Trailing vs static drawdown, explained in 3 minutes
The single rule that blows more evaluations than bad trading. Learn how each type works and which one suits your style.
Most traders who fail an evaluation did not blow up. They got squeezed out by a drawdown rule they never fully read. Here is the whole thing in three minutes.
Trailing drawdown
Your maximum loss level follows your account's highest point — including unrealised profit on open trades. Go up $900 intraday, close at +$100, and your buffer has permanently tightened by $900.
End-of-day drawdown
The same idea, but it only recalculates at the daily close. Intraday spikes do not count against you. Much gentler on scalpers who take heat before their target.
Static drawdown
A fixed floor set from your starting balance that never moves at all. Simplest to manage and now genuinely rare in futures — Apex still offers a static variant on its $100k account, but most firms have settled on end-of-day instead.
| Type | Moves with profit? | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Trailing | Yes — intraday | Traders who exit at target |
| End-of-day | Yes — at close | Scalpers and intraday traders |
| Static | No | Everyone else |
If you regularly let a winner run and give some back, an intraday trailing account will eat you alive. Take end-of-day — it is now the default at most major firms and costs you nothing extra.
Next step
Put it into practice
Compare every firm against what you just read, then grab the live offer before you buy.