread and commission combined. Because it is deducted from equity, swap counts against the drawdown buffer. A swing position can drift closer to a limit overnight with no market movement at all. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Swap is charged on GFN accounts where a position is held past rollover, and it reduces equity - which means it counts toward the same limits every other cost does. Holding overnight is permitted where the account and the underlying market allow. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/swap #### Take profit **Definition.** A resting order that closes a position at a target price. Paired with a stop loss it fixes the reward-to-risk ratio of a trade at the moment it is placed, before the outcome is known. A take-profit removes the hardest decision from the point at which it is hardest to make. It also caps the winners, which is the trade-off a trailing exit is designed to avoid. On an evaluation the discipline is worth more than the upside: a fixed target makes results comparable across trades, which is what makes a sample of them meaningful. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Against a GFN 10% 1 Step target, thirty trades at 0.5% risk and a 2:1 reward-to-risk ratio reaching target 40% of the time clears $10,000 on a $100,000 account - one illustration of an arithmetic that has many shapes. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/take-profit #### Trailing stop **Definition.** A stop loss that follows the price at a fixed distance as a position moves into profit, and stays put when it moves back. It locks in gains without capping the trade at a target. A trailing stop is the trade-level version of a trailing drawdown, and it behaves the same way: it protects what has been made and tightens the room available, so a normal retracement can end the trade. The distance matters more than the idea. A trail closer than the instrument's ordinary noise converts winners into small losses at a reliable rate. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A trailing stop is a trade-level tool; GFN's 5% Instant drawdown applies the same logic at account level, following your equity high upward. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/trailing-stop ### Strategy and performance Trading styles and the statistics that measure them - expectancy, win rate, profit factor, R-multiples and position sizing. #### Averaging down **Definition.** Adding to a losing position to improve the average entry price. It lowers the break-even level and raises the size of the loss if the position keeps moving against you. Averaging down converts a defined risk into an open-ended one. The original trade had a planned loss; the averaged position has a larger one, taken at the moment the original analysis was being contradicted. It is distinct from a planned scaled entry, where the full position size is decided in advance and the entries are staged. The difference is whether the added size was in the plan before the trade went wrong. **Get Funded Now's figure.** On a $100,000 GFN Instant account, doubling a position that is already $1,500 underwater puts the full $3,000 daily allowance at risk on a single further move of the same size. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/averaging-down #### Backtesting **Definition.** Running a strategy over historical data to estimate how it would have performed. Useful for rejecting ideas, weak as evidence for accepting them, because the result is fitted to data already seen. The figure worth extracting from a backtest is not the return but the worst peak-to-trough drawdown, because that is what determines whether the strategy fits inside an account's floor. Include costs. A backtest without spread, commission and slippage overstates a frequent-trading strategy by a margin large enough to reverse the conclusion. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A backtest priced for a GFN account has to include $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn and a realistic spread, and its worst peak-to-trough has to fit inside 8% on the 2 Step or 5% on Instant. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/backtesting #### Day trading **Definition.** Opening and closing positions within the same session, carrying nothing overnight. It avoids swap costs and weekend gap risk, and concentrates all of the account's risk into the daily loss limit. For a prop account the day-trading profile is the one the rules are designed around: the daily loss limit is the binding constraint, and the maximum drawdown only matters across a run of bad days. The discipline that matters most is stopping. A daily allowance spent by lunchtime is a finished day, and the accounts that survive are the ones that treat it that way. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Day trading is allowed on every GFN programme. The daily loss limit is the constraint: $3,000 on a $100,000 Instant account, $5,000 on the 1 Step and 2 Step. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/day-trading #### Expectancy **Definition.** The average result of a trade over a large sample, combining win rate and average win and loss. A positive expectancy is necessary for a strategy to work and not sufficient for it to pass an evaluation. Expectancy says nothing about the order trades arrive in, and order is what decides whether a fixed drawdown is breached. A positive-expectancy strategy that opens with eight losses fails an account it would have passed a month later. It is also a small-sample trap. Twenty trades is not enough to estimate expectancy, and an evaluation is often decided inside twenty trades. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A GFN 1 Step evaluation needs 10% of net gain against 8% of room. At 0.5% risk per trade, an expectancy of +0.2R per trade reaches the target in roughly 100 trades. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/expectancy #### Fixed fractional Also called: Percentage risk, Fixed percentage sizing. **Definition.** Risking a constant percentage of equity on every trade, so position size falls after losses and rises after gains. It is the standard position-sizing model and the one most prop rules assume. The automatic de-risking is the point: a losing run shrinks the positions taken during it, which is exactly the behaviour a fixed drawdown floor rewards. The choice of percentage matters more than the entries. The same strategy at 0.5% and at 2% is two different products on an account with a hard floor. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Against GFN's limits, 0.5% per trade on a $100,000 account is $500 - one sixth of the Instant daily allowance and one tenth of the 1 Step and 2 Step allowance. - 0.5% risk: $500 on $100,000 - 1% risk: $1,000 on $100,000 - 2% risk: $2,000 on $100,000 Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/fixed-fractional #### Forward testing Also called: Paper trading, Out-of-sample testing. **Definition.** Running a strategy on live data it has never seen, in real time. It is the honest test a backtest cannot be, because the results are produced by data that could not have been fitted. Forward testing also surfaces the practical problems a backtest hides: whether the setups are identifiable in real time, whether the orders fill, and whether the trader can actually follow the rules. A sample large enough to be meaningful takes months. That is inconvenient, and it is cheaper than discovering the same information on a paid evaluation. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Forward testing costs nothing but time on a GFN account, because no programme has a deadline - Instant, the 1 Step and the 2 Step all run at your own pace. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/forward-testing #### Grid trading **Definition.** Placing orders at fixed intervals above and below a price so that positions accumulate as the market moves. It profits from oscillation and accumulates exposure in a sustained trend. A grid without a hard stop is a martingale with extra steps: exposure grows in one direction exactly as the market keeps moving that way. Most grid failures are a single directional run, not a series of bad trades. Grids are usually automated, which makes the account's exposure a function of code running unattended - and on an equity-monitored risk limit, an unattended position is still counted every second it is open. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Accumulating grid exposure is measured against GFN's equity-based limits in real time: 3% on Instant, 5% on the 1 Step and 2 Step, with floating losses counted while positions are open. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/grid-trading #### Kelly criterion **Definition.** A formula giving the position size that maximises long-run growth for a known edge. Its output is far too large for real trading, because the inputs are estimates and the drawdowns it accepts are extreme. Full Kelly assumes the win rate and payoff are known exactly. They never are, and overestimating an edge by a small amount produces a position size that is catastrophically wrong. Most practitioners use a fraction - a quarter or less - which lands close to the 0.5% to 1% risk per trade that a prop account's drawdown floor makes practical anyway. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Kelly-sized positions are incompatible with a fixed floor: GFN's 8% 2 Step drawdown allows four consecutive 2% losses, and full Kelly routinely implies far larger fractions than that. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/kelly-criterion #### Martingale **Definition.** Doubling position size after each loss so that one win recovers the sequence. The required size grows exponentially, so the strategy needs unlimited capital to survive a long enough losing run. Martingale produces a long, smooth run of small wins followed by a single catastrophic loss. It is not a strategy with a low probability of a bad outcome; it is one that concentrates the bad outcome into one event. On an account with a fixed drawdown floor it fails faster than on a live account, because the floor arrives long before the capital does. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A martingale sequence starting at 0.5% risk on a $100,000 GFN account reaches the 2 Step 8% floor after five losses - 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8% together exceed the $8,000 available. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/martingale #### Maximum consecutive losses Also called: Losing streak. **Definition.** The longest unbroken run of losing trades in a sample. Multiplied by risk per trade it gives the drawdown a strategy has historically produced, which is the figure a fixed floor has to absorb. Streaks are longer than intuition suggests. A strategy that wins 50% of the time will produce a run of seven losses fairly regularly over a few hundred trades, and the run has to fit inside the account. This is the calculation that should decide risk per trade on a prop account: worst expected streak multiplied by risk must be comfortably less than the drawdown allowance. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's floors in streak terms: the 8% 2 Step drawdown absorbs 16 losses at 0.5% risk, 8 at 1% and 4 at 2%. The 5% Instant floor absorbs 10, 5 and 2. - 2 Step - Losses absorbed at 0.5% risk: 16 - 1 Step - Losses absorbed at 0.5% risk: 16, or 20 with the 10% add-on - Instant - Losses absorbed at 0.5% risk: 10 > Rough counts that ignore compounding and trading costs; both make the real number smaller. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/maximum-consecutive-losses #### Mean reversion **Definition.** Trading on the expectation that a price stretched away from its average will return to it. Win rates are typically high and individual losses large, which is the mirror image of trend following. The risk profile is what makes mean reversion dangerous on a prop account: a long sequence of small wins builds confidence and position size just before the move that does not revert. Because the losses are the outsized ones, a hard stop matters more here than in almost any other style. Without it, the strategy's worst trade is open-ended. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A high win rate does not survive an unstopped loss against a GFN daily limit: one trade that runs $5,000 against you on a $100,000 1 Step account ends the day regardless of how the previous twenty went. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/mean-reversion #### News trading **Definition.** Trading around scheduled economic releases, where volatility and spreads both spike at once. The strategy depends on execution quality at exactly the moment execution quality is at its worst, which is why most firms restrict it on funded accounts. Most firms restrict news trading on funded accounts rather than on evaluations, because a release is a moment when a large position can produce an outsized result in either direction. The restriction usually takes the form of a window around the release, and it usually removes the profit from trades inside it rather than failing the account. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN permits news trading during evaluations. On a simulated funded account, profits from trades opened or closed within 3 minutes before or 3 minutes after a relevant high-impact release may be removed. Instant starts at the funded stage, so the funded rule applies from day one. - During an evaluation: News trading permitted - On a funded account: Profits from trades inside the ±3 minute window may be removed - Instant - From: Day one - the account is already at the funded stage Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/news-trading #### Position trading **Definition.** Holding trades for weeks or months on a longer-term view. Trade frequency is low, financing costs accumulate, and the account's result depends on a small number of outcomes. Position trading sits awkwardly with most evaluations, not because it is disallowed but because a handful of trades is a small sample, and a rule set designed for regular activity still has to be satisfied. Swap is the dominant cost at this horizon. Months of financing on a position can exceed the spread and commission by a wide margin, and it comes out of the same equity the drawdown is measured against. **Get Funded Now's figure.** No GFN programme has a time limit, so a long holding period costs nothing but time. Swap accrues nightly on positions held past rollover and counts against the drawdown buffer, and the 2 Step still requires 3 qualifying trading days. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/position-trading #### Profit factor **Definition.** Gross profit divided by gross loss across a sample of trades. A profit factor above 1 means the strategy made money; below 1 means it lost, whatever the win rate suggests. Profit factor is the most compact summary of a track record, and it is inflated by a small sample or by one outsized winner. Checking the figure with the largest win removed is a quick reality test. It says nothing about drawdown, which is the part that decides whether a prop account survives. A strategy with a good profit factor and a deep worst losing run still breaches a fixed floor. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Profit factor ignores sequence, which is precisely what GFN's 8% floor tests. Pair it with the worst historical peak-to-trough before deciding an account size. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/profit-factor #### R-multiple **Definition.** A trade's result expressed in units of its initial risk. Risking $200 and making $600 is +3R; hitting the stop is -1R. It makes results comparable across account sizes and position sizes. R-multiples strip out position size, which is the only honest way to compare trades taken at different sizes or on different accounts. A journal kept in R is far more useful than one kept in dollars. Expressed in R, an evaluation becomes a simple arithmetic problem: a target divided by risk per trade gives the net R needed to pass. **Get Funded Now's figure.** In R terms a GFN 1 Step evaluation is straightforward to size: 10% at 0.5% risk per trade is +20R net, and the 8% drawdown floor is 16R of room. - 1 Step - Target at 0.5% risk: +20R - 1 Step - Drawdown room at 0.5% risk: 16R - 2 Step - Phase 1 target at 0.5% risk: +16R Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/r-multiple #### Risk-reward ratio Also called: Reward-to-risk, R:R. **Definition.** The size of a trade's target relative to its stop, expressed as a ratio. A 2:1 trade risks one unit to make two, which sets the win rate the strategy needs in order to be profitable. Ratio and win rate are two halves of one number. At 2:1 a strategy needs to win more than a third of the time to break even; at 1:1 it needs more than half; at 1:3 it needs more than three quarters. A ratio quoted from planned levels is not the ratio achieved. Slippage, commission and partial exits all push the realised figure below the planned one, so the plan needs margin. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Against a GFN 10% 1 Step target, 0.5% risk per trade at 2:1 needs a net of ten winning trades to clear $10,000 on a $100,000 account - before $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/risk-reward-ratio #### Scalping **Definition.** Taking many short-duration trades for small individual gains. It depends on tight costs and reliable execution, because the spread and commission are a large share of every result. Scalping is the style most sensitive to the fine print. A minimum hold time, a round-turn commission and a spread that widens at the wrong moment can each remove the edge on their own. It is also the style most often confused with prohibited activity. Legitimate short-term trading is permitted almost everywhere; trading that targets a pricing delay or an error is not, and the difference is in what the strategy relies on. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN permits normal short-term trading, with one condition that applies to every programme: every trade must stay open for at least 2 minutes. Commission is $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn. - Minimum hold time: 2 minutes, on all three programmes - Round-turn commission: $7 per lot - Not permitted: Exploiting latency, pricing errors or platform errors Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/scalping #### Sharpe ratio **Definition.** Return above a benchmark cash rate, divided by the volatility of those returns. It measures how much variability was accepted per unit of return, so a smoother equity curve scores higher. Sharpe penalises volatility in both directions, which means an unusually good month lowers the ratio in the same way an unusually bad one does. That is its main criticism. For a prop account the useful reading is indirect: a high Sharpe usually means a shallow peak-to-trough drawdown, which is what a fixed floor is actually testing. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A smoother return profile survives GFN's limits better in both directions - the 5% daily loss limit on the 1 Step and 2 Step and the 3% limit on Instant test day-to-day variability directly. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/sharpe-ratio #### Sortino ratio **Definition.** A variant of the Sharpe ratio that counts only downside volatility. Large gains no longer lower the score, so it measures the variability a trader actually minds rather than all of it. Sortino is the more honest measure for a strategy with an asymmetric return profile - trend following, for example, where the upside outliers are the point of the strategy. Like Sharpe it is a summary of the whole sample, so it can look healthy while containing one stretch deep enough to breach a hard floor. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Downside variability is what GFN's rules test: the daily loss limit measures a single day's worst point, and the maximum drawdown measures the worst run. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/sortino-ratio #### Swing trading **Definition.** Holding positions for days or weeks to capture a larger move. It requires wider stops, which means smaller positions, and it exposes the account to overnight swap and weekend gaps. Swing trading fits a fixed drawdown better than a trailing one, because a position held through a retracement does not have a floor creeping up behind it. The overnight exposure is the real cost. A position held over a weekend can open several points away from Friday's close, and no stop placed on Friday protects against the gap itself. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Swing trading is allowed on GFN accounts, subject to instrument trading hours. Overnight and weekend holding are permitted where the account and the underlying market allow - and weekend gaps remain the trader's risk, including where they cause a breach. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/swing-trading #### Trade journal **Definition.** A record of every trade with its reasoning, size, levels and result. It is the only way to find out whether a strategy is being followed, as distinct from whether it is working. The entries that matter are the ones recorded before the outcome is known: the setup, the planned stop, the planned target and the reason. A journal written afterwards records a story instead of data. Recording results in R rather than dollars makes the sample comparable across account sizes, which matters when a trader runs several accounts at once. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A journal is the check on GFN's 2 Step consistency rule before it becomes a problem: tracking each day's share of total profit shows a best day approaching 35% while there is still time to trade through it. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/trade-journal #### Trend following **Definition.** Entering in the direction of an established move and holding until it ends. Win rates are typically below half, and the result depends on a small number of large winners covering many small losses. The distribution is the challenge on an evaluation. A trend strategy can spend weeks in a shallow drawdown of small losses before the trade that pays for them arrives, and a fixed floor has to absorb that stretch. It suits a non-trailing drawdown considerably better than a trailing one, because a trailing floor tightens during the profitable run and then sits close behind the inevitable retracement. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Against a GFN 8% 2 Step floor, a trend strategy risking 0.5% per trade can absorb 16 consecutive losses; the same strategy at 2% per trade absorbs four. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/trend-following #### Win rate **Definition.** The proportion of trades that finish profitable. On its own it says nothing useful - a 90% win rate with one outsized loss and a 35% win rate with large winners can produce the same result. Win rate only becomes meaningful paired with the average win and average loss. Quoted alone it is the single most misleading statistic in trading, and the one most often used in marketing. It also drifts with the exit rules rather than the entry. Taking partial profits earlier raises the win rate and lowers the average win without changing the strategy's edge at all. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Win rate matters less than sequence against a fixed floor: a 8% GFN 2 Step drawdown absorbs 16 consecutive losses at 0.5% risk, however good the long-run win rate is. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/win-rate ### Tooling and execution Automation, copy trading, hosting and latency - what is permitted on a GFN account and what counts as exploiting the environment. #### Algorithmic trading **Definition.** Trading decisions and execution driven by code rather than by a person. It covers everything from a single automated entry rule to a fully systematic strategy running unattended. Automation changes the risk profile more than the strategy. Code runs while you sleep, and on an account whose limits are measured against live equity, an unattended position is counted every second it is open. Building in the account's own limits is the part most systems miss. An algorithm that does not know about a daily loss limit will breach it eventually, however good the entries are. **Get Funded Now's figure.** An algorithm trading a GFN account has to respect the same limits a person does: 3% daily on Instant, 5% on the 1 Step and 2 Step, the applicable drawdown floor, and a 2 minutes minimum hold on every trade. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/algorithmic-trading #### API trading **Definition.** Placing and managing orders programmatically through an interface rather than by hand. It is how custom systems, risk monitors, journals and analytics tools connect to an account, and it carries the same rules as manual trading. The most valuable thing to build against an account is usually not an entry system but a risk monitor: something that knows the daily allowance and the drawdown floor and refuses to let a position exceed them. Whatever the interface, credentials are the trader's responsibility. Anything holding them has the same access to the account that the trader does. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Trading credentials for a GFN account are issued on purchase and arrive by email within minutes; the account is available on desktop, web browser and mobile. Credentials must be kept private - trades placed after login details are shared remain the account holder's responsibility. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/api-trading #### Copy trading **Definition.** Replicating trades from one account to another automatically. Copying between your own accounts is a scaling tool; copying another person's trades, or letting them trade yours, is a different activity entirely. The line every firm draws is ownership. The person whose analysis produced the trade has to be the person who owns the account, because the evaluation is an assessment of that person. Copying between your own accounts also concentrates risk rather than spreading it: identical positions across several accounts means one bad session affects all of them at once. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN may permit copying trades between accounts that you personally own. Copying another trader's trades, allowing another trader to copy or manage your account, and coordinated group trading are prohibited - as are third-party challenge-passing and account-management services. - Between your own accounts: May be permitted within the rules - Another trader's trades: Prohibited - Someone managing your account: Prohibited Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/copy-trading #### Expert advisor Also called: EA, Trading robot, Automated strategy. **Definition.** A program that places trades automatically according to coded rules. It executes a strategy without a trader present, which removes hesitation and removes judgement at the same time. Firms generally permit automation that represents genuine trading and restrict automation aimed at the evaluation itself. The distinction is what the code relies on: market analysis, or a weakness in the environment. A tool sold specifically to pass prop challenges is the clearest case on the wrong side of that line, and identical activity appearing across many accounts is straightforward for a firm to detect. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Automated trading may be allowed on a GFN account provided the strategy follows all GFN rules and represents legitimate trading behaviour. An EA you wrote yourself may be used if it stays compliant; third-party systems built or marketed to exploit or automatically pass prop-firm challenges may be prohibited. - Your own EA: May be used if compliant - Challenge-passing services: Prohibited - Mass-identical activity: Can be reviewed across accounts - Minimum hold time: 2 minutes applies to automated trades too Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/expert-advisor #### High-frequency trading Also called: HFT. **Definition.** Automated trading at very high order rates and very short holding periods, measured in seconds or less. It depends on infrastructure rather than analysis, and it is not what a retail prop account is built for. Genuine high-frequency trading depends on co-located infrastructure and direct market access. What is usually described as HFT on a retail account is fast automation, which is a different thing. Two ordinary rules make it impractical on most prop accounts regardless: a minimum holding time, and a per-lot commission that a strategy holding for seconds has to overcome on every trade. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Two GFN rules constrain very fast automation directly: every trade must stay open for at least 2 minutes, and each round turn costs $7 per lot. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/high-frequency-trading #### Latency **Definition.** The delay between an action and its effect - an order leaving your machine and reaching the venue, or a price leaving the venue and reaching your screen. Measured in milliseconds. For almost every discretionary and swing strategy, latency is irrelevant: the difference between 5ms and 50ms is invisible against a stop measured in tens of pips. It becomes decisive only for strategies whose entire edge lives inside those milliseconds - and strategies built on exploiting the delay itself are prohibited rather than merely difficult. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN accounts run on desktop, web browser and mobile. Strategies that attempt to exploit delays between price feeds rather than to profit from market analysis are prohibited. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/latency #### Latency arbitrage **Definition.** Trading on a price that is known to be stale because a faster feed has already moved. It profits from a delay in the environment rather than from any view about the market, and it is prohibited industry-wide. The reason it is banned everywhere is that it is not trading. The profit comes from the firm's infrastructure rather than from the market, and it scales until the firm notices. Detection is straightforward, because the pattern is distinctive: repeated entries immediately before a price updates, with unusually high accuracy over very short holds. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Latency arbitrage is explicitly prohibited on GFN accounts, alongside exploiting delayed or incorrect pricing, exploiting platform errors, front-running and coordinated trading between customers. - Status: Prohibited - Related prohibitions: Delayed or incorrect pricing, platform errors, front-running - Consequence: Review, restriction, rejected payouts or termination Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/latency-arbitrage #### Tick scalping **Definition.** Taking positions for a handful of ticks at a time, often held for seconds. Where the profit comes from a pricing lag rather than a market view, firms treat it as exploiting the environment. Legitimate very short-term trading and tick scalping that targets a feed delay can look similar in a statement and are judged differently, because what matters is what the strategy depends on. A minimum hold time removes the ambiguity by making the shortest holds impossible, which is why most prop firms now publish one. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's 2 minutes minimum hold applies to every trade on every programme, in both the evaluation and funded stages - which makes tick-level holding periods impossible by design. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/tick-scalping #### Trade copier Also called: Trade replication engine. **Definition.** Software that mirrors orders from a source account to one or more destination accounts, scaling position size to each. It is the mechanism behind copy trading and multi-account management. Copiers introduce two problems of their own: a small execution delay between source and destination, and the risk that a sizing error is replicated everywhere at once. Where several accounts are copied from one source, the resulting activity is identical by design - which is exactly the pattern a firm reviews when it appears across unrelated customers. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Running a copier across your own GFN accounts stays inside the $400,000 total allocation cap and still has to satisfy every rule on each account independently - including the 2 minutes minimum hold and each account's own drawdown floor. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/trade-copier #### VPS Also called: Virtual private server. **Definition.** A rented always-on server used to run trading software continuously. It keeps an automated strategy running through a local power cut, a lost connection or a closed laptop. A VPS matters for anything automated and matters very little for discretionary trading. Its benefit is uptime rather than speed, for almost every strategy that is not latency-sensitive. Where it causes problems is location: a server in another country makes an account look as though it is being traded from somewhere the trader is not, which complicates verification. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A VPS may be used on a GFN account for legitimate trading technology where permitted. It must not be used to hide account sharing, circumvent location restrictions or disguise prohibited trading, and unnecessary VPN use during identity verification is discouraged. - Legitimate use: Permitted where the rules allow - Hiding location or sharing: Prohibited - During verification: Avoid unnecessary VPN use Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/vps ### Instruments and markets Currency pairs, metals, indices, commodities and crypto - what the symbols mean and how contracts are sized. #### Bitcoin CFD Also called: BTC/USD. **Definition.** A contract for difference tracking the price of bitcoin. It gives exposure to the price move without holding the asset, with no wallet, no custody and no settlement in the coin itself. A CFD position and a coin holding behave differently in one important respect: the CFD carries financing while it is open, so a long-held position pays for the exposure over time. Bitcoin's weekend range is the practical risk on a prop account, because the position is monitored against the same equity-based limits at times when there is thin liquidity behind the price. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A crypto instrument held over a weekend on a GFN account is still measured against the drawdown floor - $92,000 on a $100,000 2 Step account - and weekend gap risk remains the trader's. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/bitcoin-cfd #### Commodities **Definition.** Raw materials traded as instruments - energy, metals and agricultural products. Prices are driven by physical supply and demand rather than by interest rates, which makes them move on a different calendar from financial instruments. Commodity instruments follow inventory reports, production decisions and weather rather than central bank meetings, so the calendar that matters is a different one entirely. Ranges are wide and liquidity varies enormously between contracts, so position sizing needs to be set per instrument rather than carried across from forex. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Commodities may be traded on GFN accounts where available on the platform, at leverage that varies by instrument, under the same daily loss limit and drawdown floor as every other instrument. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/commodities #### Contract for difference Also called: CFD. **Definition.** An agreement to exchange the difference in an instrument's price between opening and closing a position. It gives exposure to the move without ownership of the underlying asset. CFDs are how most retail platforms offer indices, commodities and crypto: one instrument type, one margin model, one set of mechanics across very different underlying markets. Positions carry financing for as long as they are open and have no expiry, which is the main structural difference from a futures contract. **Get Funded Now's figure.** On a GFN simulated account, contracts of every type are modelled with real conditions - spreads, commission of $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn and execution differences - and no customer order is executed in a live market. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/contract-for-difference #### Crude oil Also called: WTI, Brent. **Definition.** The two benchmark crude grades - WTI in the US and Brent internationally - traded as instruments priced per barrel. Both are volatile and both respond to inventory data and production decisions. Oil's scheduled catalysts are weekly inventory reports and periodic production meetings, and it can move several percent on either. That is a large move relative to most daily loss limits. The spread between the two benchmarks moves independently of either price, which is why a view on one does not transfer cleanly to the other. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A 3% move in oil is an ordinary day. On a $100,000 GFN Instant account, the entire daily allowance is $3,000 - which such a move covers at a modest position size. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/crude-oil #### Cryptocurrency Also called: Crypto. **Definition.** Digital assets traded around the clock, offered on most retail platforms as contracts for difference rather than as the asset itself. Volatility is high and it does not pause for a weekend. Weekend trading is the property that most affects a prop account: an instrument that moves through Saturday and Sunday can breach a limit at a time when other markets are shut. Leverage on crypto instruments is typically lower than on forex for the same reason, and spreads are wider. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Cryptocurrency instruments may be traded on GFN accounts where available on the platform. Leverage varies by instrument, and the account's risk limits apply continuously - including at weekends. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/cryptocurrency #### Exotic pairs **Definition.** Pairs matching a major currency with a smaller or emerging-market one - USD/TRY, USD/ZAR, USD/MXN and similar. Spreads are wide, moves are large, swap charges are heavy and liquidity can disappear with very little warning. Exotics carry two costs a major does not: a much wider spread, and a swap charge that can be substantial in either direction because of the interest rate gap. They are also the pairs most prone to gapping, which makes them a poor fit for an account with a hard drawdown floor and no appetite for an unexpected weekend move. **Get Funded Now's figure.** On a GFN account, a wide exotic spread is deducted from the same equity the daily loss limit is measured against - $3,000 on a $100,000 Instant account, $5,000 on the 1 Step and 2 Step. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/exotic-pairs #### Forex Also called: FX, Foreign exchange. **Definition.** The market for exchanging one currency for another, traded as pairs. It runs 24 hours from Sunday evening to Friday evening and is the deepest market by volume, which is why spreads on major pairs are so tight. Every forex quote is a ratio: buying EUR/USD is a bet on the euro against the dollar, not on either currency alone. That is why interest rate expectations on both sides move the price. Liquidity is not constant across the 24 hours. The same pair costs materially more to trade at the tail of the Asian session than during the London-New York overlap. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Forex instruments may be traded on GFN accounts where available on the platform, at leverage of up to 1:50, with commission of $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/forex #### Indices Also called: Stock indices, Index CFDs. **Definition.** Instruments tracking a basket of shares - the Dow, the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100 and their international equivalents. Traded as contracts for difference, they give index exposure without owning any share. Index instruments follow the trading hours and the economic calendar of their home market, so the volatility clusters around a cash open rather than being spread through the day. Point values differ sharply between indices, which is why a position size that suits one is frequently wrong for another even at the same notional exposure. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Indices may be traded on GFN accounts where available on the platform, at leverage of up to 1:50 that varies by instrument, with trading hours set by the underlying market. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/indices #### Major pairs **Definition.** The most traded currency pairs, all quoted against the US dollar: EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, USD/CAD and AUD/USD. They carry the tightest spreads and the deepest liquidity, which makes them the cheapest pairs to trade frequently. Majors are where a cost-sensitive strategy belongs. The spread advantage over an exotic pair is frequently larger than the entire edge of a short-term system. They are also the most heavily scheduled: the releases that move them are known in advance, which makes them the pairs most affected by news-window restrictions. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Major pairs carry the tightest costs available on a GFN account, where commission is $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn and leverage is up to 1:50 - though leverage can vary by instrument. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/major-pairs #### Minor pairs Also called: Crosses. **Definition.** Pairs between major currencies that do not include the US dollar - EUR/GBP, GBP/JPY, EUR/AUD and similar. Spreads are wider than on the majors and daily ranges are often larger, so the same strategy costs more to run. A cross is effectively two dollar pairs combined, which is why it can move when neither of its own currencies has had news: a dollar move affects both legs unevenly. The wider spread has to be paid for by a wider target. A strategy tuned to major-pair costs frequently stops working on crosses for that reason alone. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Minor pairs trade on GFN accounts where available, under the same $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn commission and the same daily loss limit - a wider spread simply consumes the allowance faster. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/minor-pairs #### NAS100 Also called: Nasdaq 100, US Tech 100. **Definition.** The common symbol for an instrument tracking the Nasdaq 100, an index of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq. It is the most volatile of the major US index instruments. Heavy concentration in a small number of technology companies makes the index sensitive to individual earnings and to interest rate expectations, which is where most of its range comes from. Its volatility is the attraction and the hazard. The same position size that behaves reasonably on a broad index can produce twice the swing here. **Get Funded Now's figure.** On a $100,000 GFN Instant account the daily allowance is $3,000 - the tightest of the three programmes, and the one that a volatile index instrument consumes fastest at an unadjusted size. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/nas100 #### Natural gas **Definition.** A traded energy instrument priced per unit of gas, known for volatility well beyond any other commodity. Weather forecasts and weekly storage data drive most of its movement, and daily ranges regularly dwarf those of currency pairs. Natural gas regularly posts daily ranges that would be extraordinary in any other instrument, and it gaps between sessions more often than most. It is the clearest example of why position size has to be set per instrument. A size that is conservative on a major pair can be reckless here. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A single session in natural gas can exceed a GFN daily loss limit at a size carried over from forex - $3,000 on a $100,000 Instant account, $5,000 on the 1 Step and 2 Step. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/natural-gas #### Silver Also called: XAG/USD. **Definition.** Spot silver, quoted as XAG/USD in US dollars per troy ounce. It tends to move with gold but with a larger percentage range and materially thinner liquidity, which makes position sizing carried over from gold too large. Silver has an industrial demand component gold does not, which makes it more sensitive to growth expectations and gives it a higher beta to the same macro news. The combination of high volatility and thinner books means slippage is more common than on gold at the same position size. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Metals may be traded on GFN accounts where available, at leverage that varies by instrument, against the same drawdown floors as every other instrument on the account. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/silver #### SPX500 Also called: S&P 500, US 500. **Definition.** The common symbol for an instrument tracking the S&P 500, a market-cap weighted index of 500 large US companies. It is the standard benchmark for the US equity market. Being market-cap weighted and broadly diversified, it typically has a smaller daily range than the Nasdaq 100 and responds more to macroeconomic releases than to individual earnings. It is the index most directly moved by Federal Reserve decisions and US inflation data, which makes news-window rules particularly relevant when trading it. **Get Funded Now's figure.** On a GFN funded account, profits from trades opened or closed within 3 minutes either side of a relevant high-impact release may be removed - which covers the releases that move US index instruments most. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/spx500 #### Tick value **Definition.** What one minimum price increment is worth per contract. It is the futures and index equivalent of pip value, and it converts a stop distance directly into a dollar figure. Tick value varies enormously between instruments, which is why the same number of ticks means completely different risk on two contracts. The calculation that matters is always the same: dollars at risk divided by stop distance in ticks divided by tick value gives the number of contracts. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Whatever the instrument, GFN's limits are the same dollar figures: $5,000 of daily allowance and $8,000 of drawdown room on a $100,000 1 Step account. Tick value is what converts a stop into those dollars. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/tick-value #### Underlying **Definition.** The asset a derivative's price is derived from - the index behind an index contract, the barrel of oil behind an oil contract. You trade the derivative; the underlying sets its price. The underlying determines the instrument's trading hours, its reaction to news and its gap risk, even though none of those are properties of the contract itself. It also explains apparent pricing oddities: a contract can drift from its underlying because of financing, dividends or expiry, without anything being wrong. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN trading hours depend on the instrument and the liquidity available for that market, and public holidays in an underlying market can cause late opens, early closes or closures. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/underlying #### US30 Also called: Dow Jones, Wall Street 30. **Definition.** The common symbol for an instrument tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a price-weighted index of 30 large US companies. It is quoted in index points, each worth a fixed amount per contract. Because the Dow is price-weighted rather than market-cap weighted, a single high-priced share moves it disproportionately - which makes it behave differently from the broader US indices on earnings days. Its point value and daily range are large in dollar terms, so position sizes are small relative to a forex pair for the same risk. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Index instruments trade on GFN accounts where available, against the same limits as everything else: a $5,000 daily allowance on a $100,000 1 Step account covers a move of a few hundred index points at a modest size. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/us30 #### XAU/USD Also called: Gold, Spot gold. **Definition.** The symbol for spot gold priced in US dollars - XAU is the code for one troy ounce. It is the most traded metal instrument and one of the most volatile instruments on a retail platform. Gold's daily range in dollar terms dwarfs a major currency pair's, so position sizing carried over from forex is the most common way traders breach a limit on it. It responds to real interest rates and to risk sentiment rather than to one country's data, which is why it can move sharply on news that has nothing to do with gold. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Metals including gold may be traded on GFN accounts where available. Leverage varies by instrument, and the same daily loss limit applies - $5,000 on a $100,000 1 Step account, which gold can cover in a single fast move at the wrong size. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/xauusd ### Sessions and events Trading sessions, overlaps, rollover, and the scheduled releases that move markets fastest. #### Asian session Also called: Tokyo session. **Definition.** The first major window of the trading day, centred on Tokyo and running roughly 00:00 to 09:00 UK time. Ranges are narrower and yen pairs and Australasian currencies are the most active. Lower volume means tighter ranges and wider spreads, which suits range strategies and is unkind to breakout ones. It is also where the trading week begins. The Sunday evening reopen frequently gaps against Friday's close, and a position held over the weekend meets that gap first. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Holding overnight or over a weekend is permitted on GFN accounts where the account and underlying market allow - and weekend gaps remain the trader's risk, including where a gap causes a breach. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/asian-session #### Bank holiday **Definition.** A public holiday in a market's home country. The instrument may open late, close early or not trade at all, and liquidity in related instruments thins even where they stay open. A US holiday drains liquidity from dollar pairs and index instruments even though forex itself technically stays open, which makes spreads wider and moves less reliable. Holiday sessions are the most common cause of an unexpected fill: the price is real, the book behind it is not what it usually is. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN trading hours can change on public holidays - markets may open late, close early or stay closed. The instrument information inside the platform carries the current schedule. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/bank-holiday #### CPI release **Definition.** The monthly consumer price index, the headline measure of inflation. It drives interest rate expectations more directly than almost any other release, which is why it moves currencies, metals and index instruments simultaneously. Markets trade the surprise rather than the number: a release in line with expectations often produces very little movement, and a small deviation can produce a great deal. The core reading, which excludes food and energy, frequently matters more than the headline, so the initial move sometimes reverses within a minute as the detail is read. **Get Funded Now's figure.** CPI is a high-impact release for GFN's news rule: on a funded account, profits from trades opened or closed inside the ±3 minute window around a relevant release may be removed. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/cpi-release #### Economic calendar **Definition.** A schedule of upcoming data releases with their expected impact, previous readings and forecasts. Checking it before a session is the cheapest risk control available to a trader. The calendar's main use is not finding trades but avoiding surprises: knowing that a high-impact release lands in twenty minutes changes whether a position should be open at all. Impact ratings are a rough guide rather than a rule, and the classification of a release as high-impact is what a news-window restriction usually keys off. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's funded-account news rule keys off relevant red-label or high-impact releases, with a window of 3 minutes before and 3 minutes after. Checking the calendar is how a trader knows where those windows fall. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/economic-calendar #### FOMC **Definition.** The Federal Open Market Committee, the body that sets US interest rates. Its scheduled decision, written statement and press conference move every dollar-denominated market, usually in two distinct waves about half an hour apart. The decision moves markets first; the press conference half an hour later frequently moves them further and in the opposite direction, which makes the whole event longer than a single release. For a prop account the practical point is duration: volatility persists well past the headline, so a news-window rule around the release is not the end of the disruption. **Get Funded Now's figure.** On a GFN funded account the ±3 minute high-impact news window applies around a relevant release. Instant accounts start at the funded stage, so the rule applies from day one. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/fomc #### Interest rate decision **Definition.** A central bank's scheduled announcement of its policy rate. Rate differentials drive currency valuations, so these decisions and the guidance attached to them are the largest scheduled events in forex. The rate itself is usually anticipated. What moves markets is the guidance about what comes next, which is why a decision that matches expectations can still produce a large move. Rate decisions also reset swap costs, so a position held across one can find its overnight financing materially different afterwards. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Rate decisions are high-impact releases under GFN's news rule. On a funded account, profits from trades opened or closed within 3 minutes either side may be removed. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/interest-rate-decision #### London session **Definition.** The European trading window, roughly 08:00 to 16:30 UK time. It is the highest-volume session in forex, and the one where the euro and sterling pairs do most of their daily range. London's opening hours overlap the end of the Asian session and the start of the New York one, which is why it carries the largest share of daily forex volume. The first hour after the London open is the most active of the day for European pairs, and also the point at which overnight ranges are most often broken. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN trading hours depend on the instrument and its liquidity, and the daily loss limit resets at the time shown in your dashboard - which may not align with your local session. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/london-session #### Market close **Definition.** The end of a trading session for an instrument. Positions held through a close carry gap risk into the next open, and spreads typically widen into the final minutes as liquidity leaves. A stop loss offers no protection across a closed market. The next print is wherever the market reopens, and a stop is executed at prices available then rather than at the level it was set to. Deliberately trading market-close gaps is prohibited at most firms, which is a different matter from holding a position through one as part of a strategy. **Get Funded Now's figure.** On a GFN account, weekend gaps, spread changes, slippage and market closures remain the trader's risk and can trigger a drawdown breach. Deliberately exploiting market-close gaps is prohibited trading. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/market-close #### Market open **Definition.** The moment an instrument begins trading for a session. Opens concentrate order flow that built up while the market was closed, which is why volatility spikes and spreads take time to settle. Index instruments open with the sharpest move of the day, because a cash session opens against hours of accumulated overnight news. Spreads at the open are frequently several times their mid-session width, so a market order placed in the first minute pays for the privilege. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN trading hours depend on the instrument and the liquidity available. Public holidays can cause late opens, early closes or closed markets, and the instrument information in the platform carries the current schedule. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/market-open #### New York session **Definition.** The US trading window, roughly 08:00 to 17:00 Eastern time. Most scheduled US data lands at its start, which makes the first ninety minutes the most volatile stretch of the trading day. The New York morning carries the US data calendar and the US equity open within a couple of hours of each other, so index and dollar instruments both move fastest here. The afternoon, after London closes, is a different market: thinner, slower and more prone to drift than to trend. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Most high-impact US releases land in this session, and on a GFN funded account profits from trades opened or closed within 3 minutes either side of a relevant release may be removed. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/new-york-session #### Non-farm payrolls Also called: NFP. **Definition.** The monthly US employment report, released on the first Friday of the month at 08:30 Eastern. It is the single most disruptive scheduled release for dollar pairs, gold and US index instruments. The release produces its largest move in the first seconds, when spreads are widest and fills least reliable. It is the textbook case of volatility that is difficult to convert into a result. Positions already open going into it carry the full move whether or not the trade had anything to do with the data. **Get Funded Now's figure.** On a GFN funded account, profits from trades opened or closed within 3 minutes before or 3 minutes after a relevant high-impact release may be removed. News trading is permitted during evaluations. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/non-farm-payrolls #### Rollover time **Definition.** The point in the day when positions are rolled to the next value date and swap is applied. It is also when many platforms reset daily statistics, and spreads often widen briefly around it. Rollover is a bookkeeping event with real trading consequences: financing is charged, spreads widen for a few minutes and liquidity thins while it happens. It is not necessarily the same moment as a firm's daily loss limit reset, and assuming the two coincide is a reliable way to start a session with less allowance than expected. **Get Funded Now's figure.** The GFN daily loss limit reset time is shown in the trading environment and dashboard. Do not assume it is midnight in your own timezone, or that it matches the platform's rollover. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/rollover-time #### Session overlap **Definition.** The hours when two trading sessions are open at once. The London-New York overlap, roughly 13:00 to 16:30 UK time, carries the highest volume and the tightest spreads of the day. Overlaps concentrate liquidity, which means tighter spreads, better fills and larger moves in the same window. For a cost-sensitive strategy it is the most efficient part of the day to trade. It is also the window with the most scheduled data, so the volatility comes with the news-window rules attached. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Trading during the overlap cuts the spread component of a trade's cost, but commission is unchanged at $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn and the daily loss limit is the same figure at every hour. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/session-overlap #### Sydney session **Definition.** The first session to open each week, from around 22:00 UK time on Sunday. Volume is the lowest of the four, and it is where the weekly gap against Friday's close appears. Thin books at the weekly open mean spreads are at their widest and slippage at its most likely, which makes it a poor time to enter and a common time to be stopped out. For a trader holding over the weekend it is the moment the weekend's news is priced, all at once. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A weekend gap on the Sunday reopen is measured against GFN's equity-based limits the moment it prints. Weekend holding is permitted where the account allows, and the gap risk is the trader's. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/sydney-session ### Industry, legal and operations How proprietary trading firms work, what simulated funding means, and the compliance terms attached to a payout. #### A-book **Definition.** A brokerage model where client orders are passed through to external liquidity providers rather than held internally. The broker earns from spread and commission and takes no position against the client, so its revenue follows volume. A-book execution aligns a broker's revenue with volume rather than with client losses, which is why it is the model most often held up as the transparent one. It is a distinction about brokers. A simulated-funding firm is neither A-book nor B-book, because no customer order reaches a market at all. **Get Funded Now's figure.** The A-book and B-book distinction does not apply to GFN. No customer trades are executed in live financial markets; evaluation and funded accounts are simulated, and GFN is not a broker. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/a-book #### Account sharing **Definition.** Letting someone else trade your account, or trading an account belonging to someone else. It defeats the purpose of an assessment of an individual, and it is prohibited everywhere in the industry without exception. The evaluation assesses a person, so the account has to be traded by that person. Everything downstream - the payout, the identity check, the contract - assumes the same individual throughout. The credentials are the trader's responsibility. Trades placed after login details are shared remain the account holder's, which makes sharing a risk to the account before it is a rules problem. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Account sharing is prohibited trading on a GFN account, as are third-party account-management and challenge-passing services. Keep dashboard, trading and payout credentials private - GFN will not ask for your password. - Someone else trading your account: Prohibited - Paying a service to pass for you: Prohibited - Trades placed after sharing credentials: Remain your responsibility Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/account-sharing #### Affiliate programme **Definition.** An arrangement paying commission on sales referred through a tracked link. It is how most prop firms acquire customers, and it explains a large share of the reviews published about them. Affiliate economics are worth understanding as a reader, not just as a promoter: a review, a comparison table or a ranking is frequently monetised through the links inside it. Programmes also carry advertising rules, because an affiliate making claims a firm could not make itself creates the same problem as if the firm had made them. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN runs an affiliate programme with three published tiers: 10% commission as standard, 12.5% after $10,000 in tracked qualifying sales, and 15% after $25,000. - Tier 1: 10% - starting rate - Tier 2: 12.5% - after $10,000 in tracked qualifying sales - Tier 3: 15% - after $25,000 in tracked qualifying sales > Affiliates may not advertise assured payouts or funding, may not claim GFN provides live investment capital, and may not present themselves as an official GFN account. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/affiliate-programme #### AML Also called: Anti-money laundering. **Definition.** The controls a firm operates to prevent its services being used to move criminal proceeds. In practice it means identity checks, monitoring for unusual patterns, and refusing payments that cannot be explained. AML obligations are why a payout cannot simply be sent to a different name or a different country on request. The checks exist independently of whether any individual trader is doing anything wrong. They also explain duplicate-account controls: one person operating several identities is an AML problem before it is a trading-rules problem. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's KYC and AML checks help verify that accounts belong to genuine individual traders and help prevent fraud, identity misuse, duplicate-account abuse and other prohibited activity. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/aml #### B-book **Definition.** A brokerage model where client orders are held internally rather than passed to a market, so the broker takes the other side of them. Client losses become broker revenue, which is the structural objection to it. B-booking is legal and widespread, and the objection to it is structural rather than moral: it creates an interest in client losses that A-book execution does not. It is frequently confused with simulated funding, which is a different arrangement again: there is no client order to take the other side of, because nothing is routed anywhere. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN does not B-book customer orders, because there are no customer orders in a live market to book. All evaluation and funded accounts are simulated, and GFN is not a broker or financial institution. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/b-book #### Broker **Definition.** A firm that executes trades on a client's behalf and holds client funds to do so. It is a different business from a prop firm, with different obligations and a different relationship to the client. A broker takes deposits, executes orders and is typically authorised in the jurisdictions it serves. A prop firm assesses traders and pays out against performance, and takes no deposit at all. Confusing the two leads to the wrong questions. A prop firm is not asked where client money is segregated, because there is no client money to segregate. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN is not a broker, financial institution or investment provider. It does not accept customer investment deposits and does not provide financial, investment, legal or tax advice. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/broker #### Dispute resolution **Definition.** The process for settling a disagreement about a breach, a payout or an account decision. It starts with the firm's support channel and is governed by the terms the account was bought under. Disputes are settled on evidence far more often than on argument. Trade IDs, timestamps, the instrument, the device and screenshots are what let a firm reconstruct what happened. The dashboard is normally the authoritative record. Where a trader's own spreadsheet and the dashboard disagree, the dashboard is the figure the account is judged on. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's dashboard holds the live metrics an account is judged on, and the account-specific checkout terms take priority over older promotions or screenshots. Support answers within 24 hours on business days. > Anything that could affect a breach or a payout is worth asking about before trading it. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/dispute-resolution #### Funded trader agreement **Definition.** The contract governing a simulated funded account: what the trader may do, how performance is measured, how payouts are calculated and on what grounds the arrangement can end. It is a separate document from the terms covering the evaluation purchase, and it is the one that determines whether a payout is owed. It generally restates that the account is simulated and that eligibility depends on compliance. The clauses worth finding first are the payout conditions and the termination grounds, because they define the two outcomes the whole arrangement runs toward. **Get Funded Now's figure.** A GFN funded account is simulated. Eligible traders may receive monetary payouts based on qualifying simulated performance, subject to the programme rules, the applicable virtual profit share of up to 90%, KYC/compliance checks and the Terms & Conditions. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/funded-trader-agreement #### KYC Also called: Know Your Customer, Identity verification. **Definition.** The process of confirming who owns an account, using identity documents and supporting information. It is required before money moves, and it is the most common cause of a delayed first payout. Completing verification early removes almost all of the avoidable delay from a payout, because the checks happen at the point the firm is about to pay rather than at the point you buy. The consistent rule across the industry is that the account, the verified identity and the receiving payment account must all be the same person. There is no version of this that a third party can satisfy on your behalf. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN may require identity and compliance verification before a funded account is issued and before a payout is processed. The GFN account, the identity verification and the payout details must all belong to the same individual. - When: Before a funded account is issued, and before a payout - What: Valid identification and information confirming your identity - Name matching: Account, ID and payout details must match Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/kyc #### Liquidity provider Also called: LP. **Definition.** An institution that streams tradeable prices to brokers and venues - typically a bank or a specialist trading firm. Their aggregated quotes are what a retail price is ultimately built from. The depth a provider offers at each price level determines how large an order can be filled without moving the price, which is what a trader experiences as slippage or the absence of it. Providers widen or withdraw quotes when risk rises, which is the mechanism behind a spread tripling in the seconds around a release. **Get Funded Now's figure.** Strategies designed to compromise a broker or liquidity relationship are prohibited trading on a GFN account, alongside latency arbitrage and exploiting delayed or incorrect pricing. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/liquidity-provider #### Market maker **Definition.** A participant that quotes both a bid and an ask continuously, profiting from the spread between them and carrying inventory risk in return. Market makers are what make an instrument tradeable in size at a predictable cost. Market makers are what make an instrument tradeable in size at a predictable cost. Where they step back - a holiday session, the minutes around a release - spreads widen immediately. The term is also used loosely for brokers that internalise client flow, which is a different activity with the same name. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN is not a market maker and not a broker. Prices on a simulated account model real market conditions, including spread changes and execution differences, without customer orders reaching a market. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/market-maker #### Prohibited trading **Definition.** Activity a firm bans because it targets the trading environment rather than the market. It covers exploiting errors and pricing delays, coordinated trading between accounts, and third-party account management. The common thread is that the profit would come from the firm's systems rather than from a view about a market. That is the test, and it is why the lists published by different firms look so similar. A single unusual trade is not normally the issue. What triggers a review is a pattern - repeated entries around a pricing anomaly, or identical activity across accounts that should be independent. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN prohibits exploiting platform errors, delayed or incorrect pricing, latency arbitrage, non-public information, front-running, coordinated trading between customers, account sharing, third-party challenge-passing services, manipulative hedging across accounts and deliberately exploiting market-close gaps. > Where prohibited trading is identified, GFN may review the account, restrict trading, reject evaluation progression, reject payouts or terminate the affected accounts. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/prohibited-trading #### Prop firm **Definition.** A company that assesses traders and pays them a share of the results they produce, rather than a broker that executes orders for clients. Most modern retail firms run the assessment on simulated accounts. The business is straightforward to describe and frequently misread: revenue comes from evaluation fees, and the cost is the payouts owed to traders who pass. The rules exist to keep the second smaller than the first. The consequence for a trader is that the rules are the product. Reading them before buying is the entire due diligence process, and firms that publish them fully are making a statement by doing so. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN publishes every objective before purchase: 3% to 5% daily loss limits, 5% to 8% maximum drawdowns, targets by programme and a virtual profit share of up to 90%. > Get Funded Now is a trading name of Bradbury Capital Ltd, an English company. GFN is not regulated as a financial services provider and does not present itself as one. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/prop-firm #### Proprietary trading Also called: Prop trading. **Definition.** Trading a firm's own capital rather than client money. The traditional form employed traders in-house; the retail form assesses traders remotely and pays them a share of the results they produce. The two models share a name and little else. A bank's proprietary desk deployed the bank's balance sheet; a retail prop firm sells an assessment and pays out against performance on a simulated account. What both have in common is the alignment: the trader takes none of the capital risk and a share of the result, and the firm takes the rest of both. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN runs virtual evaluation programmes on simulated accounts. It is not a broker, financial institution or investment provider, and it does not accept customer investment deposits. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/proprietary-trading #### Restricted jurisdiction **Definition.** A country a firm will not serve, for legal, regulatory, sanctions or payment-provider reasons. Restrictions can change, and they apply to where a trader actually is rather than what an address says. Restrictions are not a judgement about a country's traders. They follow from the rules the firm and its payment providers operate under, and they can change when those rules do. Using a false address or a VPN to get around one puts the account and any profit in it at risk, because the mismatch surfaces at verification - which is to say, at the payout. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN may restrict access from certain jurisdictions for legal, regulatory, payment-provider or compliance reasons, so eligibility can depend on your country of residence. A restriction can also be introduced after you have joined. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/restricted-jurisdiction #### Sanctions screening **Definition.** Checking customers and payments against sanctions lists before money moves. It is a legal obligation on the payments provider as much as on the firm, and it is not discretionary. Screening is why an otherwise ordinary payout can stop for review: a name match on a list has to be cleared before anything moves, whether or not it turns out to be the same person. It is also why the identity attached to a payout matters so much. A payment to a third party cannot be screened meaningfully, because the person being paid is not the person who was checked. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN payouts run through a payments provider and require the receiving account to belong to the verified GFN account holder. Restrictions can apply to certain jurisdictions for compliance reasons. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/sanctions-screening #### Simulated funding **Definition.** The model where a firm assesses and pays traders on simulated accounts rather than routing their orders to a market. Trading is simulated; payouts against qualifying performance are real money. Simulated funding is what allows a firm to offer a $200,000 account for a few hundred dollars: it is not deploying $200,000, it is measuring performance at that scale and paying a share of the result. It is also the reason the vocabulary is precise. No customer capital is at risk beyond the fee, no customer order reaches a live market, and "funded" refers to simulated funding rather than a deposit. **Get Funded Now's figure.** All GFN evaluation and funded accounts are simulated or virtual accounts. No customer trades are executed in live financial markets, and eligible traders may receive real monetary payouts based on qualifying simulated performance. > Subject to programme rules, the applicable profit split, KYC/compliance checks and the Terms & Conditions. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/simulated-funding #### Terms of service Also called: Terms & Conditions, T&Cs. **Definition.** The contract between a trader and a firm, covering purchases, account rules, payouts and termination. It governs everything the marketing pages summarise, and where a page and the terms disagree, the terms are what applies. The sections worth reading before buying are the ones about breaches, payout eligibility, prohibited activity and jurisdiction. Those decide what happens in every situation a trader would rather not be in. The terms in force at the time of purchase are the terms that govern that account, which is why old screenshots and superseded promotions are not a defence. **Get Funded Now's figure.** GFN's published rules handbook summarises the current public rules; your checkout configuration, account dashboard and Terms & Conditions take priority where an account has specific options or add-ons. > The rules applicable at the time of purchase are the rules that govern that account. Source: https://getfundednow.com/glossary/terms-of-service ## Guides (9) ### What Is a Prop Firm? How the Model Actually Works Published 2026-09-22, last reviewed 2026-09-22. A prop firm, short for proprietary trading firm, traditionally trades its own money for its own account. The retail prop firms most traders mean today work differently: you pay a fee to trade a simulated account against fixed risk rules, and if you pass, the firm pays you a share of the simulated profit in real money. #### What does proprietary trading mean? Proprietary trading is trading a firm does with its own capital, for its own profit, rather than on behalf of clients. The term is precise enough that US regulators wrote rules around it. When the Volcker Rule was finalized, the five agencies involved summarized it as generally prohibiting banks from: > engaging in short-term proprietary trading of securities, derivatives, commodity futures and options on these instruments for their own account. > > - cftc-volcker The Federal Reserve summarizes it the same way: the rule "generally prohibits banking entities from engaging in proprietary trading or investing in or sponsoring hedge funds or private equity funds" [2]. The phrase that matters is "for their own account". A traditional prop desk risks the firm's money, and the people trading it work for the firm. #### How is a retail prop firm different? The firms that advertise to individual traders borrowed the name but not the structure. You are not hired, and you are not handed capital. You buy an evaluation, trade a simulated account under published rules, and are paid a share of the simulated profit if you pass and stay within those rules. **Traditional prop desk and retail evaluation firm, side by side** | | Traditional prop desk | Retail evaluation firm | | --- | --- | --- | | Whose capital is at risk | The firm's | None where the account is simulated - only your fee | | How you get in | Employment | Buying an evaluation | | What you pay to trade | Nothing | An evaluation fee | | What you are paid | Set by the employer | A share of simulated profit, under published rules | Retail firms vary. Some say they copy some traders' positions into a live account; others, including GFN, execute no customer trades in live markets. Read the firm's own terms for which one you are buying. #### How does a prop firm evaluation work? 1. **You pick a program and an account size**, and pay a one-time fee. The size is a simulated balance, not a deposit. 2. **You trade to a set of risk rules.** Typically a profit target, a daily loss limit and a maximum drawdown, sometimes with a minimum number of trading days or a consistency rule. 3. **Break a hard rule and the account ends.** The fee is not returned. 4. **Pass, and the account becomes a simulated funded account.** The same kind of rules keep applying. 5. **Request payouts on a schedule.** You are paid your share of eligible simulated profit, after identity checks. **The same model with GFN's numbers** | | Instant | 1 Step | 2 Step | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Profit target | None | 10% | 8% then 5% | | Daily loss limit | 3% | 5% | 5% | | Max drawdown | 5% trailing | 8% relative | 8% non-trailing | | Virtual profit share | 70% | 80%, or 90% with add-on | 80%, or 90% with add-on | | Consistency rule | None | None | 35% max in one day | Simulated accounts from $5,000 to $200,000, fees from $22, and up to $400,000 of simulated allocation in total. Full rules on each [program page](https://getfundednow.com/challenges). #### Do prop firms use real money? At a simulated-evaluation firm, the trading is simulated and the payouts are real. That sentence is the whole model, and its second half is why it is worth understanding the first. Here is how GFN puts it in its own signed wording: > All Evaluation and Funded Accounts are simulated or virtual accounts; no customer trades are executed by GFN in live financial markets, and references to “funded” or “funding” refer to simulated or virtual funding. > > - gfn-disclaimer > Eligible traders may receive real monetary payouts based on qualifying simulated performance, subject to the applicable program rules, profit split, KYC/compliance checks and Terms & Conditions. > > - gfn-disclaimer So on a GFN account, your fee is not invested, no order you place reaches a live market, and a loss on the account costs you nothing beyond the fee. A profit on the account is paid to you as real money, at the share your program carries, once the payout rules are met. #### Are prop firms regulated? Do not assume so. A firm that sells simulated evaluations and holds no client deposits is not doing what a broker does, and the protections that come with a regulated broker do not come with it. Some firms say they are regulated; if one does, check the claim on the regulator's own register rather than the firm's website. > GFN is not a broker, financial institution or investment provider, does not accept customer investment deposits and does not provide financial, investment, legal or tax advice. > > - gfn-disclaimer GFN is a trading name of Bradbury Capital Ltd, company number 17102934, and the company record is public on [Companies House](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/17102934) [3]. A company registration tells you who you are dealing with. It is not a financial-services license, and GFN does not claim one. #### How do you check a prop firm before you pay? - **Who is the company?** A registered name and number you can look up, not just a brand. - **Are the rules published before you pay?** Every limit, in full, including what counts as a breach. - **What does "funded" mean in their terms?** Simulated or live, and who is on the other side of your trades. - **What are the payout conditions?** Schedule, share, caps, buffers and identity checks - not just the headline percentage. - **Is there a consistency rule or minimum trading days?** They change how you have to trade more than the target does. - **What happens when you fail?** Whether there is a retake, and on what terms. - **What do traders say where the firm cannot edit it?** Independent review sites and forums, including the negative reviews. > **GFN's answers to that list** The company, the rules that catch people, what GFN will not promise, and links to unmoderated discussion are on one page: [reviews and company details](https://getfundednow.com/reviews). The payout terms, including the Instant withdrawal cap, are on [payouts](https://getfundednow.com/payouts). #### What this means for you A retail prop firm sells you an attempt, not capital. The fee buys the chance to show a strategy can stay inside a fixed set of risk limits, and it is gone if the strategy cannot. Nobody - including GFN - can tell you that you will reach a payout. If that trade-off is acceptable, pick the program whose rules match how you already trade: the [2 Step](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/2-step) is the cheapest way in, the [1 Step](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/1-step) has one target and no consistency rule, and [Instant](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/instant) skips the evaluation for a lower share and a capped withdrawal. #### Questions **Is a prop firm the same as a broker?** No. A broker holds your deposit and executes your orders in the market. A retail prop firm sells you an evaluation on a simulated account and pays a share of simulated profit if you pass. GFN states that it is not a broker and does not accept customer investment deposits. **Can you lose more than the fee at a prop firm?** On a simulated account, losses on the account are not charged to you. At GFN the evaluation fee is the only outlay: there is no subscription and no reset to buy back. Other firms' terms differ, so check before buying. **Do you get to keep the account balance?** No. The balance is simulated. What you can be paid is your share of eligible simulated profit, on the firm's payout schedule and subject to its rules. #### Sources 1. Final Rules to Implement the "Volcker Rule" (joint fact sheet) - Federal Reserve Board, CFTC, FDIC, OCC and SEC. https://www.cftc.gov/sites/default/files/idc/groups/public/@newsroom/documents/file/volckerrule_factsheet_final.pdf (read 2026-09-22) 2. Volcker Rule - Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. https://www.federalreserve.gov/supervisionreg/volcker-rule.htm (read 2026-09-22) 3. Bradbury Capital Ltd - company 17102934 - Companies House (UK registrar). https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/17102934 (read 2026-09-22) 4. Disclaimer and footer statement - Get Funded Now (Bradbury Capital Ltd). https://getfundednow.com/disclaimer (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/guides/what-is-a-prop-firm ### What Is a Funded Account? A Plain Explanation Published 2026-09-22, last reviewed 2026-09-22. In prop trading, a funded account is a simulated trading account a firm lets you trade after you pass its evaluation, or straight away on an instant program. You trade it within the firm's risk rules, and eligible profit is paid to you as a share, in real money. The balance itself is not yours to withdraw. #### What does "funded account" mean? The phrase means two different things, and mixing them up is where most of the confusion starts. **Two meanings of "funded"** | | A funded brokerage account | A prop-firm funded account | | --- | --- | --- | | Whose money is in it | Yours - you deposited it | Nobody's - the balance is simulated | | What a loss costs you | The loss itself | Nothing beyond the fee you paid | | What a profit gives you | The whole profit | A share of it, under the firm's payout rules | | Can you withdraw the balance | Yes | No - only your share of eligible profit | | How you get one | Open and deposit | Pass an evaluation, or buy an instant account | This guide is about the second. GFN's signed wording is explicit about what "funded" means on its accounts: > All Evaluation and Funded Accounts are simulated or virtual accounts; no customer trades are executed by GFN in live financial markets, and references to “funded” or “funding” refer to simulated or virtual funding. > > - gfn-disclaimer #### How do you get a funded account? Through one of three routes. They differ in how much you have to prove first, and what that costs you once you are funded. **The three GFN routes, on a $100,000 simulated account** | | 2 Step | 1 Step | Instant | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | What you pass first | Two phases: 8%, then 5% | One phase: 10% | Nothing - funded from day one | | Fee | $405 | $473 | $900 | | Daily loss limit | $5,000 | $5,000 | $3,000 | | Max drawdown | $8,000, never trails | $8,000, trails until it locks at $100,000 | $5,000, trails | | Virtual profit share | 80%, or 90% with add-on | 80%, or 90% with add-on | 70% | | Withdrawal cap | None | None | $2,000 per cycle | Every figure comes from GFN's published pricing and rules. Accounts run from $5,000 to $200,000, with up to $400,000 of simulated allocation across all your accounts. The pattern is a trade: the less you prove before you are funded, the more the funded account restricts you afterward. Instant asks for nothing up front and caps what each cycle can pay; the 2 Step asks for two phases and does not cap withdrawals. #### How much can you withdraw from a funded account? Your share of the eligible simulated profit - never the balance. The share depends on the program, and on some programs a cap or buffer limits each cycle. **A payout on a $100,000 1 Step funded account** Illustrative only. It shows the arithmetic, not a likely result. - Simulated profit in the cycle: $4,000 - At the standard 80% share: $3,200 - At 90%, with the checkout add-on: $3,600 - Withdrawal cap: None on this program The same profit on a $100,000 Instant account pays at most $2,000 in a cycle, and only once the account is $3,000 above its starting balance. See [the payout rules in full](https://getfundednow.com/payouts). > Eligible traders may receive real monetary payouts based on qualifying simulated performance, subject to the applicable program rules, profit split, KYC/compliance checks and Terms & Conditions. > > - gfn-disclaimer #### What rules apply on a funded account? Passing does not switch the rules off. The daily loss limit and maximum drawdown carry on, and a breach ends the funded account the same way it ends an evaluation. - **A breach ends it, and the profit in it.** Once an account is legitimately breached, the profit in it is no longer eligible for payout. See [breaches](https://getfundednow.com/rules/breach-and-what-happens). - **Payouts run on a schedule.** Every 14 days, counted from the first trade on the funded account - not from when it was issued. See [payouts](https://getfundednow.com/payouts). - **Identity checks come first.** Expect KYC before a funded account is issued or a payout is processed. See [verification](https://getfundednow.com/rules/kyc-and-verification). - **The account is yours alone.** Someone else trading it, or copying another trader's positions, is prohibited. See [account sharing](https://getfundednow.com/rules/account-sharing). - **It has to stay active.** An account left without trading activity for too long can be closed. See [inactivity](https://getfundednow.com/faq/what-counts-as-inactivity). - **Minimum hold time.** Every trade must stay open for at least 2 minutes. A payout does not close the account. You keep trading it on whatever balance remains, against the same limits - which means a withdrawal can leave less room between you and the drawdown floor than you had before it. #### Is a funded account the same as a demo account? Mechanically it is close: both are simulated. The difference is consequence. A demo account has no rules that end it and pays nothing. A funded account has hard limits that end it and pays real money when you stay inside them. **Demo, prop-firm funded and personal live accounts** | | Demo | Prop-firm funded | Personal live | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Trading | Simulated | Simulated | Live | | Your money at risk | None | The fee | Your whole deposit | | Rules that end the account | None | Daily loss, max drawdown and others | Your broker's margin rules | | Paid out | Nothing | A share of eligible simulated profit | Everything, and every loss is yours | #### What this means for you A funded account is a contract with a scoreboard. It does not give you capital, and the balance on the screen is not money you own. What it gives you is a way to be paid for trading well inside someone else's limits, at the cost of a fee you can lose. If you do buy one, choose it by its rules rather than its size: the account that fits how you already trade is worth more than a larger one that does not. > **Choosing between GFN's three** Cheapest way in: the [2 Step](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/2-step), from $22, with a 35% consistency rule and a free retake. One target and no consistency rule: the [1 Step](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/1-step). No evaluation, a 70% share and a capped withdrawal: [Instant](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/instant). Every size and price: [account sizes and cost](https://getfundednow.com/funded-accounts). #### Questions **Is a funded account real money?** The account is not. The balance is simulated and no order reaches a live market. The payouts are: eligible traders are paid their share of simulated profit in real money, under the firm's payout rules. **How much does a funded account cost?** At GFN, from $22 for a $5,000 2 Step evaluation, paid once. There is no subscription. The price rises with account size and varies by program. **Can you lose money on a funded account?** You cannot lose more than the fee you paid. Losses on the simulated account are not charged to you, but a breach ends the account and any profit in it stops being eligible for payout. #### Sources 1. Disclaimer and footer statement - Get Funded Now (Bradbury Capital Ltd). https://getfundednow.com/disclaimer (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/guides/what-is-a-funded-account ### How Do Prop Firms Make Money? The Honest Answer Published 2026-09-22, last reviewed 2026-09-22. A prop firm that runs simulated evaluations earns from evaluation fees and paid add-ons, and pays successful traders out of that revenue. GFN executes no customer trades in live markets, so every GFN payout is funded by the business, not by market profits from your trades. That makes fees, rules and payout data worth understanding. #### Where does a prop firm's money come from? From the people buying evaluations. At GFN, every revenue line is something a trader pays for at checkout: **What GFN charges for** | Charge | What it is | | --- | --- | | Evaluation fee | A one-time fee per account, from $22 to $1,800. No subscription. | | Profit-share add-on | Raises the virtual profit share from 80% to 90% on the 1 Step and 2 Step. | | Drawdown add-on | Raises the 1 Step max drawdown from 8% to 10%. | | Faster payout add-on | A 7-day payout cycle on the 1 Step, instead of the standard 14 days. | GFN sells no resets and no monthly plan. #### Where do prop firm payouts come from? This is the question worth asking any firm. Here is GFN's answer, in its own signed wording: > All Evaluation and Funded Accounts are simulated or virtual accounts; no customer trades are executed by GFN in live financial markets, and references to “funded” or “funding” refer to simulated or virtual funding. > > - gfn-disclaimer If no trade reaches a live market, a profitable trader's positions earn the firm nothing in the market. So the payout comes from the business itself - in practice, from the fees other traders have paid. GFN is not on the other side of your trades in a live market, because there is no live market trade to be on the other side of. Some firms describe a different arrangement, in which some traders' positions are copied into a live account and the firm's payouts can be partly covered by that trading. If a firm says it does this, ask how, for which accounts, and what it means for the rules you trade under. The answer tells you what the firm is really selling. #### How many fees does one payout cost? Here is the arithmetic with GFN's own prices. It is the clearest way to see the model. **One payout on a $100,000 1 Step, against one fee** Illustrative only: it shows the scale of the model, not what a trader should expect to make. - Evaluation fee: $473 - Simulated profit on the funded account: $10,000 - The same 10% that passing the evaluation required. - Payout at the standard 80% share: $8,000 - Fees that payout equals: 16.9 - $8,000 ÷ $473 - If the sale came through an affiliate at 10%: $425.70 kept - $47.30 commission. The payout now equals 18.8 net fees. One trader paid $8,000 costs the firm the revenue from roughly 17 to 19 of those evaluations, depending on how many came through an affiliate - before payment processing, data, technology and support. A fee-funded firm can keep paying only while the fees it collects cover the payouts it makes and the costs of running it. That is not a scandal. It is the model, and it is worth knowing before you buy. #### Where does the money go? - **Payouts to traders.** The cost the model exists to pay. - **Affiliate commission.** GFN's affiliates earn 10% of qualifying sales to start, rising to 12.5% and then 15% with volume. - **Payment processing and payout processing.** Card fees on the way in, payment rails on the way out. - **Technology and market data.** The trading environment, price feeds and the dashboard. - **Verification and support.** Identity checks before payouts, and people answering email. GFN does not publish its margins or the split between these lines. The list above is what the costs are, not how large each one is. #### Why are prop firm rules written the way they are? Every hard rule does two jobs at once. It tests whether you can control risk, and it limits how much a single account can cost the firm. Reading the rules with both in mind makes them more predictable. **What each GFN rule tests, and what it limits** | Rule | What it tests | What it limits | | --- | --- | --- | | Daily loss limit | Whether one bad day can be contained | How fast an account can fail | | Max drawdown | Whether losses stay bounded over time | The total a single account can lose | | 35% consistency rule (2 Step) | Whether a result came from a strategy or one trade | Payouts on one lucky day | | Withdrawal cap (Instant) | - | What one cycle can pay: $2,000 on a $100,000 account | | 2-minute minimum hold | That trades are real positions | Strategies that exploit the simulated environment | The Instant cap is the clearest example. Skipping the evaluation means the firm has seen nothing of your trading, so what each cycle can pay is capped at 2% of the account. That is the price of no target, and GFN states it on the [Instant page](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/instant) rather than in a footnote. #### How can you tell whether a prop firm can keep paying? - **Does it publish payout data?** Cumulative payouts and, more usefully, the share of funded accounts that reach a payout. - **Does it publish pass rates?** A low published pass rate is more credible than none. - **Are the rules stable?** An account should be judged on the rules it was sold under, not ones added later. - **Is the company identifiable?** A registered entity you can look up. - **Does it say where payouts come from?** Fees, live trading, or both. > **Where GFN stands on that list today** GFN answers the last three: the company is on the public register, the rules on an account are the ones it was bought under, and payouts are funded by the business. **GFN does not yet publish payout or pass-rate data** - the [payouts page](https://getfundednow.com/payouts) says so, and says what it will publish when it can. #### What this means for you Treat the fee as the price of an attempt, not an investment. A fee-funded firm does not take the other side of your trades in the market, but every payout it makes is a cost to it, and it can only make them because many more fees come in than payouts go out. Buy an evaluation you can afford to lose, on rules you have read, from a firm that tells you where its payouts come from. The [2 Step](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/2-step) is GFN's lowest-cost attempt. #### Questions **Do prop firms want you to fail?** A fee-funded firm needs the fees it collects to exceed the payouts it makes, so it needs far more attempts than payouts. It also needs some traders to pass and be paid, or nobody would buy. The rules are where that balance is set, which is why they are worth reading closely. **Are prop firm payouts paid from evaluation fees?** At a firm that executes no customer trades in live markets, yes: payouts come from the business's revenue, which is mainly fees. GFN states that no customer trades are executed by GFN in live financial markets. #### Sources 1. Disclaimer and footer statement - Get Funded Now (Bradbury Capital Ltd). https://getfundednow.com/disclaimer (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/guides/how-prop-firms-make-money ### Free Funded Account Challenge: What's Real Published 2026-09-23, last reviewed 2026-09-23. GFN does not sell a free funded account challenge. The cheapest evaluation is the $5,000 2 Step at $22, paid once, and if you fail it by breaching a hard rule, one retake is free. Offers elsewhere called free are usually a contest, a demo trial or a giveaway, each with its own conditions. #### Is there such a thing as a free funded account challenge? A prop firm's evaluation fee is how the firm is paid. The fee covers the evaluation, and the simulated profit share paid to traders who pass comes out of that revenue - see [how prop firms make money](https://getfundednow.com/guides/how-prop-firms-make-money). A firm that charged nothing at all would need another way to pay for the traders who pass. That is why offers described as free usually turn out to be one of a few things: - **A trading contest.** Many entrants trade a demo account and a small number of winners receive a paid evaluation or funded account. - **A free trial.** A demo of the dashboard and rules that is not an evaluation and cannot lead to a payout. - **A giveaway.** A paid account awarded at random, usually for following or sharing. - **A free retake.** Not free entry, but a second attempt after a paid one fails. This is what GFN offers. > **Read the conditions before you count on it** A contest or giveaway prize normally carries the same rules as a paid account, and sometimes tighter ones. Ask what the prize account's drawdown, target and profit share are before treating it as equivalent. #### What is the cheapest way to a funded account at GFN? **Lowest one-time fee by GFN program** | Program | What you are buying | Retake if you fail | | --- | --- | --- | | 2 Step | Two-phase evaluation, 8% then 5% targets | One free retake | | 1 Step | One-phase evaluation, 10% target | None | | Instant | A simulated funded account from day one, no evaluation | None | The lowest fee on the site is $22, for the $5,000 2 Step. Every size and price: [prop firm challenges and pricing](https://getfundednow.com/challenges). A published code, FIRST40, currently gives 40% off your first purchase. Check the total at checkout - see [the current discount code](https://getfundednow.com/discount-code). #### How does the free retake work? If you fail the [2 Step](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/2-step) by breaching a hard rule, you get one retake at no cost. The retake is not an identical copy of the first attempt: it runs tighter. **First attempt vs free retake on the 2 Step** | Rule | First attempt | Free retake | | --- | --- | --- | | Daily loss limit | 5% | 3% | | Max drawdown (non-trailing) | 8% | 4% | | Profit share once funded | 80%, or 90% with the add-on | 60% | On a $5,000 account, the retake's max drawdown is $200. Full terms: [free retake rules](https://getfundednow.com/rules/free-retake). #### What should you check before paying for any challenge? - **The drawdown in dollars, not percent.** It is the only number that ends an account. [The drawdown calculator](https://getfundednow.com/tools/drawdown-calculator) converts it. - **Whether the drawdown trails.** A trailing limit follows your highest balance up. See [trailing vs non-trailing drawdown](https://getfundednow.com/rules/trailing-drawdown). - **What stops a payout.** Caps, buffers and consistency rules all apply after you pass. See [payouts](https://getfundednow.com/payouts). - **That the account is simulated.** Funded accounts at GFN are simulated; payouts are a share of simulated profit, paid in real money to eligible traders. #### Questions **Does GFN offer a free funded account?** No. Every GFN account has a one-time fee, from $22. The 2 Step includes one free retake if you fail by breaching a hard rule. **Is the free retake the same as the first attempt?** No. The retake runs on a 3% daily loss limit, a 4% non-trailing max drawdown and a 60% profit share once funded. **Can a free contest prize lead to real payouts?** It depends on the firm's terms for the prize account. Ask whether it is a full evaluation or funded account, and what rules and profit share it carries, before relying on it. Source: https://getfundednow.com/guides/free-funded-account-challenge ### Common Mistakes in Funded Trading Accounts Published 2026-09-22, last reviewed 2026-09-22. Here are 11 mistakes that break the rules of a funded trading account, each tied to the exact rule it breaks and what that rule means in dollars on a $100,000 account. GFN does not publish breach data yet, so they are grouped by the rule they break, not ranked by how often they happen. #### How to read this list Every mistake below ends in the same place: a hard rule broken, and the account closed with any profit in it. None of them is about picking the wrong direction on a trade. They are about a limit that was misread, a number that was never converted into dollars, or a program bought without reading the rules that are specific to it. Figures are for a $100,000 account on the 1 Step unless another program is named. #### Which mistake is the most common? The honest answer is that GFN cannot say yet. We have not yet extracted and checked breach reasons in a form we can publish and stand behind, and a ranking without that would be a guess dressed as a statistic. _First-party statistics for this section are not published yet._ #### 1. Sizing positions against the balance, not the daily limit A $100,000 account feels like room. It is not - the room is the daily loss limit. Risk 1% a trade and 5 consecutive losses end the day on a 1 Step. On Instant, it is 3. > **The rule** Daily loss limit: $5,000 (5%) on a $100,000 1 Step or 2 Step, $3,000 (3%) on Instant. Size from that number, with slippage on top. See [position size calculator](https://getfundednow.com/tools/position-size-calculator). #### 2. Misreading when and how the daily limit resets It is natural to assume the day resets at your own midnight, or that the limit is measured from the day's starting balance when your program measures it differently. A late-session trade can then fall into what is, by the account's clock, the same day as the morning's losses. > **The rule** Check the reset time and the basis of the daily limit in your dashboard before a late session, not after. They are account settings, not assumptions. See [daily loss limit rules](https://getfundednow.com/rules/daily-loss-limit). #### 3. Treating a trailing drawdown as if it were fixed On Instant, the 5% drawdown follows your equity high. Run a $100,000 account to $106,000 and the stop-out level has moved from $95,000 to $101,000. The profit is protected; the room to trade is not. A trader still sizing as if the floor were $95,000 thinks they have $11,000 of room. They have $5,000. > **The rule** Instant: 5% trailing. 1 Step: 8%, trailing until the floor reaches the starting balance, then locked. 2 Step: 8%, never trails. See [trailing drawdown rules](https://getfundednow.com/rules/trailing-drawdown). #### 4. Buying the 2 Step without reading its two extra rules The 2 Step is the only GFN program with a consistency rule and a minimum number of trading days. A trader who makes the whole target in one strong session has not passed - on either rule. > **The rule** No single day above 35% of total profit: on a $100,000 phase 1, no day should contribute more than $2,800 of the $8,000 target. And at least 3 trading days with 0.5% profit ($500). See [the consistency rule, explained](https://getfundednow.com/guides/consistency-rule). #### 5. Holding size through news and weekend gaps A stop is an instruction, not a promise of a price. Around major announcements and across a weekend close, the market can open beyond it, and the fill is where the market is. Slippage does not excuse a breach. > **The rule** The account is measured on where the position actually closed. Size so that a gap through your stop would still leave you inside the daily limit and the drawdown. See [overnight and weekend rules](https://getfundednow.com/rules/overnight-and-weekend). #### 6. Closing trades inside the minimum hold time Very fast scalping - in and out within seconds - runs into a rule that applies on every program, in the evaluation and on the funded account. > **The rule** Every trade must stay open for at least 2 minutes. See [scalping rules](https://getfundednow.com/rules/scalping). #### 7. Copying someone else, or letting someone else trade Signal groups, account managers and shared strategies feel like help. On a funded account they are a direct route to losing the account and a payout with it, because the account is meant to show your own trading. > **The rule** Copying between accounts you personally own may be permitted. Copying another trader, letting someone else copy or manage your account, and coordinated group trading are prohibited. See [copy trading rules](https://getfundednow.com/rules/copy-trading). #### 8. Letting the account go quiet A funded account left untouched is not safe; it can be closed for inactivity. And an administrative action, such as a payout request, is not trading activity. > **The rule** Accounts are not meant to sit indefinitely without trading. Where a trade is required, a real qualifying trade has to be placed. See [inactivity rule](https://getfundednow.com/faq/what-counts-as-inactivity). #### 9. Leaving identity checks until the first payout Verification is required before a payout, and a first payout request is the worst moment to discover a document problem or a name that does not match. > **The rule** The GFN account, the identity verification and the payout details all have to belong to the same person. Start verification as soon as you are funded. See [KYC and verification](https://getfundednow.com/rules/kyc-and-verification). #### 10. Expecting Instant to pay out a whole good cycle Instant skips the evaluation, and the withdrawal cap is where that is paid for. On a request, profit above the buffer leaves the account, and you receive up to the cap - anything above it is deducted but not paid. > **The rule** $100,000 Instant: nothing is withdrawable until the account is $3,000 above its starting balance, and then at most $2,000 per 14-day cycle. See [how payouts work](https://getfundednow.com/payouts). #### 11. Counting on the free retake as the same account A failed 2 Step includes a free retake, which is a real benefit. It is not the same account again: the limits are tighter and the share is lower. > **The rule** The retake runs a 3% daily loss limit ($3,000), a 4% non-trailing max drawdown ($4,000) and a 60% virtual profit share, on a $100,000 account. See [free retake rules](https://getfundednow.com/rules/free-retake). #### What this means for you Before you place a trade on a funded account, you should be able to answer four questions in dollars: how much you can lose today, where the account stops out, what the most any one day can contribute is, and how much the next payout can be. If any of those is a percentage in your head rather than a number, that is the mistake to fix first. > **Every figure, for every account size** The same rules in dollars, per size and per program: [Instant](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/instant), [1 Step](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/1-step) and [2 Step](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/2-step). The complete handbook is at [the rules](https://getfundednow.com/rules). #### Questions **Why do traders fail prop firm challenges?** By breaking a hard rule: the daily loss limit, the maximum drawdown, or a program-specific rule such as a consistency rule, a minimum number of trading days or a minimum hold time. GFN does not yet publish data on which rule ends accounts most often. **Can you lose a funded account after passing the evaluation?** Yes. The daily loss limit and maximum drawdown keep applying on the funded account, and a breach ends it. Once an account is legitimately breached, the profit in it is no longer eligible for payout. Source: https://getfundednow.com/guides/common-funded-account-mistakes ### How Hard Is a Prop Firm Challenge? Published 2026-09-23, last reviewed 2026-09-23. A prop firm challenge is hard mainly because of the ratio between the profit target and the losses the rules allow. On a GFN 1 Step, the 10% target must be reached without losing 5% in a day or 8% overall. Trailing drawdowns, consistency rules and minimum trading days add to it. GFN does not publish a pass rate. #### The core difficulty: target versus room Every evaluation asks for a gain before a loss. The larger the target relative to the loss you are allowed, the less room a strategy has for an ordinary losing run. A useful single number is the target divided by the maximum drawdown: above 1, the evaluation asks you to make more than you are allowed to lose. **Target and room by GFN program, on a $100,000 account** | Program | Profit target | Daily loss limit | Max drawdown | Target / drawdown | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | None | $3,000 | $5,000 trailing | No target | | 1 Step | $10,000 | $5,000 | $8,000 trailing, then fixed | 1.25 | | 2 Step | $8,000 then $5,000 | $5,000 | $8,000 fixed | 1.00 then 0.63 | Every figure is read from the published program rules. Full detail: [challenges and pricing](https://getfundednow.com/challenges). #### The rules that make it harder - **A daily loss limit.** One bad session can end the account even if the overall drawdown has room. See [the daily loss limit](https://getfundednow.com/rules/daily-loss-limit). - **A trailing drawdown.** The floor follows your equity high, so profit given back shrinks the room. See [trailing drawdown](https://getfundednow.com/rules/trailing-drawdown). - **A consistency rule.** One large day cannot supply too much of the target. See [the consistency rule, explained](https://getfundednow.com/guides/consistency-rule). - **Minimum trading days.** The target has to be spread across several sessions. See [minimum trading days](https://getfundednow.com/rules/no-minimum-trading-days). - **A time limit.** A deadline pushes traders to size up late. GFN has none - see [no time limit](https://getfundednow.com/rules/no-time-limit). #### Which GFN program is least demanding? It depends on the trader. The [2 Step](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/2-step) has the lowest target per phase and a fixed drawdown, but two phases, a 35% consistency rule and 3 minimum trading days. The [1 Step](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/1-step) has one phase with no consistency rule or minimum days, but a larger single target and a trailing drawdown until it locks. [Instant](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/instant) has no evaluation at all, with a tighter 3% daily limit and a withdrawal cap once trading. > **No published pass rate** GFN does not publish how many traders pass. Any pass rate quoted for a firm should come with its source, its period and whether it counts accounts or people. #### How to make it less hard - **Size from the daily limit, not the target.** Risking about 0.5% a trade means a $5,000 daily limit survives many consecutive losses. - **Use the absence of a deadline.** With no time limit there is no reason to take large risks late. - **Test against the rules, not just profit.** Would your worst day have breached? See [backtesting](https://getfundednow.com/learn/backtesting). - **Know how your floor moves.** See [intraday trailing drawdown](https://getfundednow.com/learn/intraday-trailing-drawdown). #### Questions **Is it hard to pass a prop firm challenge?** It is demanding by design. The profit target must be reached without breaching a daily loss limit or a maximum drawdown, and on the GFN 1 Step the 10% target is larger than the 8% drawdown allowed. **Which prop firm challenge is easiest?** None is easy in general. A lower target, a fixed drawdown, no consistency rule and no time limit each make an evaluation less demanding, and each GFN program combines them differently. **What percentage of traders pass prop firm challenges?** GFN does not publish a pass rate. Treat any quoted figure with care unless its source, period and method are stated. Source: https://getfundednow.com/guides/prop-firm-challenge-difficulty ### The Prop Firm Consistency Rule, Explained Published 2026-09-22, last reviewed 2026-09-22. A consistency rule caps how much of your total profit can come from a single trading day. If your best day is too large a share, you have not passed yet, even above the target. At GFN, Instant and 1 Step have no consistency rule; the 2 Step caps any single day at 35% of total profit. #### What is a consistency rule? A limit on how concentrated your profit can be. The firm divides your best day's profit by your total profit, and if that share is above its threshold, the evaluation is not complete - even when the balance is already past the target. The purpose is to separate a repeatable strategy from one position that happened to work. A trader who makes the whole target in one session has shown that one session went well. A trader whose profit is spread across days has shown more. The rule does fail accounts that are technically in profit, which is exactly why it has to be read before buying rather than discovered afterward. The threshold, and the stage of the account it applies to, are set by each firm's own terms. The only version that matters is the one attached to the account you buy. #### How is the consistency rule calculated? **The two numbers you need** | Question | Formula | | --- | --- | | Am I inside the rule? | Best day's profit ÷ total profit ≤ the limit | | How much total profit do I need? | Best day's profit ÷ the limit | | What is the most one day can make toward a target? | Target × the limit | At GFN's 35%, that gives a quick lookup: whatever your best day is, total profit has to reach it divided by 0.35. **Total profit needed to carry a best day, at 35%** | Best day | Total profit needed | | --- | --- | | $1,000 | $2,857 | | $1,400 | $4,000 | | $2,000 | $5,714 | | $3,000 | $8,571 | | $5,000 | $14,286 | Losing days matter too. They reduce total profit, which raises the best day's share. The ratio improves by adding profit on other days, not by giving back profit on the best one. #### A worked example **Phase 1 of a $50,000 2 Step** The phase 1 target is 8%, or $4,000. Here is a run that reaches it and is still not finished. - Day 1: +$1,900 - Day 2: +$800 - Day 3: +$700 - Day 4: +$600 - Total profit: $4,000 - Target reached. - Best day as a share of total: 47.5% - $1,900 ÷ $4,000. Above the 35% limit, so the phase is not complete. - Total profit needed: $5,429 - $1,900 ÷ 0.35. About $1,429 more, made on days smaller than $1,900. Had the plan been to keep every day under $1,400 - 35% of the $4,000 target - the same $4,000 would have passed on the day it was reached. Throughout, the $2,500 daily loss limit and the $4,000 max drawdown, fixed at $46,000, still apply. The dashboard calculation is the official one. #### Does GFN have a consistency rule? On one program of three. Anyone telling you GFN has no consistency rule is describing Instant and 1 Step, not the 2 Step. **Consistency rule by GFN program** | Program | Consistency rule | Other rules that shape how you trade | | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | None | 3% daily loss limit, 5% trailing drawdown, withdrawals capped at 2% per cycle | | 1 Step | None | One 10% target, no minimum trading days | | 2 Step | 35% max in one day | At least 3 trading days with 0.5% profit, two phases | Full applicability, stage by stage: [consistency rule by plan](https://getfundednow.com/rules/no-consistency-rule). Check your dashboard for which stage of your account the metric is active on. > **The 2 Step has two rules that work together** The 35% consistency rule and the 3-day minimum both stop a phase being passed in one session. A single large day fails both. See [the minimum trading days rule](https://getfundednow.com/rules/no-minimum-trading-days). #### How do you trade with a consistency rule? - **Set a daily ceiling from the target.** Target × 35% is the most one day can contribute. On a $50,000 phase 1, that is $1,400. - **Know your best day at all times.** It is the number that sets how much total profit you need, and it only ever goes up. - **Treat an outsized day as extra work, not a head start.** A day far above your ceiling raises the total you need. - **Do not try to fix the ratio by losing.** A loss lowers total profit and makes the share worse. - **Size positions so an ordinary day cannot become an outlier.** A position large enough to make the target in one trade is large enough to break the rule, or the daily loss limit. #### Should you choose a prop firm without a consistency rule? Only if the program without one suits you in every other way. At GFN, the two programs with no consistency rule pay for it elsewhere: the [1 Step](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/1-step) costs more than the 2 Step at every size both sell, and [Instant](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/instant) has a lower share and a capped withdrawal. The [2 Step](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/2-step) is the cheapest way in and includes a free retake, and the consistency rule is part of what that price buys. If your strategy naturally produces a few large days and many flat ones, a consistency rule will work against you and a program without one is the better fit. If your profit is already spread across the week, the rule costs you very little. #### Questions **Which GFN programs have no consistency rule?** Instant and 1 Step. Only the 2 Step has one: no single trading day may account for more than 35% of total profit. **Can you pass the 2 Step in one day?** No. The 2 Step needs at least 3 separate trading days with 0.5% profit, and its 35% consistency rule means one day cannot supply the whole target. **Does a losing day affect the consistency rule?** Yes. A losing day reduces total profit, so your best day becomes a larger share of it. The ratio improves only by adding profit on other days. Source: https://getfundednow.com/guides/consistency-rule ### Prop Firm With No Consistency or Payout Cap Published 2026-09-23, last reviewed 2026-09-23. At GFN, the 1 Step is the program with no consistency rule and no withdrawal cap. One day can supply the whole 10% target, and once funded, each 14-day payout is your full share of simulated profit. In exchange it costs more than the 2 Step and has no free retake. #### What are a consistency rule and a payout cap? They are two different limits that often get searched together because both restrict how a strong period turns into money. - **A consistency rule** limits how much of your total profit one day can supply. On the GFN 2 Step, no single day may exceed 35% of total profit. See [the consistency rule, explained](https://getfundednow.com/guides/consistency-rule). - **A payout or withdrawal cap** limits how much you can take out in one payout cycle, however much the account made. On GFN Instant, withdrawals are capped at 2% of the account per cycle, above a 3% buffer. See [withdrawal cap rules](https://getfundednow.com/rules/withdrawal-cap). A program with neither lets a trader pass on a single strong session and withdraw a single strong cycle in full. The rest of the rule set - the daily loss limit and the max drawdown - still applies to every trade. #### Which GFN program has no consistency rule and no payout cap? **Consistency rule and payout cap by GFN program** | Program | Consistency rule | Withdrawal cap | Profit share | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Instant | None | 2% per cycle above a 3% buffer | 70% | | 1 Step | None | None | 80%, or 90% with the add-on | | 2 Step | 35% max in one day | None | 80%, or 90% with the add-on | Every figure is read from the published program rules. Full detail: [1 Step](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/1-step), [consistency rule by plan](https://getfundednow.com/rules/no-consistency-rule). Only the [1 Step](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/1-step) is free of both. Instant has no consistency rule but caps withdrawals; the 2 Step has no cap but a consistency rule during the evaluation. #### What does the 1 Step trade for having neither rule? **A $100,000 1 Step** - Fee, one-time: $473 - The $100,000 2 Step is $405. - Profit target: $10,000 - One phase. It can be reached in one day. - Daily loss limit: $5,000 - Max drawdown: $8,000 - Trails your highest balance until the balance reaches $108,000, then stays fixed at the starting $100,000. - Profit share: 80%, or 90% with the add-on - Payouts: Every 14 days - No withdrawal cap per cycle. The costs are a higher fee than the 2 Step, no free retake if you breach, and a trailing drawdown rather than a fixed one until the lock point. See [trailing drawdown](https://getfundednow.com/rules/trailing-drawdown). #### Who should choose a program without these rules? - **Traders whose profit comes in a few large days.** A consistency rule works against that pattern; the 1 Step does not have one. - **Traders who want each payout in full.** With no cap, a strong 14-day cycle is paid as your share of that cycle's simulated profit. - **Not traders who want the cheapest entry.** The [2 Step](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/2-step) is cheaper at every size both sell and includes a free retake. - **Not traders who want to skip the evaluation.** That is [Instant](https://getfundednow.com/challenges/instant), which carries the withdrawal cap. > **No consistency rule does not mean no risk rules** A single large day still has to fit inside the $5,000 daily loss limit on a $100,000 account. Position size is what keeps a big day from becoming a breach. See [the daily loss limit](https://getfundednow.com/rules/daily-loss-limit). #### Questions **Does the GFN 1 Step have a consistency rule?** No. The 1 Step has no consistency rule and no minimum trading days, so the 10% target can be reached in one session. **Is there a payout cap on the 1 Step?** No. The 1 Step has no withdrawal cap. Only Instant caps withdrawals, at 2% of the account per cycle above a 3% buffer. **Which GFN program is cheapest?** The 2 Step, from $22. It has a 35% consistency rule during the evaluation and no withdrawal cap once funded. Source: https://getfundednow.com/guides/prop-firm-no-consistency-rule-or-payout-cap ### How Many Trading Days Are in a Year? (2026 & 2027) Published 2026-09-22, last reviewed 2026-09-22. The US stock market has 251 trading days in 2026 and 251 in 2027: 261 weekdays each year, minus 10 exchange holidays. Half-day sessions still count. Spot forex has no exchange calendar and trades around the clock on weekdays, so its count is the weekday count. Futures count by trade date, which varies by contract. #### How many trading days are there, by market? "Trading day" means something different depending on what you trade. Stocks trade on an exchange with a published holiday calendar. Spot forex has no central exchange at all. Futures trade on an exchange, but most US holidays shorten the session rather than cancel it [4]. **Trading days by market** | Market | 2026 | 2027 | What sets the count | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | US stocks (NYSE) | 251 | 251 | The exchange holiday calendar [1] | | Spot forex | 261 weekdays | 261 weekdays | No exchange; each provider publishes its own holiday hours [3] | | Futures (CME Globex) | By contract | By contract | Trade dates and holiday sessions per product [4] | Both years have 261 weekdays and 104 weekend days. Subtract NYSE's 10 full-closure holidays and you get 251. Early-close days are sessions, so they stay in the count. #### What are the US stock market holidays in 2026? **NYSE full closures, 2026** | Date | Day | Holiday | | --- | --- | --- | | January 1 | Thursday | New Year's Day | | January 19 | Monday | Martin Luther King, Jr. Day | | February 16 | Monday | Washington's Birthday | | April 3 | Friday | Good Friday | | May 25 | Monday | Memorial Day | | June 19 | Friday | Juneteenth | | July 3 | Friday | Independence Day (observed - falls on a Saturday) | | September 7 | Monday | Labor Day | | November 26 | Thursday | Thanksgiving Day | | December 25 | Friday | Christmas Day | Source: NYSE [1]. Nasdaq's 2026 schedule lists the same ten closures [2]. **Early closes, 2026** | Date | Day | Session | | --- | --- | --- | | November 27 | Friday | Day after Thanksgiving - closes 1:00 p.m. ET | | December 24 | Thursday | Christmas Eve - closes 1:00 p.m. ET | Both exchanges list these two early closes [1] [2]. Independence Day 2026 falls on a Saturday, so the market closes on Friday, July 3 instead. There is no early close before it [1]. #### What are the US stock market holidays in 2027? **NYSE full closures, 2027** | Date | Day | Holiday | | --- | --- | --- | | January 1 | Friday | New Year's Day | | January 18 | Monday | Martin Luther King, Jr. Day | | February 15 | Monday | Washington's Birthday | | March 26 | Friday | Good Friday | | May 31 | Monday | Memorial Day | | June 18 | Friday | Juneteenth (observed - falls on a Saturday) | | July 5 | Monday | Independence Day (observed - falls on a Sunday) | | September 6 | Monday | Labor Day | | November 25 | Thursday | Thanksgiving Day | | December 24 | Friday | Christmas Day (observed - falls on a Saturday) | Source: NYSE [1]. **Early closes, 2027** | Date | Day | Session | | --- | --- | --- | | November 26 | Friday | Day after Thanksgiving - closes 1:00 p.m. ET | Source: NYSE [1]. Three 2027 holidays land on a weekend and move: Juneteenth to Friday, June 18, Independence Day to Monday, July 5, and Christmas to Friday, December 24. New Year's Day 2028 falls on a Saturday, and NYSE observes no New Year's holiday for it - so Friday, December 31, 2027 is a normal trading day. [1] #### How many trading days are in a month? Between 19 and 22 across both years. The count moves with where weekends fall and which holidays land in the month. **NYSE trading days by month** | Month | 2026 | 2027 | | --- | --- | --- | | January | 20 | 19 | | February | 19 | 19 | | March | 22 | 22 | | April | 21 | 22 | | May | 20 | 20 | | June | 21 | 21 | | July | 22 | 21 | | August | 21 | 22 | | September | 21 | 21 | | October | 22 | 21 | | November | 20 | 21 | | December | 22 | 22 | Derived from the NYSE holiday calendar above [1]: weekdays in the month, minus full closures. Totals: 251 and 251. #### How many days a year does forex trade? Spot forex has no central exchange, so no single holiday calendar governs it. The weekly cycle runs 24 hours a day from Sunday 5:00 p.m. to Friday 5:00 p.m. New York time [3]. That makes the count the number of weekdays: 261 in 2026 and 261 in 2027. Instead, each provider publishes its own holiday hours. If yours suspends trading on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, the arithmetic changes: **Forex weekdays, with and without the two year-end holidays** | Year | Weekdays | Jan 1 | Dec 25 | If both are closed | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026 | 261 | Thursday | Friday | 259 | | 2027 | 261 | Friday | Saturday | 260 | A closure on a Saturday removes nothing, which is why 2027 loses only one day. This is arithmetic, not a schedule - check your provider's holiday notice. #### How do futures trading days work? US futures on CME Globex trade almost around the clock: the week opens Sunday at 5:00 p.m. Central Time and closes Friday at 4:00 p.m. CT, with a 60-minute maintenance break each weekday afternoon [4]. Holidays are where futures part company with stocks. On most US holidays, equity-index futures trade a shortened session with an early halt rather than closing. On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2026, for example, the halt is at noon Chicago time [5]. Good Friday, April 3, 2026 is listed as a full closure [4]. So there is no single number for futures. Each session belongs to a trade date, and whether a holiday produces a short session or no session depends on the product. If you need an exact count - for a backtest, say - count trade dates for the specific contract from CME Group's own holiday calendar. #### Why do people say there are 252 trading days? 252 is a convention, not the count for any particular year. A calendar year has 260, 261 or 262 weekdays depending on where the weekends fall, and the US market closes on 9 or 10 of them. That puts the real figure between 250 and 253, and 252 sits in the middle. It is a fine constant for converting daily figures to annual ones. It is the wrong number for a question about a specific year: 2026 and 2027 both have 251. #### What does this mean on a GFN account? GFN does not impose its own trading schedule. Hours follow each instrument and the liquidity in it, and public holidays can bring late opens, early closes or closures - see the [trading hours rules](https://getfundednow.com/rules/trading-hours). - **No time limit** on any evaluation, so a short holiday month costs you nothing but calendar time. See [the time limit rule](https://getfundednow.com/rules/no-time-limit). - **Minimum trading days apply only on the 2 Step.** You need 0.5% profit across at least 3 separate trading days. Instant and 1 Step have no minimum. See [the minimum trading days rule](https://getfundednow.com/rules/no-minimum-trading-days). - **The payout cycle counts calendar days, not trading days.** Every 14 days, from the first trade on the funded account. See [how payouts work](https://getfundednow.com/payouts). **A payout cycle over Thanksgiving week** The 14-day clock does not stop for a holiday. Here is how many sessions a US-hours trader actually gets inside one cycle. - First funded trade: Monday, November 16, 2026 - Payout eligibility: Monday, November 30 - 14 calendar days later. - Weekdays in the cycle: 10 - NYSE sessions in the cycle: 9 - Thanksgiving is a full closure; the next day closes at 1:00 p.m. ET. The eligibility date is the same either way. What shrinks is the number of full US sessions available to trade inside the window - 9, one of them a half day. The daily loss limit still applies on every one of them: $5,000 on a $100,000 1 Step, or 5%. #### Questions **Is the stock market open on Good Friday?** No. NYSE closes for Good Friday: April 3 in 2026 and March 26 in 2027. **Do half days count as trading days?** Yes. An early close is a shortened session, not a closure, so it is included in the 251-day count. In 2026 the early closes are November 27 and December 24. **Does forex trade on weekends?** No. The spot forex week runs from Sunday 5:00 p.m. to Friday 5:00 p.m. New York time, and the market is closed in between. **How many trading days are left in 2026?** From October 1, 2026, there are 64 NYSE trading days to the end of the year, including the two early-close sessions. #### Sources 1. Holidays & Trading Hours - New York Stock Exchange. https://www.nyse.com/markets/hours-calendars (read 2026-09-22) 2. U.S. Equity and Options Markets Holiday Schedule - Nasdaq Trader. https://www.nasdaqtrader.com/trader.aspx?id=calendar (read 2026-09-22) 3. Forex Market Hours - CompareForexBrokers (updated September 15, 2026). https://www.compareforexbrokers.com/us/market-hours/ (read 2026-09-22) 4. CME Trading Hours 2026: Complete Holiday Schedule for Futures Traders - CrossTrade. https://crosstrade.io/blog/cme-trading-hours-2026 (read 2026-09-22) 5. US Martin Luther King Day Holiday Trading Schedule (2026) - AMP Futures. https://www.ampfutures.com/news/holiday-trading-schedule-martin-luther-king-day (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/guides/trading-days-in-a-year ## Learn to trade (54 pages) ### Smart money concepts (SMC and ICT) Order blocks, breaker blocks, fair value gaps, market structure and liquidity - the vocabulary most prop-firm traders now chart with, defined precisely and with its limits stated. #### Breaker Blocks Explained (ICT and SMC) A breaker block is an order block that failed. Price sweeps a prior high or low, reverses, and breaks structure through the block, which is then treated with the opposite polarity: a broken bearish block becomes potential support, a broken bullish one potential resistance. It describes where traders expect a reaction, not where one will occur. ##### What a breaker block is A breaker block starts life as an [order block](https://getfundednow.com/learn/order-block) - the last opposing candle before a strong move. When price later trades straight back through that candle and keeps going, the block has failed. Smart money concepts (SMC) and the ICT teaching that popularised the term treat the failed zone as having flipped: old resistance is now watched as support, and old support as resistance. What separates a breaker from any broken zone is the sequence around it. The failing swing first runs beyond a prior high or low - a [liquidity sweep](https://getfundednow.com/learn/liquidity-in-trading) - and only then reverses hard enough to break structure through the block. Without that sweep the same role-flip is usually called a mitigation block instead. ##### Bullish and bearish breakers The two cases mirror each other. Most confusion about breakers comes from which candle is marked, so it is worth stating both in full. **The two breaker sequences, step by step** | Step | Bullish breaker | Bearish breaker | | --- | --- | --- | | 1. First swing | Price makes a swing low, then rallies to a swing high. | Price makes a swing high, then falls to a swing low. | | 2. The block | The last up-close candle at that swing high - a bearish order block. | The last down-close candle at that swing low - a bullish order block. | | 3. The sweep | Price falls below the first swing low, taking the sell-side liquidity under it. | Price rises above the first swing high, taking the buy-side liquidity above it. | | 4. The break | Price reverses and closes above the swing high, through the block. | Price reverses and closes below the swing low, through the block. | | 5. The read | The failed bearish block is watched as support on a return from above. | The failed bullish block is watched as resistance on a return from below. | ##### Breaker block vs order block vs mitigation block An order block is expected to hold in its original direction. A breaker is what is left after it did not hold, following a sweep. A mitigation block is the same failure without the sweep: the failing swing stops short of the prior extreme, forming a lower high or higher low, before structure breaks. Traders who use both usually regard the breaker as the cleaner of the two, on the reasoning that the sweep shows stops were taken before the reversal. That is an interpretation of the sequence, not a measured property of it, and there is no published evidence that breakers hold more often than any other zone. ##### Which part of the candle is the zone? Practice varies. Some traders mark the block's full range, high to low; others mark only the body, open to close, and watch the open as the key level. Some combine several consecutive same-colour candles into one zone. None of these is the correct one - they are conventions, and each changes where a stop would go. Decide on one before you backtest, and keep to it, or your results will describe a moving target. ##### How to identify it Work from the higher timeframe down, and mark the sequence in order. If any step is missing, it is not a breaker by the usual definition. 1. Find a clear swing: a swing low followed by a swing high (for a bullish breaker) or the reverse. 2. Mark the last up-close candle at the swing high, or the last down-close candle at the swing low. That candle is the original order block. 3. Confirm the sweep: price must trade beyond the first swing's extreme, not merely approach it. 4. Confirm the break: a candle must close beyond the swing high or low on the far side of the block, ideally with a fast, large-bodied move traders call displacement. 5. Mark the zone by your chosen convention - full range or body - and note the level at which a clean close back through the whole zone would invalidate it. 6. Wait for price to return. The breaker is only relevant if price comes back to it; many never do. ##### A bullish breaker, described An illustrative sequence described in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Swing low: Price falls to 100 and bounces. Traders now expect sell stops to be resting below 100. - Swing high and the block: The bounce reaches 110. The last up-close candle there runs from 106 to 110 - a bearish order block, because price then turns down. - Sweep: Price falls to 98, trading below the 100 low and triggering the stops beneath it, then turns up within a few candles. - Break: The rally closes at 112, above the 110 swing high and through the old bearish block. The block has failed; it is now marked as a bullish breaker from 106 to 110. - Return: Price later falls back to 108, inside the zone. A trader using this model would look for a long setup here, with a stop below the zone or below the sweep low depending on their rules. What happens next is not part of the definition. Price might hold the zone and rise, trade through it, or never return at all. The breaker tells you where the trader's model says to pay attention; it does not tell you the outcome. ##### Common mistakes - **Calling every broken zone a breaker** Without the sweep of a prior high or low, the failure is a mitigation block or just a broken level. Loose labelling makes backtests meaningless. - **Marking the wrong candle** A bullish breaker is the up-close candle at the swing high, not the down-close candle at the low. Mixing them up flips the zone to the other side of the move. - **Treating it as a standalone signal** A zone is a location, not a trigger. Traders who use breakers typically require a lower-timeframe entry signal and a higher-timeframe bias first. - **Ignoring invalidation** If price closes cleanly back through the whole zone, the logic no longer applies. Holding on because 'it is a breaker' is how a small loss becomes a large one. ##### Limitations - Breakers are identified in hindsight. The same chart can be labelled differently by two traders, and a zone only looks obvious once price has reacted to it. - There is no peer-reviewed evidence that breaker blocks, or order blocks generally, predict price. Any edge a trader finds is specific to their rules, market and period, and can disappear. - The explanation offered for them - that large institutions defend or re-enter these zones - is a narrative. It is not something a retail trader can observe or verify on a chart. - On lower timeframes almost every swing produces a candidate breaker, which makes the concept easy to overfit. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Breakers are usually traded with a stop beyond the zone or beyond the sweep, and the sweep low can sit well away from the entry. On a $100,000 simulated account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step, so size from the stop distance first, not from how convincing the zone looks. Risking $500 a trade leaves room for several failed retests in one day. Lower-timeframe breaker entries tend to be quick. GFN's minimum hold time is 2 minutes, so an entry model that routinely exits within a minute needs rethinking before it is used on an evaluation. ##### Questions **Is a breaker block the same as a mitigation block?** No. Both are failed order blocks that flip polarity, but a breaker forms only after price sweeps a prior high or low before breaking structure. A mitigation block forms when the failing swing stops short of that extreme. **Do breaker blocks work on every timeframe?** The pattern can be drawn on any timeframe, which is part of its weakness: lower timeframes produce many candidates, most of them meaningless. Whether it is useful on a given timeframe is something only your own testing can indicate, and past results do not carry forward reliably. **Where do traders put a stop on a breaker trade?** Common choices are just beyond the far side of the zone or beyond the sweep extreme. The first is tighter and fails more often; the second is wider and needs a smaller position for the same risk. ##### Sources 1. Breaker block - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/breaker-block/ (read 2026-09-22) 2. Mitigation block - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/mitigation-block/ (read 2026-09-22) 3. Bullish/bearish order block - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/bullish-bearish-order-block/ (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/breaker-block #### Order Blocks in Trading, Explained An order block is the last opposing candle before a strong move that breaks market structure: the final down-close candle before a sharp rally is a bullish order block, the final up-close candle before a sharp drop a bearish one. Traders mark it as a zone where price may react. It is a location, not a prediction. ##### What an order block is In smart money concepts an order block is a candle, or a short cluster of candles, where price is assumed to have been accumulated before a decisive move. The practical definition is mechanical: find a strong move that breaks structure, step back to the last candle that closed the other way, and mark it. The idea behind the name is that large participants cannot fill a big order in one print, so the last opposing candle marks where they were building a position - and that they may defend it if price returns. That explanation is a story about who traded, which a price chart cannot confirm. The mechanical definition is what traders can actually apply. ##### What makes a block worth marking Almost every swing has a last opposing candle, so traders filter. The filters most often applied are these: - The move away is fast and large-bodied - displacement - rather than a slow grind. - The move breaks a prior swing high or low, a [break of structure](https://getfundednow.com/learn/break-of-structure). A block that breaks nothing is usually ignored. - The move leaves a [fair value gap](https://getfundednow.com/learn/fair-value-gap) behind it, taken as further evidence of an imbalance. - The block has not yet been revisited. Once price has returned to it, many traders consider it used, or 'mitigated'. - It sits on the right side of the range: bullish blocks in the lower half of the current dealing range (discount), bearish ones in the upper half (premium). ##### Body, wick or mean threshold There is no single convention for the zone itself. Some traders use the full candle from high to low. Others use open to low for a bullish block and open to high for a bearish one, treating the open as the key level. Many also mark the block's midpoint, often called the mean threshold, and treat a close beyond it as a sign the block is failing. These choices matter because they move the stop. Pick one convention, write it down, and backtest that - not a mixture chosen after the fact. ##### When an order block fails Order blocks fail constantly. When price trades straight through one and the sequence around it included a sweep of liquidity, the failed block is reclassified as a [breaker block](https://getfundednow.com/learn/breaker-block). Without the sweep, it may be called a mitigation block. Either way, the failure is information: the zone did not behave as marked. ##### How to identify it Start from the move, not the candle. The block is defined by what came after it. 1. Find a strong, fast move - several large-bodied candles in one direction with little overlap. 2. Check that the move broke a prior swing high (for a bullish block) or swing low (for a bearish one). 3. Step back to the last candle before the move that closed in the opposite direction. That is the order block. 4. Mark the zone by your chosen convention, and mark the midpoint if you use it. 5. Check context: is the block in discount for a long or premium for a short, and does the higher timeframe agree? 6. Record whether price has already returned to it. An untested block and a tested one are not the same setup. ##### A bullish order block, described Illustrative round numbers, described in words. Not a real instrument, date or price. - The decline: Price drifts down from 120 to 104, with a minor swing high at 112 along the way. - The last down candle: The final down-close candle opens at 106 and trades to a low of 102. - The displacement: The next two candles rise from 103 to 116 with little overlap, closing above the 112 swing high - a break of structure. - The zone: Using the open-to-low convention, the bullish order block is 102 to 106, with a mean threshold at 104. - The return: Price later drops back to 105. A trader using this model might look for a long entry signal here, with a stop below 102. If price closes below 102, the block has failed and the setup is void. If it rises, that does not validate the concept - one reaction is not evidence. The example shows how the zone is drawn, not whether it holds. ##### Common mistakes - **Marking any opposing candle** Without a strong move and a break of structure after it, the candle is just a candle. Unfiltered order blocks are everywhere. - **Trading a block already revisited** Many traders treat a block as spent once price returns. Re-using it without saying so in your rules muddies any record you keep. - **Ignoring the higher timeframe** A bullish block on a five-minute chart inside a strong daily downtrend is a counter-trend trade, whatever it looks like up close. - **Moving the zone after the fact** Switching between wick, body and midpoint depending on where price turned makes every block look like it worked. ##### Limitations - Order blocks are drawn in hindsight, and two traders will often mark different candles on the same chart. - The claim that they show institutional orders cannot be verified from price data alone. Treat it as a way of describing the chart, not a fact about who traded. - No independent study has shown order blocks forecast price. A zone that 'worked' in a backtest may have done so by chance or by selective marking. - A block defines where you might act; it says nothing about how far price will go if it does react. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation An order block gives a natural stop - beyond the far side of the zone - which makes position sizing straightforward to calculate. Use the [position size calculator](https://getfundednow.com/tools/position-size-calculator) with that distance, and keep each trade's risk well inside the daily loss limit, which is 3% on Instant and 5% on 1 Step and 2 Step. Zones on several timeframes can overlap into many small positions at once. Correlated positions share one risk budget: three longs on three dollar pairs off three order blocks are closer to one large trade than three small ones. ##### Sources 1. Bullish/bearish order block - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/bullish-bearish-order-block/ (read 2026-09-22) 2. Mitigation block - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/mitigation-block/ (read 2026-09-22) 3. Smart money concepts / ICT concepts - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/family/smc-ict/ (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/order-block #### Fair Value Gap (FVG) in Trading, Explained FVG stands for fair value gap: a three-candle pattern in which the wicks of the first and third candles do not overlap, leaving a range the middle candle crossed with no two-sided trading. A bullish FVG runs from the first candle's high to the third's low. Traders watch whether price returns into it; the gap does not have to fill. ##### What a fair value gap is Take any three consecutive candles. If the third candle's low is above the first candle's high, the middle candle moved so fast that, within those three candles, there is a band of price that only traded in one direction. That band is a bullish fair value gap. The bearish version is the mirror: the third candle's high is below the first candle's low. The term comes from the ICT vocabulary, and traders also call it an imbalance or, in the older price-action language, an inefficiency. Some use the labels BISI (buy-side imbalance, sell-side inefficiency) for a bullish gap and SIBI for a bearish one. They all describe the same three-candle geometry. ##### How it differs from an ordinary price gap A classic gap is a jump between one candle's close and the next candle's open, with no trading in between - common in stocks over a weekend. A fair value gap needs no such jump. Every price inside it did trade, during the middle candle; the point is that it traded one way only. That is why FVGs appear constantly in markets that trade around the clock, where true gaps are rare. ##### Retracement into an FVG, and consequent encroachment The common reading is that price often returns into a gap before continuing, and traders plan entries there. A return that touches the near edge is described as tagging the gap; one that reaches its midpoint is said to hit consequent encroachment, a term for the 50% level of the gap. Some traders enter only at the midpoint, others anywhere inside. There is no rule that a gap must be filled. Many are never revisited, some are filled completely and then broken, and a gap that price closes through is often re-read as an [inverse fair value gap](https://getfundednow.com/learn/inverse-fair-value-gap) with the opposite expectation attached. **Bullish and bearish FVGs side by side** | | Bullish FVG | Bearish FVG | | --- | --- | --- | | Forms in | An up-move | A down-move | | Top of the gap | Third candle's low | First candle's low | | Bottom of the gap | First candle's high | Third candle's high | | Usually watched as | Potential support on a return from above | Potential resistance on a return from below | | Considered failed when | Price closes below the bottom | Price closes above the top | ##### How FVGs are used in a trading strategy On their own, FVGs are too common to be selective, so a fair value gap trading strategy almost always stacks them with something else: a higher-timeframe bias, a [liquidity sweep](https://getfundednow.com/learn/liquidity-in-trading) before the move that created the gap, a [break of structure](https://getfundednow.com/learn/break-of-structure) during it, or an [order block](https://getfundednow.com/learn/order-block) just beneath it. The gap then becomes the entry location inside a setup defined by the other conditions. ##### How to identify it Mark gaps on closed candles only. A gap on a candle still forming can vanish before the close. 1. Look for a large-bodied candle that moved a long way relative to its neighbours. 2. Compare the candle before it with the candle after it. For a bullish gap, is the third candle's low above the first candle's high? 3. If so, shade the band between those two wicks. That is the fair value gap. 4. Mark its midpoint if you trade consequent encroachment. 5. Note the context: did the move that created it break structure, and did it start from a sweep of liquidity? 6. Set the invalidation: a close through the far side of the gap. ##### A bullish FVG, described An illustrative sequence in round numbers, described in words. It does not represent a real instrument or date. - Candle one: Trades between 96 and 100. Its high is 100. - Candle two: A strong up candle from 99 to 116. - Candle three: Trades between 108 and 118. Its low is 108, above candle one's high. - The gap: The fair value gap is 100 to 108, with a midpoint at 104. - The retracement: Price later falls back to 104. A trader using this model might look for a long entry here, with a stop below 100, the gap's far side. If price closes below 100, the gap has failed, and some traders would start treating 100 to 108 as resistance. A reaction at 104 would be one observation, not proof that fair value gaps work. ##### Common mistakes - **Marking gaps on open candles** Until the third candle closes, the gap is provisional. Many disappear before the close. - **Treating every gap as tradeable** On a one-minute chart, gaps form every few minutes. Without filters, you are trading noise. - **Assuming gaps must fill** They do not. A trader waiting for every gap to fill will wait for some forever and sit through others as they break. - **Confusing wick and body** The gap is defined by wicks, the high and low of candles one and three. Drawing it from bodies produces a different, larger zone. ##### Limitations - A fair value gap is a description of how fast price moved. It carries no information about the future on its own. - Because the pattern is so common, some gaps will be followed by reactions purely by chance. That makes anecdotal success easy to find and meaningless as evidence. - The idea that price 'seeks fair value' by returning to the gap is a framing, not an established market mechanism. - Gaps on different timeframes overlap and contradict each other; which one matters is a choice the trader makes, not something the chart tells you. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation FVG entries on low timeframes can be very short-term. On a GFN account the minimum hold is 2 minutes per trade, and the rule exists because very short holds tend to rely on execution conditions rather than analysis. Plan for trades that are held at least that long. Gaps also form around scheduled news, where the middle candle is the release itself. On a simulated funded account, profits from trades opened or closed in the window around high-impact releases may be removed, so a news-candle FVG is not an entry to rely on there. ##### Questions **What does FVG stand for?** Fair value gap. It is the ICT and SMC name for a three-candle imbalance, sometimes also called an inefficiency. **Does a fair value gap always get filled?** No. Some are revisited, some are filled completely and broken, and many are never returned to. Any trader who assumes a fill is certain will eventually be caught by one that does not happen. **What is the difference between a bullish and a bearish FVG?** A bullish gap forms in an up-move, between the first candle's high and the third candle's low. A bearish gap forms in a down-move, between the first candle's low and the third candle's high. ##### Sources 1. Fair value gap - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/fair-value-gap/ (read 2026-09-22) 2. Inversion FVG - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/inversion-fvg/ (read 2026-09-22) 3. Smart money concepts / ICT concepts - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/family/smc-ict/ (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/fair-value-gap #### Inverse Fair Value Gap (IFVG) Explained IFVG stands for inverse, or inversion, fair value gap: a fair value gap that price has closed through. Once a bullish gap is closed below, traders stop reading it as potential support and start watching it as potential resistance, and the reverse for a bearish gap. The range is unchanged; only the expectation attached to it flips. ##### What an inverse fair value gap is A [fair value gap](https://getfundednow.com/learn/fair-value-gap) is a three-candle imbalance that traders expect to act in the direction of the move that created it. An inverse fair value gap is what remains when that expectation is proven wrong: price returns to the gap and closes through it rather than reacting from it. At that point the gap is inverted. A bullish gap that price has closed below is treated as a bearish zone; a bearish gap closed above is treated as a bullish one. The same range on the chart now carries the opposite expectation. The logic is the same as old support becoming resistance - the idea underneath much of support and resistance - applied to a three-candle zone. ##### IFVG vs FVG The two are the same shape at different points in their life. **Fair value gap and inverse fair value gap compared** | | FVG | IFVG | | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | A three-candle imbalance | A fair value gap that price closed through | | Expectation | Reaction in the direction of the original move | Reaction in the opposite direction | | Bullish case | Formed in an up-move; watched as support | A bearish gap closed above; watched as support | | Bearish case | Formed in a down-move; watched as resistance | A bullish gap closed below; watched as resistance | | What confirms it | The three-candle geometry alone | A candle close beyond the gap, not just a wick | ##### Why the close matters Most traders require a candle body to close beyond the gap before calling it inverted. A wick through the gap that closes back inside is usually read as a test, or as a [liquidity sweep](https://getfundednow.com/learn/liquidity-in-trading) of the gap's edge, not as a failure. Which timeframe's close counts is a choice: a gap marked on a fifteen-minute chart is normally judged on fifteen-minute closes. ##### How an IFVG strategy is usually framed IFVGs are most often used as confirmation of a shift in direction. A trader who sees price sweep a high, then close down through a small bullish gap left on the way up, reads the inversion as a sign the move has turned, and plans a short on a return into the inverted gap. It is, in effect, a small-scale [change of character](https://getfundednow.com/learn/break-of-structure) expressed through a gap. The weakness is the same as for gaps generally: on low timeframes they are everywhere, so an inversion on its own selects very little. ##### How to identify it An IFVG needs a gap first. Mark the original, then watch what price does to it. 1. Mark a fair value gap by the usual three-candle rule. 2. Wait for price to return to it. 3. Check for a candle close beyond the far side of the gap, on the timeframe the gap was marked on. 4. If it closes through, re-label the range as an inverse gap with the opposite bias. 5. Watch for a return into the inverted range from the other side. That is where an IFVG setup would be taken. 6. Set invalidation: a close back through the inverted gap in the original direction. ##### A bullish FVG that inverts, described An illustrative sequence in round numbers, described in words. It is not taken from any real market. - The gap forms: Price rallies from 100 to 130, leaving a bullish fair value gap between 110 and 118. - The return: Price comes back into the gap, trading down to 112. - The inversion: Instead of turning up, a candle closes at 104, below the gap's bottom at 110. The gap has failed and is now an inverse FVG. - The retest: Price bounces back up to 114, inside the inverted gap, from below. - The read: A trader using this model would look for a short here, with a stop above 118, the top of the gap. Price may turn lower from the inverted gap, or close back above it and invert it again. The example shows how the label changes; it does not show that the new label is more likely to be right than the old one. ##### Common mistakes - **Inverting on a wick** A wick through the gap that closes back inside is not an inversion by the usual rule. Treating it as one flips your bias on noise. - **Mixing timeframes** A gap marked on an hourly chart and 'inverted' by a one-minute close is two different analyses stitched together. - **Forgetting that it can re-invert** An inverted gap can itself fail. There is no final state; each label is only as good as the next close. - **Using it without context** An inversion against a strong higher-timeframe trend is often a pause, not a turn. ##### Limitations - Inversions are common on low timeframes, so any single one carries very little information. - The concept is a relabelling of a failed zone. It adds a rule for what to watch next, not evidence about what price will do. - There is no standard for which close confirms an inversion, which makes results between traders impossible to compare. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation IFVG setups are usually low-timeframe, and a stop above the inverted gap is often tight. Tight stops mean larger positions for the same risk, and larger positions feel spread and slippage more. Check the arithmetic against the daily loss limit of 3% on Instant and 5% on 1 Step and 2 Step before trading it on an evaluation. If your IFVG entries are frequently closed within a minute or two, check them against the 2 minutes minimum hold time first. ##### Sources 1. Inversion FVG - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/inversion-fvg/ (read 2026-09-22) 2. Fair value gap - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/fair-value-gap/ (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/inverse-fair-value-gap #### Break of Structure (BOS) vs CHoCH BOS stands for break of structure: price moving beyond the latest swing point in the trend's direction - above the last higher high in an uptrend, below the last lower low in a downtrend. It is read as continuation. A change of character (CHoCH) is the first break the other way, an early warning of a possible turn. ##### Market structure in one paragraph Price moves in swings. An uptrend is a sequence of higher highs and higher lows; a downtrend is a sequence of lower highs and lower lows. Market structure is simply the record of those swing points, and structure analysis is the habit of asking which swing, if broken, would change the picture. Smart money concepts did not invent this - it is classical trend analysis with a newer vocabulary - but BOS and CHoCH are the terms most traders now search for. ##### BOS in an uptrend and a downtrend In an uptrend, a BOS is a move above the most recent higher high. It confirms, in hindsight, that the pullback before it was a higher low, and the trend is intact. In a downtrend, the BOS definition flips: it is a move below the most recent lower low, confirming that the bounce before it was a lower high. Traders disagree about what counts as the break. Some accept any trade beyond the swing point; others require a candle body to close beyond it, and treat a wick through and back as a [liquidity sweep](https://getfundednow.com/learn/liquidity-in-trading) rather than a break. The close rule produces fewer, later signals; the wick rule produces more false ones. Choose one and apply it consistently. ##### CHoCH vs BOS A change of character is the first break of structure against the prevailing trend. In an uptrend, it is a move below the most recent higher low - the level that had to hold for the trend to remain intact. In a downtrend, it is a move above the most recent lower high. The ICT vocabulary more often calls this a market structure shift (MSS), and many traders require it to happen with displacement - a fast, large-bodied move - before they treat it as meaningful. Different names, same event. **BOS and CHoCH compared** | | Break of structure (BOS) | Change of character (CHoCH) | | --- | --- | --- | | Direction | With the trend | Against the trend | | In an uptrend | Break above the last higher high | Break below the last higher low | | In a downtrend | Break below the last lower low | Break above the last lower high | | Usually read as | Continuation | Possible reversal - an early warning, not a confirmation | | Also called | Continuation break | Market structure shift (MSS) | ##### Internal and external structure Which swings count depends on the timeframe. A higher low on a daily chart contains a whole sequence of highs and lows on a fifteen-minute chart. Traders often distinguish external structure - the major swings that define the higher-timeframe trend - from internal structure, the smaller swings inside it. An internal CHoCH against the daily trend is frequently just a pullback. Most structure-based errors come from reading an internal break as if it were an external one. ##### How to identify it Structure is only as reliable as the swings you mark. Mark them first, on one timeframe, before you look for breaks. 1. Pick the timeframe whose structure you are trading, and mark its obvious swing highs and lows. Skip minor wiggles. 2. Label the sequence: HH and HL for an uptrend, LH and LL for a downtrend. 3. Identify the swing that must hold for the trend to continue - the last higher low in an uptrend, the last lower high in a downtrend. 4. A break beyond the last extreme in the trend's direction is a BOS. A break of the level that had to hold is a CHoCH. 5. Apply your break rule consistently: wick or candle close. 6. Check the higher timeframe before acting on a CHoCH. If it is internal to a larger trend, treat it as a pullback until proven otherwise. ##### From BOS to CHoCH, described An illustrative uptrend in round numbers, described in words. It does not represent any real market. - The trend: Price makes a low at 100, a high at 120, a higher low at 110 and a higher high at 135. The move above 120 was a BOS. - A second BOS: After a higher low at 124, price rises to 150, breaking above 135 - another BOS, continuation confirmed. - The lower high: Price pulls back to 138, rallies only to 146 - below the 150 high - and turns down. - The CHoCH: Price closes at 134, below the 138 higher low. That is a change of character: the level that had to hold for the uptrend has broken. - The read: A structure trader now stops looking for longs on this timeframe and waits to see whether a lower-high, lower-low sequence develops. A CHoCH is an early warning, and early warnings are wrong often. Price could reclaim 138 and make a new high, turning the CHoCH into a failed break. Structure tells you which level matters; it does not tell you which way price will leave it. ##### Common mistakes - **Marking too many swings** If every minor pullback is a swing, every candle is a break. Structure becomes meaningless below a certain level of detail. - **Reading an internal CHoCH as a reversal** A lower-timeframe change of character inside a higher-timeframe uptrend is often the pullback that precedes the next BOS. - **Switching between wick and close rules** Using whichever rule fits the chart after the fact makes every break look right. - **Treating a BOS as an entry** A BOS tells you the trend continued. By the time it prints, price is often extended; most structure traders wait for a pullback. ##### Limitations - Swing points are identified with some lag and some judgement. Two traders marking the same chart will not always agree on the structure. - Structure describes what price has done. A trend confirmed by a BOS can end on the next candle. - Ranging markets produce repeated CHoCH signals in both directions, and structure analysis is weakest exactly when there is no trend - see [sideways markets](https://getfundednow.com/learn/sideways-market). ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Structure gives you a clean invalidation level - the swing that must hold - which is also a natural stop. Size the position from that distance, not the other way round, and keep the loss if it is hit within the daily limit. On an evaluation, the biggest structure-related risk is repeated re-entry after a CHoCH has already said the trend may be ending. Two or three counter-structure losses in one session are how a daily loss limit gets breached. ##### Questions **What does BOS mean in trading?** BOS stands for break of structure. It is a move beyond the most recent swing point in the direction of the trend, taken as confirmation that the trend is continuing. **What is a BOS in a downtrend?** In a downtrend, a break of structure is a move below the most recent lower low. It confirms that the bounce before it was a lower high and the downtrend is intact. **Is a CHoCH the same as a market structure shift?** Broadly, yes. Both describe the first break against the prevailing trend. Traders who use the term market structure shift often add a requirement that the break happens with displacement. ##### Sources 1. Break of structure - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/break-of-structure/ (read 2026-09-22) 2. Smart money concepts / ICT concepts - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/family/smc-ict/ (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/break-of-structure #### Liquidity in Trading: Pools and Sweeps Liquidity in trading has two meanings. Generally, it is how much can be traded without moving price. In smart money concepts it means resting orders - stops and breakout entries - assumed to cluster above swing highs (buy-side liquidity) and below swing lows (sell-side liquidity). A liquidity sweep is price trading through such a level, then reversing. ##### The two meanings of liquidity In market microstructure, [liquidity](https://getfundednow.com/glossary/liquidity) is depth: how much volume can trade near the current price before the price has to move. Deep markets have tight spreads and absorb large orders; thin ones gap and slip. That meaning matters to every trader because it decides the cost of getting in and out. Smart money concepts use the word differently, to mean pools of resting orders at predictable places on the chart. The reasoning is that stop-losses for short positions sit above recent highs, stop-losses for longs sit below recent lows, and breakout traders place entry stops at the same levels. Each of those is an order waiting to be filled, and together they form a pool of liquidity that a large participant could trade against. ##### Buy-side and sell-side liquidity Buy-side liquidity (BSL) sits above highs: the buy stops of traders who are short and the buy-stop entries of breakout traders. Sell-side liquidity (SSL) sits below lows: sell stops of longs and sell-stop breakout entries. The places traders most often mark are these: - Equal highs and equal lows - two or more swing points at nearly the same price, which traders read as an obvious place for stops to cluster. - The previous day's, week's and month's high and low. - Session highs and lows, especially the range of the Asian session before London opens - see [trading sessions](https://getfundednow.com/learn/trading-sessions) and [the Asian session](https://getfundednow.com/learn/asian-session). - Trendline touches, where stops tend to sit just the other side of the line. - Old swing highs and lows on the higher timeframe that price has not yet revisited. ##### Liquidity sweeps, grabs and stop hunts A liquidity sweep - also called a grab, raid, purge, stop run or stop hunt - is price trading through one of those levels, triggering the orders beyond it, and then reversing. The classic shape is a wick above equal highs with a close back below them. Traders who use the concept read the sweep as the move that filled someone large, and look for a reversal after it. A sweep and a genuine breakout look identical at the moment they happen. The difference is only visible afterwards: a breakout holds beyond the level, a sweep closes back inside. That is why most models require a confirmation after the sweep - typically a [change of character](https://getfundednow.com/learn/break-of-structure) in the opposite direction, often leaving a [fair value gap](https://getfundednow.com/learn/fair-value-gap) - before acting. ##### Is it really a hunt? The 'stop hunt' framing implies someone deliberately pushing price to trigger stops. Sometimes stops are simply triggered because price moved, and the triggered orders briefly add momentum before it fades. From a chart alone, you cannot tell intention from coincidence. The observable part - that obvious levels attract orders, and that price often moves quickly through them - is well documented in how order books work. The motive attached to it is interpretation. ##### How to identify it Mark liquidity before price reaches it. A level identified after the sweep is hindsight. 1. On your working timeframe, mark the previous day's high and low and the current session's range. 2. Mark any equal highs or equal lows - two or more swing points within a few pips or points of each other. 3. Note which pools sit closest to price. Those are the levels most likely to be tested first, not necessarily the ones that matter most. 4. When price trades through a level, watch the close: back inside suggests a sweep, a hold beyond suggests a breakout. 5. Before acting on a sweep, require your confirmation - a change of character on a lower timeframe is the usual one. ##### A buy-side sweep, described Illustrative levels in round numbers, described in words. Not a real instrument or price. - The pool: Price makes two swing highs at 150 over a morning. Traders mark 150 as equal highs - buy-side liquidity. - The sweep: In the afternoon a candle trades up to 153, triggering buy stops above 150, but closes at 148, back below the level. - The confirmation: On the five-minute chart price then breaks below the last higher low at 145 - a change of character. - The setup: A trader using this model might look for a short on a pullback, with a stop above the 153 sweep high. The same afternoon could just as easily have seen price close at 154 and keep rising - a breakout, not a sweep. The label is only settled after the close, and a confirmation rule reduces but does not remove the chance of being wrong. ##### Common mistakes - **Calling every breakout a sweep** In hindsight any reversal after a new high looks like a sweep. Before the close, you do not know which it is. - **Putting your own stop in the obvious place** If you believe stops above equal highs get taken, placing yours a pip above them contradicts your own model. - **Confusing the two meanings** A pool of stops is not the same as a deep, liquid market. A sweep can happen in thin conditions where fills are worst. - **Fading every sweep** Trading against every run of a high in a strong trend is fighting the trend, not reading liquidity. ##### Limitations - Retail traders cannot see where stops actually sit. Liquidity pools are inferred from chart shapes, not observed. - Deliberate stop hunting cannot be distinguished from ordinary price movement on a chart. - Sweeps are only identifiable after the candle closes, and a confirmation rule adds delay. Both reduce, but do not remove, the ambiguity. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Liquidity thinking is most useful on an evaluation as a stop-placement check. If your stop sits exactly where the chart's obvious pool is, it is exposed to the same sweep you might otherwise trade. Moving it beyond the sweep extreme widens it, which means a smaller position for the same risk. Sweeps of the previous day's high or low often happen around session opens and scheduled releases, when spreads widen and fills slip. Those costs count toward the daily loss limit like any other loss. ##### Questions **What is buy-side liquidity?** Resting buy orders above a high: the stop-losses of short positions and the buy-stop entries of breakout traders. Sell-side liquidity is the mirror, below a low. **What is the difference between a liquidity sweep and a breakout?** A breakout holds beyond the level; a sweep trades through it and closes back inside. They are indistinguishable until the candle closes, which is why most models wait for a confirmation. ##### Sources 1. Liquidity sweep - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/liquidity-sweep/ (read 2026-09-22) 2. Smart money technique divergence - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/smart-money-technique-divergence/ (read 2026-09-22) 3. OTC foreign exchange turnover in April 2025 (Triennial Central Bank Survey) - Bank for International Settlements. https://www.bis.org/statistics/rpfx25_fx.htm (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/liquidity-in-trading #### SMT Divergence in Trading, Explained SMT stands for smart money technique. An SMT divergence is when two normally correlated markets disagree at a swing: one makes a new high or low and the other does not. Traders read that failure to confirm as a sign the new extreme may be a liquidity sweep rather than genuine strength. It is a warning, not a forecast. ##### What SMT divergence is Some markets usually move together: two major US stock index products, two currency pairs against the same currency, or two metals. When they are moving in step, a new high in one is normally matched by a new high in the other. SMT divergence is the moment they stop matching - one pushes to a new extreme and its partner fails to. The interpretation offered in smart money concepts is that the market making the new extreme is reaching for [liquidity](https://getfundednow.com/learn/liquidity-in-trading) - stops above an obvious high - rather than being driven by broad buying, and that the partner's failure exposes it. The pattern is therefore mostly used as confirmation that a sweep has happened. ##### Bullish and bearish SMT A bearish SMT divergence forms at highs: one market makes a higher high, the other makes a lower high. A bullish SMT divergence forms at lows: one makes a lower low, the other a higher low. Some traders also use inversely correlated pairs, where the expected relationship is opposite - a new high in one should match a new low in the other - and read a failure of that mirror as the divergence. **Pairs traders commonly compare** | Pair of markets | Usual relationship | Why they tend to move together | | --- | --- | --- | | Two major US stock indices | Positive | Overlapping constituents and the same macro drivers | | EUR/USD and GBP/USD | Positive | Both priced against the US dollar | | EUR/USD and the US dollar index | Inverse | The euro is the largest weight in the index | | Gold and silver | Positive | Both precious metals, both priced in dollars | Correlations change over time and can break down for weeks. Check the relationship on your own charts before relying on it. ##### SMT divergence vs indicator divergence [Classical divergence](https://getfundednow.com/learn/divergence-trading) compares price with an oscillator such as RSI or MACD on the same market. SMT compares price with price across two markets. The logic is similar - a new extreme that something else fails to confirm - but SMT needs no indicator, and it only works while the two markets are genuinely correlated. ##### How to identify it Use the same timeframe and the same time window on both charts. A divergence across mismatched swings is not a divergence. 1. Choose two markets with a stable, known correlation, and open them side by side on the same timeframe. 2. Mark a recent swing high (or low) that is visible on both charts at the same time. 3. Wait for the next swing. Did both exceed the earlier swing, or only one? 4. If only one did, you have an SMT divergence. Note which market made the new extreme - that is where the sweep occurred. 5. Look for your confirmation - usually a change of character - before treating it as a setup. ##### A bearish SMT, described Two illustrative markets described in words, labelled A and B. No real instruments or prices. - The first high: Both A and B make a swing high at mid-morning. - The second push: An hour later A trades above its earlier high. B rallies too, but stalls below its own earlier high. - The divergence: A has made a higher high; B has made a lower high. That disagreement is a bearish SMT divergence. - The confirmation: A then breaks below its most recent higher low on the lower timeframe - a change of character. A trader using this model would consider a short on A, with a stop above its new high. But correlated markets diverge for ordinary reasons - one company's earnings, one currency's data - and the divergence can resolve with the laggard catching up rather than the leader falling back. ##### Common mistakes - **Comparing different swings** The swings must be in the same time window. Matching one market's morning high to the other's afternoon high produces false divergences. - **Assuming the correlation holds** Correlations break down. A divergence in a period when the two markets are not correlated means nothing. - **Treating it as an entry** SMT is usually a confirmation of a sweep. On its own it says nothing about timing. ##### Limitations - SMT relies on a correlation that is neither fixed nor guaranteed. When it weakens, divergences multiply and lose meaning. - Divergences can resolve either way: the leader can reverse, or the laggard can catch up. - Like other SMC tools it is identified visually, so small differences in how swings are marked produce different signals. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation SMT is about comparing two markets, not trading both. Opening positions in two highly correlated instruments at once doubles exposure to the same move: if you are wrong, both lose together, and both count toward the daily loss limit. If you do trade correlated instruments together, size them as one position for risk purposes. ##### Sources 1. Smart money technique divergence - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/smart-money-technique-divergence/ (read 2026-09-22) 2. Liquidity sweep - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/liquidity-sweep/ (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/smt-divergence #### AMD in Trading: Power of Three Explained AMD stands for accumulation, manipulation, distribution - the three phases of the power of three model. Price ranges quietly (accumulation), makes a false move against the eventual direction that sweeps liquidity (manipulation), then moves decisively the other way (distribution). Traders apply it to a session or a daily candle. It describes a shape; it does not predict one. ##### The three phases The model divides a period - most often a trading day or a single session - into three parts. - Accumulation: a narrow, quiet range, often during the Asian session for currency pairs. The model reads it as positions being built. - Manipulation: a move out of that range against the direction the period will eventually take, sweeping the [liquidity](https://getfundednow.com/learn/liquidity-in-trading) above or below the range. It is often the London open in the model's standard telling, and sometimes called the Judas swing. - Distribution: the sustained move in the period's real direction, often in the London or New York session. ##### Why it is also a candlestick model Draw a bullish AMD day as one daily candle and you get a familiar shape: it opens near the middle of the accumulation range, the manipulation leg forms a long lower wick below the open, and distribution carries it to a close near the high. That is why traders searching for an 'AMD candlestick' are looking at the same idea. The model's claim is that most strong daily candles, viewed intraday, trace this path: open, false move, real move. It is the reason the model pays so much attention to the opening price. In a bullish day, it expects the manipulation low to sit below the open; in a bearish day, the manipulation high to sit above it. ##### Where the idea comes from The phase names borrow from the [Wyckoff method](https://getfundednow.com/learn/wyckoff-method), which described accumulation and distribution a century ago - with the shakeout or spring playing the role manipulation plays here. The difference is scale: Wyckoff described campaigns lasting weeks or months, while the power of three is usually applied to a single day or session. ##### How to identify it The model is only testable if you fix the time windows before the day starts. 1. Decide which period you are modelling - a day or a session - and which window counts as accumulation. 2. Mark the high and low of the accumulation window, and the period's opening price. 3. Watch for a move beyond one side of the range. That is a manipulation candidate. 4. Wait for confirmation that the move has failed - typically a close back inside the range and a [change of character](https://getfundednow.com/learn/break-of-structure) in the other direction. 5. Only then treat the opposite direction as the candidate distribution leg. ##### A bullish AMD session, described An illustrative day in round numbers, described in words. It is not a real market or date. - Accumulation: Overnight, price holds between 98 and 102. The period opened at 100. - Manipulation: Early in the next session price drops to 95, below the range and below the open, triggering sell stops under 98. - Confirmation: Price closes back above 98 and breaks a minor lower high at 99 - a change of character. - Distribution: Price rises through the session, closing the day near 112. Viewed at the close, the day looks exactly like the model. Viewed at the moment price was at 95, it looked like the start of a decline, and on many days that is what it is. The model fits neatly in hindsight; the difficulty is entirely in real time. ##### Common mistakes - **Fitting it after the fact** Almost any day can be labelled A, M and D once it is over. Without fixed windows set in advance, the model cannot fail - which means it cannot inform. - **Fading every early move** Some days trend from the open with no manipulation leg. Treating every opening move as a false one means fighting the strongest days. - **Assuming the manipulation is deliberate** The name implies intent. From a chart, a false move is indistinguishable from an ordinary one that reversed. ##### Limitations - The model is descriptive and fits most days in hindsight. That is not evidence it helps in real time. - Days without a clear range, or with two false moves, do not fit the template, and there is no rule for how many of those to expect. - The session windows the model uses are conventions, and they shift with daylight saving time - see [trading sessions](https://getfundednow.com/learn/trading-sessions). ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation The manipulation leg is designed, in the model's own terms, to stop people out. Anyone trading it needs a stop beyond the manipulation extreme, which is often wide. On an evaluation, a wide stop means a smaller position, not the same position with more risk. Manipulation legs frequently coincide with session opens and scheduled releases. Trades opened or closed in the funded-stage news window may have their virtual profit removed, so check the calendar before relying on an opening move. ##### Sources 1. Liquidity sweep - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/liquidity-sweep/ (read 2026-09-22) 2. The Wyckoff Method - Wyckoff Analytics. https://www.wyckoffanalytics.com/wyckoff-method/ (read 2026-09-22) 3. Smart money concepts / ICT concepts - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/family/smc-ict/ (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/power-of-three #### Smart Money Concepts (SMC) Explained SMC stands for smart money concepts: a price-action framework that reads charts through market structure, liquidity, order blocks and fair value gaps, on the premise that large institutions leave visible footprints. Much of its vocabulary was popularised by the ICT teaching brand. It is a way of describing charts, not a proven method, and its core premise cannot be verified. ##### What SMC is Smart money concepts is a collection of chart-reading ideas built around one premise: that banks, funds and other large participants - the 'smart money' - move price in recognisable ways, and that retail traders can read those moves from the chart. It combines classical price action, such as trend structure and [support and resistance](https://getfundednow.com/learn/support-and-resistance), with a newer vocabulary: order blocks, fair value gaps, liquidity sweeps, breakers, premium and discount. ICT is the name of the teaching brand that popularised much of that vocabulary, and traders often use 'ICT concepts' and 'SMC' interchangeably. The concepts on this site are described on their own merits, as they are commonly applied - not as the claims of any individual. ##### The core concepts, in learning order Most traders learn the framework in roughly this order, because each concept depends on the one before it. This is a free, structured path through the same material a paid ICT or SMC course usually covers. **A free SMC learning path** | Step | Concept | What it adds | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | [Market structure: BOS and CHoCH](https://getfundednow.com/learn/break-of-structure) | Which way the trend runs, and which swing must hold | | 2 | [Liquidity, pools and sweeps](https://getfundednow.com/learn/liquidity-in-trading) | Where resting orders are assumed to sit, and what it means when price runs them | | 3 | [Order blocks](https://getfundednow.com/learn/order-block) | The last opposing candle before a structure-breaking move, as a zone of interest | | 4 | [Fair value gaps](https://getfundednow.com/learn/fair-value-gap) | Three-candle imbalances, and returns into them | | 5 | [Breaker blocks](https://getfundednow.com/learn/breaker-block) | What an order block becomes when it fails after a sweep | | 6 | [Inverse fair value gaps](https://getfundednow.com/learn/inverse-fair-value-gap) | What a gap becomes when price closes through it | | 7 | [SMT divergence](https://getfundednow.com/learn/smt-divergence) | Correlated markets disagreeing at a swing | | 8 | [Accumulation, manipulation, distribution](https://getfundednow.com/learn/power-of-three) | The daily and session template the pieces are fitted into | | 9 | [Trading sessions](https://getfundednow.com/learn/trading-sessions) and [killzones](https://getfundednow.com/learn/london-session) | When in the day the model expects each phase | ##### Premium, discount and the dealing range One idea runs under all of the others. Take the most recent significant swing high and low - the dealing range - and split it at 50%. The upper half is premium, the lower half discount. SMC traders generally look for longs in discount and shorts in premium, on the logic of buying low within the range and selling high. Some refine it further with retracement levels, most often a band around the 62% to 79% retracement that is called the optimal trade entry. These are conventions for where to look, not levels with special properties. ##### What 'smart money' actually means Outside this framework, smart money is a loose term for investors assumed to be better informed - institutions, central banks, insiders - as against the retail public. It is a label, not a measurable group. The framework's premise, that those participants' intentions can be read from a retail chart, is the part that cannot be tested: the chart shows what traded, not who traded it or why. Global currency markets turned over an average of about $9.6 trillion a day in April 2025, according to the [Bank for International Settlements](https://www.bis.org/statistics/rpfx25_fx.htm). Any single chart pattern is a very small window onto that. ##### How to identify it A typical SMC top-down routine, as it is usually taught. It is a process for organising a chart, not a recipe for outcomes. 1. Mark higher-timeframe structure and decide whether it is bullish, bearish or ranging. 2. Mark the dealing range and its 50% level, and note whether price is in premium or discount. 3. Mark nearby liquidity: previous day high and low, session ranges, equal highs and lows. 4. Mark higher-timeframe order blocks and fair value gaps in the direction of your bias. 5. Wait for price to reach one of those areas, ideally after a sweep of nearby liquidity. 6. On a lower timeframe, require a change of character and an entry at a fresh gap or block, with a stop beyond the sweep. ##### An SMC read of one morning, described An illustrative morning described in words. No real market, date or price. - Bias: The daily chart shows higher highs and higher lows. The trader's bias is bullish. - Location: Price has pulled back into the lower half of the latest daily range - discount - and into a daily bullish order block. - Liquidity: The Asian session low sits just below. Early in the London session price trades beneath it and snaps back. - Confirmation: On the five-minute chart, price breaks the last lower high - a change of character - leaving a small fair value gap. - Entry plan: The trader plans a long on a return into that gap, stop below the sweep low, sized so the loss would be a small fraction of the account. Every element lines up, and the trade can still lose. Stacking conditions reduces the number of trades; whether it improves results is something no framework can promise, and only an honest, rule-fixed record of your own trades can begin to indicate. ##### Common mistakes - **Believing the premise proves the method** That institutions exist and move markets is true. That a retail chart reveals their plans is an assumption. - **Collecting concepts instead of rules** Order blocks, gaps, breakers, sweeps - with enough labels, any chart can justify any trade. A usable approach is a small set of fixed rules. - **Paying for certainty** No course, free or paid, can offer a method that reliably predicts price. Claims of high win rates without full, verifiable records deserve suspicion. - **Skipping risk management** Most accounts are lost to position size and loss limits, not to the choice of entry concept. ##### Limitations - SMC's central premise - that institutional intent can be read from price alone - is not testable from a retail chart. - There is no peer-reviewed evidence that SMC concepts predict price better than chance or than older price-action methods they overlap with. - Definitions vary between educators, so 'SMC' results reported by different traders are often results of different rules. - The vocabulary is rich enough to explain any outcome after the fact, which makes it easy to feel right and hard to be tested. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation SMC is common among evaluation traders, and nothing about it is restricted on a GFN account: any analysis method is allowed. What the rules govern is how positions are sized, held and timed - the daily loss limit, the maximum drawdown, the minimum hold time and the news window on a funded account. A practical order of priority: know your stop distance, size the position from it, and keep a single loss small relative to the daily loss limit of 3% on Instant and 5% on 1 Step and 2 Step. The concept chooses where; risk decides how much. ##### Questions **What is the full form of SMC in trading?** SMC stands for smart money concepts, a price-action framework built around market structure, liquidity, order blocks and fair value gaps. **Is SMC the same as ICT?** They overlap heavily. ICT is the teaching brand that popularised much of the vocabulary; SMC is the broader community term for the same family of ideas, sometimes with slightly different definitions. **Does SMC trading work?** There is no independent evidence that it predicts price. Some traders build rule-based approaches from its concepts; whether any given set of rules has an edge can only be judged from a long, honest record, and past results do not carry forward reliably. ##### Sources 1. Smart money concepts / ICT concepts - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/family/smc-ict/ (read 2026-09-22) 2. Bullish/bearish order block - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/bullish-bearish-order-block/ (read 2026-09-22) 3. Fair value gap - LuxAlgo Library. https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/fair-value-gap/ (read 2026-09-22) 4. OTC foreign exchange turnover in April 2025 (Triennial Central Bank Survey) - Bank for International Settlements. https://www.bis.org/statistics/rpfx25_fx.htm (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/smart-money-concepts ### Price action and market structure Support and resistance, supply and demand zones, divergence and ranging markets - the older, broader framework the newer terminology is built on. #### Support and Resistance, Explained Support is a price level where falling prices have repeatedly stopped or turned up; resistance is a level where rising prices have repeatedly stalled or turned down. Traders draw them from past swing highs and lows and treat them as zones rather than exact prices. A broken level often swaps roles, but none predicts the next move. ##### What support and resistance are The idea is memory. If buyers stepped in at a price several times before, traders expect them to be interested there again - and many traders place orders near the same visible levels, which can make the expectation partly self-fulfilling. Levels are drawn from swing highs and lows, previous day or week highs and lows, and round numbers. The more times a level has been tested and the more obvious it is on higher timeframes, the more attention it gets - which also makes it a place where stops cluster, the [liquidity](https://getfundednow.com/learn/liquidity-in-trading) that SMC traders watch. ##### Levels are zones, not lines Price rarely turns at exactly the same tick. Drawing a zone - from the wick extremes to the bodies of the turning candles, for example - reflects that, and keeps a trader from treating a small overshoot as a failure or a near miss as a success. Wider zones on higher timeframes, narrower ones on lower timeframes. Whatever the convention, set it before you test a strategy on it. ##### Role reversal: when support becomes resistance When price breaks decisively through support, the old support is often watched as resistance on a return from below, and the reverse for broken resistance. The SMC [breaker block](https://getfundednow.com/learn/breaker-block) and [inverse fair value gap](https://getfundednow.com/learn/inverse-fair-value-gap) are more specific versions of the same idea. Breaks fail as well as hold. A move through a level that quickly reverses back is a false break, and it is common around obvious levels. ##### How to identify it Draw levels from the higher timeframe down, and keep only the ones that matter. 1. On a daily or four-hour chart, mark the swing highs and lows where price clearly turned. 2. Group nearby turning points into zones instead of drawing a line at each. 3. Add the previous day's and week's high and low, and nearby round numbers. 4. On your trading timeframe, keep the few zones closest to current price and delete the rest. 5. Decide in advance what a break is - a close beyond the zone, not a wick - and what would invalidate a trade at it. ##### A level that flips, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Support: Price falls to 100 three times over two weeks and bounces each time. The trader marks a support zone from 99.6 to 100.2. - Break: A strong session closes at 98.5, well below the zone. - Retest: Price rallies back to 99.8, inside the old zone, and stalls. The trader now reads the zone as potential resistance. Whether price turns lower from 99.8 is not part of the definition. The zone told the trader where to pay attention and where a trade idea would be wrong; it did not tell them the outcome. ##### Common mistakes - **Drawing too many levels** A chart covered in lines has a level near every price, which means none of them is informative. - **Treating a line as exact** Stops placed a tick beyond an obvious line are where sweeps happen. Think in zones. - **Trading every touch** A level is a location; traders usually want a separate reason to act there. ##### Limitations - Support and resistance are drawn in hindsight, and two traders will draw different levels on the same chart. - There is no reliable evidence that a level will hold a given number of times; any edge is specific to the trader's rules, market and period. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Stops just beyond obvious levels are commonly swept before price turns, and a swept stop is a full loss. On a $100,000 simulated account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step; size from the stop, risking something like $500, so that several failed tests in a day stay well inside it. ##### Questions **What is the difference between support and resistance?** Support is below the current price, where falls have stopped before; resistance is above it, where rallies have stalled before. A broken level often swaps roles. **Are support and resistance zones or lines?** Most traders treat them as zones, because price rarely turns at exactly the same tick. The width depends on the timeframe and the trader's convention. ##### Sources 1. Support and resistance - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Support_and_resistance (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/support-and-resistance #### Supply and Demand Zones in Trading A supply zone is an area price fell away from sharply, where traders expect unfilled selling interest; a demand zone is an area price rallied away from sharply, where they expect unfilled buying interest. Zones are drawn around the base before the move. They mark where traders expect a reaction, not where one will happen. ##### What supply and demand zones are The names come from the economic model, but the trading use is narrower. The reasoning is that a sharp move away from a small area means orders there were not all filled, so price may react if it returns. Whether any orders actually remain cannot be seen on a chart; the zone is an inference from the shape of the move. The difference from [support and resistance](https://getfundednow.com/learn/support-and-resistance) is emphasis. Support and resistance come from repeated turns at a level; supply and demand zones come from a single strong departure, and are often considered strongest before price has returned to them at all. ##### The four base patterns Zones are usually classified by the move into and out of the base - the small cluster of candles where price paused. **Common base patterns** | Pattern | Move in | Move out | Zone type | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Rally-base-drop | Up | Down | Supply (reversal) | | Drop-base-drop | Down | Down | Supply (continuation) | | Drop-base-rally | Down | Up | Demand (reversal) | | Rally-base-rally | Up | Up | Demand (continuation) | ##### Fresh vs tested zones, and order blocks A fresh zone is one price has not returned to since it formed; each return is expected to use up some of the remaining orders, so many traders give less weight to a zone after each test. That is a convention, not a measured property. The SMC [order block](https://getfundednow.com/learn/order-block) is a close relative: it marks the last opposing candle before the move, where a supply or demand zone usually marks the whole base. The two often overlap on the same chart. ##### How to identify it Start from the move, not the zone: find where price left quickly, then mark where it left from. 1. Find a strong, fast move - several large-bodied candles with little overlap. 2. Go back to the small base of candles immediately before it. 3. Mark the zone from the base's extreme wick to the edge of its bodies, or by your chosen convention. 4. Classify it by the move in and out: rally-base-drop, drop-base-rally and so on. 5. Note whether the zone is fresh or has been tested, and where a close through it would invalidate it. ##### A demand zone, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Drop: Price falls from 110 to 102 over a morning. - Base and rally: It pauses for three small candles between 101 and 102.4, then rallies to 109 in two large candles. - Zone: The trader marks a drop-base-rally demand zone from 101 to 102.4. - Return: Two days later price falls back into the zone for the first time. The zone told the trader where to look and where the idea would be wrong - a close below 101. It did not tell them whether price would turn up from it. ##### Common mistakes - **Marking zones from slow moves** The logic depends on a sharp departure. A slow drift away from an area is not evidence of unfilled orders. - **Making zones too wide** A zone wide enough to always contain the reaction also needs a stop too wide to size sensibly. - **Ignoring the higher timeframe** A lower-timeframe demand zone inside a higher-timeframe supply zone is a conflict, not a setup. ##### Limitations - Unfilled orders cannot be observed; the zone is an inference from price, and many zones never produce a reaction. - There is no published evidence that supply and demand zones predict price; results depend on the trader's rules and are easy to overfit. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Zone trades usually place the stop beyond the far edge of the zone. On a $100,000 account, with a daily loss limit of $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step, size from that distance first - risking $500 leaves room for several zones to fail in one day. ##### Questions **What is the difference between a supply zone and a demand zone?** A supply zone is where price fell away sharply and selling interest may remain; a demand zone is where price rallied away sharply and buying interest may remain. **Are supply and demand zones the same as order blocks?** They are close relatives. An order block is usually the last opposing candle before a strong move; a supply or demand zone usually covers the whole base the move left from. ##### Sources 1. Supply and demand - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply_and_demand (read 2026-09-23) 2. Support and resistance - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Support_and_resistance (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/supply-and-demand-zones #### Divergence Trading: Regular and Hidden Divergence is a disagreement between price and a momentum oscillator such as RSI or MACD. Bearish divergence is price making a higher high while the oscillator makes a lower high; bullish divergence is a lower low in price with a higher low in the oscillator. It is read as fading momentum, and it often persists without a reversal. ##### Regular and hidden divergence Regular divergence is read as a possible reversal: momentum is weakening even though price has made a new extreme. Hidden divergence, sometimes called reverse divergence, is read the other way, as possible continuation of the existing trend. **The four divergence types** | Type | Price | Oscillator | Usually read as | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Regular bearish | Higher high | Lower high | Upward momentum fading | | Regular bullish | Lower low | Higher low | Downward momentum fading | | Hidden bearish | Lower high | Higher high | Downtrend may continue | | Hidden bullish | Higher low | Lower low | Uptrend may continue | ##### Which oscillators are used The relative strength index (RSI) and the MACD are the most common; stochastics and other momentum measures are used the same way. Because these indicators are calculated from price, divergence is a statement about the pace of recent moves, not new information from outside the chart. [SMT divergence](https://getfundednow.com/learn/smt-divergence) is a different idea: it compares price with price across two correlated markets rather than with an indicator. ##### Divergence and mean reversion Regular divergence is often combined with mean-reversion approaches - trades that expect a stretched price to come back toward an average - because both describe an extended move losing pace. The combination can make the idea more specific, but it does not change the underlying problem: in a strong trend, divergence can appear many times while price keeps going. ##### How to identify it Compare swing points, not individual candles, and use the same swings on price and the oscillator. 1. Mark two consecutive swing highs (for bearish) or swing lows (for bullish) on price. 2. Mark the oscillator's values at exactly those two swings. 3. Compare the direction of the two lines: disagreement is divergence; agreement is not. 4. Check which type it is - regular or hidden - using the table above. 5. Decide what would confirm or invalidate it, such as a break of structure, before acting. ##### A bearish divergence, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price and RSI. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - First high: Price rallies to 105 with the RSI at 74. - Second high: Price rallies again to 107, a higher high, but the RSI peaks at 66, a lower high. - Read: The trader notes regular bearish divergence and waits for a break of the last swing low before considering a short. The divergence warned that the rally was slowing. It did not say when or whether price would turn - in many trends a third and fourth higher high follow. ##### Common mistakes - **Trading divergence alone** Divergence can persist through a long trend. Most traders wait for a structural confirmation. - **Comparing mismatched points** The oscillator values must be taken at the same swings as price. - **Confusing regular and hidden** They imply opposite readings; mixing them up flips the trade. ##### Limitations - Oscillators are derived from price, so divergence restates price behaviour rather than adding independent evidence. - Divergence is common in strong trends that continue; any edge depends on the trader's confirmation rules and market, and can disappear. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Early entries on divergence against a strong trend tend to fail repeatedly before one works. On a $100,000 account with a daily loss limit of $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step, cap the number of counter-trend attempts per day as well as the risk per trade. GFN's minimum hold time is 2 minutes, which matters for divergence entries on very low timeframes. ##### Questions **What is bearish divergence?** Price makes a higher high while a momentum oscillator such as RSI or MACD makes a lower high. It is read as upward momentum fading, not as a certain turn. **What is hidden divergence?** The continuation form: in an uptrend, price makes a higher low while the oscillator makes a lower low, read as the trend possibly continuing. The downtrend version mirrors it. ##### Sources 1. Relative strength index - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relative_strength_index (read 2026-09-23) 2. MACD - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MACD (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/divergence-trading #### Sideways Market: How to Spot a Range A sideways market, also called a ranging or range-bound market, is one where price moves back and forth between a roughly horizontal high and low without making a sustained trend. Highs and lows overlap instead of stepping up or down. Trend-following methods tend to perform poorly in it, and breakouts from ranges frequently fail. ##### What makes a market sideways A trend is a sequence of higher highs and higher lows, or lower highs and lower lows. In a sideways market that sequence is missing: swing highs cluster near one level and swing lows near another, and each break of the most recent swing reverses rather than continuing. [Break of structure](https://getfundednow.com/learn/break-of-structure) signals become frequent and contradictory. Ranges are common. Markets often alternate between trending and ranging phases, and a range can last hours on a low timeframe or months on a daily chart. ##### Measures traders use to tell a range from a trend No single measure settles it, but several are commonly used together. **Common range indicators** | Measure | Range reading | Caveat | | --- | --- | --- | | Swing structure | Overlapping highs and lows near two levels | Subjective; timeframe-dependent | | ADX | Low values, often read as below about 20-25 | Lags; the threshold is a convention | | Bollinger Band width | Narrow, contracting bands | Contraction often precedes a sharp move | | Moving averages | Flat and tangled together | Lags turning points | ##### How traders approach a range Range approaches treat the high and low as [support and resistance](https://getfundednow.com/learn/support-and-resistance): sell near the top, buy near the bottom, with stops beyond the range. [Breakout approaches](https://getfundednow.com/learn/breakout-trading) wait for price to leave the range and trade the move away. Both have a well-known failure mode. Range trades lose when the range finally breaks; breakout trades lose when the break reverses back inside, a false break, which is common because obvious range edges attract stops. The [liquidity](https://getfundednow.com/learn/liquidity-in-trading) page covers why. ##### How to identify it Decide whether the market is ranging before choosing a strategy for it. 1. On your trading timeframe, check whether the last several swings step up, step down, or overlap. 2. Mark the range high and low if the swings overlap near two levels. 3. Check a trend-strength measure such as ADX, and whether moving averages are flat. 4. Check the higher timeframe: a range on your chart may be a pause inside a larger trend. 5. Decide in advance what counts as the range breaking - usually a close beyond it, not a wick. ##### A range and a false break, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Range: For three days price oscillates between 100 and 104, turning near each edge several times. - Break: A candle trades to 104.6, above the range, and breakout traders buy. - Reversal: Within the hour price is back at 102, inside the range, and the breakout buyers' stops below 104 are hit. The range was real and the break was false - this time. On another day the same break might have run. Knowing the market was ranging changed which risk the trader was taking, not the odds of the next move. ##### Common mistakes - **Using a trend strategy in a range** Trend signals whipsaw in sideways conditions, producing a string of small losses. - **Assuming the range will hold** Every range eventually breaks, and range trades with no stop beyond the edge are exposed to it. - **Chasing the first break** Breaks of obvious range edges often reverse. Traders commonly wait for a close or a retest. ##### Limitations - Whether a market is ranging is only clear in hindsight; the start and end of a range are ambiguous in real time. - Indicator thresholds such as an ADX level are conventions, not tested boundaries, and they lag. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Choppy conditions produce many small losses, and they count toward the daily loss limit - $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step on a $100,000 account - as surely as one large one. A daily cap on the number of trades is a simple defence. ##### Questions **What is a sideways market?** A market moving back and forth between a roughly horizontal high and low without a sustained trend, also called a ranging or range-bound market. **How do you trade a sideways market?** Traders either treat the range edges as support and resistance, or wait for a confirmed break out of the range. Both need a stop, because ranges break and breaks often fail. ##### Sources 1. Average directional movement index - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_directional_movement_index (read 2026-09-23) 2. Bollinger Bands - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollinger_Bands (read 2026-09-23) 3. Support and resistance - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Support_and_resistance (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/sideways-market #### Uptrend and Downtrend: How to Spot a Trend An uptrend is a market making a series of higher highs and higher lows; a downtrend is a series of lower highs and lower lows. The definition works swing by swing on any timeframe. A trend is usually considered over when that sequence breaks - for example, when an uptrend makes a lower low - though many trends pause first. ##### The swing definition Price moves in swings. In an uptrend each rally reaches beyond the last one and each pullback stops above the last pullback. In a downtrend the reverse holds. When neither pattern holds - highs and lows overlapping - the market is [sideways](https://getfundednow.com/learn/sideways-market). Because the definition depends on which swings are counted, a market can be in an uptrend on a daily chart and a downtrend on an hourly one at the same time. State the timeframe whenever you describe a trend. ##### Tools traders use to confirm a trend None of these defines the trend; each is a way of seeing the swings more clearly. **Common trend-confirmation tools** | Tool | Uptrend reading | Limitation | | --- | --- | --- | | Swing structure | Higher highs and higher lows | Depends on which swings are counted | | Trendline | Rising line under the lows holds | Drawn with judgement | | Moving average | Price above a rising average | Lags turning points | | Trend strength indicator | Rising readings as price advances | Lags, and thresholds are conventions | ##### When a trend ends The first warning in an uptrend is a failure to make a new high; the break comes when price makes a lower low. SMC traders call the latter a change of character, and the continuation breaks a [break of structure](https://getfundednow.com/learn/break-of-structure). A trend can also fade into a range without a clean reversal, and reversal patterns such as the [double top](https://getfundednow.com/learn/double-top) describe one way it can turn. ##### How to identify it Label the trend from the swings before using any indicator. 1. Choose the timeframe you trade on and one higher timeframe. 2. Mark the last three swing highs and three swing lows. 3. Check whether highs and lows are both rising, both falling, or overlapping. 4. Note the most recent swing whose break would change the label. ##### A downtrend and its break, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Downtrend: Highs at 120, 115 and 111; lows at 110, 105 and 101 - lower highs and lower lows. - Warning: The next low holds at 102, above 101, and the rally reaches 112, above 111. - Change: The downtrend sequence is broken. The market may be turning, or may simply range. The swing definition told the trader when the downtrend label stopped applying. It did not tell them that an uptrend had started. ##### Common mistakes - **Mixing timeframes** A pullback on a daily chart can be a full downtrend on a fifteen-minute one. - **Calling the end too early** One weak swing is a warning, not a reversal. - **Trading against the higher-timeframe trend without a reason** Counter-trend trades tend to need tighter plans. ##### Limitations - Trends are only clear in hindsight; in real time, a swing may be a pause or a turn. - There is no reliable evidence that a trend will persist for any set time. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Counter-trend attempts tend to fail several times before one works. On a $100,000 account, with a daily loss limit of $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step, cap the number of attempts as well as the risk on each. ##### Questions **What is an uptrend?** A market making a series of higher highs and higher lows on the timeframe being watched. **What is a downtrend?** A market making a series of lower highs and lower lows. It is usually considered over when price makes a higher high after a higher low. ##### Sources 1. Market trend - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_trend (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/uptrend-and-downtrend #### Breakout Trading and False Breakouts A breakout is price moving decisively beyond a level that had contained it - a range high or low, support or resistance, or a trendline - usually with expanding volatility. Breakout trading enters in the direction of that move. A false breakout, or fakeout, is a move through the level that quickly reverses back inside, and such failures are common. ##### What counts as a breakout A breakout needs something to break out of. Usually that is a [sideways market](https://getfundednow.com/learn/sideways-market) with a clear high and low, a well-tested [support or resistance](https://getfundednow.com/learn/support-and-resistance) zone, or the boundary of a chart pattern such as a triangle or wedge. The more obvious the level, the more traders are watching it - and the more orders sit just beyond it. The word describes the move, not its outcome. A breakout that keeps going and one that reverses within minutes look the same at the moment they cross the level; the difference is only known afterwards. ##### How traders define the break Every breakout method has to decide what 'beyond the level' means. The common conventions trade speed against reliability. **Common breakout confirmation rules** | Rule | What it requires | Trade-off | | --- | --- | --- | | Touch | Any trade beyond the level | Earliest entry; most false breaks | | Close | A candle body closing beyond the level | Filters wicks; enters later and further away | | Distance | A close some set distance beyond, such as a fraction of ATR | Fewer signals; the threshold is arbitrary | | Retest | A break, then a return to the level that holds | Better location; many strong breaks never retest | No rule removes false breaks. Each one moves the trader's exposure from one kind of failure to another. ##### False breakouts and why they happen Obvious levels collect stop orders from traders positioned the other way and entry orders from breakout traders. When price reaches them, those orders fill together, which can push price through briefly before it runs out of fresh buying or selling and returns inside. SMC traders call the same event a [liquidity sweep](https://getfundednow.com/learn/liquidity-in-trading). Some traders trade the failure instead: they wait for a break to reverse back inside the range and take the opposite side, with a stop beyond the extreme of the false break. That approach has its own failure mode - the times the break was real. Breaks at the start of a session are a special case with their own conventions; the [opening range breakout](https://getfundednow.com/learn/opening-range-breakout) page covers them. ##### How to identify it Mark the level first, decide the rule second, and only then watch price. 1. Find a level price has respected several times - a range edge, a support or resistance zone, or a pattern boundary. 2. Check the higher timeframe: a break in the direction of the larger trend is a different trade from one against it. 3. Choose your confirmation rule in advance - touch, close, distance or retest - and write it down. 4. Decide where the idea is wrong, usually back inside the level or beyond the far side of the range. 5. Note any scheduled high-impact release nearby, since releases produce many of the fastest breaks and reversals. ##### A break that failed, then a break that held, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Range: Price holds between 200 and 206 for two days, turning near each edge several times. - False break: A candle trades to 206.8 but closes at 205.5, back inside. A trader using a close rule does nothing. - Second break: The next session closes at 207.2, beyond the range. The trader enters with a stop at 205, back inside the range. - Management: Price moves to 210 over the day. The trader moves the stop to 206.5, below the old range high. The close rule filtered the first break and caught the second - this time. On another day the second break could have reversed too, and the stop at 205 would have been the loss. The rule set the risk; it did not set the result. ##### Common mistakes - **Chasing a candle that has already run** Entering far beyond the level puts the stop far away or in the wrong place. The distance from entry to invalidation grows while the reward does not. - **Trading every minor level** Breaks of small, recent levels are frequent and mostly noise. The concept is usually applied to levels that clearly contained price for some time. - **Placing the stop just inside the level** A retest often dips back into the level before continuing. A stop a tick inside is where false-break stops cluster. - **Ignoring cost** Breakouts happen when price is moving fast, which is when spreads widen and stops slip. ##### Limitations - A breakout and a false breakout cannot be told apart when price first crosses the level; every confirmation rule is a compromise made in advance. - There is no reliable evidence that breakouts in general continue more often than they fail; any edge depends on the market, timeframe, rules and period tested. - Levels are drawn with judgement, so two traders can disagree about whether a break happened at all. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Breakout entries meet fast markets, and fast markets are where fills are worst. On a $100,000 simulated account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step; size from the stop, risking something like $500, and assume a stop may fill beyond its price. A few false breaks in one session should not come close to the limit. Many of the sharpest breaks happen on scheduled releases. News trading is permitted during evaluations, but on a funded GFN account profits from trades opened or closed within 3 minutes either side of a relevant high-impact release may be removed. ##### Questions **What is a breakout in trading?** Price moving decisively beyond a level that had contained it, such as a range high or low or a support or resistance zone. Breakout traders enter in the direction of the move. **What is a false breakout?** A move through a level that quickly reverses back inside it, also called a fakeout. False breaks are common around obvious levels because stop and entry orders cluster there. **How do traders confirm a breakout?** Common rules are a candle close beyond the level, a close some set distance beyond it, or a retest of the level that holds. Each reduces some false signals at the cost of later entries. ##### Sources 1. Breakout (technical analysis) - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakout_(technical_analysis) (read 2026-09-23) 2. Support and resistance - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Support_and_resistance (read 2026-09-23) 3. Stop order - Investor.gov (US Securities and Exchange Commission). https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/glossary/stop-order (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/breakout-trading ### Chart and candlestick patterns Head and shoulders, wedges, double tops, dojis, pin bars, inside bars and the Wyckoff schematics - what each pattern is, how it is drawn, and why none of them is a forecast. #### Inverse Head and Shoulders Pattern An inverse head and shoulders is a chart pattern of three troughs, with the middle one - the head - lower than the two either side - the shoulders. A neckline is drawn across the two rally highs between them. It is read as a possible end to a downtrend, confirmed only when price closes above the neckline. ##### The parts of the pattern It is the mirror image of the head and shoulders top. After a decline, price makes a low (left shoulder), rallies, makes a lower low (head), rallies again, then makes a higher low (right shoulder) roughly level with the left. The two rally highs define the neckline, which can be horizontal or sloped. **Inverse head and shoulders, part by part** | Part | What it is | What traders look for | | --- | --- | --- | | Left shoulder | A low in an existing decline | A downtrend that precedes it | | Head | A lower low | The lowest point of the pattern | | Right shoulder | A higher low than the head | Roughly level with the left shoulder | | Neckline | Line across the two rally highs | The level a close must break | ##### Confirmation, the retest and the measured move Until price closes above the neckline, the shape is only a possible pattern; many right shoulders fail and price makes new lows instead. After a break, price often returns to the neckline before moving on - a throwback - which some traders use as the entry. The common target convention measures from the head to the neckline and projects that distance up from the break. It is a rule of thumb for planning, not a forecast; price frequently stops short of it or overshoots. ##### Inverse vs regular head and shoulders The regular pattern forms at a high - three peaks with the highest in the middle - and is read as a possible top, confirmed by a close below its neckline. The inverse forms at a low. The logic is the same in both: the failure to make a new extreme on the right shoulder is taken as the trend losing force, much as [divergence](https://getfundednow.com/learn/divergence-trading) is. ##### How to identify it Work left to right and do not name the pattern until the right shoulder and the neckline are both there. 1. Confirm there was a decline before the pattern; without one, it is not a reversal pattern. 2. Mark the three troughs and check the middle one is the lowest. 3. Draw the neckline across the two intervening rally highs. 4. Check the shoulders are broadly similar in depth and duration; badly lopsided patterns are harder to trust. 5. Wait for a close above the neckline before treating the pattern as confirmed. ##### An inverse head and shoulders, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Left shoulder: After falling from 120, price bottoms at 100 and rallies to 108. - Head: It falls again to 95, a lower low, and rallies to 108.5. - Right shoulder: It dips to 101, a higher low than the head, and rallies. - Break: A candle closes at 110, above the neckline near 108.5. The head-to-neckline distance is about 13.5. The measured-move convention would put a planning target near 122, but that is a convention. A trader using the pattern would also know where it fails - a close back below the right shoulder - before entering. ##### Common mistakes - **Entering on the right shoulder** Before the neckline breaks, the pattern is unconfirmed and often fails. - **Finding the pattern everywhere** Any three troughs can be forced into the shape. The prior downtrend and a clean neckline matter. - **Treating the measured move as a target price** It is a planning guide; price often stops short or runs past it. ##### Limitations - The pattern is identified with judgement, and published success rates are for particular markets and periods that may not match yours. - A confirmed break can still reverse; the pattern describes a shape, not what comes next. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation On a $100,000 simulated account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step. Pattern stops are often wide, so size from the stop distance first - risking something like $500 a trade - rather than from how clean the pattern looks. A stop below the right shoulder can be far from a neckline entry, which usually means a smaller size than a trader expects. ##### Questions **Is an inverse head and shoulders bullish?** It is read as a possible bullish reversal after a downtrend, once price closes above the neckline. Before that, it is only a possible pattern. **What is the target of an inverse head and shoulders?** The usual convention projects the distance from the head to the neckline upward from the breakout point. It is a planning guide, not a forecast. ##### Sources 1. Head and shoulders (chart pattern) - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_and_shoulders_(chart_pattern) (read 2026-09-23) 2. Head-and-shoulders bottoms - Thomas Bulkowski, ThePatternSite. https://thepatternsite.com/hsb.html (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/inverse-head-and-shoulders #### Doji Candle: Meaning and Types A doji is a candlestick whose open and close are at or very near the same price, leaving almost no body, with wicks on one or both sides. It shows a session in which neither buyers nor sellers finished in control. On its own it signals indecision; traders read it in context, such as at a key level. ##### What a doji shows Candlestick charts, which originated in Japan, draw each period's open, high, low and close. A doji is the period where the open and close nearly coincide: price moved, but ended where it began. There is no fixed rule for how small the body must be. A common working definition is a body that is a small fraction of the candle's full range; each trader has to pick a threshold and apply it consistently. ##### Types of doji The types are named by where the open and close sit within the range. **Common doji types** | Type | Shape | Usual reading | | --- | --- | --- | | Standard doji | Small body near the middle, short wicks | Indecision | | Long-legged doji | Small body, long wicks on both sides | Wide disagreement within the session | | Dragonfly doji | Open and close at the high, long lower wick | Sellers pushed down and were fully reversed | | Gravestone doji | Open and close at the low, long upper wick | Buyers pushed up and were fully reversed | | Four-price doji | Open, high, low and close all equal | No movement at all - usually a thin or halted market | ##### Why context decides A doji in the middle of a quiet range is ordinary and carries almost no information. The same candle after a long, fast trend, or at a well-watched [support or resistance](https://getfundednow.com/learn/support-and-resistance) level, is read as a sign the move may be pausing. Most traders wait for the next candle to confirm a direction rather than trading the doji itself. Search interest in the biggest doji ever usually refers to unusually wide long-legged dojis on major indices or currencies. Size alone is not significant; a very wide doji says a session saw large moves both ways and closed unchanged. ##### How to identify it Decide on a body threshold first, then judge the context. 1. Set a rule for a doji body, such as a body no more than a small, fixed fraction of the range. 2. Classify the type by where the open and close sit in the range. 3. Check what came before: a strong trend, a range, or a key level. 4. Wait for the next candle to show which way price resolves before acting on it. ##### A dragonfly doji at support, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Trend: Price has fallen for four sessions into a support zone near 100. - Doji: The next session opens at 101, falls to 98.5, and closes at 101 - a dragonfly doji. - Confirmation: The following session closes at 102.5, above the doji's high. The doji showed the decline was rejected for one session; the next candle showed buyers following through, this time. The same doji could just as easily have been followed by a new low. ##### Common mistakes - **Trading every doji** Dojis are common. Without context, they are noise. - **Reading a gravestone as always bearish** The type suggests where pressure was rejected; the trend and the next candle still decide. - **Using a different body threshold each time** An inconsistent definition makes any testing of the pattern meaningless. ##### Limitations - Candle shapes depend on the chart's timeframe and session boundaries; the same price action can produce a doji on one chart and not another. - There is no reliable evidence that doji candles predict direction on their own. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation On a $100,000 simulated account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step. Pattern stops are often wide, so size from the stop distance first - risking something like $500 a trade - rather than from how clean the pattern looks. ##### Questions **What does a doji candle mean?** That the session opened and closed at nearly the same price: neither buyers nor sellers finished in control. It signals indecision, and its meaning depends on where it appears. **Is a doji bullish or bearish?** Neither on its own. A doji after a strong move is read as a possible pause, and the next candle usually decides the direction traders act on. ##### Sources 1. Doji - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doji (read 2026-09-22) 2. Candlestick pattern - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candlestick_pattern (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/doji-candle #### Ascending Wedge (Rising Wedge) Pattern An ascending wedge, also called a rising wedge, is a chart pattern bounded by two upward-sloping trendlines that converge, with the lower line rising more steeply than the upper. Price is still making higher highs, but by less each time. It is usually read as a weakening advance and is considered confirmed when price closes below the lower line. ##### The shape of an ascending wedge Both boundaries slope up. The lower line - connecting the higher lows - is steeper than the upper line connecting the higher highs, so the range narrows as price climbs. That narrowing is the point: each push higher gains less ground. It can form at the end of an uptrend, where it is read as a possible reversal, or as a bounce inside a downtrend, where it is read as a possible continuation lower. ##### Wedge vs triangle The two are often confused because both converge. **Wedges and triangles compared** | Pattern | Upper line | Lower line | Usual reading | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Ascending (rising) wedge | Slopes up | Slopes up, more steeply | Bearish break more often expected | | Descending (falling) wedge | Slopes down, more steeply | Slopes down | Bullish break more often expected | | Ascending triangle | Flat | Slopes up | Break either way; often read as bullish | | Symmetrical triangle | Slopes down | Slopes up | Break either way | ##### The ascending broadening wedge The broadening version turns the geometry around: both lines still slope up, but they diverge, so each swing is wider than the last. Price is making higher highs and higher lows with growing volatility. It is less common and harder to trade, because the widening swings put stops ever further away. ##### How to identify it Draw both lines from actual touches, not from where you expect them to be. 1. Find at least two higher highs and two higher lows. 2. Draw the upper line through the highs and the lower line through the lows. 3. Check that both slope up and that they converge, with the lower line steeper. 4. Treat a close below the lower line as the confirmation most traders wait for. 5. Note where the pattern fails - a sustained close above the upper line. ##### A rising wedge that breaks down, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Highs: Price makes highs at 110, 112 and 113 - higher, but by less each time. - Lows: The lows between them rise faster: 104, 108, 111. - Break: Price closes at 110, below the rising lower line. The wedge described an advance that was slowing and then broke its own support. It did not say how far price would fall, or that it would not recover the line the next day. ##### Common mistakes - **Calling a channel a wedge** Parallel lines make a channel. A wedge must converge. - **Shorting inside the wedge** Until the lower line breaks, the trend is still up. - **Forcing lines through too few points** Two touches on each side is the minimum; fewer is a guess. ##### Limitations - Trendlines are drawn with judgement, and small changes in which points are used change the pattern. - Published break-direction statistics are for particular markets and periods and may not apply to what you trade. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation On a $100,000 simulated account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step. Pattern stops are often wide, so size from the stop distance first - risking something like $500 a trade - rather than from how clean the pattern looks. ##### Questions **Is an ascending wedge bullish or bearish?** It is usually read as bearish, because the advance is losing ground each swing, and confirmation is a close below the lower line. It can also break up. **What is the difference between a wedge and a triangle?** In a wedge both lines slope the same way and converge. In a triangle the lines slope toward each other, or one of them is flat. ##### Sources 1. Wedge pattern - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedge_pattern (read 2026-09-23) 2. Rising wedges - Thomas Bulkowski, ThePatternSite. https://thepatternsite.com/risewedge.html (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/ascending-wedge #### Wyckoff Method: Accumulation Explained The Wyckoff method is a framework developed by Richard Wyckoff in the early twentieth century that reads trading ranges as either accumulation, before an advance, or distribution, before a decline. Its schematics name the events inside a range - such as the selling climax, the spring and the sign of strength - and divide them into phases A to E. ##### The three laws The method rests on three principles, usually stated as laws. - Supply and demand - price rises when demand exceeds supply and falls when supply exceeds demand. - Cause and effect - the length of a trading range (the cause) is taken to relate to the size of the move that follows (the effect). - Effort versus result - volume (effort) should be matched by price movement (result); a mismatch is read as a warning. ##### The accumulation schematic The accumulation schematic describes a range that forms after a decline, in five phases. **Accumulation, phase by phase** | Phase | Typical events | What it is taken to show | | --- | --- | --- | | A | Preliminary support, selling climax, automatic rally, secondary test | The decline stopping | | B | Repeated tests within the range | The cause being built | | C | Spring - a brief drop below the range low that quickly recovers | A final test of supply | | D | Sign of strength, last point of support | Demand taking control | | E | Markup out of the range | The advance | Distribution mirrors it after an advance, with an upthrust after distribution in place of the spring. ##### Wyckoff and modern price-action vocabulary Much of today's vocabulary descends from Wyckoff. The spring is a [liquidity](https://getfundednow.com/learn/liquidity-in-trading) sweep below a range low; the [power of three](https://getfundednow.com/learn/power-of-three) model's accumulation, manipulation and distribution borrow his terms at the scale of a single session. The Wyckoff version works on larger ranges and puts more weight on volume. ##### How to identify it Wyckoff analysis starts from a trading range, not from a single event. 1. Find a clear trading range after a significant move. 2. Look for the events of phase A: a sharp climax on high volume, a rally, and a test. 3. Watch for a spring below the range low (in accumulation) or an upthrust above the high (in distribution). 4. Look for a sign of strength or weakness out of the range, followed by a shallow pullback. 5. Label only what is clearly present; many ranges do not follow the schematic. ##### An accumulation range, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Phase A: After a long decline, price plunges to 90 on heavy volume, rallies to 100, and retests 92. - Phase B-C: Price ranges between 91 and 100 for weeks, then briefly drops to 88 and recovers above 91 within two sessions - a possible spring. - Phase D: A strong rally closes at 102, above the range, and a pullback holds at 99. The sequence matched the schematic after the fact. In real time, the drop to 88 could equally have been the start of a new decline, and the schematic would not have told the trader which. ##### Common mistakes - **Labelling events before they are clear** A drop below the range is only a spring once it has recovered; until then it is a breakdown. - **Ignoring volume** The method depends on effort versus result. Without volume, much of it cannot be applied. - **Expecting every range to fit** The schematics are idealised. Real ranges skip or repeat events. ##### Limitations - The schematics are fitted with judgement, and most of their labels can only be applied confidently in hindsight. - Volume in over-the-counter forex is not centralised, which makes the effort-versus-result law harder to apply there than on an exchange. - There is no reliable evidence that the schematics predict breakouts. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation On a $100,000 simulated account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step. Pattern stops are often wide, so size from the stop distance first - risking something like $500 a trade - rather than from how clean the pattern looks. Springs and upthrusts are sharp moves beyond a range, where stops are often taken. A stop placed just beyond the range edge is exactly where those moves run. ##### Questions **What is a Wyckoff spring?** A brief move below the low of an accumulation range that quickly recovers back inside it. It is read as a final test of selling pressure, and is only identified once price has recovered. **What are the Wyckoff phases?** Phases A to E: the prior trend stopping, the range building, a final test such as a spring, demand or supply taking control, and the move out of the range. ##### Sources 1. The Wyckoff Method - Wyckoff Analytics. https://www.wyckoffanalytics.com/wyckoff-method/ (read 2026-09-22) 2. Richard Wyckoff - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wyckoff (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/wyckoff-method #### Double Top Pattern (the M Pattern) A double top, often called an M pattern, is two peaks at roughly the same level separated by a trough. It is read as a possible end to an advance, because price tried twice and failed to go higher. It is confirmed only by a close below the trough between the peaks. The double bottom, or W pattern, mirrors it. ##### The shape and the confirmation line After an advance, price makes a high, pulls back to a trough, rallies to about the same high, and turns down again - the M shape. The trough is the confirmation line: until price closes below it, the two peaks are just a range. Most two-peak shapes never confirm. Price often breaks above the second peak instead, which is why traders wait for the close below the trough. ##### The measured move The common convention measures from the peaks to the trough and projects that distance down from the break. As with every pattern target, it is a planning guide, not a price forecast. ##### The double bottom, or W pattern The mirror image forms after a decline: two lows at a similar level, a peak between, and confirmation on a close above that peak. The two peaks or troughs sit at an obvious level, which also makes them the [support or resistance](https://getfundednow.com/learn/support-and-resistance) that stops cluster behind. ##### How to identify it Draw the pattern only once both peaks and the trough are in place. 1. Confirm there was an advance before the first peak. 2. Mark two peaks at a similar level, with a clear trough between them. 3. Draw the confirmation line through the trough. 4. Wait for a close below it before treating the pattern as confirmed. 5. Note where the idea fails - a close above the peaks. ##### An M pattern, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - First peak: After rallying from 90, price peaks at 110 and falls to 103. - Second peak: It rallies to 109.6, fails, and turns down. - Confirmation: A candle closes at 102.5, below the 103 trough. The measured-move convention would suggest roughly 96. The pattern described two failed advances and a broken level; it did not say price would reach 96. ##### Common mistakes - **Selling the second peak** Before the trough breaks, it is a range; many second peaks become breakouts. - **Accepting peaks far apart in price** The logic is a failure at the same level. Very different peaks are a different shape. - **Ignoring the prior trend** Without an advance before it, a double top is not a reversal pattern. ##### Limitations - Pattern identification is subjective, and most candidate double tops do not confirm. - Published statistics are for particular markets and periods and may not apply to what you trade. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation On a $100,000 simulated account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step. Pattern stops are often wide, so size from the stop distance first - risking something like $500 a trade - rather than from how clean the pattern looks. Very fast entries on the confirmation candle must still respect GFN's 2 minutes minimum hold time. ##### Questions **What is the M pattern in trading?** Another name for the double top: two peaks at a similar level with a trough between, read as a possible reversal once price closes below the trough. **What is the difference between a double top and a double bottom?** A double top forms after an advance and confirms below its trough. A double bottom forms after a decline and confirms above its peak. ##### Sources 1. Double top and double bottom - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_top_and_double_bottom (read 2026-09-23) 2. Double tops - Thomas Bulkowski, ThePatternSite. https://thepatternsite.com/dt.html (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/double-top #### Pin Bar Candle: Bullish and Bearish A pin bar is a candle with a long wick on one side and a small body at the other end, showing that price moved sharply in one direction and was pushed back before the close. A bearish pin bar has a long upper wick; a bullish pin bar has a long lower wick. Location decides its meaning. ##### The shape of a pin bar The defining feature is the wick, or tail: typically at least two-thirds of the candle's full range, with the body in the remaining third at the opposite end. Traditional candlestick analysis has names for similar shapes - the hammer and the shooting star among them - and pin bar is the price-action traders' umbrella term. **Bullish and bearish pin bars** | Form | Long wick | Body | Usual reading | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Bearish pin bar | Upper | Near the low | Higher prices were rejected | | Bullish pin bar | Lower | Near the high | Lower prices were rejected | ##### Why location matters A pin bar in the middle of a range is common and says little. At a well-watched [support or resistance](https://getfundednow.com/learn/support-and-resistance) level, after a sharp move into it, the same candle is read as a sign the level held for that session. In SMC terms the long wick is often a [liquidity](https://getfundednow.com/learn/liquidity-in-trading) sweep beyond the level that then reversed. ##### How pin bars are commonly traded A common approach enters on a break of the pin bar's body end in the direction of the rejection, with a stop beyond the tip of the wick. Because the wick is long, that stop is often far from the entry - the size must come from that distance. ##### How to identify it Check the shape, then the place, then the timeframe. 1. Measure the wick: it should be the clear majority of the candle's range. 2. Check the body sits at the opposite end of the candle. 3. Check the location: a level, the edge of a range, or the end of a sharp move. 4. Use the same timeframe consistently; a pin bar on one timeframe may not be one on another. ##### A bearish pin bar at resistance, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Level: Price has turned down twice near 150 in the past month. - Pin bar: A session opens at 148.5, spikes to 151, and closes at 148.2 - a long upper wick above the level. - Plan: A trader using the pattern would consider a short below 148, with a stop above 151. The candle showed that one push above 150 failed. It did not show that the next push would; the stop above the wick is where the idea would be wrong. ##### Common mistakes - **Ignoring where it forms** Most pin bars are noise; the level gives the candle its meaning. - **Placing the stop inside the wick** The wick tip is where the rejection happened. A tighter stop is inside the move the pattern describes. - **Trading against a strong trend on one candle** A single rejection rarely stops a strong trend. ##### Limitations - Candle shapes depend on timeframe and session boundaries, so the same price action can look different on different charts. - There is no reliable evidence that pin bars predict direction on their own. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation On a $100,000 simulated account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step. Pattern stops are often wide, so size from the stop distance first - risking something like $500 a trade - rather than from how clean the pattern looks. ##### Questions **What is a bearish pin bar?** A candle with a long upper wick and a small body near its low, showing that price pushed higher and was rejected before the close. It matters most at resistance. **Is a pin bar the same as a hammer?** Closely related. A hammer is a bullish pin bar after a decline in traditional candlestick terms; pin bar is the broader price-action name for the shape. ##### Sources 1. Hammer (candlestick pattern) - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammer_(candlestick_pattern) (read 2026-09-23) 2. Candlestick pattern - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candlestick_pattern (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/pin-bar #### Inside Bar Candlestick Pattern An inside bar is a candle whose high and low both sit within the previous candle's range, which is called the mother bar. It shows a period of contraction: price did not extend beyond either side of the prior move. Traders watch for price to break the mother bar's high or low, and those breaks often fail. ##### What makes an inside bar Two candles are needed. The first, the mother bar, sets a range. The second is the inside bar: its high is lower than the mother bar's high and its low is higher than the mother bar's low. Colour does not matter - an inside bar can close up or down. Several inside bars in a row inside the same mother bar are common in quiet conditions and make the range tighter still. ##### What it is taken to show An inside bar is contraction: after a move, the market paused without testing either extreme. In a trend it is often read as a rest before continuation; at a [support or resistance](https://getfundednow.com/learn/support-and-resistance) level it can be read as indecision before a turn. Which reading applies comes from the context, not from the bar. ##### Trading the break, and false breaks The usual approach enters on a break of the mother bar's high or low, with a stop on the other side of the mother bar. Because the range is compressed, the stop can be relatively close. Breaks of small ranges fail often. Price can trade just beyond the mother bar, trigger the entries waiting there, and reverse - a false break. Some traders enter only on a close beyond the range, accepting a worse price for more confirmation. ##### How to identify it Check the two candles against each other, not against how the chart looks. 1. Mark the mother bar's high and low. 2. Check that the next candle's high is below the mother bar's high and its low above the mother bar's low. 3. Note the context: trend direction, and whether price is at a key level. 4. Decide in advance what counts as a break - a trade through the level, or a close beyond it. ##### An inside bar in an uptrend, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Mother bar: In an uptrend, a candle ranges from 100 to 106. - Inside bar: The next candle ranges from 102 to 105, entirely within it. - Break: The following candle trades above 106, and a trader using the pattern buys with a stop below 100. The break above 106 might have continued the trend or reversed back into the range. The inside bar supplied two levels and a stop location, not a direction. ##### Common mistakes - **Counting a bar that equals the mother bar's high or low** Most definitions require the inside bar to be strictly within the range; an equal extreme is a different shape. - **Trading every inside bar** They are common, especially on low timeframes. Context decides which ones matter. - **Stops inside the mother bar** A stop within the range is inside the noise the pattern describes. ##### Limitations - The pattern depends on the chart's timeframe and session boundaries. - There is no reliable evidence that inside-bar breaks predict direction; false breaks are common. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation On a $100,000 simulated account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step. Pattern stops are often wide, so size from the stop distance first - risking something like $500 a trade - rather than from how clean the pattern looks. ##### Questions **What is an inside bar?** A candle whose high and low are both within the previous candle's range. The previous candle is called the mother bar. **Is an inside bar bullish or bearish?** Neither on its own. It shows contraction; traders read its direction from the trend and from which side of the mother bar price breaks. ##### Sources 1. Inside days - Thomas Bulkowski, ThePatternSite. https://thepatternsite.com/InsideDays.html (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/inside-bar #### Bullish and Bearish Candlestick Patterns A bullish candle closes above its open and a bearish candle closes below it. Candlestick patterns combine one to three candles into named shapes - such as the engulfing, harami, morning star and three white soldiers - that traders read as signs of buying or selling pressure. Each has a bearish mirror, and none predicts price on its own. ##### Bullish and bearish candles Candlestick charts, developed in Japan, draw each period as a body between the open and close, with wicks to the high and low. A bullish candle closes higher than it opened; a bearish candle closes lower. A candle with a large body and small wicks - a marubozu - shows one side in control for the whole period; a small body with long wicks shows a contest. ##### The common patterns Most named patterns are built from one to three candles and come in bullish and bearish pairs. **Common candlestick patterns and their mirrors** | Candles | Bullish form | Bearish form | What it describes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Hammer | Shooting star | A move rejected within the period - see the pin bar | | 1 | Bullish marubozu | Bearish marubozu | One side in control all period | | 2 | Bullish engulfing | Bearish engulfing | A body that fully covers the prior opposite body | | 2 | Bullish harami | Bearish harami | A small body inside the prior large opposite body | | 3 | Morning star | Evening star | A large move, a small indecisive candle, then a large move back | | 3 | Three white soldiers | Three black crows | Three strong candles in the same direction | ##### Why context matters more than the pattern A bullish engulfing in the middle of a range is common and uninformative; the same candles after a decline into [support](https://getfundednow.com/learn/support-and-resistance) are read very differently. Most traders treat a candlestick pattern as a trigger at a location they had already chosen, not as a reason to trade by itself. The [doji](https://getfundednow.com/learn/doji-candle), [pin bar](https://getfundednow.com/learn/pin-bar) and [inside bar](https://getfundednow.com/learn/inside-bar) pages cover the single- and two-candle shapes in more depth. ##### How to identify it Name a pattern only when every candle in it meets the definition. 1. Decide on precise definitions - for example, whether an engulfing must cover the prior body or its full range. 2. Check the trend or move before the pattern, since most are defined as reversals of it. 3. Check the location: a level, the edge of a range or the end of a sharp move. 4. Wait for the next candle before treating the pattern as confirmed, if your rules require it. ##### A bullish engulfing at support, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Decline: Price falls into a support zone near 100 over several sessions. - Pattern: A bearish candle from 102 to 100.5 is followed by a bullish candle from 100.2 to 102.8, whose body covers the prior body. - Plan: A trader using the pattern would consider a long above 102.8, with a stop below the pattern's low. The engulfing showed buyers overwhelming one session's selling at a chosen level. It did not show the next session's direction. ##### Common mistakes - **Learning names instead of logic** Every pattern describes who controlled the period. Reading that directly is more useful than memorising dozens of names. - **Ignoring the timeframe** A pattern on a five-minute chart and on a daily chart describe very different amounts of trading. - **Trading patterns without a stop** Each pattern has a point where it is wrong - usually beyond its extreme. ##### Limitations - Candlestick definitions vary between sources, which changes which patterns appear on a chart. - There is no reliable evidence that candlestick patterns alone predict price; published tests are for particular markets and periods. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation On a $100,000 simulated account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step. Pattern stops are often wide, so size from the stop distance first - risking something like $500 a trade - rather than from how clean the pattern looks. ##### Questions **What is a bullish candle?** A candle that closes above its open, usually drawn green or white. A bearish candle closes below its open, usually drawn red or black. **What are the most common bearish candlestick patterns?** The shooting star, bearish engulfing, bearish harami, evening star and three black crows. Each is the mirror of a bullish pattern. ##### Sources 1. Candlestick pattern - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candlestick_pattern (read 2026-09-22) 2. Morning star (candlestick pattern) - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_star_(candlestick_pattern) (read 2026-09-23) 3. Three white soldiers - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_white_soldiers (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/bullish-candlestick-patterns #### Reversal Chart Patterns, Explained Reversal patterns are chart formations that traders read as a sign an existing trend may be ending, as opposed to continuation patterns, which suggest a pause. The best known are the head and shoulders and its inverse, double tops and bottoms, and rising and falling wedges. Each is considered confirmed only when price breaks a defined level. ##### The main reversal patterns Each has a bullish and a bearish form, and each has a level whose break confirms it. **Reversal patterns and their confirmation** | Pattern | After | Confirmed by | | --- | --- | --- | | [Head and shoulders](https://getfundednow.com/learn/inverse-head-and-shoulders) | An advance | A close below the neckline | | [Inverse head and shoulders](https://getfundednow.com/learn/inverse-head-and-shoulders) | A decline | A close above the neckline | | [Double top (M)](https://getfundednow.com/learn/double-top) | An advance | A close below the trough between the peaks | | Double bottom (W) | A decline | A close above the peak between the lows | | [Rising wedge](https://getfundednow.com/learn/ascending-wedge) | An advance | A close below the lower line | | Falling wedge | A decline | A close above the upper line | ##### Reversal vs continuation A continuation pattern - a flag, pennant or many triangles - is read as a pause before the trend resumes. The same shape can be either: a rising wedge inside a downtrend is usually read as continuation, and at the top of an uptrend as reversal. What precedes the pattern decides which it is taken to be. ##### Why confirmation matters Most shapes that look like the start of a reversal pattern never complete. Waiting for the confirming break gives up some of the move in exchange for filtering out many of those failures. Even confirmed patterns fail, which is why every pattern also needs an invalidation level. [Divergence](https://getfundednow.com/learn/divergence-trading) is often used alongside them as evidence the trend is losing momentum. ##### How to identify it Treat a reversal pattern as a hypothesis until its level breaks. 1. Confirm there is a trend to reverse. 2. Identify the pattern and its confirmation level. 3. Wait for a close beyond that level. 4. Set the invalidation level before entering - usually beyond the pattern's last extreme. ##### A reversal that fails, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Trend: Price rises from 80 to 110. - Pattern: It forms two peaks near 110 with a trough at 104 - a possible double top. - Outcome: Instead of breaking 104, price rallies through 110 to 116. The shape never confirmed, so a trader who waited for the break below 104 never entered. One who sold the second peak was stopped out above 110. ##### Common mistakes - **Trading before confirmation** Most candidate reversals do not complete. - **Seeing reversals in every pause** Trends pause often without ending. - **Ignoring the higher timeframe** A reversal on a low timeframe may be a small pullback in a larger trend. ##### Limitations - Patterns are identified with judgement and often only clearly in hindsight. - Published success rates are for particular markets and periods and may not apply to what you trade. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation On a $100,000 simulated account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step. Pattern stops are often wide, so size from the stop distance first - risking something like $500 a trade - rather than from how clean the pattern looks. ##### Questions **What are reversal patterns in trading?** Chart formations read as a sign that a trend may be ending, such as the head and shoulders, double top and bottom, and rising and falling wedges. **What is the difference between reversal and continuation patterns?** A reversal pattern suggests the trend may end; a continuation pattern suggests a pause before it resumes. The preceding trend decides how a shape is read. ##### Sources 1. Chart pattern - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chart_pattern (read 2026-09-23) 2. Head and shoulders (chart pattern) - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_and_shoulders_(chart_pattern) (read 2026-09-23) 3. Double top and double bottom - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_top_and_double_bottom (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/reversal-patterns ### Indicators and trading styles The indicators worth understanding before you rely on them - VWAP and ATR - and the trading styles, like scalping, whose costs and rules change on a simulated account. #### VWAP: Volume-Weighted Average Price VWAP stands for volume-weighted average price: the average price of an instrument over a session, weighted by how much traded at each price. It is calculated from the session's start and resets each session. Institutions use it as an execution benchmark; traders read price above VWAP as buyers in control on average, and below it as sellers. ##### How VWAP is calculated For each bar, take a representative price - commonly the typical price, (high + low + close) / 3 - and multiply it by that bar's volume. VWAP is the running total of those products divided by the running total of volume, from the start of the session. Because it is cumulative, VWAP moves a lot early in the session and less as the day goes on: each new bar is a smaller share of the total. Many charts also plot bands at standard deviations above and below it. **VWAP in three bars** | Bar | Typical price | Volume | Price x volume | Running VWAP | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | 100 | 1,000 | 100,000 | 100.00 | | 2 | 102 | 3,000 | 306,000 | 101.50 | | 3 | 101 | 2,000 | 202,000 | 101.33 | Illustrative numbers. VWAP after bar 3 = 608,000 / 6,000. ##### How traders use VWAP As a benchmark, VWAP answers whether a large order was filled at a better or worse price than the session's average. As a trading reference, it is read as the session's fair value: intraday trend traders prefer longs above it and shorts below it, while mean-reversion traders look for stretched moves away from it to return. Anchored VWAP starts the calculation from a chosen event - a swing low, a release - instead of the session open. A volume profile's point of control is a different measure: the single price where the most volume traded, not an average. ##### VWAP vs TWAP, and the forex caveat TWAP, the time-weighted average price, averages price over time without regard to volume. It is used to spread an order evenly through a period; VWAP weights toward the prices where most trading happened. Spot forex trades over the counter with no central record of volume, so VWAP on a currency chart uses the data provider's tick volume - the count of price updates - as a proxy. It is still a useful average, but it is not the same measurement as exchange VWAP. ##### How to identify it Before using VWAP, know exactly what your chart is calculating. 1. Check the session start your chart uses, because VWAP resets there. 2. Check what volume the chart uses - exchange volume or tick volume. 3. Note where price is relative to VWAP, and whether it has crossed it repeatedly today. 4. If you use bands, fix the number of standard deviations before testing. ##### Reading price against VWAP, described An illustrative session in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Open: The session opens at 100 and VWAP starts there. - Morning: Price rallies to 104; VWAP rises more slowly, to 102. - Pullback: Price falls back to 102.1, touching VWAP, and holds above it. A trend trader might read the hold as buyers defending the average; a mean-reversion trader would have been waiting for exactly that return. Neither reading is confirmed by the indicator itself. ##### Common mistakes - **Treating VWAP as support** It is an average, not a level anyone is obliged to defend. - **Comparing VWAP across sessions** It resets; yesterday's VWAP is a different calculation. - **Ignoring the volume source** On forex charts VWAP uses tick volume, which differs between providers. ##### Limitations - VWAP describes the session so far; it lags and says nothing about where price goes next. - Different session starts and volume sources produce different VWAP values for the same market. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation VWAP is an intraday tool, so it pairs with intraday risk. On a $100,000 simulated account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step. Mean-reversion trades toward VWAP can be quick; GFN's minimum hold time is 2 minutes. ##### Questions **What is the full form of VWAP?** Volume-weighted average price. It is the average price over a session, weighted by the volume traded at each price. **What is the VWAP formula?** The running total of price multiplied by volume, divided by the running total of volume, from the start of the session. The typical price, (high + low + close) / 3, is commonly used for each bar. **What is the difference between VWAP and TWAP?** VWAP weights each price by the volume traded there; TWAP averages price over time regardless of volume. ##### Sources 1. Volume-weighted average price - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volume-weighted_average_price (read 2026-09-23) 2. Time-weighted average price - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-weighted_average_price (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/vwap #### ATR Indicator: Average True Range Explained ATR stands for average true range, an indicator created by J. Welles Wilder that measures how much a market typically moves per bar, gaps included. ATR 14, the common setting, averages the true range over 14 bars. It measures volatility, not direction, and traders use it mainly to set stop distances and position sizes. ##### What true range is A bar's true range is the largest of three distances: the bar's high to its low; the high to the previous close; and the low to the previous close. Including the previous close means a gap between bars counts as movement, which a simple high-to-low range would miss. ATR is a smoothed average of the true range. Wilder recommended 14 periods, which is why ATR 14 is the default on most charts. A higher ATR means wider typical bars - more volatility - in the instrument's own price units. ##### Using ATR for stops and position size A common approach sets the stop at a multiple of ATR from entry, so that the stop sits beyond the market's normal noise. The multiple is a choice, often between 1 and 3. Position size then follows from that distance and the amount of money the trade may lose, as on the [lot size](https://getfundednow.com/learn/lot-size) page. The effect is that position size shrinks automatically when volatility rises and grows when it falls, keeping the money at risk steady. The [position size calculator](https://getfundednow.com/tools/position-size-calculator) does the arithmetic. ##### ATR across timeframes and markets ATR is in price units, so it cannot be compared directly between instruments: an ATR of 1.5 on gold and 0.0080 on a currency pair measure different things. It also depends on the timeframe - a daily ATR is much larger than a five-minute one. Compare ATR with its own history on the same chart. ##### How to identify it Use ATR as an input to risk, not as a signal. 1. Add ATR with a 14-period setting to your trading timeframe. 2. Read its current value in the instrument's price units, or convert it to pips. 3. Choose an ATR multiple for your stop and keep it fixed while testing. 4. Calculate position size from that stop distance and your risk per trade. ##### Sizing from ATR, described An illustrative calculation on a $100,000 simulated account, on a USD-quoted pair where a standard lot is worth $10 a pip. It is not a recommendation. - ATR: The daily ATR 14 reads 0.0080, or 80 pips. - Stop: The trader uses 1.5 x ATR: a 120-pip stop. - Size: Risking $500: $500 / (120 x $10) = about 0.41 lots. If ATR doubled to 160 pips, the same rule would halve the size to about 0.2 lots and keep the risk at the same dollar amount. ATR set the distance; it did not say which way price would go. ##### Common mistakes - **Reading ATR as direction** A rising ATR means larger moves, up or down. - **Comparing ATR between instruments** It is in each instrument's own price units. - **Keeping a fixed stop when volatility changes** A stop that suited a quiet week can sit inside the noise of a volatile one. ##### Limitations - ATR is backward-looking; volatility can change sharply after a release or a gap. - An ATR-based stop still fills where the market trades, and can slip beyond the planned distance. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Sizing from ATR keeps the money at risk constant, which is what matters against the daily loss limit - $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step on a $100,000 account. On volatile days, a fixed lot size with an ATR stop quietly increases risk; recalculate the size instead. ##### Questions **What is the full form of ATR in trading?** Average true range. It measures how much a market typically moves per bar, including gaps between bars, and was introduced by J. Welles Wilder. **What does ATR 14 mean?** The average true range calculated over the last 14 bars of the chart's timeframe. Fourteen is the period Wilder recommended and the usual default. ##### Sources 1. Average true range - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_true_range (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/atr-indicator #### Swing Trading vs Day Trading The difference is how long positions are held. Day traders open and close positions within the same trading day and hold nothing overnight. Swing traders hold for several days to a few weeks to capture a larger move. Day trading needs more screen time and pays more in costs; swing trading accepts overnight and weekend gaps. ##### Side by side Scalping sits at the far end of day trading, with holds of seconds to minutes. **Three styles compared** | | Scalping | Day trading | Swing trading | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Typical hold | Seconds to minutes | Minutes to hours, closed the same day | Days to weeks | | Trades per week | Many | Several to many | Few | | Costs as a share of each target | Highest | High | Lower | | Overnight and weekend gaps | None | None | Yes | | Screen time | Continuous | High | Lower, but regular | ##### Why costs weigh on shorter styles Commission and spread are paid on every trade, whatever its size of target. At GFN's published commission, $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn, a day trader aiming for 10 pips pays the same per lot as a swing trader aiming for 150; the cost is a far larger share of the smaller target. ##### Neither style is the easier one Day trading avoids gaps but needs constant decisions and absorbs more costs. Swing trading needs fewer decisions but must tolerate open losses overnight and over weekends, and wider stops. The research on retail day traders is sobering - see [how much day traders make](https://getfundednow.com/learn/how-much-do-day-traders-make) - and swing trading has no better claim to profitability. The choice is about fit: time available, temperament, and which risks a trader can accept. ##### How to identify it Choose a style from your constraints, not from what sounds exciting. 1. Count the hours you can watch a market on a normal weekday. 2. Decide whether you can hold a losing position overnight or over a weekend without intervening. 3. Estimate your costs per trade as a share of your typical target. 4. Check how each style interacts with the rules of the account you trade. ##### One idea, two styles, described An illustrative comparison in words. It is not a record of any real trades. - Idea: A trader expects a currency pair to rise over the coming week. - Day trader: Takes three separate intraday longs over the week, each closed by the end of the session, paying costs on each. - Swing trader: Takes one long with a wider stop and holds it for six days, through two overnight gaps and a weekend. Both expressed the same view with different risks: the day trader's was costs and repeated decisions, the swing trader's was gaps and a larger open loss at times. Neither knew the week's outcome in advance. ##### Common mistakes - **Switching styles mid-trade** Turning a losing day trade into a swing trade to avoid taking the loss is a common way to enlarge it. - **Ignoring costs on short holds** A strategy that is profitable before costs can be unprofitable after them. - **Holding over the weekend unprepared** Weekend gaps can open beyond a stop. ##### Limitations - Holding periods are a spectrum; the labels describe tendencies, not rules. - No style has been shown to be reliably profitable for retail traders as a group. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation On GFN accounts, overnight and weekend holding is allowed where the account and market allow it, and gaps remain the trader's risk. There is no time limit on the evaluation, which suits slower styles as well as fast ones. Very short trades must respect the 2 minutes minimum hold time. ##### Questions **Is swing trading better than day trading?** Neither is better in general. Swing trading needs less screen time and pays less in costs per target, but accepts overnight gaps; day trading avoids gaps but needs more time and pays more in costs. **What is the difference between scalping and swing trading?** Scalping holds positions for seconds to minutes and trades very often; swing trading holds for days to weeks and trades rarely. ##### Sources 1. Swing trading - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_trading (read 2026-09-23) 2. Day trading - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_trading (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/swing-trading-vs-day-trading #### Swing Trading Forex: How It Works Swing trading forex means holding currency positions for several days to a few weeks to capture a larger price move than an intraday trade would. Swing traders typically work from four-hour and daily charts, use wider stops, and trade less often. Holding brings its own costs and risks: overnight swap charges and gaps at the weekly open. ##### Timeframes and trade frequency Most forex swing traders analyse on daily and four-hour charts and time entries on a lower timeframe. A handful of trades a week, or fewer, is normal. Because the moves targeted are larger, stops are wider in pips, and position sizes are correspondingly smaller for the same risk. An [ATR](https://getfundednow.com/learn/atr-indicator)-based stop is a common way to set a distance that sits outside a daily chart's normal noise. ##### The costs of holding A position held past the daily rollover can be charged or credited a swap, which reflects the interest-rate difference between the two currencies. Over a multi-day hold these add up, and on some pairs the swap works against the direction a trader wants to hold. Weekend gaps are the other cost. The market closes on Friday and reopens on Sunday evening in the [Asian session](https://getfundednow.com/learn/asian-session); if news breaks in between, the first price can be well away from Friday's close, and a stop fills at that first price. ##### Swing trading on a prop firm account The questions to ask of any account are whether overnight and weekend holding is allowed, whether there is a time limit, and how the drawdown is measured, since open losses on a multi-day hold count against it before the trade closes. ##### How to identify it Set up a swing plan before the first trade, because each position lives for days. 1. Choose the analysis timeframe - usually daily or four-hour - and stick to it. 2. Set the stop from structure or ATR, then size the position from that distance. 3. Check the swap for the direction you plan to hold. 4. Decide in advance whether you will hold through the weekend and through scheduled releases. 5. Check the account's rules on overnight holding, drawdown and time limits. ##### A swing trade over a week, described An illustrative trade in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not a recommendation or a record of a real trade. - Entry: On Monday, after a pullback on the daily chart, the trader buys with a 120-pip stop, sized to risk 0.5% of the account. - Holding: The position is held for four nights, paying a small swap each night. - Exit: On Friday afternoon the trader closes it 200 pips higher rather than hold through the weekend. The gain came with four nights of open risk and a swap cost the intraday trader would not have paid. On another week, the same plan could have been stopped out on Tuesday. ##### Common mistakes - **Using day-trading stops on daily charts** A stop that is tight for the timeframe is hit by normal noise. - **Forgetting swap** On multi-day holds, swap can be a real share of the result. - **Watching every tick** Constantly managing a swing position on a five-minute chart turns it into a day trade. ##### Limitations - Longer holds mean fewer trades, so it takes longer to learn whether a swing approach has any edge at all. - Gap risk cannot be controlled with a stop order. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation On GFN accounts, overnight and weekend holding is allowed where the account and market allow it, and gaps remain the trader's risk. There is no time limit on the evaluation. The daily loss limit - 3% on Instant and 5% on 1 Step and 2 Step - counts open losses, so a multi-day position is measured against it every day it is held. ##### Questions **What timeframe is best for swing trading forex?** There is no best one, but most forex swing traders analyse on daily and four-hour charts and hold positions for several days to a few weeks. **Can you swing trade on a prop firm account?** It depends on the firm's rules on overnight and weekend holding and on time limits. On GFN accounts holding is allowed where the account and market allow it, and there is no evaluation time limit. ##### Sources 1. Swing trading - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_trading (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/swing-trading-forex #### How Much Do Day Traders Make? There is no typical figure, and the evidence on retail day traders is discouraging. A study of everyone who began day trading Brazilian index contracts from 2013 to 2015 found 97% of those who persisted over 300 days lost money. European regulators found 74-89% of retail CFD accounts typically lose money. A few profit; most do not. ##### What the research found The Brazilian study by Chague, De-Losso and Giovannetti followed every individual who started day trading one market over three years. Of those who kept going for more than 300 days, 97% lost money; only about 1% earned more than the Brazilian minimum wage from it, and the authors found no evidence that traders improved with experience. The European Securities and Markets Authority reported that national regulators' analyses showed 74-89% of retail accounts trading CFDs typically lose money. These are different markets and products, but they point the same way. ##### Why a per-month figure misleads Questions like how much a day trader makes per month, or what 1,000 dollars can earn, assume a steady rate of return. Trading results are not a salary: they vary widely month to month, include losing months, and depend on the size of the account, the risk taken and costs. A figure that sounds like an income usually comes from a survivor, a small sample or someone selling a course. What a trader controls is risk per trade and costs. Whether there is a positive result after those is something only a long, honest record can show - see [PnL](https://getfundednow.com/learn/what-is-pnl) and [backtesting](https://getfundednow.com/learn/backtesting). ##### How a simulated funded account differs A prop firm evaluation does not change the odds of a strategy; it changes what the trader stands to lose. At GFN, the trader pays a one-time fee for a simulated account, and a trader who passes and trades a funded account can receive a share of simulated profits as real payouts. The fee is the maximum loss. See [how payouts work](https://getfundednow.com/payouts). ##### How to identify it Before believing any income figure, ask four questions. 1. How many traders is it based on, and were losing traders included? 2. Over what period, and does it include losing months? 3. Is it net of commission, spread and other costs? 4. Who is publishing it, and are they selling something? ##### Why returns are not a salary, described An illustrative twelve months in words, with no real figures. It is not a record of any trader. - Months 1-4: Two small gains, one flat month and one large loss. - Months 5-8: Three gains in a row, which the trader starts to think of as a monthly income. - Months 9-12: Two losses that take back most of the year's gains. Dividing the year's result by twelve would produce a monthly figure that never happened in any single month. That is why the income question has no useful average answer. ##### Common mistakes - **Planning around a monthly income** Trading results vary too much to pay fixed bills from. - **Trusting survivor stories** The traders who lost rarely publish their results. - **Increasing risk to reach an income target** It raises the chance of large losses faster than the chance of the target. ##### Limitations - The studies cited cover particular markets, products and periods; they describe retail traders as a group, not any individual. - No page can tell you what you will make. Past results, yours or anyone's, do not determine future ones. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation GFN accounts are simulated. Payouts are a share of simulated profit, paid to eligible traders, and passing an evaluation is never assured. Treat the fee as money you can afford to lose. ##### Questions **How much do day traders make per month?** There is no typical figure. Large studies found most retail day traders lose money, and results for those who profit vary widely from month to month. **What is an intraday trader?** A trader who opens and closes positions within the same trading day and holds nothing overnight - another name for a day trader. ##### Sources 1. Day Trading for a Living? (Chague, De-Losso and Giovannetti) - RePEc / FGV EESP working paper. https://ideas.repec.org/p/fgv/eesptd/525.html (read 2026-09-23) 2. ESMA agrees to prohibit binary options and restrict CFDs to protect retail investors - European Securities and Markets Authority. https://www.esma.europa.eu/press-news/esma-news/esma-agrees-prohibit-binary-options-and-restrict-cfds-protect-retail-investors (read 2026-09-23) 3. Day trading - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_trading (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/how-much-do-day-traders-make #### Backtesting a Trading Strategy Backtesting means applying a trading strategy's exact rules to historical price data to see how it would have performed. A fair backtest uses fixed rules, includes commission, spread and slippage, and keeps some data aside to test on afterwards. It shows how rules behaved in the past; it cannot show they will work in future. ##### How to backtest a strategy Write the rules down so precisely that someone else would take the same trades: entry, stop, target or exit, position size, and when not to trade. Then step through historical data - manually, bar by bar, or with software - recording every trade the rules produce, including the losing ones. Record the results in the account's own terms: net [PnL](https://getfundednow.com/learn/what-is-pnl), the largest drawdown, the longest losing streak, and the number of trades. A handful of trades is anecdote; most traders look for at least a hundred before drawing conclusions. ##### The biases that flatter a backtest Most backtests look better than live trading. The usual reasons: - Overfitting - tuning rules until they fit the past, so they describe noise rather than a repeatable effect. - Look-ahead bias - using information that was not available at the time of the trade, such as a bar's close before it closed. - Ignoring costs - leaving out commission, spread, swap and slippage. - Selective samples - testing only on the period where the idea obviously worked. ##### Out-of-sample testing and forward testing Keep a block of data aside and test on it only once, after the rules are fixed. If results collapse there, the rules were likely fitted to the first sample. Forward testing - trading the fixed rules on a demo or simulated account in real time - is the next step, because it adds real execution and real decisions. Robustness testing asks whether the result survives small changes: nudge each parameter, try nearby markets and other periods, and see whether the edge holds or collapses. ##### How to identify it A backtest is worth trusting only if it passes these checks. 1. The rules were written down before the test and not changed during it. 2. Commission, spread and slippage are included. 3. The sample covers different market conditions, including ranges and trends. 4. Results hold on data kept aside for out-of-sample testing. 5. The drawdown and losing streak are ones you could actually sit through. ##### A backtest that shrinks, described An illustrative test in words, with no real figures. It is not a record of any strategy. - In-sample: A trader tunes a breakout rule on two years of data and it shows a strong result. - Costs added: Adding commission and a realistic spread removes about half the result. - Out-of-sample: On a third year kept aside, the rule is roughly breakeven. The final picture - little or no edge after costs - is the useful one. The first result described the fitting, not the strategy. ##### Common mistakes - **Adjusting rules after every losing trade** That fits the past more closely each time and makes the test meaningless. - **Testing on too few trades** A small sample can look excellent by chance. - **Leaving out costs** Short-term strategies are the most sensitive to them. ##### Limitations - Past data cannot include conditions that have not happened yet. - Even a careful backtest cannot capture real execution, emotions or changes in market behaviour. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Test against the account's rules, not just profit: would the strategy's worst day have breached the daily loss limit - $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step on a $100,000 account - or its worst run the max drawdown? A strategy that is profitable overall but breaches on one bad day fails an evaluation. Include GFN's commission, $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn, in the test. ##### Questions **What is backtesting in trading?** Applying a strategy's fixed rules to historical price data to see how it would have performed, including costs. **How many trades do you need to backtest?** There is no fixed number, but a few dozen trades can look good by chance. Many traders look for at least a hundred across different market conditions. ##### Sources 1. Backtesting - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backtesting (read 2026-09-23) 2. Overfitting - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overfitting (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/backtesting #### Tick Scalping: What It Is and Its Costs Tick scalping is the most extreme form of scalping: very short trades that aim to capture only a few ticks - the smallest price increments - often many times a day. Because each target is so small, spread, commission and slippage are a large share of every trade, and they decide whether the style can work. ##### What scalping and tick scalping are Scalping is a style of many short trades that take small price changes, with holds from seconds to a few minutes. Tick scalping pushes it to the limit: the target is a handful of ticks, and positions may be open for moments. A tick is the smallest price change an instrument can make; on many currency pairs it is a tenth of a pip. A tick scalper's target is therefore often smaller than the spread they pay to enter. ##### Why costs dominate Every trade pays the spread and commission. At GFN's published commission, $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn, a scalper targeting 3 pips on a standard lot pays $7 against a $30 target before any spread - roughly a quarter of the gain. A strategy that is profitable before those costs can easily be unprofitable after them. Fills matter as much. A tick scalper needs the price they see, and in fast markets fills move. See the [PnL](https://getfundednow.com/learn/what-is-pnl) page on gross versus net results. ##### One-minute scalping strategies Searches for a 1-minute scalping strategy usually mean entries timed on a one-minute chart - often using [VWAP](https://getfundednow.com/learn/vwap) or short moving averages - with small targets. The chart timeframe is not the holding period: a trade entered on a one-minute chart can be held for several minutes, and on accounts with a minimum hold time it must be. ##### How to identify it Before scalping, work out whether the arithmetic can work at all. 1. Measure your typical target in pips or ticks. 2. Add the spread and the commission per trade, in the same units. 3. Compare: if costs are a large share of the target, the win rate needed rises sharply. 4. Check the account's rules on minimum hold time and scalping. ##### The cost arithmetic of a scalp, described An illustrative calculation on a USD-quoted pair where a standard lot is worth $10 a pip. It is not a recommendation. - Target: 3 pips on 1 lot: $30. - Costs: A 0.5-pip spread ($5) plus $7 commission: $12 per trade. - Net: $18 on a win; a 3-pip loss costs $30 plus $12, or $42. With equal-sized wins and losses in pips, the costs mean the trader needs to win about 70% of trades just to break even. That is before any slippage. ##### Common mistakes - **Ignoring costs in testing** Scalping results are the most sensitive to costs of any style. - **Scalping around releases** Spreads widen and fills slip exactly when scalpers are most active. - **Confusing chart timeframe with hold time** An entry on a one-minute chart does not have to exit in a minute - and on some accounts must not. ##### Limitations - Results depend heavily on execution quality, which varies between accounts and market conditions. - The costs described here are structural; no entry signal removes them. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Scalping is allowed on GFN accounts, with a minimum hold time of 2 minutes. A tick-scalping approach that exits within seconds does not fit that rule and would need rethinking - usually toward larger targets held for longer. ##### Questions **What is tick scalping?** A form of scalping that aims to capture only a few ticks, the smallest price increments, from very short trades, often many times a day. **What does scalping mean in trading?** A style of trading that takes many short trades for small price changes, holding each for seconds to a few minutes. ##### Sources 1. Scalping (trading) - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalping_(trading) (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/tick-scalping #### The History of Social and Copy Trading Social and copy trading grew out of traders sharing signals online in the early 2000s. Around 2005, automated trading made it possible to replicate another trader's orders directly, and from about 2010 copying became a mainstream feature of retail trading services. The growth brought regulatory scrutiny, and most prop firms now restrict copying another trader. ##### A short timeline The broad stages, as the published histories describe them. Dates are approximate and the services involved are not named here. **How social and copy trading developed** | Period | Development | | --- | --- | | Early 2000s | Websites let traders publish strategies and signals for others to follow manually; the first social trading functions appear around 2003. | | Around 2005 | Automated trading makes it possible to replicate orders from one account in another - the start of copy and mirror trading. | | From about 2010 | Copying becomes a mainstream feature of retail trading services, with public performance profiles and follower counts. | | 2014-2017 | Researchers study social trading networks as systems of influence, and find that followed traders show behavioural biases of their own. | | Late 2010s onward | Regulatory pressure on forex copy services, many of which close or change; prop firms write rules against copying another trader. | ##### Social, mirror and copy trading The three terms are often used interchangeably, but they describe different things. - Social trading - sharing ideas, positions and results openly, with other traders deciding for themselves whether to act. - Mirror trading - automatically following a strategy, often an algorithm, rather than a particular person's account. - Copy trading - linking part of one account to another trader's so that every order they place is replicated, in proportion, automatically. ##### Why it came under scrutiny Copying hands decisions to someone else, often on the strength of a short public record. A record that looks strong can reflect a few large trades, high risk or luck, and followers inherit all of it - including the leader's biases. Research on social trading networks found that followed traders were more prone to holding losers than other traders. The published histories also describe scams in forex copy services, and the regulatory action that followed. For prop firms the concern is different but related: an evaluation is meant to assess one person's trading, and copied trades defeat that. ##### How to identify it If you consider copying anyone, ask these questions first. 1. How long is the record, and does it include losing periods? 2. What risk does it take - the worst drawdown, and position sizes relative to the account? 3. Is the performance verified, or self-reported? 4. Do the rules of the account you trade permit copying at all? ##### Why a short record misleads, described An illustrative case in words, with no real figures or services. It is not a record of any trader. - Record: A trader's public profile shows a large gain over three months, and followers pile in. - Risk: Most of the gain came from two oversized positions that happened to work. - Result: The next oversized position loses, and every follower's account takes the same loss in proportion. The followers copied the risk as well as the results. Nothing in the three-month record distinguished skill from luck. ##### Common mistakes - **Judging a leader on returns alone** Returns without drawdown and position size say little about the risk taken. - **Assuming copying is allowed everywhere** Many prop firms prohibit copying another trader outright. - **Treating a follower count as evidence** Popularity reflects visibility, not skill. ##### Limitations - The published histories of social and copy trading are secondary sources and some of their dates are approximate. - Research on social trading networks covers particular services and periods and may not describe current ones. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation On GFN accounts, copying trades between accounts you personally own may be permitted within the rules. Copying another trader's positions, letting someone else manage your account, using a passing service, or trading as a coordinated group is prohibited on all three programmes. ##### Questions **What is the difference between copy trading and social trading?** Social trading is sharing ideas and positions openly for others to act on themselves. Copy trading automatically replicates another trader's orders in your account. **Is copy trading allowed on prop firm accounts?** It depends on the firm. At GFN, copying between accounts you personally own may be permitted, but copying another trader or having someone else trade your account is prohibited. ##### Sources 1. Social trading - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_trading (read 2026-09-23) 2. Copy trading - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copy_trading (read 2026-09-23) 3. Mirror trading - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_trading (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/history-of-copy-trading #### Keltner Channel: How It Works A Keltner channel is a volatility indicator that draws an upper and lower band around a moving average, each a set multiple of the average true range (ATR) away from it. A common modern setting is a 20-period exponential moving average with bands two ATRs either side. Traders use it to judge trend and stretched moves. ##### How the channel is built The middle line is a moving average of price. The bands are the middle line plus and minus a multiple of [ATR](https://getfundednow.com/learn/atr-indicator). Because ATR measures typical range, the channel widens in volatile conditions and narrows in quiet ones. The indicator is named after Chester Keltner, who described an early version in 1960 based on a simple average and the average daily range. The ATR-based version is the one most charts now use; settings vary, so state yours before testing. ##### Keltner channel vs Bollinger Bands Both put bands around a moving average; they measure width differently. **Two volatility channels compared** | | Keltner channel | Bollinger Bands | | --- | --- | --- | | Band width from | Average true range | Standard deviation of closes | | Typical middle line | 20-period EMA | 20-period SMA | | Reaction to a single large bar | Smoother | Can widen sharply | | Common combined use | Bollinger Bands inside the Keltner channel is read as a squeeze | Same | ##### How traders use it Trend traders read closes outside a band as strength in that direction and pullbacks to the middle line as potential entries. Range traders read touches of the bands in a flat channel as stretched moves that may revert. The two readings conflict, which is why the market's context - trending or [sideways](https://getfundednow.com/learn/sideways-market) - has to be decided first. ##### How to identify it Set the channel up once and read it the same way every time. 1. Choose the moving average type and period, and the ATR period and multiple. 2. Decide whether you are reading trend (closes beyond bands) or reversion (touches of bands). 3. Check whether the channel is sloping or flat. 4. Use the channel with a separate entry rule and a stop. ##### A close outside the upper band, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Channel: The middle line is at 100 and the bands at 97 and 103, sloping up. - Break: A strong candle closes at 104, above the upper band. - Pullback: Over the next sessions price pulls back to the middle line near 101.5. A trend reader saw strength and waited for the pullback; a reversion reader saw a stretched move. The channel did not decide between them. ##### Common mistakes - **Mixing trend and reversion readings** Buying the upper band on one trade and selling it on the next makes results random. - **Changing settings to fit each chart** Fit settings once, then test them honestly. - **Treating the bands as support and resistance** They are calculated lines, not levels traders defend. ##### Limitations - The channel is built from past prices and lags. - There is no reliable evidence that Keltner signals predict direction on their own. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Band-based stops scale with volatility, so position size should too. On a $100,000 account, with a daily loss limit of $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step, recalculate size whenever the ATR - and so the distance to the band - changes. ##### Questions **What is a Keltner channel?** An indicator that plots bands a multiple of the average true range above and below a moving average, widening and narrowing with volatility. **What is the difference between Keltner channels and Bollinger Bands?** Keltner channels set band width from the average true range; Bollinger Bands use the standard deviation of closing prices, which reacts more sharply to single large moves. ##### Sources 1. Keltner channel - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keltner_channel (read 2026-09-23) 2. Average true range - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_true_range (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/keltner-channel #### GTC Order Meaning and Order Types GTC stands for good 'til cancelled: an order instruction that keeps a pending order active until it is filled or you cancel it, rather than expiring at the end of the day. It is a time-in-force setting that applies to limit and stop orders. A GTC order left working can fill at an unexpected moment, including at a gap. ##### GTC and other time-in-force settings Time in force says how long an order stays active. **Common time-in-force settings** | Setting | Meaning | | --- | --- | | Day | Expires at the end of the trading day if not filled | | GTC - good 'til cancelled | Stays active until filled or cancelled; some providers set a maximum duration | | GTD - good 'til date | Stays active until a chosen date and time | | IOC - immediate or cancel | Fills what it can at once and cancels the rest | | FOK - fill or kill | Fills in full at once or not at all | ##### Market, limit and stop orders The order type says at what price an order may fill. - Market order - fills straight away at the best available price. Fast, but the price is not guaranteed in a fast market. - Buy limit - buy at or below a set price, placed under the current price. Sell limit - sell at or above a set price, placed over it. - Buy stop - buy once price rises to a set level, placed above the current price. Sell stop - sell once price falls to a level, placed below it. Stop-losses are sell stops on longs and buy stops on shorts. ##### The risks of orders left working A GTC order does not know that circumstances have changed. An entry order placed days ago can fill after news that invalidates the idea, and a stop can fill well beyond its level if price gaps over it - for example at the weekly reopen in the [Asian session](https://getfundednow.com/learn/asian-session). Review working orders before each session. ##### How to identify it Before placing any pending order, set three things deliberately. 1. The order type: limit to get a better price, stop to follow a move. 2. The price, and which side of the current price it sits. 3. The time in force: day, GTC or a date. 4. A reminder to review it, if it will be left working. ##### A GTC order that fills late, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Order: On Monday a trader places a GTC buy limit at 100, below the current price of 104. - Change: On Thursday, news changes the outlook, but the order is forgotten. - Fill: Price falls through 100 on Friday and the order fills into the decline. The order did exactly what it was told. The loss came from leaving an instruction working after the reason for it had gone. ##### Common mistakes - **Forgetting GTC orders** They stay active until cancelled, through news and weekends. - **Confusing limit and stop** A buy limit sits below price; a buy stop sits above it. Swapping them fills at the wrong time. - **Assuming a stop fills at its price** A stop becomes a market order when triggered and can fill beyond its level. ##### Limitations - Available order types and GTC durations differ between platforms and instruments. - No order type guarantees a price in a gap or a fast market. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Pending orders that trigger count toward the same limits as any other trade. On a $100,000 account, a forgotten GTC order that fills into a move counts against the daily loss limit of $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step like any trade you placed by hand. ##### Questions **What does GTC mean in trading?** Good 'til cancelled. A GTC order stays active until it is filled or you cancel it, rather than expiring at the end of the day. **What is a buy limit in forex?** A pending order to buy at or below a set price, placed under the current market price. It fills only if price falls to that level. ##### Sources 1. Types of orders - US Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov. https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/how-stock-markets-work/types-orders (read 2026-09-23) 2. Order (exchange) - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_(exchange) (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/gtc-order #### CCI Indicator: Commodity Channel Index CCI stands for commodity channel index, an oscillator introduced by Donald Lambert in 1980. It measures how far the typical price is from its moving average, scaled by the average deviation so most readings fall between +100 and -100. Readings beyond those levels are read as unusually strong moves. Despite the name, it is used on any market. ##### How the CCI is calculated Take the typical price, (high + low + close) / 3. Subtract its simple moving average over the chosen period - 20 is a common default - and divide by the mean absolute deviation of the typical price over the same period. Lambert multiplied the deviation by 0.015 so that roughly 70 to 80 percent of readings would fall between +100 and -100. ##### How it is read Traders use the same readings in two opposite ways, which is why context matters. **Common CCI readings** | Reading | Trend reading | Reversion reading | | --- | --- | --- | | Above +100 | Strong upward move under way | Stretched; may revert | | Below -100 | Strong downward move under way | Stretched; may revert | | Crossing zero | Price moving above or below its average | - | ##### CCI and divergence Like other oscillators, the CCI is used to look for [divergence](https://getfundednow.com/learn/divergence-trading) - price making a new extreme that the indicator does not confirm. The same caution applies: divergence can persist through a strong trend. ##### How to identify it Fix the settings and the reading before using it. 1. Choose the period - 20 is common - and keep it fixed. 2. Decide whether you read extremes as trend strength or as stretched moves. 3. Check whether the market is trending or ranging before applying that reading. 4. Use a separate entry rule and a stop. ##### A CCI reading in a trend, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price and the indicator. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Break: Price rallies sharply and the CCI rises from 20 to 150. - Trend: It stays above +100 for several bars as price keeps rising. - Fade: The CCI falls back below +100 while price is still near its high. A reversion trader who sold at 150 was early; a trend trader who bought at 100 caught the move. The same reading supported both ideas, and hindsight decided which was right. ##### Common mistakes - **Treating +100 as overbought by rule** In a strong trend the CCI can stay above +100 for a long time. - **Changing the period to fit the chart** An indicator tuned to each chart describes the past, not a method. - **Using it alone** It restates price; traders pair it with structure and risk rules. ##### Limitations - The CCI is derived from price and lags it. - There is no reliable evidence that CCI readings alone predict direction. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Oscillator-based entries against a trend tend to fail repeatedly before one works. On a $100,000 account, with a daily loss limit of $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step, limit the number of attempts as well as the risk on each. ##### Questions **What does CCI stand for in trading?** Commodity channel index. It measures how far the typical price is from its moving average, relative to its average deviation. **What do +100 and -100 mean on the CCI?** They mark unusually large moves away from the average. Traders read readings beyond them either as trend strength or as stretched moves that may revert. ##### Sources 1. Commodity channel index - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_channel_index (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/cci-indicator #### What Is a Retail Trader? A retail trader is an individual who trades their own money in a personal account, as opposed to an institutional trader who trades a firm's capital for a bank, fund or proprietary trading firm. Retail traders usually trade smaller sizes, pay higher costs and use leverage. Regulators' data show most retail accounts trading leveraged products lose money. ##### Retail vs institutional traders The differences are about capital, costs, access and oversight. **Retail and institutional traders compared** | | Retail trader | Institutional trader | | --- | --- | --- | | Whose money | Their own | The firm's or its clients' | | Typical size | Small | Large | | Costs | Retail spreads and commissions | Negotiated, usually lower | | Risk limits | Self-imposed | Set and enforced by the firm | ##### What the evidence says about retail results European regulators found that 74-89% of retail accounts trading CFDs typically lose money, and large studies of retail day traders reach similar conclusions - see [how much day traders make](https://getfundednow.com/learn/how-much-do-day-traders-make). The figures describe retail traders as a group; individual results vary. ##### Where a prop firm evaluation fits A retail prop firm evaluation sits between the two. The trader is an individual, but trades a simulated account under a firm's risk limits and, if they pass, can receive a share of simulated profit. The trader's maximum loss is the fee, not their own trading capital. The rules - daily loss limits, drawdowns and consistency rules - resemble the limits an institutional desk imposes. ##### How to identify it Whatever kind of trader you are, the useful questions are the same. 1. Whose money is at risk, and how much of it? 2. What does each trade cost, including spread and commission? 3. Who sets the risk limits, and are they enforced? 4. What does an honest record of your results show? ##### The same idea, two traders, described An illustrative comparison in words. It is not a record of any real traders. - Retail: An individual buys a currency pair in their own account, with a stop they may or may not keep. - Institutional: A desk trader takes the same view with the firm's capital, inside a loss limit a risk manager enforces. - Evaluation: A trader on a simulated prop account takes it inside a daily loss limit that ends the account if breached. The idea was identical. What differed was whose money was at risk and who enforced the limits. ##### Common mistakes - **Assuming retail means beginner** It describes the account and the money, not the skill. - **Ignoring cost differences** Retail costs are higher and matter most to short-term strategies. - **Having no enforced limits** Without a firm's risk manager, the trader has to impose them. ##### Limitations - Retail results cited here come from particular markets and studies and describe groups, not individuals. - The boundary between retail and professional categories is set differently by different regulators. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation GFN accounts are simulated. Traders who pass and trade a funded account can receive a share of simulated profits as real payouts, and the fee is the maximum loss. ##### Questions **What is a retail trader?** An individual who trades their own money in a personal account, rather than trading a firm's capital as an institutional trader does. **Do most retail traders lose money?** The evidence says so for leveraged products: European regulators found 74-89% of retail CFD accounts typically lose money. ##### Sources 1. Retail investor - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retail_investor (read 2026-09-23) 2. ESMA agrees to prohibit binary options and restrict CFDs to protect retail investors - European Securities and Markets Authority. https://www.esma.europa.eu/press-news/esma-news/esma-agrees-prohibit-binary-options-and-restrict-cfds-protect-retail-investors (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/retail-trader #### Trading Plan Template and Example A trading plan is a written set of rules for how you trade: which markets and times, what setup you take, how you enter and exit, how much you risk on each trade and each day, and how you review results. Its purpose is to make decisions before the market moves, not under pressure during a trade. ##### A trading plan template Fill in every line. A blank line is a decision you will end up making mid-trade. **Trading plan template** | Section | What to write down | | --- | --- | | Markets | The instruments you trade, and the ones you do not | | Times | The sessions you trade, and the scheduled releases you avoid or trade | | Setup | The exact conditions for a trade, specific enough that someone else would take the same one | | Entry and exit | Order type, stop placement, target or exit rule | | Risk per trade | A fixed amount or percentage, and how position size follows from the stop | | Daily and weekly limits | The loss, or number of losing trades, after which you stop | | Review | What you record for each trade, and when you review it | ##### A forex trading plan, filled in An illustrative plan, not a recommendation. - Markets: two major pairs only. - Times: the London session and the London-New York overlap; flat ten minutes before scheduled high-impact releases. - Setup: a pullback to a support zone in a daily uptrend, with a bullish candlestick confirmation. - Entry and exit: stop beyond the zone; target at the next resistance; no moving the stop further away. - Risk: 0.5% of the account per trade; size from the stop. - Limits: stop for the day after two losses or a 1.5% loss, whichever comes first. - Review: screenshot and note every trade; review weekly against the plan, not against the result. ##### The gaps most plans leave Most plans cover entries in detail and everything else vaguely. The parts that decide whether an account survives - daily limits, what happens after a loss, and what to do around releases - are the ones most often missing. See [revenge trading](https://getfundednow.com/learn/revenge-trading) for what fills that gap when it is left open. ##### How to identify it Test a plan by asking whether it answers these without improvising. 1. Could someone else take exactly the trades your plan describes? 2. Does it say how large each position is, from the stop? 3. Does it say when you stop for the day? 4. Does it fit the rules of the account you trade? ##### A plan meeting a bad day, described An illustrative session in words. It is not a record of real trades. - Loss one: The first setup loses 0.5%, as sized. - Loss two: The second, taken only because it met every condition, also loses 0.5%. - Stop: The plan's two-loss rule ends the day at -1%. The plan did not prevent losses. It capped the day at a size the account could absorb many times over. ##### Common mistakes - **Writing the plan after trading** A plan adjusted to justify trades is a diary, not a plan. - **No daily stop** Without one, the worst day is decided by mood. - **Judging the plan by one week** Review against whether you followed it, over many trades. ##### Limitations - A plan makes behaviour consistent; it does not make a strategy profitable. - Plans need revising as markets change, but on a schedule, not after every loss. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Write the account's rules into the plan. On a $100,000 GFN account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step; a personal daily stop well inside it, and a note of the news window on funded accounts, belong in every plan. ##### Questions **What should a trading plan include?** The markets and times you trade, your exact setup, how you enter and exit, your risk per trade, daily and weekly loss limits, and how you review results. **How do you make a trading plan?** Fill in each section of a template before trading, test it on past trades, then follow it and review whether you did, rather than whether each trade won. ##### Sources 1. Trading strategy - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trading_strategy (read 2026-09-23) 2. Day trading - FINRA. https://www.finra.org/investors/investing/investment-products/stocks/day-trading (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/trading-plan #### AI in Forex Trading: What It Can Do AI in forex trading usually means software that uses machine learning to find patterns in price data, generate signals or run an automated strategy. It can process more data than a person. It cannot see the future, and the US CFTC warns that promises of big returns from AI bots are a common sign of fraud. ##### How AI is used in currency trading The term covers several different things. - Signal models - machine-learning models trained on past prices to estimate the direction or size of the next move. - Automated execution - rules or models placing orders without a person, a form of algorithmic trading. - Analysis tools - summarising news, sentiment or economic releases faster than a person can read them. - Risk tools - flagging when positions are correlated or when a day's losses are approaching a limit. ##### What AI cannot do A model trained on the past learns the past, including its noise. The main risk is [overfitting](https://getfundednow.com/learn/backtesting): a model that fits historical data closely and fails on new data. Markets also change - a relationship a model learned can stop holding - and costs, spreads and slippage erode small predicted edges. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has warned the public that AI does not turn trading bots into money machines, and that promises of high or certain returns from AI trading systems are a hallmark of fraud. ##### How to evaluate an AI trading tool Ask for a long, verified record that includes losing periods and costs; ask what happens when market conditions change; and be wary of any tool whose results cannot be checked independently. A tool that cannot explain when it would fail has not been tested enough. ##### How to identify it Before using any AI or automated system, check these. 1. Is the record verified and long enough to include different market conditions? 2. Are costs, spreads and slippage included in the results? 3. Is there a hard limit on risk per trade and per day? 4. Is automation allowed on the account you trade, and on what terms? ##### A model that stops working, described An illustrative case in words, with no real figures. It is not a record of any system. - Training: A model trained on two years of data shows a strong backtest. - Live: For three months it performs close to the backtest. - Change: Volatility shifts, and the pattern it learned stops appearing; losses mount. Nothing in the backtest could reveal that the pattern would disappear. Only risk limits decided how much the change cost. ##### Common mistakes - **Believing return promises** Promised or very high returns are a warning sign, not a feature. - **Running automation without limits** A system can repeat a mistake faster than a person. - **Using a system built to pass evaluations** Many prop firms prohibit third-party passing tools. ##### Limitations - Machine-learning results depend on the data and period they are trained on and may not generalise. - This page describes general uses of AI; it does not assess any product. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Automated trading is allowed on GFN programmes where it represents legitimate trading and follows every rule, including the 2 minutes minimum hold. An advisor you built yourself is fine; third-party systems designed or marketed to pass prop-firm evaluations may be prohibited, and identical activity across many accounts is reviewed. ##### Questions **Can AI predict forex prices?** Models can estimate probabilities from past data, but they cannot know future prices, and patterns they learn can stop working when markets change. **Are AI trading bots allowed on prop firm accounts?** It depends on the firm. At GFN, automated trading is allowed where it is legitimate and follows every rule; third-party systems built to pass evaluations may be prohibited. ##### Sources 1. Customer Advisory: AI Won't Turn Trading Bots into Money Machines - US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. https://www.cftc.gov/LearnAndProtect/AdvisoriesAndArticles/AITradingBots.html (read 2026-09-23) 2. Algorithmic trading - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithmic_trading (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/ai-in-forex-trading ### Risk and performance Profit and loss, risk-adjusted return and the risk-on, risk-off mood of markets - the measurements that decide whether a trading record means anything. #### What Is PnL? Profit and Loss in Trading PnL stands for profit and loss: the money a trade or an account has made or lost. Realised PnL comes from closed positions and is fixed; unrealised, or open, PnL is the running result on positions still held, and changes with every price move. Net PnL is what remains after commission, spreads and swaps. ##### Realised vs unrealised PnL The distinction is whether the position is still open. Once a trade is closed, its gain or loss is realised - it has happened, and it no longer moves. While it is open, the gain or loss is unrealised: a mark-to-market figure that goes up and down with price, and that can turn from profit to loss before the trade is closed. Trading dashboards usually show both. Realised PnL (sometimes labelled RPnL or R P&L) sums the closed trades; open PnL (floating PnL, OPnL) is the live result on what is still held. Equity is the balance plus open PnL. **The PnL labels you will see** | Label | What it measures | Does it move? | | --- | --- | --- | | Realised PnL | Result of closed positions | No - fixed once closed | | Unrealised or open PnL | Result of positions still held, at the current price | Yes, with every tick | | Gross PnL | Price result before costs | - | | Net PnL | Price result after commission, spread and swap | - | | Cumulative PnL | Running total over a period | Grows or shrinks trade by trade | ##### How PnL is calculated For a single trade, PnL is the price change multiplied by the position size, in the account currency: (exit price minus entry price) times units for a long, the reverse for a short. On a currency pair the price change is usually counted in pips, and the value of one pip depends on the pair and the [lot size](https://getfundednow.com/learn/lot-size). The [profit calculator](https://getfundednow.com/tools/profit-calculator) does this for a trade you specify, including commission. It shows what a given move produces; it does not predict the move. ##### Gross vs net PnL Costs sit between the price result and the money. Commission is charged per lot, the spread is paid on entry, and positions held overnight can carry a swap. On a strategy that trades often with small targets, the difference between gross and net PnL can be most of the result. Track net PnL, and track it per trade and cumulatively. A record that is positive gross and negative net is a losing record. ##### How to identify it Read a PnL figure by asking four questions before you trust it. 1. Is it realised, unrealised, or both combined? 2. Is it gross or net of commission, spread and swap? 3. Which period does it cover - one trade, one day, or cumulative? 4. Is it in the account currency, and at what exchange rate if the instrument is priced in another? ##### One trade's PnL, from gross to net An illustrative trade described in words, using the common convention of 100,000 units per standard lot. It is not a record of a real trade. - Trade: Buy 1 standard lot of a USD-quoted pair, 100,000 units, and close it 50 pips higher. - Gross PnL: 50 pips x 0.0001 x 100,000 units = $500. - Commission: At GFN's published commission, $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn, one lot costs $7 for the round trip. - Net PnL: $500 - $7 = $493, before any spread paid on entry or overnight swap. While the trade was open, its unrealised PnL moved with every price change and could have been negative; only on closing did it become a realised figure. ##### Common mistakes - **Counting open profit as made** Unrealised PnL is not yours until the position closes, and it can reverse. - **Judging a strategy on gross PnL** Commission, spread and swap are part of the result. High-frequency strategies are the most exposed. - **Ignoring open losses because the balance looks fine** Equity includes open PnL, and most account limits measure equity, not balance. ##### Limitations - PnL measures what happened; it says nothing about how much risk was taken to get it. Two identical PnL figures can come from very different drawdowns. - A short record's PnL is dominated by a few trades and is weak evidence of a repeatable edge. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation On a GFN simulated account, the risk limits are measured on equity - balance plus open PnL - so an unrealised loss counts before the trade is closed. On a $100,000 account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step. Commission comes out of the account like any loss, so plan around net PnL, not gross. ##### Questions **What does PnL stand for?** Profit and loss. In trading it is the money a position or account has made or lost, either on closed trades (realised) or on positions still open (unrealised). **What is the difference between realised and unrealised PnL?** Realised PnL comes from positions that have been closed and no longer changes. Unrealised, or open, PnL is the current result on positions still held, and moves with the price. **What is cumulative PnL?** The running total of profit and loss over a period, trade after trade. It is usually shown net of costs and plotted as an equity curve. ##### Sources 1. Realized gain or loss - US Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov. https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/glossary/realized-gain-or-loss (read 2026-09-23) 2. Unrealized gain or loss - US Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov. https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/glossary/unrealized-gain-or-loss (read 2026-09-23) 3. Foreign exchange market - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_exchange_market (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/what-is-pnl #### Risk On, Risk Off: Meaning in Markets Risk on and risk off are shorthand for markets moving together as investors' appetite for risk changes. In a risk-on phase, stock indices and growth-linked currencies tend to rise. In a risk-off phase, money moves toward assets seen as safer, and the Japanese yen, Swiss franc and US dollar have historically tended to strengthen. ##### What risk on and risk off mean The phrases describe a regime, not a single asset. When global risk appetite rises, investors buy assets whose returns depend on growth and accept more volatility; when it falls, they sell those and buy assets expected to hold their value. Because the same shift affects many markets at once, prices that normally move independently start to move together. Research from the Bank for International Settlements links these swings to capital flows and leverage across the financial system, and Federal Reserve analysis describes how a rise in global risk aversion transmits across asset prices and exchange rates. ##### Which assets tend to move which way An IMF study of risk-off episodes found a recurring pattern in currencies: the yen, the Swiss franc and the US dollar tended to appreciate against other currencies. The table below is the common textbook grouping. It is a tendency, not a rule, and each episode differs. **The usual grouping, and its caveats** | Tends to rise when risk is on | Tends to rise when risk is off | Caveat | | --- | --- | --- | | Stock indices | Government bonds of major economies | Bonds and stocks can fall together, for example when inflation is the worry | | Growth- and commodity-linked currencies, such as AUD and NZD | JPY, CHF and often USD | The dollar's role depends on whether the shock starts in the US | | Emerging-market currencies | Gold, often | Gold does not always rise in a sell-off | ##### When the pattern breaks The grouping is an average across many episodes. A shock that starts in one country can weaken that country's currency even if it is usually a safe haven, and an inflation scare can push stocks and bonds down together. Treat risk on and risk off as a question to ask about the market - what is moving together, and why - not as a map of what will happen next. ##### How to identify it Check whether a market move is part of a broader regime before reading it as a signal on one instrument. 1. Look at a stock index, a safe-haven currency pair such as a yen cross, and gold together. 2. Ask whether they are moving in the textbook directions for risk on or risk off. 3. Check the news and economic calendar for the event that started it. 4. Look at correlations across your open positions: in a regime shift, several trades can become one trade. ##### A risk-off afternoon, described An illustrative sequence in words. It is not a record of any real date or price. - Trigger: An unexpected headline raises fears of slower global growth. - Markets: Stock indices fall, the Australian dollar weakens, and the yen and Swiss franc strengthen against most currencies. - Portfolio: A trader long an index, long AUD/JPY and short USD/CHF finds all three positions losing at the same time. Three positions that looked diversified were one bet on risk appetite. The regime did not predict the move; it explained why the positions moved together once it happened. ##### Common mistakes - **Treating the grouping as fixed** Safe havens change with the shock. The dollar, gold and bonds have each failed to rally in some sell-offs. - **Counting correlated trades as separate risks** In a regime shift, positions across indices and risk-sensitive currencies can lose together. - **Labelling every move** Most days are not clear risk-on or risk-off days, and forcing the label adds noise. ##### Limitations - Risk on and risk off describe how markets moved; they do not forecast when a regime starts or ends. - Relationships between assets change over time, and historical patterns in research are averages, not a description of what the next episode will do. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation On a simulated account the daily loss limit applies to all positions together. On a $100,000 account it is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step, and correlated positions can reach it together in a single risk-off move. Size each position as if the others might move with it. Risking $500 on each of three correlated trades is closer to one trade risking three times that. ##### Questions **What does risk off mean?** A phase in which investors reduce exposure to riskier assets such as stocks and growth-linked currencies and move money toward assets seen as safer, such as major government bonds and the yen or Swiss franc. **Is gold a risk-off asset?** Often, but not always. Gold has risen in many sell-offs and fallen in others, particularly when investors sold everything to raise cash. ##### Sources 1. The Behavior of Currencies during Risk-off Episodes (Working Paper 13/8) - International Monetary Fund. https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/the-behavior-of-currencies-during-risk-off-episodes-40233 (read 2026-09-23) 2. Risk-on/risk-off, capital flows, leverage and safe assets (Working Paper 382) - Bank for International Settlements. https://www.bis.org/publ/work382.pdf (read 2026-09-23) 3. The Transmission of Global Risk - Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FEDS Notes). https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/the-transmission-of-global-risk-20230627.html (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/risk-on-risk-off #### Lot Size in Forex: What It Means Lot size is the size of a trade in standardised units. In forex, one standard lot is conventionally 100,000 units of the base currency, a mini lot 10,000 and a micro lot 1,000, so 0.01 lot is a micro lot. The lot size sets how much each pip is worth, and therefore how much a trade can make or lose. ##### Standard, mini and micro lots Lot sizes are written as decimals of a standard lot. On a pair quoted in US dollars, such as EUR/USD, one pip is 0.0001, so a pip is worth 100,000 x 0.0001 = $10 on a standard lot. **Common forex lot conventions, on a USD-quoted pair** | Lot | Written as | Units of base currency | Value of one pip | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Standard | 1.00 | 100,000 | $10 | | Mini | 0.10 | 10,000 | $1 | | Micro | 0.01 | 1,000 | $0.10 | Pip values differ on pairs not quoted in the account currency, and on yen pairs, where a pip is 0.01. Contract sizes are set per instrument; the specification on your account applies. ##### Lot size on gold and other instruments Outside currencies, a lot is defined by the instrument's contract size rather than by 100,000 units. For spot gold (XAU/USD), one lot is commonly 100 troy ounces, which makes 0.01 lot one ounce: a $1 move in the gold price is then worth $100 on one lot and $1 on 0.01 lot. Index and other instruments have their own contract sizes. Always read the size from the instrument specification on the account before sizing a trade; the convention above is common, not universal. ##### How to calculate lot size for a trade Work backwards from risk. Decide how much money the trade may lose, measure the distance to the stop in pips, and divide: lot size = risk in money / (stop distance in pips x pip value per lot). The [position size calculator](https://getfundednow.com/tools/position-size-calculator) does this for any pair or instrument. There is no correct lot size in general - only the lot size that matches a stop and a risk amount. ##### How to identify it Before every trade, derive the lot size rather than reusing yesterday's. 1. Decide the maximum you will lose on the trade, in account currency. 2. Place the stop where the trade idea is wrong, and measure the distance in pips or points. 3. Look up the pip or point value per lot for the instrument on your account. 4. Divide the risk by stop distance times value per lot, and round down to the nearest size the account allows. ##### Sizing one trade, described An illustrative calculation on a $100,000 simulated account, using the conventions above. It is not a recommendation. - Risk: The trader risks 0.5% of $100,000: $500. - Stop: The stop is 25 pips away on a USD-quoted pair, where a standard lot is worth $10 a pip. - Size: $500 / (25 x $10) = 2 standard lots. Halve the stop and the same risk allows twice the size; double it and the size halves. The lot size follows from the stop, never the other way round. ##### Common mistakes - **Choosing a lot size first** A fixed size with a variable stop makes the risk per trade random. - **Assuming every instrument uses 100,000 units** Gold, indices and other instruments have their own contract sizes. - **Forgetting the pip value changes** On pairs not quoted in the account currency, the value per pip moves with the exchange rate. ##### Limitations - Correct sizing controls how much a losing trade costs; it does not make a strategy profitable. - Stops can fill beyond their level in fast markets, so the realised loss can exceed the planned risk. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation There is no single published maximum lot size at GFN. In practice the daily loss limit binds long before margin does: on a $100,000 account it is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step. Size from the stop so that a string of losses stays well inside it. Commission is charged per lot, so larger sizes raise costs in proportion. ##### Questions **How much is 0.01 lot in dollars?** On a USD-quoted forex pair, 0.01 lot is 1,000 units and each pip is worth about $0.10. On gold with a 100-ounce contract, 0.01 lot is one ounce, so a $1 price move is worth $1. **What is 1 lot of gold?** Commonly 100 troy ounces of gold for spot XAU/USD, but contract sizes vary by provider. Check the instrument specification on your account. **What is the biggest lot size in forex?** There is no universal maximum. Each account and instrument sets its own limits, and in practice margin and risk limits cap size well before any formal maximum. ##### Sources 1. Foreign exchange market - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_exchange_market (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/lot-size #### Intraday Trailing Drawdown, Explained An intraday trailing drawdown is a loss limit that follows the account's highest equity in real time, including unrealised profit on open trades. Each new equity high lifts the floor, and it never moves down. An end-of-day trailing drawdown instead updates only from the balance at the day's close, so open profit given back intraday does not raise it. ##### How an intraday trailing drawdown works Drawdown is the fall from a running peak. A trailing drawdown turns that into a limit: the floor sits a fixed amount below the highest value the account has reached, and moves up whenever a new high is made. Intraday means the peak is taken from equity at every moment, not from the closing balance. If a trade is up $2,000 at its best and closes up $500, the floor has already moved up by the full $2,000 peak - the $1,500 given back came out of your room. ##### Intraday vs end-of-day vs static Three common designs, compared on what moves the floor. **How the three designs set the floor** | Design | What sets the peak | Effect of open profit given back | | --- | --- | --- | | Intraday trailing | Highest equity at any moment, open profit included | Reduces the room permanently | | End-of-day trailing | Highest closing balance | No effect unless kept at the close | | Static (non-trailing) | Fixed from the starting balance | No effect | Firms differ in which design they use and whether the trail stops at some level. Read the rule for the account you trade. ##### Which GFN programmes trail, and how GFN's trailing drawdown follows new equity highs. On Instant the floor starts 5% below the starting balance and trails from there. On 1 Step it trails by 8% until equity reaches $108,000 on a $100,000 account, after which it stays fixed at the starting balance. The 2 Step drawdown does not trail. Full detail is on the [trailing drawdown rule](https://getfundednow.com/rules/trailing-drawdown). ##### How to identify it To know where your floor is at any moment, track the peak, not the balance. 1. Find out whether the account's limit is intraday trailing, end-of-day trailing or static, and whether it stops trailing at some level. 2. Note the highest equity reached, including open profit at its best. 3. Subtract the drawdown allowance from that peak to get the current floor. 4. Compare current equity to that floor, not the starting balance, before opening another trade. ##### A trailing floor on a $100,000 Instant account An illustrative sequence using Instant's 5% trailing drawdown. The trades are described, not real. - Start: Equity is $100,000. The floor is $95,000, $5,000 below. - Open profit peaks: A trade takes equity to $103,000 at its best. The floor moves up to $98,000. - Profit given back: The trade is closed at breakeven, back at $100,000. The floor stays at $98,000. The account is where it started, but the room to the floor has fallen from $5,000 to $2,000. The peak, not the close, set the limit. ##### Common mistakes - **Measuring room from the starting balance** On a trailing account the floor may be well above where it began. - **Letting large open profits reverse** Under intraday trailing, a winner that round-trips still tightens the limit. - **Confusing it with the daily loss limit** The trailing drawdown is a separate, overall limit; both apply at once. ##### Limitations - Knowing how the floor moves does not change the odds of any trade; it only tells you how much room is left. - Designs vary between firms and programmes, so an explanation of the concept is no substitute for the account's own rule. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation On GFN accounts that trail, the trailing drawdown and the daily loss limit - 3% on Instant and 5% on 1 Step and 2 Step - apply at the same time, and whichever is closer binds first. The [drawdown calculator](https://getfundednow.com/tools/drawdown-calculator) shows where the floor sits for a given account and peak. ##### Questions **Does an intraday trailing drawdown count open profit?** Yes. The peak is taken from equity, which includes unrealised profit on open trades, so the floor rises as soon as open profit makes a new high. **Does the trailing drawdown ever move down?** No. It only moves up with new peaks. Some designs stop trailing at a set level and stay fixed from then on. ##### Sources 1. Drawdown (economics) - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawdown_(economics) (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/intraday-trailing-drawdown #### Notional Value in Trading, Explained Notional value is the total market value a position controls: its size multiplied by the current price. On a leveraged account it is far larger than the margin set aside to open it. Notional volume adds up the notional value of trades over a period, and a notional limit caps how much total exposure an account may hold. ##### How notional value is calculated Multiply the number of units by the price. One standard lot of a currency pair is conventionally 100,000 units of the base currency, so one lot of EUR/USD at 1.1000 has a notional value of 110,000 US dollars. For a contract-based instrument, multiply the contract size by the price and the number of contracts. Profit and loss follow the notional value, not the margin: a 1% move in the price changes the position's value by 1% of its notional value. **Notional value and margin, one lot of EUR/USD at 1.1000** | Measure | Value | How it is found | | --- | --- | --- | | Notional value | $110,000 | 100,000 units x 1.1000 | | Margin at 1:50 leverage | $2,200 | Notional value / 50 | | Change for a 1% move | $1,100 | 1% of the notional value | Illustrative convention. Contract sizes and margin rates are set per instrument on the account. ##### Notional volume and notional limits Notional volume is the sum of the notional value of every trade over a period - a measure of how much has been traded, used for fees, rebates and activity reporting. Two traders with the same number of trades can have very different notional volume. A notional limit, or exposure limit, caps the total notional value an account may hold open at once. Where it applies, it binds regardless of how much margin is free. ##### Why notional value, not margin, is the risk Margin is the deposit a position needs; notional value is what it exposes. High leverage makes the margin small, which can make a position feel small. The [daily loss limit](https://getfundednow.com/rules/daily-loss-limit) and the drawdown respond to moves in the notional value, which is why size is better set from the stop distance - see [lot size](https://getfundednow.com/learn/lot-size) - than from the margin available. ##### How to identify it Before opening a position, work out what it actually controls. 1. Find the position's size in units or contracts. 2. Multiply by the current price to get the notional value. 3. Compare the notional value with the account balance to see the effective leverage. 4. Check any exposure or allocation limit on the account. ##### Effective leverage, described An illustrative calculation on a $100,000 simulated account, using the conventions above. It is not a recommendation. - Position: The trader buys 5 lots of EUR/USD at 1.1000. - Notional value: 5 x 110,000 = $550,000. - Effective leverage: $550,000 / $100,000 = 5.5 times the account. A 1% move in the pair changes the position by $5,500 - more than the daily loss limit on some programmes. The margin needed was only a fraction of that, which is why it felt smaller than it was. ##### Common mistakes - **Sizing from free margin** Available margin says how large a position can be opened, not how large it should be. - **Confusing notional value with profit** Notional value is exposure; the result is the change in it. - **Ignoring currency conversion** On pairs not quoted in the account currency, notional value must be converted. ##### Limitations - Notional value measures exposure, not risk; two positions with equal notional value can carry very different volatility. - Contract sizes, margin rates and exposure limits vary by instrument and account. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation GFN accounts offer leverage of up to 1:50, and total allocation across your accounts is capped at $400,000. Leverage sets how much notional value margin allows; the daily loss limit - 3% on Instant and 5% on 1 Step and 2 Step - is what a position's notional value has to be measured against. ##### Questions **What is notional value in trading?** The full market value a position controls: the number of units or contracts multiplied by the current price. It is usually much larger than the margin needed to open it. **What is notional volume?** The total notional value of all trades over a period. It measures how much has been traded, not how many trades were placed. ##### Sources 1. Notional amount - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notional_amount (read 2026-09-23) 2. Leverage (finance) - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leverage_(finance) (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/notional-value #### Balance vs Equity in Trading In trading, the balance is the account's value from closed trades only: deposits plus realised profit and loss. Equity is the balance plus the unrealised profit or loss on positions still open, so it moves with every price change. When no positions are open the two are equal. Most risk limits, including margin calls, watch equity. ##### The numbers on an account A trading account usually shows four related figures. **Balance, equity and margin** | Figure | What it is | Changes when | | --- | --- | --- | | Balance | Starting value plus realised profit and loss | A position is closed, or costs are charged | | Equity | Balance plus open profit and loss | Price moves on any open position | | Used margin | The deposit held for open positions | Positions are opened or closed | | Free margin | Equity minus used margin | Price moves, or positions change | ##### Why limits watch equity The balance lags reality: a position losing heavily does not touch it until closed. Equity shows what the account would be worth if everything were closed now. That is why margin calls and most prop firm loss limits are measured on equity - see [equity-based drawdown](https://getfundednow.com/glossary/equity-based-drawdown) - and why a trade can breach a limit while still open. The difference between the two is exactly the open [PnL](https://getfundednow.com/learn/what-is-pnl). ##### Balance highs, equity highs and trailing limits Trailing limits need a peak to trail from. Some use the highest balance, updated only when trades close; others use the highest equity, which includes open profit at its best. The [intraday trailing drawdown](https://getfundednow.com/learn/intraday-trailing-drawdown) page covers the difference, which can be large for a trader who lets open profits reverse. ##### How to identify it Read both numbers before every new trade. 1. Check the balance: what closed trades have produced. 2. Check the equity: what the account is worth right now. 3. Note the gap - that is the open profit or loss. 4. Measure your remaining room to any limit from equity, not balance. ##### Balance and equity diverging, described An illustrative sequence on a $100,000 simulated account. It is not a record of real trades. - Start: Balance and equity are both $100,000. - Open loss: A position is $2,500 down. Balance is unchanged; equity is $97,500. - Closed: The trader closes it. Balance falls to $97,500 and matches equity again. The loss counted against equity from the moment it appeared. Closing the trade only moved it into the balance. ##### Common mistakes - **Watching only the balance** An account can be close to a limit while its balance looks untouched. - **Holding losers to protect the balance** Equity already reflects the loss; waiting does not undo it. - **Forgetting costs** Commission and swap reduce the balance even on trades that break even on price. ##### Limitations - Labels differ between trading dashboards; check how yours defines each figure. - Equity is a mark-to-market value and can move sharply in fast markets or at the weekly open. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation GFN's daily loss limit counts closed and floating losses together - 3% on Instant and 5% on 1 Step and 2 Step - so it is an equity-based limit. On a $100,000 account it is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step, and an open position can reach it before it is closed. ##### Questions **What is balance in trading?** The account's value from closed trades only: the starting amount plus realised profit and loss, minus costs. It does not change while positions are open. **What is the difference between balance and equity?** Equity is the balance plus the open profit or loss on positions still held. With no open positions, the two are the same. ##### Sources 1. Unrealized gain or loss - US Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov. https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/glossary/unrealized-gain-or-loss (read 2026-09-23) 2. Realized gain or loss - US Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov. https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/glossary/realized-gain-or-loss (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/balance-vs-equity #### Going Long vs Going Short in Trading Going long means buying an instrument to profit if its price rises; a long position gains when price goes up and loses when it falls. Going short is the reverse: selling first to profit if the price falls. On currency pairs every trade is both at once - buying EUR/USD is long the euro and short the dollar. ##### What a long position is A long position is bought first and sold later. Its profit is the rise in price multiplied by the position size; its loss is the fall. On a share, the most a long position can lose without leverage is what was paid for it. ##### What going short means A short position is sold first and bought back later. In the stock market, short selling usually means borrowing shares to sell. On CFDs and currency pairs no borrowing is visible to the trader: the contract simply pays or charges the price change in the opposite direction. Because a price can rise without a fixed limit, a short position's potential loss is not capped by the price falling to zero, as a long position's is. Stops matter at least as much on shorts as on longs. ##### Long and short on currency pairs A currency pair is always quoted as one currency against another: the first is the base currency and the second the quote currency, and the price is how many units of the quote currency one unit of the base buys. Buying EUR/USD is long the euro and short the dollar; selling it is the reverse. That is why a trade on EUR/USD and one on GBP/USD can both be, in effect, a bet against the dollar - and why they can lose together. See [risk on, risk off](https://getfundednow.com/learn/risk-on-risk-off) on correlated positions. ##### How to identify it Before entering, state the trade in both directions. 1. Name the instrument and whether you are buying (long) or selling (short). 2. For a currency pair, name which currency you are long and which short. 3. Set the stop on the side where the idea is wrong - below for a long, above for a short. 4. Check what else you hold in the same currencies. ##### A long and a short, described An illustrative pair of trades in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Long: A trader buys at 100 with a stop at 98. If price rises to 104, the trade gains 4; if it falls to 98, it loses 2. - Short: Another sells at 100 with a stop at 102. If price falls to 96, the trade gains 4; if it rises to 102, it loses 2. - Pair: On EUR/USD, the long trade is long the euro and short the dollar; the short trade is the reverse. The two trades are mirror images. Direction is the choice; the risk is set by the stop and the size, whichever way the trade faces. ##### Common mistakes - **Forgetting the second currency** Every pair trade is also a position in the quote currency. - **Holding shorts without a stop** A rising price has no ceiling. - **Stacking the same exposure** Several trades against the same currency are one larger bet. ##### Limitations - Direction is only half a trade; the size, the stop and the costs decide the risk. - Swap and financing costs differ between long and short positions held overnight. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Both directions are available on simulated accounts, and the same limits apply to each. On a $100,000 account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step, measured across every open position in either direction. ##### Questions **What does going long mean?** Buying an instrument so the position gains if its price rises and loses if it falls. **What is the difference between long and short?** A long position profits from a rise in price; a short position profits from a fall. On a currency pair, every trade is long one currency and short the other. ##### Sources 1. Long (finance) - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_(finance) (read 2026-09-23) 2. Short sale - US Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov. https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/glossary/short-sale (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/going-long-and-short #### Revenge Trading and Going Full Port Revenge trading is taking impulsive trades to win back a loss straight away, usually bigger, faster and outside your plan. It often comes with going full port - slang for putting the whole account, or the maximum size allowed, into one position. Both turn one ordinary loss into a much larger one, and on a prop account into a breach. ##### Why losses trigger it Loss aversion - the tendency to feel a loss more than an equal gain - makes a fresh loss feel like something that must be undone. The urge is to get back to even today rather than accept the loss as the cost of a plan. Poker players call the same state tilt. The trades that follow are chosen for their chance to recover the loss quickly, not for their quality, which is why they are usually larger and worse. ##### What going full port means Full port, or full porting, is trader slang for committing the whole portfolio - or the largest size the account allows - to one trade. It maximises the effect of a single move in both directions. Combined with revenge trading, it is the fastest way to turn a bad day into a lost account. The alternative is dull: size every trade from the stop and a fixed risk per trade, as on the [lot size](https://getfundednow.com/learn/lot-size) page, whatever happened on the previous one. ##### Rules that interrupt it The most effective defences are decided before the session, when no loss is being felt. - A maximum number of losing trades per day, after which you stop. - A personal daily loss cap well inside the account's limit. - A fixed risk per trade that does not change after a loss. - A pause - away from the screen - after any loss above a set size. ##### How to identify it Check for these signs after a losing trade. 1. The next trade came within minutes, without the setup your plan requires. 2. Its size is larger than your usual risk per trade. 3. The reason for it is the loss, not the market. 4. You are watching the day's PnL more than the chart. ##### A revenge sequence, described An illustrative day on a $100,000 simulated account. It is not a record of real trades. - Planned loss: A trade within the plan loses $500, as sized. - Revenge: Ten minutes later the trader doubles the size on a weaker setup to recover it, and loses again. - Full port: Now down several times the planned risk, the trader takes the largest size available on one trade. The first loss was the plan working as designed. The account's daily loss limit, $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step, was put at risk by the trades that followed it. ##### Common mistakes - **Increasing size to recover faster** It increases the size of the next loss as much as the next win. - **Setting stop rules during the loss** Rules made in the moment are the ones that bend. - **Treating the day's result as a target** Getting back to even is not a trading reason. ##### Limitations - No rule removes the urge; rules only make acting on it harder. - Behavioural research describes tendencies across people, not how any one trader will react. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation A single revenge sequence can reach the daily loss limit - 3% on Instant and 5% on 1 Step and 2 Step - in one session. It resets at the time shown in your dashboard; stopping for the day costs nothing, while a breach ends the account. ##### Questions **What is revenge trading?** Taking impulsive, usually larger trades to win back a loss immediately, outside your normal plan. **What does full port mean in trading?** Slang for committing the whole account, or the maximum allowed size, to a single position. ##### Sources 1. Loss aversion - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_aversion (read 2026-09-23) 2. Tilt (poker) - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilt_(poker) (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/revenge-trading ### Sessions and market events When markets open and close, how the trading day divides into sessions, and the scheduled releases - FOMC and payrolls - that move prices fastest. #### Trading Sessions: Asia, London and New York The forex day is conventionally split into three trading sessions named after their financial centres: Asia, centred on Tokyo from 09:00 to 18:00 Tokyo time; London, 08:00 to 17:00 London time; and New York, 08:00 to 17:00 New York time. They are market conventions, not official hours, and they overlap at the edges. ##### Why the day is divided into sessions Currencies trade over the counter between banks and dealers around the world rather than on one exchange, so there is no single opening bell. Activity instead follows the business day of the largest centres as it moves west: Sydney and Tokyo first, then London, then New York. Each centre brings its own participants, its own data releases and its own currencies into the market. That is why the character of price changes through the day - narrower in the Asian hours for most pairs, busiest when London and New York are open together. London alone accounted for 37.8% of global FX turnover in April 2025, the largest share of any centre, according to the Bank of England. ##### Conventional session hours Each session is quoted in the local time of its centre, which keeps the convention the same all year on that centre's clock. Converting it to your own clock is where the confusion starts, because the UK, the US and Australia change their clocks and Japan and India do not. **The three main sessions, in local and UK time** | Session | Local convention | UK time, UK winter | UK time, UK summer | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Asia (Tokyo) | 09:00-18:00 Tokyo | 00:00-09:00 | 01:00-10:00 | | London | 08:00-17:00 London | 08:00-17:00 | 08:00-17:00 | | New York | 08:00-17:00 New York | 13:00-22:00 | 13:00-22:00 | | London / New York overlap | Both open | 13:00-17:00 | 13:00-17:00 | Conventions, not official hours: sources differ by up to an hour at either end. Your GFN account runs on the instrument schedule, not on these. For a few weeks each March and October-November the UK and US clocks are out of step, and New York's hours move an hour earlier in UK time. ##### How clock changes move the sessions The UK is on GMT in winter and BST, one hour ahead, from the last Sunday of March to the last Sunday of October. The US runs daylight time from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November. Japan and India keep one time all year. The practical effect: in India, the Asian session sits at the same IST hours all year, while the London and New York sessions each move by an hour twice a year. In the UK, the Tokyo session moves by an hour; in the US, London's open is usually 03:00 New York time, but 04:00 in the weeks when only one side has changed its clocks. ##### The overlaps, and why they matter The [London and New York overlap](https://getfundednow.com/glossary/session-overlap) - four hours on the usual convention - is when both of the two largest centres are open, and it is typically the most active stretch for the dollar pairs and for gold. The Tokyo and London overlap is brief, often an hour or less on the conventional hours. An active period is not the same as an easier one. More participation tends to mean tighter spreads, but also faster moves, and the US data calendar lands at the start of the New York morning, inside the overlap. ##### How to identify it To place any moment in the trading day, convert from the centre's clock rather than memorising your own-time table, which changes twice a year. 1. Write down the conventional hours in local time: Tokyo 09:00-18:00, London 08:00-17:00, New York 08:00-17:00. 2. Check whether the UK and the US are on summer or winter time today, using the clock-change rules above. 3. Convert each window into your own clock. In India, add IST's fixed offset; in the UK or US, allow for the weeks when the two countries are out of step. 4. Mark the overlaps: London and New York, and the short Tokyo and London handover. 5. Check the instrument schedule on your account for its actual trading hours, which can differ from the convention. ##### Placing one trading day, described An illustrative winter weekday, converted into UK time and IST. The hours follow the conventions above; they are not a record of any real day's trading. - Asia: Tokyo opens at 09:00 local: 00:00 UK and 05:30 IST. Yen and Australasian pairs are usually the most active. - London: London opens at 08:00 UK, 13:30 IST. Tokyo's conventional session is ending as London starts. - New York: New York opens at 08:00 local: 13:00 UK and 18:30 IST. The overlap with London runs until London closes at 17:00 UK, 22:30 IST. - Late New York: After London closes, the afternoon is usually thinner. New York's conventional session ends at 22:00 UK, 03:30 IST the next morning. The same timetable in summer shifts London and New York an hour earlier in IST, while Asia stays put. Nothing in the timetable says which session a strategy will work in; it only tells you who is likely to be trading. ##### Common mistakes - **Using a fixed own-time table all year** A table in IST or US time is only right for part of the year. Convert from the centre's local hours instead. - **Treating a convention as a rule** No body sets session hours. Two reputable sources can start London an hour apart; choose one convention and keep to it. - **Assuming the busiest session suits every strategy** The overlap is fast. A strategy tested on quiet Asian ranges may behave very differently there. - **Forgetting the instrument schedule** Indices and metals have their own hours and breaks. The account's instrument schedule governs, not the session name. ##### Limitations - Session boundaries are conventions with no official definition, and activity does not switch on and off at them. - How active a session is varies by pair and by day; a holiday in one centre can make its session unusually quiet. - Session times say nothing about direction. Any pattern a trader finds in a particular session is specific to their market, rules and period. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation GFN does not define sessions. Trading hours depend on the instrument and are shown in the instrument information on your account, and the daily loss limit resets at the time shown in your dashboard, which need not match midnight in your own timezone or the start of any session. The busiest hours carry the scheduled US releases. On a funded GFN account, profits from trades opened or closed within 3 minutes either side of a relevant high-impact release may be removed; see the news trading rule. ##### Questions **What are the three main trading sessions?** Asia, centred on Tokyo from 09:00 to 18:00 Tokyo time; London, 08:00 to 17:00 London time; and New York, 08:00 to 17:00 New York time. They are conventions, and sources differ at the edges. **When do the London and New York sessions overlap?** Usually from 13:00 to 17:00 UK time, which is 08:00 to 12:00 New York time. For a few weeks each spring and autumn the UK and US clocks are out of step and the overlap starts an hour earlier in UK time. **Do session times change in India?** The Asian session does not, because neither Japan nor India changes its clocks. London and New York each move by an hour in IST twice a year, when the UK and the US change their clocks. ##### Sources 1. BIS Triennial Survey of foreign exchange and OTC interest rate derivatives markets in April 2025 - UK data - Bank of England. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2025/september/bis-triennial-survey-of-foreign-exchange-and-over-the-counter-interest-rate-derivatives-markets (read 2026-09-22) 2. When do the clocks change? - GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/when-do-the-clocks-change (read 2026-09-23) 3. Daylight saving time - National Institute of Standards and Technology. https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/popular-links/daylight-saving-time-dst (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/trading-sessions #### London Session: Times and How It Trades The London session is the European trading window, conventionally 08:00 to 17:00 London time. It is the largest forex centre by turnover, and its first hours and its overlap with New York are usually the most active of the day for the euro, sterling and dollar pairs. The hours are a convention, not an official schedule. ##### When the London session is, in other time zones Quoted in London time the session never moves: 08:00 to 17:00 all year. What moves is its time elsewhere, because the UK changes its clocks and not every country does, or does so on different dates. **The London session converted** | Clock | UK winter (GMT) | UK summer (BST) | | --- | --- | --- | | London | 08:00-17:00 | 08:00-17:00 | | New York (Eastern) | 03:00-12:00, or 04:00-13:00 in the out-of-step weeks | 03:00-12:00 | | US Pacific | 00:00-09:00, or 01:00-10:00 in the out-of-step weeks | 00:00-09:00 | | India (IST) | 13:30-22:30 | 12:30-21:30 | | Tokyo | 17:00-02:00 | 16:00-01:00 | Conventions, not official hours: sources differ by up to an hour at either end. Your GFN account runs on the instrument schedule, not on these. Some sources end the London session at 16:00 or 16:30. ##### Why London carries the most volume London's business day overlaps the end of Asia and the start of New York, so it is the one centre that trades with both. The Bank of England reported that the UK accounted for 37.8% of global FX turnover in April 2025, the largest share of any country. That depth is why the euro and sterling pairs typically do much of their daily range in London hours, and why overnight Asian ranges are often broken early in the London morning. Neither is a rule; both are tendencies that vary day to day. ##### The open, the middle and the overlap Traders usually talk about London in three parts. The open, roughly the first two hours, is when European participants arrive and overnight positions are adjusted. The middle of the day is often quieter. From 13:00 UK time New York joins, and the [overlap](https://getfundednow.com/glossary/session-overlap) carries the US data calendar. SMC traders call parts of these windows killzones - the London open in particular - and the [power of three](https://getfundednow.com/learn/power-of-three) model describes a common reading of how a session's range develops. Those are interpretive frameworks, not properties of the session. ##### How to identify it Work out the London session for your clock from London time, not from a table you saved months ago. 1. Start from 08:00-17:00 London time. 2. Check whether the UK is on GMT or BST today: BST runs from the last Sunday of March to the last Sunday of October. 3. Convert to your own clock. In IST, add 5:30 in winter and 4:30 in summer; in New York time, subtract 5 hours, or 4 in the out-of-step weeks. 4. Mark 13:00 London time as the start of the usual New York overlap. 5. Check the instrument schedule on your account for the actual hours of what you trade. ##### A trader in Mumbai places the London session, described An illustrative conversion in words. It is not a record of any real day's trading. - Winter date: In January the UK is on GMT, so London's 08:00-17:00 is 13:30-22:30 IST. - Summer date: In July the UK is on BST, one hour ahead, so the same session is 12:30-21:30 IST. - Overlap: New York joins at 13:00 London time: 18:30 IST in January, 17:30 IST in July. The trader's IST routine has to move twice a year even though London's own hours never change. The session name tells them who is trading, not how price will move. ##### Common mistakes - **Keeping one local-time table all year** The London session in IST or US time moves by an hour twice a year, and the US and UK change on different dates. - **Reading the London open as a signal** Early London often breaks the Asian range, but it also often reverses. A tendency is not an instruction. - **Ignoring the data calendar in the overlap** US releases land after 13:00 London time. A position opened in quiet London hours carries into them. ##### Limitations - The session's hours are a convention with no official definition; activity does not start at 08:00 exactly. - The tendencies described here are averages across many days and do not hold on any particular day. - Volume statistics are national turnover figures, not a measure of how any single instrument will trade. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation A London-session strategy on a $100,000 simulated account meets the same daily loss limit as any other: $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step. The early London break of the Asian range is often a fast move, and fills there can differ from the price you saw, so size from your stop, risking something like $500 a trade, and allow for slippage. The daily loss limit resets at the time shown in your dashboard, which is not necessarily the London open. Know which day a morning trade counts toward. ##### Questions **What time is the London session in New York time?** Usually 03:00 to 12:00 Eastern. In the few weeks each year when the US and UK clocks are out of step, it is 04:00 to 13:00 Eastern. **Is the London session the busiest?** By turnover, London is the largest forex centre, with 37.8% of global FX turnover in April 2025 according to the Bank of England. The overlap with New York is usually the most active stretch of the day. ##### Sources 1. BIS Triennial Survey of foreign exchange and OTC interest rate derivatives markets in April 2025 - UK data - Bank of England. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2025/september/bis-triennial-survey-of-foreign-exchange-and-over-the-counter-interest-rate-derivatives-markets (read 2026-09-22) 2. When do the clocks change? - GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/when-do-the-clocks-change (read 2026-09-23) 3. Daylight saving time - National Institute of Standards and Technology. https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/popular-links/daylight-saving-time-dst (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/london-session #### Asian Session: What Time It Opens The Asian session is the first major window of the forex day, centred on Tokyo and conventionally 09:00 to 18:00 Tokyo time. That is 00:00 to 09:00 UK time in winter, 05:30 to 14:30 IST all year, and 19:00 or 20:00 to 04:00 or 05:00 New York time. Sydney opens a little earlier. ##### What time the Asian session opens Japan does not change its clocks, and neither does India, so in IST the Tokyo session is the same every day of the year. In the UK and the US it moves by an hour when their clocks change. - Is 5 a.m. UK time the Asian or the London session? The Asian session. On the usual conventions, Tokyo is open from 00:00 (winter) or 01:00 (summer) UK time, and London does not open until 08:00. **The Tokyo session converted** | Clock | Winter | Summer | | --- | --- | --- | | Tokyo | 09:00-18:00 | 09:00-18:00 | | India (IST) | 05:30-14:30 | 05:30-14:30 | | UK | 00:00-09:00 (GMT) | 01:00-10:00 (BST) | | New York (Eastern) | 19:00-04:00 | 20:00-05:00 | Conventions, not official hours: sources differ by up to an hour at either end. Your GFN account runs on the instrument schedule, not on these. Many sources start the Asian session with Sydney, which opens earlier and whose clocks change in the opposite half of the year. ##### How the Asian session usually trades For most major pairs the Asian hours are the quietest of the day, with narrower ranges than London or New York. The yen pairs and the Australian and New Zealand dollars are the exception, because their home markets are open. Lower participation can also mean wider spreads on the less active pairs. That tends to suit range-based approaches and to work against breakout ones, though neither holds every day. ##### The Asian range, and why later sessions watch it Many traders mark the high and low of the Asian session - the Asian range - and watch whether London breaks it. In SMC vocabulary the range's extremes are pools of [liquidity](https://getfundednow.com/learn/liquidity-in-trading), and the [power of three](https://getfundednow.com/learn/power-of-three) model reads the Asian hours as the accumulation phase of the day. The Asian session is also where the trading week begins. The Sunday reopen can gap away from Friday's close, and a position held over the weekend meets that gap first. ##### How to identify it Find the Asian session on your own clock, then decide whether you are trading it or only marking it. 1. Start from 09:00-18:00 Tokyo time, which never changes. 2. Convert to your clock: 05:30 IST all year; in the UK and US, check whether you are on summer or winter time. 3. Decide whether your convention starts with Sydney or Tokyo, and keep to it. 4. If you use the Asian range, mark the session's high and low once it closes, before London opens. 5. Check the instrument schedule on your account for the hours and any breaks of what you trade. ##### Marking an Asian range, described An illustrative sequence in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Session: A trader in the UK marks the Asian session from 00:00 to 09:00 UK time on a winter weekday. - Range: A pair trades between 100 and 104 through those hours - a narrow range compared with the previous day. - London: After 08:00 London time, price trades above 104, then falls back inside the range within the hour. The range gave the trader two reference levels, not a forecast. The break above 104 might have continued, reversed, or done both on different days. The level is a place to pay attention, nothing more. ##### Common mistakes - **Assuming the Asian session is always quiet** Japanese, Australian and Chinese data are released in these hours, and yen pairs can move sharply. - **Forgetting the weekend reopen** Monday's Asian session can open away from Friday's close. A stop does not protect against a gap. - **Mixing conventions** Starting the range with Sydney one day and Tokyo the next produces different levels and meaningless comparisons. ##### Limitations - Session times are conventions; Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong all open at different hours and sources group them differently. - The Asian range is a reference, not a signal. Whether London breaks it, and in which direction, varies from day to day. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Holding a position from the Asian session into London, or over a weekend, is allowed on GFN accounts where the account and market allow it, and gaps remain the trader's risk. A gap through a stop still counts toward the daily loss limit, 3% on Instant and 5% on 1 Step and 2 Step. Quieter hours can carry wider spreads on some pairs. Check the cost of the trade at the time you plan to take it, not in the London afternoon. ##### Questions **What time does the Asian session open in India?** At 05:30 IST, closing at 14:30 IST, on the usual Tokyo convention. The times are the same all year because neither Japan nor India changes its clocks. **What time is the Asian session in New York time?** Roughly 19:00 to 04:00 Eastern in winter and 20:00 to 05:00 Eastern in summer, on the Tokyo convention. Sources that include Sydney start it earlier. **Is 5 a.m. UK time the London session or the Asian session?** The Asian session. On the usual conventions Tokyo is open at 5 a.m. UK time, and London does not open until 08:00. ##### Sources 1. When do the clocks change? - GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/when-do-the-clocks-change (read 2026-09-23) 2. Daylight saving time - National Institute of Standards and Technology. https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/popular-links/daylight-saving-time-dst (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/asian-session #### New York Session: Times and What Moves It The New York session is the US trading window, conventionally 08:00 to 17:00 New York time: 13:00 to 22:00 UK time for most of the year. Its first four hours overlap London, and most scheduled US data, including the monthly payrolls report, lands at 08:30 New York time, early in the session. The hours are a convention. ##### When the New York session is, in other time zones Quoted in New York time the session is fixed. Converted, it moves when the US changes its clocks, and in the UK it also shifts for the few weeks when the two countries' clock changes do not line up. **The New York session converted** | Clock | US winter | US summer | | --- | --- | --- | | New York | 08:00-17:00 | 08:00-17:00 | | UK | 13:00-22:00 | 13:00-22:00, or 12:00-21:00 in the out-of-step weeks | | India (IST) | 18:30-03:30 | 17:30-02:30 | Conventions, not official hours: sources differ by up to an hour at either end. Your GFN account runs on the instrument schedule, not on these. ##### The London overlap From 08:00 to 12:00 New York time London is still open, and the two largest forex centres trade together. For the dollar pairs and gold this is usually the most active stretch of the day. After London closes, the New York afternoon is typically thinner and slower. ##### The US releases inside the session The US data calendar is concentrated in the New York morning. The Employment Situation report - [non-farm payrolls](https://getfundednow.com/learn/non-farm-payrolls) - and the consumer price index are released at 08:30 New York time, and the US equity market opens an hour later. Federal Reserve decisions arrive later in the day: the [FOMC](https://getfundednow.com/learn/what-is-fomc) statement at 14:00 New York time on the day a scheduled meeting ends, followed by the Chair's press conference. Both can move every dollar-priced market. ##### How to identify it Place the New York session on your clock, then place the day's scheduled releases inside it. 1. Start from 08:00-17:00 New York time. 2. Check whether the US is on daylight time: from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November. 3. Convert to your own clock, remembering the UK weeks when the two countries are out of step. 4. Look up the day's scheduled releases on an [economic calendar](https://getfundednow.com/glossary/economic-calendar) and mark them in the same clock. 5. Check the instrument schedule on your account for the actual hours of what you trade. ##### A payrolls Friday on the clock, described An illustrative timeline in words. It is not a record of any real release or price. - 08:00 New York: The New York session opens: 13:00 UK, 17:30 IST in US summer. London has been open for five hours. - 08:30 New York: The payrolls report is released. Spreads widen in the seconds around it and the first move can reverse. - 12:00 New York: London closes. The overlap ends and activity usually falls through the afternoon. The timeline shows when volatility is scheduled, not which way it will go. On a funded GFN account, the rule on trades around high-impact releases applies to the 08:30 release. ##### Common mistakes - **Opening a position minutes before 08:30 New York time** A trade opened before a release carries its full move, whether or not it had anything to do with the data. - **Treating the whole session as active** The afternoon after London closes behaves differently from the overlap. - **Converting from last season's table** New York moves by an hour in UK and IST twice a year, and UK traders face extra out-of-step weeks. ##### Limitations - The session's boundaries are conventions, and activity does not switch on and off at them. - Scheduled releases make volatility likely, not direction predictable; the first move after a release often reverses. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation On a funded GFN account, profits from trades opened or closed within 3 minutes before or after a relevant high-impact release may be removed. News trading is permitted during evaluations, but the daily loss limit - 3% on Instant and 5% on 1 Step and 2 Step - counts a slipped stop in full. The minimum hold time is 2 minutes. A plan to take a few seconds of a release's first move does not fit it. ##### Questions **What time does the New York session open in the UK?** At 13:00 UK time for most of the year, closing at 22:00. For a few weeks each March and October-November, when the US and UK clocks are out of step, it opens at 12:00 UK time. **When does the New York session open in India?** At 17:30 IST during US daylight time and 18:30 IST in the US winter, on the usual 08:00 New York convention. ##### Sources 1. Daylight saving time - National Institute of Standards and Technology. https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/popular-links/daylight-saving-time-dst (read 2026-09-23) 2. When do the clocks change? - GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/when-do-the-clocks-change (read 2026-09-23) 3. The Employment Situation - US Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/new-york-session #### What Is FOMC? The Fed Meeting, Explained FOMC stands for the Federal Open Market Committee, the part of the US Federal Reserve that sets the target range for US short-term interest rates. It holds eight scheduled meetings a year. The decision, released with a statement and followed by a press conference, can move every dollar-priced market, including currencies, gold and stock indices. ##### Who is on the FOMC The Committee has twelve voting members: the seven members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and four of the other eleven Reserve Bank presidents, who serve one-year terms on a rotating basis. The presidents who are not voting that year still attend and take part in the discussion. Its main tool is the target range for the federal funds rate - the rate banks charge each other overnight - which feeds into borrowing costs across the economy and into the value of the dollar. ##### When the FOMC meets The FOMC holds eight regularly scheduled meetings a year, published well in advance on the Federal Reserve's calendar, and can meet at other times if needed. Four of the scheduled meetings - usually in March, June, September and December - also publish a Summary of Economic Projections, including each participant's rate expectations, often called the dot plot. Minutes of each meeting are published about three weeks later, and can move markets on their own. ##### How a decision day unfolds On the final day of a scheduled meeting, the statement and decision are released at 14:00 New York time, and the Chair's press conference usually begins half an hour later. Markets often react in two waves: first to the decision and the statement's wording, then to the answers in the press conference, which can move price further or reverse the first move. Because the event lasts well beyond the headline, volatility on an FOMC day is not confined to the minutes around 14:00. See the glossary entry on the [interest rate decision](https://getfundednow.com/glossary/interest-rate-decision) for how rate changes are expressed. **A scheduled decision day in three clocks** | Event | New York | UK (usual) | India (US summer / winter) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Statement and decision | 14:00 | 19:00 | 23:30 / 00:30 next day | | Press conference begins | 14:30 | 19:30 | 00:00 / 01:00 next day | UK times shift an hour earlier in the weeks when the US and UK clocks are out of step. ##### How to identify it Treat an FOMC day as a scheduled event with a known timetable, and plan around it before the day starts. 1. Check the Federal Reserve's published calendar for the meeting dates, and whether this meeting carries projections. 2. Convert 14:00 and 14:30 New York time to your clock. 3. List the positions you hold that are priced in dollars or sensitive to US rates - most major pairs, gold and US indices. 4. Decide in advance whether you will be flat, hold, or trade after the press conference, and write the rule down. 5. Check the news trading rule for your account stage before the day. ##### An FOMC afternoon, described An illustrative sequence in words. It is not a record of any real meeting, decision or price. - Before 14:00: Price drifts in a narrow range as traders wait. Spreads start to widen in the minute before the release. - 14:00: The statement is released. Price moves sharply in one direction within seconds. - 14:30 onward: The press conference begins. An answer about future policy reverses most of the first move over the next half hour. A trader who took the first move and held it would have given most of it back. The event's timetable was known; its direction was not. ##### Common mistakes - **Watching only the headline** The press conference half an hour later often moves markets as much as the decision. - **Assuming only the dollar pairs move** Gold, indices and most crosses react to US rate expectations too. - **Forgetting the minutes** Minutes published three weeks later are a second, smaller scheduled event. ##### Limitations - What the Committee decides, and how markets interpret it, cannot be known in advance; expectations are often wrong. - The two-wave pattern described here is common but not reliable, and some decision days are quiet. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation FOMC decisions are high-impact releases. On a funded GFN account, profits from trades opened or closed within 3 minutes either side of a relevant release may be removed. Instant accounts start at the funded stage, so the rule applies to them from day one. Volatility on the day often outlasts that window. On a $100,000 account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step, and a stop that slips in the first seconds counts at its fill. ##### Questions **What does FOMC stand for?** Federal Open Market Committee. It is the Federal Reserve body that sets the target range for the federal funds rate, the benchmark for US short-term interest rates. **How often does the FOMC meet?** Eight scheduled meetings a year, published in advance on the Federal Reserve's calendar. It can also meet between scheduled meetings if needed. **What time is the FOMC announcement?** The statement is released at 2:00 p.m. New York time on the final day of a scheduled meeting, and the Chair's press conference usually begins at 2:30 p.m. ##### Sources 1. Federal Open Market Committee - Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomc.htm (read 2026-09-22) 2. Meeting calendars and information - Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/what-is-fomc #### NFP Meaning: Non-Farm Payrolls Explained NFP stands for non-farm payrolls: the monthly change in the number of US jobs outside farming, published in the Employment Situation report by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is usually released on the first Friday of the month at 08:30 New York time, and it is among the most market-moving scheduled releases for the dollar. ##### What non-farm payrolls measure The headline figure comes from the establishment survey, a monthly survey of businesses and government agencies. It counts paid jobs, excluding farm workers, private household employees and a few other groups, and reports the change from the previous month. The same report carries a second survey, of households, which produces the unemployment rate. It also includes average hourly earnings and revisions to the previous two months' payroll figures - and markets react to all of them, not only the headline. - Headline payrolls - the monthly change in non-farm jobs. - Unemployment rate - from the separate household survey. - Average hourly earnings - watched as a wage-inflation signal. - Revisions - changes to the two previous months, which can outweigh the new figure. ##### When NFP is released The Employment Situation report is usually published on the first Friday of the month at 08:30 New York time; the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the schedule in advance, and some months fall on a different day. **08:30 New York time, converted** | Clock | US summer | US winter | | --- | --- | --- | | New York | 08:30 | 08:30 | | UK | 13:30 (12:30 in the out-of-step weeks) | 13:30 | | India (IST) | 18:00 | 19:00 | Check the published schedule for each month; the first-Friday pattern has exceptions. ##### Why the market moves on NFP Employment is one of the two things the Federal Reserve is charged with, alongside stable prices, so a surprise in the jobs data changes what traders expect the [FOMC](https://getfundednow.com/learn/what-is-fomc) to do with rates. That expectation feeds straight into the dollar, gold and US stock indices. What moves price is the gap between the figure and what was expected, plus the revisions and wages, read together. A strong headline with weak revisions can produce a move in either direction, and the first reaction frequently reverses within minutes. ##### How to identify it Prepare for a payrolls release the same way each month, before the release, not during it. 1. Confirm the release date on the Bureau of Labor Statistics schedule. 2. Convert 08:30 New York time to your own clock. 3. Note the consensus expectation for the headline, the unemployment rate and earnings from an economic calendar. 4. List the positions exposed to the dollar, gold or US indices, and decide in advance whether to hold them through the release. 5. Check the news trading rule for your account stage. ##### A payrolls release, described An illustrative sequence in words, with no real figures. It is not a record of any actual release. - Before: Spreads widen in the minutes before 08:30 New York time and price goes quiet. - Release: The headline beats expectations. The dollar jumps within seconds, and some stop orders fill well away from their level. - Minutes later: Traders read the downward revisions to the previous months, and the dollar gives back most of the move. The headline decided the first move; the rest of the report decided the next one. Neither was knowable before 08:30. ##### Common mistakes - **Reading only the headline** Revisions and wages can outweigh the new figure and reverse the first move. - **Assuming stops fill at their level** In the seconds after release, a stop can fill far from where it was placed. - **Assuming it is always the first Friday** Most months it is, but the published schedule has exceptions. ##### Limitations - The report cannot be forecast reliably; consensus expectations are frequently missed. - The first reaction is not a guide to the rest of the day, and some releases produce little movement at all. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Payrolls is a high-impact release. On a funded GFN account, profits from trades opened or closed within 3 minutes before or 3 minutes after a relevant release may be removed. News trading is permitted during evaluations. Whatever the stage, the daily loss limit - 3% on Instant and 5% on 1 Step and 2 Step - counts a stop at the price it actually filled. On a $100,000 account, risking $500 with a stop that slips can cost well over $500. ##### Questions **What is the full form of NFP?** Non-farm payrolls. It is the monthly change in US jobs outside farming, published in the Employment Situation report by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. **What time is NFP released in India?** At 18:00 IST during US daylight time and 19:00 IST in the US winter, since the report is released at 08:30 New York time. **Why does NFP move gold?** The jobs data changes expectations for US interest rates, which move the dollar and the cost of holding gold. Gold is priced in dollars, so it reacts alongside the currency. ##### Sources 1. The Employment Situation - US Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm (read 2026-09-22) 2. Schedule of releases for the Employment Situation - US Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/schedule/news_release/empsit.htm (read 2026-09-23) 3. Federal Open Market Committee - Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomc.htm (read 2026-09-22) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/non-farm-payrolls #### Opening Range Breakout (ORB) Strategy ORB stands for opening range breakout: a strategy that marks the high and low price reached in the first minutes of a session - the opening range - and trades a break above or below it. Traders choose the range length, often 5, 15 or 30 minutes, and which session opens they use. Breaks often fail and reverse. ##### What the opening range is The opening range is simply the high and low of a set period at the start of a session. For a currency pair there is no single open, so traders pick one - most often the [London](https://getfundednow.com/learn/london-session) or [New York](https://getfundednow.com/learn/new-york-session) open - and measure the range from it. For an index, the cash market's opening bell is the usual reference. The idea is that the first minutes gather overnight orders and news, and a decisive break of that range shows which side took control. That is an interpretation; the range is only a reference. ##### The choices every ORB strategy makes Small changes to these produce very different results, so they have to be fixed before testing. **ORB design choices** | Choice | Common options | | --- | --- | | Session open | London, New York, or an index's cash open | | Range length | 5, 15, 30 or 60 minutes | | Entry | A trade through the range, or a close beyond it | | Stop | The other side of the range, or its midpoint | | Exit | A multiple of the range, a time of day, or the session close | ##### False breaks and news Obvious range edges attract orders on both sides, so breaks that run a little way and reverse are common. Scheduled releases complicate things: in the New York morning, the 08:30 data can break the range in the first second and reverse in the next. Many ORB traders avoid ranges that straddle a scheduled release. ##### How to identify it Define the range before the session opens, not after. 1. Choose the session open and the range length. 2. Mark the high and low at the end of that period. 3. Check the calendar for releases inside or just after the range. 4. Place entry and stop rules on both sides, and a time after which no new breakout is taken. ##### A 15-minute ORB, described An illustrative session in words, with round numbers standing in for price. It is not taken from any real instrument or date. - Range: In the first 15 minutes after the London open, price trades between 100 and 101. - Break: Twenty minutes later, a candle closes at 101.3, above the range. - Plan: A trader using the strategy buys with a stop below 100.5, the range midpoint, and a target of one range width, 102.3. The break might have reached 102.3 or fallen back into the range. The opening range gave the trader levels to act on, not the direction of the day. ##### Common mistakes - **Changing the range length day to day** An ORB with a moving definition cannot be tested or trusted. - **Trading every break** Most traders filter by trend, volatility or the news calendar. - **Ignoring the second side** A failed break upward often becomes a break downward; plan for both. ##### Limitations - Results depend heavily on the chosen session, range length and costs, and are easy to overfit. - The opening minutes are often the most volatile of the day, when spreads and slippage are highest. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation On a funded GFN account, profits from trades opened or closed within 3 minutes either side of a relevant high-impact release may be removed - which matters for a New York ORB around 08:30. The minimum hold time is 2 minutes. The daily loss limit - 3% on Instant and 5% on 1 Step and 2 Step - resets at the time shown in your dashboard, not at the session open. ##### Questions **What is ORB in trading?** Opening range breakout: marking the high and low of a session's first minutes and trading a break of either side. **What is the best time frame for an opening range breakout?** There is no best one. Common choices are 5, 15, 30 or 60 minutes; the right one depends on the market and must be tested with costs included. ##### Sources 1. Breakout (technical analysis) - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakout_(technical_analysis) (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/opening-range-breakout #### Benchmark Interest Rates and Rate Decisions A benchmark interest rate is the reference rate other borrowing costs are priced from. In trading it usually means a central bank's policy rate: the Federal Reserve's federal funds target range, the Bank of England's Bank Rate or the ECB's deposit facility rate. Changes arrive at scheduled rate decisions, among the most market-moving events for currencies. ##### Two things called a benchmark rate The phrase is used in two ways. The first, and the one that matters most to traders, is a central bank's policy rate: the rate the bank sets, or targets, to steer short-term borrowing costs across its economy. It is decided by a committee at meetings published in advance. The second is a market reference rate - a published measure of what borrowing actually cost, used to price loans and derivatives. The Secured Overnight Financing Rate, SOFR, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, is one: a broad measure of the cost of borrowing cash overnight against Treasury securities. Reference rates follow the policy rate closely, but nobody decides them at a meeting, so they are not the scheduled event this page is about. ##### The benchmark rates traders watch most Every currency has a central bank behind it, but three decisions dominate the major pairs and gold. The [FOMC](https://getfundednow.com/learn/what-is-fomc) page covers the Federal Reserve's committee in detail. **Three policy rates and who sets them** | Central bank | Policy rate | Decided by | Schedule | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Federal Reserve (US) | Target range for the federal funds rate | Federal Open Market Committee | Eight scheduled meetings a year; statement at 14:00 New York time | | Bank of England (UK) | Bank Rate | Monetary Policy Committee | Eight meetings a year | | European Central Bank (euro area) | Deposit facility rate, one of three key ECB rates | Governing Council | Monetary policy meetings on a published calendar, each followed by a press conference | Each bank publishes its meeting dates well in advance. Check the bank's own calendar for dates and announcement times; an economic calendar collects them in one place. ##### Why a rate decision moves currencies A currency's interest rate is part of the return for holding it, so the gap between two countries' rates - the rate differential - feeds into the exchange rate between them. When one bank is expected to raise rates faster than another, its currency tends to be bid in advance of the decision. That is why the decision itself often moves the market less than the guidance around it. The rate is usually anticipated from data such as the [CPI release](https://getfundednow.com/glossary/cpi-release) and [non-farm payrolls](https://getfundednow.com/learn/non-farm-payrolls); what moves price is any gap between the decision and expectations, and any change in what the bank signals about its next steps. See the glossary entry on the [interest rate decision](https://getfundednow.com/glossary/interest-rate-decision) for the short definition. A rate change also changes the [swap](https://getfundednow.com/glossary/swap) charged or credited on positions held overnight, because swap reflects the interest rate difference between the two currencies in a pair. ##### How a decision day unfolds The pattern is similar across the major banks. The decision is published at a pre-announced time with a statement, sometimes with economic projections; a press conference or published minutes follow. Markets often react twice: first to the headline decision and wording, then to the explanation, which can extend or reverse the first move. - Before: price tends to go quiet and spreads widen in the minutes before the announcement. - Announcement: the decision and statement are released at once, and the first move comes in seconds. - Explanation: the press conference or minutes add guidance, and the market reprices on it. - After: the move can carry into the next session, or fade as other markets digest it. ##### How to identify it Treat each rate decision as a scheduled event and do the preparation before the day, not during the announcement. 1. List the central banks behind the instruments you trade - both currencies in a pair, and the Federal Reserve for gold and US indices. 2. Find each bank's next decision date on its own published calendar or on an [economic calendar](https://getfundednow.com/glossary/economic-calendar), and convert the announcement time to your clock. 3. Note what the market expects: a hold, a cut or a rise, and any projections or press conference attached to this meeting. 4. Decide in advance whether you will be flat, hold through it, or wait until after the explanation, and write the rule down. 5. Check the news trading rule for your account stage, and the swap on any position you plan to hold across the decision. ##### A rate decision afternoon, described An illustrative sequence in words, with no real rates or prices. It is not a record of any actual central bank decision. - Expectation: Economic calendars show that the market expects a central bank to hold its policy rate. The currency trades in a narrow range through the morning. - Decision: The bank holds, as expected. The currency barely moves on the headline, but the statement drops a phrase about future rises and it weakens within seconds. - Explanation: In the press conference, the governor says future decisions depend on inflation data. Part of the first move reverses over the next half hour. The rate itself was no surprise; the wording was. A trader who read only the headline would have expected no move at all. The event's timing was known in advance; its direction was not. ##### Common mistakes - **Trading the headline number alone** An expected decision can still move price sharply if the statement or guidance changes. - **Watching only one central bank** A pair has two currencies and two banks behind it. The other side's decision matters as much. - **Forgetting the explanation** The press conference or minutes can move the market as much as the decision, and later in the day. - **Ignoring swap after a rate change** A change to either rate in a pair changes the overnight cost of holding it. ##### Limitations - What a central bank decides, and how markets read it, cannot be known in advance; market expectations are frequently wrong. - Rate differentials are one influence on exchange rates among many, and a currency can move against its interest rate for long periods. - The two-wave reaction described here is common but not reliable; some decision days produce very little movement. ##### On a simulated prop-firm evaluation Rate decisions are high-impact releases. On a funded GFN account, profits from trades opened or closed within 3 minutes either side of a relevant release may be removed. News trading is permitted during evaluations, and Instant accounts start at the funded stage, so the rule applies to them from day one. Volatility on a decision day often outlasts that window, and a stop that slips counts at its fill. On a $100,000 simulated account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step. Holding a position overnight is permitted where the account and market allow it, and swap is charged against equity like any other cost. ##### Questions **What is the benchmark interest rate in the US?** In trading it usually means the target range for the federal funds rate, set by the Federal Open Market Committee at eight scheduled meetings a year. SOFR, published by the New York Fed, is a market reference rate that tracks it closely. **What is the Bank of England's benchmark rate called?** Bank Rate. It is set by the Monetary Policy Committee, which meets eight times a year. **Why do interest rate decisions move forex?** Interest rates are part of the return for holding a currency, so changes in expected rates change what traders will pay for it. What moves price is the gap between the decision and guidance and what the market expected. ##### Sources 1. Federal Open Market Committee - Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomc.htm (read 2026-09-22) 2. Meeting calendars and information - Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm (read 2026-09-22) 3. Interest rates and Bank Rate - Bank of England. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/the-interest-rate-bank-rate (read 2026-09-23) 4. Key ECB interest rates - European Central Bank. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/policy_and_exchange_rates/key_ecb_interest_rates/html/index.en.html (read 2026-09-23) 5. Meetings of the Governing Council and General Council - European Central Bank. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/calendars/mgcgc/html/index.en.html (read 2026-09-23) 6. Secured Overnight Financing Rate data - Federal Reserve Bank of New York. https://www.newyorkfed.org/markets/reference-rates/sofr (read 2026-09-23) Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/benchmark-interest-rate ## Instruments (5) ### Forex Prop Firm Rules for FX Traders Forex pairs can be traded on every GFN programme, at leverage up to 1:50 and $7 per lot round turn. The rules that bite hardest are the funded-account news window around releases such as payrolls, the 2 minutes minimum hold, and the daily loss limit - 3% on Instant, 5% on the others. GFN's answer is an unqualified yes: forex can be traded wherever forex instruments are available through your GFN account. It is the core instrument class on every programme. Covers: Major pairs - the dollar pairs with the tightest spreads and deepest liquidity, Minor pairs, or crosses, between major currencies without the dollar, Exotic pairs, where available, with wider spreads and heavier swap. - Leverage: Up to 1:50 - The ceiling on every programme. Individual pairs can carry less. - Commission: $7 per lot round turn - $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn, charged on the simulated account. - Minimum hold time: 2 minutes - Every trade, every programme, evaluation and funded stages. - Daily loss limit: 3% / 5% / 5% - Instant / 1 Step / 2 Step. The same figure whatever you trade. - Account access: Desktop, web browser and mobile - Login details issued on purchase. #### The rules that bite hardest **The funded-account news window** News trading is permitted during evaluations. On a simulated funded account, profits from trades opened or closed within 3 minutes before or after a relevant high-impact release may be removed. Instant starts at the funded stage, so the funded rule applies from day one. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/news-trading) **The 2 minutes minimum hold** Every trade must stay open for at least 2 minutes, on all three programmes and in both the evaluation and funded stages. It rules out the shortest forex scalps outright, and commission at $7 per lot round turn has to be cleared on every one that remains. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/scalping) **The daily loss limit counts floating losses** A pair moving against an open position uses the daily allowance before anything is closed - $3,000 on a $100,000 Instant account, $5,000 on the 1 Step and 2 Step. Spread and commission come out of the same allowance. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/daily-loss-limit) **Swap on positions held past rollover** Overnight and weekend holding are permitted where the account type and the underlying market allow. Weekend gaps, spread changes and market closures remain the trader's risk, and a gap can trigger a drawdown breach. Financing on a pair held for days reduces equity like any other cost. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/overnight-and-weekend) #### Sessions **Round the clock, Sunday to Friday** Forex trades through the week across the Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York sessions. Hours on your account follow the instrument and its liquidity, so check the instrument information rather than assuming a schedule. **The London-New York overlap** The hours when both sessions are open carry the most volume and the tightest spreads of the day - and most of the scheduled US data, so they also carry the news window. **Thin hours cost more** Late in the New York afternoon and around the Sunday reopen, spreads widen and fills get less predictable. The daily loss limit is the same figure at every hour. #### Risks **Release-driven spikes** Payrolls, inflation data and rate decisions move pairs further in seconds than in the rest of the session, with the widest spreads of the day. Slippage does not excuse a breach. **Correlated positions** Several dollar pairs held at once are frequently one position in disguise. A single dollar move hits all of them against the same daily allowance. **Cost on high-frequency styles** At $7 per lot round turn, twenty round turns a day at one standard lot is $140 of cost to clear before any result counts. #### Sizing a forex trade inside the daily limit A $100,000 1 Step account, a pair worth about $10 per pip per standard lot, and 0.5% risk per trade. - Daily loss limit: $5,000 - 5% of $100,000. - Risk per trade: $500 - One tenth of the daily allowance. - Stop distance: 25 pips - Set by the setup, not by the size you want. - Position size: 2 standard lots - $500 / (25 pips x $10). Round turn cost $14. Ten such losses in a row reach the 5% limit. On Instant, with 3%, it is six. Source: https://getfundednow.com/instruments/forex ### Trading Gold (XAUUSD) on a Funded Account Gold, silver and other metals can be traded on every GFN programme where the instrument is available. Leverage is up to 1:50 and can be lower on metals, commission is $7 per lot round turn, and gold's dollar range makes the daily loss limit - 3% on Instant, 5% elsewhere - the rule to size against first. GFN confirms metals such as gold can be traded where supported instruments are available. Leverage on metals can differ from forex, and the instrument information on your account is the authoritative specification. Covers: Spot gold against the dollar, quoted as XAU/USD, Silver, quoted as XAG/USD, with a wider percentage range and thinner liquidity, Other metals where they are offered on your account. - Leverage: Up to 1:50 - A ceiling. Metals can carry lower leverage than forex. - Commission: $7 per lot round turn - $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn, charged on the simulated account. - Minimum hold time: 2 minutes - Every trade, every programme, evaluation and funded stages. - Daily loss limit: 3% / 5% / 5% - Instant / 1 Step / 2 Step. The same figure whatever you trade. - Account access: Desktop, web browser and mobile - Login details issued on purchase. #### The rules that bite hardest **The daily loss limit meets gold's range** Gold's daily range in dollars dwarfs a currency pair's, and floating losses count against the limit in real time. A forex-sized position on gold can use a $3,000 Instant allowance in a single move. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/daily-loss-limit) **News moves gold hard** News trading is permitted during evaluations. On a simulated funded account, profits from trades opened or closed within 3 minutes before or after a relevant high-impact release may be removed. Instant starts at the funded stage, so the funded rule applies from day one. Rate decisions, inflation and payrolls data all reach gold within seconds. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/news-trading) **Lower leverage binds sooner** Leverage is up to 1:50 as a ceiling and can be lower on metals, so margin runs out at a smaller position than on a major pair. A permitted size does not excuse a breach. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/leverage) **Slippage and spread do not excuse a breach** Spreads on metals widen around releases and at thin hours. The drawdown rules apply through them, so a stop placed close to a limit can fill beyond it. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/slippage-and-spreads) #### Sessions **Near-continuous through the week** Gold trades through most of the week with a short daily break. Your account's instrument information carries the actual schedule, including holiday changes. **Busiest in London and New York** Liquidity and range concentrate in the London morning and the New York open, where the US data calendar lands. **Weekend gaps** Overnight and weekend holding are permitted where the account type and the underlying market allow. Weekend gaps, spread changes and market closures remain the trader's risk, and a gap can trigger a drawdown breach. #### Risks **Dollar range per lot** A one-dollar move in gold is worth far more per lot than a one-pip move in a major pair. Position size has to be set for the instrument, not carried over. **Reaction to real rates** Gold responds to interest rate expectations and risk sentiment, so it can move sharply on news that has nothing to do with metals. **Silver is gold with less depth** Silver tends to follow gold with a larger percentage move and thinner books, which means more slippage at the same size. #### What a gold move costs at size A $100,000 Instant account and a gold contract of 100 ounces per lot - check the specification on your own account, because contract size varies. - Daily loss limit: $3,000 - 3% of $100,000. - Value of a $1 move: $100 per lot - Under the 100-ounce assumption. - A $15 adverse move at 2 lots: $3,000 - An ordinary intraday swing for gold. - Result: Limit reached - Before commission, which comes out of the same allowance. The same $3,000 is 60% of the 1 Step daily allowance of $5,000 - survivable there, fatal on Instant. Source: https://getfundednow.com/instruments/gold ### Trading Indices on a Funded Account Index instruments can be traded on every GFN programme where they are available, at leverage up to 1:50 that can be lower on indices. Unlike forex they keep session hours, so the cash open, overnight gaps and US data releases are where the 3% and 5% daily loss limits are most often reached. GFN confirms indices can be traded where supported instruments are available. Hours follow the underlying market and leverage can be lower than on forex. Covers: Instruments tracking US benchmarks - the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 are the ones most traded, European and Asian benchmarks where they are offered on your account, All traded as contracts for difference on the underlying index, not as shares. - Leverage: Up to 1:50 - A ceiling. Index instruments can carry lower leverage than forex. - Commission: $7 per lot round turn - $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn, charged on the simulated account. - Minimum hold time: 2 minutes - Every trade, every programme, evaluation and funded stages. - Daily loss limit: 3% / 5% / 5% - Instant / 1 Step / 2 Step. The same figure whatever you trade. - Account access: Desktop, web browser and mobile - Login details issued on purchase. #### The rules that bite hardest **The open is where limits get hit** An index cash open prices hours of overnight news in minutes. Floating losses count immediately, so an entry in the first minutes can use a large share of the $5,000 daily allowance on a $100,000 1 Step account. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/daily-loss-limit) **US data and the news window** News trading is permitted during evaluations. On a simulated funded account, profits from trades opened or closed within 3 minutes before or after a relevant high-impact release may be removed. Instant starts at the funded stage, so the funded rule applies from day one. Inflation, payrolls and rate decisions move US indices hardest. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/news-trading) **Overnight and weekend gaps** Overnight and weekend holding are permitted where the account type and the underlying market allow. Weekend gaps, spread changes and market closures remain the trader's risk, and a gap can trigger a drawdown breach. Indices close between sessions, so the gap is part of every multi-day hold. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/overnight-and-weekend) **Trading hours follow the market** There is no GFN schedule: index hours follow the underlying exchange and its holidays, which can bring late opens, early closes or closures. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/trading-hours) #### Sessions **Session hours, not round the clock** Index instruments trade around their home market's session, with a daily break. Check the instrument information on your account for the current schedule. **The cash open** The first hour of the underlying market's session carries the widest range and the widest spreads of the day. **Holidays in the home market** A public holiday in the index's own country can close it or shorten the session even while forex stays open. #### Risks **Point value varies by index** The same number of points means very different dollar risk across indices. Size each one from its own specification. **Earnings and concentration** Technology-heavy benchmarks can move on a single company's results, outside the economic calendar. **Gaps are not stoppable** A stop offers no protection across a closed market. The next price is wherever the index reopens. #### A cash-open move against the daily limit A $100,000 2 Step account and an index instrument worth $10 per point per lot - check your own account's specification. - Daily loss limit: $5,000 - 5% of $100,000. - An 80-point adverse move at 5 lots: $4,000 - A plausible opening swing on a volatile index. - Room left for the day: $1,000 - Before commission. - Same trade on Instant: Breach - The 3% limit is $3,000. Indices reward sizing for the open you are trading, not the quiet hour you planned in. Source: https://getfundednow.com/instruments/indices ### Oil and Commodities on a Funded Account Commodity instruments, including oil where offered, can be traded on every GFN programme where they are available. Leverage is up to 1:50 and can be lower per instrument. Energy moves several percent on inventory and production news, so the daily loss limit - 3% on Instant, 5% elsewhere - binds quickly. GFN confirms commodities can be traded where supported instruments are available. Leverage and hours can differ from forex; the instrument information on your account is authoritative. Covers: Crude oil benchmarks - the US and the international grade - where offered, Natural gas and other energy instruments where offered, Metals are covered on their own page, since gold is the most traded of them. - Leverage: Up to 1:50 - A ceiling. Commodity instruments can carry lower leverage than forex. - Commission: $7 per lot round turn - $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn, charged on the simulated account. - Minimum hold time: 2 minutes - Every trade, every programme, evaluation and funded stages. - Daily loss limit: 3% / 5% / 5% - Instant / 1 Step / 2 Step. The same figure whatever you trade. - Account access: Desktop, web browser and mobile - Login details issued on purchase. #### The rules that bite hardest **Energy ranges against the daily limit** A 3% day in oil is ordinary and natural gas moves further. Floating losses count against the $3,000 Instant or $5,000 1 Step allowance on a $100,000 account while the position is open. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/daily-loss-limit) **Scheduled catalysts and the news window** News trading is permitted during evaluations. On a simulated funded account, profits from trades opened or closed within 3 minutes before or after a relevant high-impact release may be removed. Instant starts at the funded stage, so the funded rule applies from day one. Weekly inventory data is a commodity-specific release worth checking on the calendar. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/news-trading) **Session breaks and gaps** Overnight and weekend holding are permitted where the account type and the underlying market allow. Weekend gaps, spread changes and market closures remain the trader's risk, and a gap can trigger a drawdown breach. Commodities keep session hours with a daily break. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/overnight-and-weekend) **Position size is bounded by margin and limits** There is no single universal lot cap: size is constrained by leverage, margin and the risk limits. A permitted size does not excuse a breach. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/margin-and-lot-size) #### Sessions **Session hours with a daily break** Commodity instruments follow the hours of their underlying market. Check the instrument information on your account. **Inventory days** Weekly inventory reports produce oil's sharpest scheduled moves outside the macro calendar. **Holiday closures** US holidays shorten or close energy sessions, and liquidity thins either side. #### Risks **Supply shocks** Production decisions and geopolitical events move energy without warning and often across a session break. **Natural gas volatility** Gas regularly posts ranges that would be extraordinary in any other instrument. Size it separately. **Thin books off-peak** Outside the main session, commodity spreads widen and fills slip further than on major forex pairs. #### A routine oil move at a forex-style size A $100,000 Instant account and an oil instrument worth $1,000 per $1 move per lot - check your own account's specification. - Daily loss limit: $3,000 - 3% of $100,000. - A $2.50 adverse move: About 3% - A normal day in crude. - At 1.2 lots: $3,000 - The whole Instant daily allowance. - Same position on 1 Step: 60% of the day - Against $5,000. Energy instruments need the smallest positions of any class relative to the account. Source: https://getfundednow.com/instruments/commodities ### Crypto Trading on a Funded Account Cryptocurrency instruments can be traded on every GFN programme where they are available on the platform. They are contracts on the price, not coins, and GFN notes their trading hours and leverage may differ from other classes. Volatility makes the daily loss limit - 3% on Instant, 5% elsewhere - the binding rule. GFN's answer: where cryptocurrency instruments are available on the platform, yes - and trading hours and leverage may differ from other asset classes. Even crypto-based CFD products can carry platform-specific schedules, so they are not necessarily open around the clock. Covers: Contracts tracking the largest cryptocurrencies against the dollar, where offered, Price exposure only - no wallet, no custody and no coin delivered, Hours set by the instrument's schedule on your account, which may not be 24/7. - Leverage: Up to 1:50 - A ceiling. Crypto instruments can carry lower leverage, and often do. - Commission: $7 per lot round turn - $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn, charged on the simulated account. - Minimum hold time: 2 minutes - Every trade, every programme, evaluation and funded stages. - Daily loss limit: 3% / 5% / 5% - Instant / 1 Step / 2 Step. The same figure whatever you trade. - Account access: Desktop, web browser and mobile - Login details issued on purchase. #### The rules that bite hardest **Volatility against the daily limit** Crypto instruments can move several percent in an hour. On a $100,000 Instant account the whole day's allowance is $3,000, and floating losses count while the position is open. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/daily-loss-limit) **Hours are the instrument's, not the coin's** The underlying coin trades continuously, but the instrument on your account keeps its own schedule. A position held into a closed period carries a gap when it reopens. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/trading-hours) **Lower leverage binds sooner** Up to 1:50 is a ceiling. Crypto instruments often carry less, so margin limits a position before the risk limits do. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/leverage) **Weekend holding** Overnight and weekend holding are permitted where the account type and the underlying market allow. Weekend gaps, spread changes and market closures remain the trader's risk, and a gap can trigger a drawdown breach. (https://getfundednow.com/rules/overnight-and-weekend) #### Sessions **Check the instrument schedule** GFN notes crypto CFD products may have platform-specific trading schedules. The instrument information on your account is the only reliable source. **Weekend moves in the underlying** Coins keep trading when other markets close. If your instrument does not, the weekend's move arrives as a gap on the reopen. **Thin liquidity off-peak** Spreads on crypto instruments widen outside the busiest hours, and fills slip further than on major forex pairs. #### Risks **Range per session** A crypto instrument can cover in an hour what a major pair covers in a week. Size from the instrument's own volatility. **Financing on held positions** A contract carries financing while open, so a long-held crypto position pays for the exposure over time and that cost reduces equity. **Headline risk** Crypto reacts to regulatory and exchange news outside any economic calendar, so the news window does not cover every shock. #### A crypto swing against the tightest limit A $100,000 Instant account with $50,000 of notional exposure to a crypto instrument. - Daily loss limit: $3,000 - 3% of $100,000. - A 6% adverse move: $3,000 - Not unusual in a single session. - Result: Limit reached - At half the account's balance in notional. - On 1 Step: 60% of the day - Against $5,000. Notional exposure, not lot count, is the right way to size crypto against a daily limit. Source: https://getfundednow.com/instruments/crypto ## Where Get Funded Now accepts traders Get Funded Now's Terms exclude Iran, North Korea (DPRK), Myanmar, the Russian Federation and Belarus by nationality and by residence, and Crimea and occupied or non-government-controlled parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine by residence. Any market they do not name is not excluded. Age, identity checks and local law still apply. Read from the Terms; last checked 2026-09-22. Full table: https://getfundednow.com/markets | Market | Status | Basis | | --- | --- | --- | | United States | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | United Kingdom | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | India | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Canada | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Australia | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Germany | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | France | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Spain | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Italy | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Netherlands | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Brazil | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | United Arab Emirates | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Nigeria | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | South Africa | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Pakistan | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Philippines | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Vietnam | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Indonesia | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Malaysia | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Singapore | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Turkey | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Poland | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Portugal | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Mexico | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Colombia | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Argentina | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Chile | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Egypt | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Saudi Arabia | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Kenya | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Ireland | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Belgium | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Switzerland | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Austria | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Sweden | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Norway | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Denmark | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Finland | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Czech Republic | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Romania | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Hungary | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Greece | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Bulgaria | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Croatia | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Slovakia | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Ukraine | Partly excluded | Terms §4.2 excludes Crimea and occupied or non-government-controlled parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions | | Kazakhstan | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Bangladesh | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Sri Lanka | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Nepal | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Thailand | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Japan | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | South Korea | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Taiwan | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Hong Kong | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | New Zealand | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Morocco | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Ghana | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Tanzania | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Peru | Not excluded by the Terms | Not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 | | Iran | Excluded | Terms §4.1 (nationality) and §4.2 (residence and access) | | North Korea (DPRK) | Excluded | Terms §4.1 (nationality) and §4.2 (residence and access) | | Myanmar | Excluded | Terms §4.1 (nationality) and §4.2 (residence and access) | | Russian Federation | Excluded | Terms §4.1 (nationality) and §4.2 (residence and access) | | Belarus | Excluded | Terms §4.1 (nationality) and §4.2 (residence and access) | | Crimea | Excluded | Terms §4.2 (residence and access) | | Occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson | Excluded | Terms §4.2 (residence and access) | ### Prop Firm for US Traders: Can You Join GFN? The Terms do not exclude you: the United States is not on Get Funded Now's list of prohibited jurisdictions. You still need to be 18 or over, pass identity verification and use the service only where it is lawful for you. GFN has not published a US-specific legal position, and this page does not assess one. - Status under the Terms: Not a prohibited jurisdiction - The United States is not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 (version of 13 September 2026). §4.3 lets GFN add jurisdictions, so re-check the Terms before you buy. - Payout methods: ACH is one of three listed - The payout FAQ lists ach bank transfer, international bank wire and crypto, through GFN's payout provider. ACH is the US domestic bank-transfer system. - State privacy rights: California, Nevada and other states named - The Privacy Policy says residents of California, Nevada and other US states with privacy legislation may have additional rights, which GFN honours where the relevant law applies to its processing. - Price currency: US dollars - Accounts are denominated in US dollars and every fee is listed in US dollars. The seller is a UK company, so your card issuer may treat the purchase as cross-border - ask them whether a fee applies. - US-specific rules: Not addressed by GFN - GFN has not published how US federal or state rules apply to a simulated-trading evaluation. The Terms leave that determination to you. **Does Get Funded Now accept traders from the United States?** The United States is not a prohibited jurisdiction under GFN's Terms (§4). You must still be 18 or over, pass identity verification and use the service only where it is lawful for you. **Can US traders be paid by ACH?** ACH bank transfer is one of the three payout methods GFN's payout FAQ lists, alongside international bank wire and crypto. Source: https://getfundednow.com/markets/united-states ### UK Prop Firm & Funded Trading Accounts Yes: the United Kingdom is not a prohibited jurisdiction under Get Funded Now's Terms, and GFN is itself a UK company - Bradbury Capital Ltd, registered in England, number 17102934. That registration is not regulation: GFN is not a broker and is not regulated. You need to be 18 or over and pass identity verification. - Status under the Terms: Not a prohibited jurisdiction - The United Kingdom is not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 (version of 13 September 2026). §4.3 lets GFN add jurisdictions, so re-check the Terms before you buy. - The company: Bradbury Capital Ltd, 17102934 - Get Funded Now is a trading name of Bradbury Capital Ltd, registered in England, 6 Harrier Way, Exeter EX2 7HU. The record is public at Companies House. - Regulatory status: Not regulated - A Companies House registration is not a financial-services authorisation. GFN is not a broker, is not regulated, and every account it sells is simulated. - Governing law: England and Wales - The Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, whose courts have jurisdiction - subject to any mandatory right a consumer in Scotland or Northern Ireland has to claim at home. - Data-protection complaints: The UK ICO - The Privacy Policy says UK users may complain to the Information Commissioner's Office. Bradbury Capital Ltd is the data controller. - Account currency: US dollars, not sterling - Accounts are denominated in US dollars and every fee is listed in US dollars. The sterling figures below are an indicative conversion; if you pay with a sterling card, your card issuer sets the rate and may add a fee. **Is Get Funded Now a UK company?** Yes. Get Funded Now is a trading name of Bradbury Capital Ltd, registered in England under company number 17102934, at 6 Harrier Way, Exeter EX2 7HU. **Is Get Funded Now regulated in the UK?** No. GFN is not a broker and is not regulated. A Companies House registration is not a financial-services authorisation, and every GFN account is simulated. **Can UK traders use Get Funded Now?** The United Kingdom is not a prohibited jurisdiction under GFN's Terms (§4). You must be 18 or over and pass identity verification. Source: https://getfundednow.com/markets/united-kingdom ### Prop Firms in India: Can You Join GFN? India is not on Get Funded Now's list of prohibited jurisdictions, so the Terms do not exclude Indian residents. What GFN has not confirmed is whether Indian law, including FEMA and RBI rules, permits you to pay for a simulated evaluation and receive payouts from it. Establish that before you buy - this page cannot answer it. - Status under the Terms: Not a prohibited jurisdiction - India is not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 (version of 13 September 2026). §4.3 lets GFN add jurisdictions, so re-check the Terms before you buy. - Indian law on taking part: Not confirmed by GFN - Whether Indian residents may lawfully pay a foreign company for a simulated-trading evaluation and receive payouts from it - under FEMA (the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999) and the rules of the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) - has not been confirmed. The Terms leave that determination to you. - Payout methods: UPI is not listed - The payout FAQ lists ach bank transfer, international bank wire and crypto. UPI is not one of them, and GFN does not publish which methods its payout provider offers to recipients in India. - Account currency: US dollars, not rupees - Accounts are denominated in US dollars and every fee is listed in US dollars. The rupee figures below are an indicative conversion; if you pay with a rupee card, your bank sets the rate and may add a fee. - Privacy rights: India named in the Privacy Policy - Privacy Policy §14 names India among the jurisdictions whose residents may have additional data rights, which GFN honours where the relevant law applies. **Does Get Funded Now accept traders from India?** India is not a prohibited jurisdiction under GFN's Terms (§4). Whether Indian law, including FEMA and RBI rules, permits taking part has not been confirmed by GFN. **Can I be paid by UPI?** UPI is not a listed payout method. GFN's payout FAQ lists ACH bank transfer, international bank wire and crypto. Source: https://getfundednow.com/markets/india ### Prop Firms in Canada: Can You Join GFN? The Terms do not exclude you: Canada is not on Get Funded Now's list of prohibited jurisdictions. You still need to be 18 or over, pass identity verification and use the service only where it is lawful for you. GFN has not published a Canada-specific legal or tax position, and this page does not assess one. - Status under the Terms: Not a prohibited jurisdiction - Canada is not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 (version of 13 September 2026). §4.3 lets GFN add jurisdictions, so re-check the Terms before you buy. - Account currency: US dollars, not Canadian dollars - Accounts are denominated in US dollars and every fee is listed in US dollars. The Canadian dollars figures below are an indicative conversion; if you pay with a Canadian card, your card issuer sets the rate and may add a fee. - Payout methods: No Canadian domestic rail listed - The payout FAQ lists ach bank transfer, international bank wire and crypto. Interac e-Transfer is not one of them, and GFN does not publish which methods its payout provider offers to recipients in Canada. - Privacy rights: Covered by the general clause, not named - Privacy Policy §14 extends additional rights to residents of countries with privacy legislation, naming the UAE, India and several US states. Canada is not named, so the general clause is the one that applies. - Canadian clocks: Same change dates as the US, with exceptions - Most of Canada moves its clocks on the same dates as the US, which is why Eastern-time session hours match New York's. Saskatchewan, Yukon and parts of British Columbia, Quebec and Nunavut do not observe daylight saving time. **Does Get Funded Now accept traders from Canada?** Canada is not a prohibited jurisdiction under GFN's Terms (§4). You must be 18 or over, pass identity verification and use the service only where it is lawful for you. **Are GFN accounts priced in Canadian dollars?** No. Accounts are denominated and priced in US dollars. The Canadian dollar figures on this page are an indicative conversion at the ECB reference rate. Source: https://getfundednow.com/markets/canada ### Prop Firms in Australia: Can You Join GFN? The Terms do not exclude you: Australia is not on Get Funded Now's list of prohibited jurisdictions. You still need to be 18 or over, pass identity verification and use the service only where it is lawful for you. GFN has not published an Australia-specific legal or tax position, and this page does not assess one. - Status under the Terms: Not a prohibited jurisdiction - Australia is not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 (version of 13 September 2026). §4.3 lets GFN add jurisdictions, so re-check the Terms before you buy. - Account currency: US dollars, not Australian dollars - Accounts are denominated in US dollars and every fee is listed in US dollars. The Australian dollars figures below are an indicative conversion; if you pay with a Australian card, your card issuer sets the rate and may add a fee. - Payout methods: No Australian domestic rail listed - The payout FAQ lists ach bank transfer, international bank wire and crypto. PayID is not one of them, and GFN does not publish which methods its payout provider offers to recipients in Australia. - Privacy rights: Covered by the general clause, not named - Privacy Policy §14 extends additional rights to residents of countries with privacy legislation, naming the UAE, India and several US states. Australia is not named, so the general clause is the one that applies. - Sydney clocks: Daylight saving in the opposite season - New South Wales runs daylight saving from the first Sunday in October to the first Sunday in April - the opposite half of the year to the UK and US - so the gap to London and New York changes by two hours across the year. **Does Get Funded Now accept traders from Australia?** Australia is not a prohibited jurisdiction under GFN's Terms (§4). You must be 18 or over, pass identity verification and use the service only where it is lawful for you. **What time is the London session in Sydney?** Roughly 17:00 to 02:00 AEST in the middle of the year and 19:00 to 04:00 AEDT in the Australian summer, on the usual 08:00-17:00 London convention. Source: https://getfundednow.com/markets/australia ### Prop Firms in South Africa: Join GFN? The Terms do not exclude you: South Africa is not on Get Funded Now's list of prohibited jurisdictions. You still need to be 18 or over, pass identity verification and use the service only where it is lawful for you. GFN has not published a South Africa-specific legal or tax position, and this page does not assess one. - Status under the Terms: Not a prohibited jurisdiction - South Africa is not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 (version of 13 September 2026). §4.3 lets GFN add jurisdictions, so re-check the Terms before you buy. - Account currency: US dollars, not rand - Accounts are denominated in US dollars and every fee is listed in US dollars. The rand figures below are an indicative conversion; if you pay with a rand card, your card issuer sets the rate and may add a fee. - Payout methods: No South African domestic rail listed - The payout FAQ lists ach bank transfer, international bank wire and crypto. No South African domestic payment method is one of them, and GFN does not publish which methods its payout provider offers to recipients in South Africa. - Privacy rights: Covered by the general clause, not named - Privacy Policy §14 extends additional rights to residents of countries with privacy legislation, naming the UAE, India and several US states. South Africa is not named, so the general clause is the one that applies. - South African clocks: SAST, UTC+2, all year - South Africa does not observe daylight saving time, so session times in SAST move only when the UK or US change their clocks - and the Tokyo session never moves. **Does Get Funded Now accept traders from South Africa?** South Africa is not a prohibited jurisdiction under GFN's Terms (§4). You must be 18 or over, pass identity verification and use the service only where it is lawful for you. **What time does the London session open in South Africa?** At 10:00 SAST in the UK winter and 09:00 SAST in the UK summer, on the usual 08:00 London convention. South Africa does not change its clocks. Source: https://getfundednow.com/markets/south-africa ### Prop Firm Malaysia: Can You Join GFN? The Terms do not exclude you: Malaysia is not on Get Funded Now's list of prohibited jurisdictions. You still need to be 18 or over, pass identity verification and use the service only where it is lawful for you. GFN has not published a Malaysia-specific legal or tax position, and this page does not assess one. - Status under the Terms: Not a prohibited jurisdiction - Malaysia is not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 (version of 13 September 2026). §4.3 lets GFN add jurisdictions, so re-check the Terms before you buy. - Account currency: US dollars, not ringgit - Accounts are denominated in US dollars and every fee is listed in US dollars. The ringgit figures below are an indicative conversion; if you pay with a ringgit card, your card issuer sets the rate and may add a fee. - Payout methods: No Malaysian domestic rail listed - The payout FAQ lists ach bank transfer, international bank wire and crypto. DuitNow is not one of them, and GFN does not publish which methods its payout provider offers to recipients in Malaysia. - Privacy rights: Covered by the general clause, not named - Privacy Policy §14 extends additional rights to residents of countries with privacy legislation, naming the UAE, India and several US states. Malaysia is not named, so the general clause is the one that applies. - Malaysian clocks: MYT, UTC+8, all year - Malaysia does not observe daylight saving time, so session times in MYT move only when the UK or US change their clocks - and the Tokyo session never moves. **Does Get Funded Now accept traders from Malaysia?** Malaysia is not a prohibited jurisdiction under GFN's Terms (§4). You must be 18 or over, pass identity verification and use the service only where it is lawful for you. **What time is the London session in Malaysia?** At 16:00 MYT in the UK winter and 15:00 MYT in the UK summer, on the usual 08:00 London convention. Malaysia does not change its clocks. Source: https://getfundednow.com/markets/malaysia ### Prop Firms in Singapore: Can You Join GFN? The Terms do not exclude you: Singapore is not on Get Funded Now's list of prohibited jurisdictions. You still need to be 18 or over, pass identity verification and use the service only where it is lawful for you. GFN has not published a Singapore-specific legal or tax position, and this page does not assess one. - Status under the Terms: Not a prohibited jurisdiction - Singapore is not named in Terms §4.1 or §4.2 (version of 13 September 2026). §4.3 lets GFN add jurisdictions, so re-check the Terms before you buy. - Account currency: US dollars, not Singapore dollars - Accounts are denominated in US dollars and every fee is listed in US dollars. The Singapore dollars figures below are an indicative conversion; if you pay with a Singapore card, your card issuer sets the rate and may add a fee. - Payout methods: No Singaporean domestic rail listed - The payout FAQ lists ach bank transfer, international bank wire and crypto. PayNow is not one of them, and GFN does not publish which methods its payout provider offers to recipients in Singapore. - Privacy rights: Covered by the general clause, not named - Privacy Policy §14 extends additional rights to residents of countries with privacy legislation, naming the UAE, India and several US states. Singapore is not named, so the general clause is the one that applies. - Singapore clocks: SGT, UTC+8, all year - Singapore does not observe daylight saving time, so session times in SGT move only when the UK or US change their clocks - and the Tokyo session never moves. **Does Get Funded Now accept traders from Singapore?** Singapore is not a prohibited jurisdiction under GFN's Terms (§4). You must be 18 or over, pass identity verification and use the service only where it is lawful for you. **What time does the New York session open in Singapore?** At 21:00 SGT in the US winter and 20:00 SGT during US daylight time, on the usual 08:00 New York convention. Source: https://getfundednow.com/markets/singapore