What does buffer mean on a prop firm account?

The live distance between your balance and the maximum loss limit that closes the account. On a trailing account it does not grow with profit until the floor stops trailing, because the floor rises alongside your balance.

Does the trailing drawdown ever stop moving?

At most firms, yes. The floor typically stops trailing once it reaches the original starting balance, and some firms lock it slightly above — Apex locks $100 above the starting balance (thortradecopier, May 2026). After that the account behaves like a static one.

Which is better, a bigger drawdown or an EOD buffer?

It depends on how your strategy loses. If your trades routinely build open profit and give some back, EOD is worth more than extra dollars, because intraday tracking charges you for the giveback. If you cut fast and rarely sit underwater, a larger allowance on an intraday account may be the better deal.

How do I calculate my current buffer?

Take the highest recorded balance the firm uses for trailing — end-of-day close for EOD accounts, intraday peak including open profit for intraday accounts — subtract the maximum drawdown to get the floor, then subtract that floor from your current balance.

Strategy · 7 min read

How to write trading strategy rules so they can be coded

A strategy writeup is finished when someone else could execute it from the document alone, without asking a single question. Most writeups fail that test at the first "usually" or "depends." Here is the template that passes it — and the test that proves it.

The test a writeup has to pass

Hand the document to a competent trader who has never seen the strategy. If they have to ask what "strong momentum" means, or when "the session" starts, or what to do on FOMC day, the writeup is not done. Every rule has to be a condition that is either true or false at the moment of decision. That is what "can be coded" means — not that it will be, but that it could be.

The template

1. Instrument and timeframe. One instrument, one chart timeframe, stated. If the strategy reads a higher timeframe, state which one and how the value is requested (closed bar only, or the forming bar).

2. Session and time filter. The clock window in which entries are allowed, in one named timezone. Whether positions are closed at a fixed time. What happens to an open position at the window's end.

3. Entry condition. A boolean built from observable values: prices, indicator readings with parameters, bar states. "Buy when price breaks above the opening range high on a closed 5-minute bar, opening range defined as 9:30–9:45 ET" passes. "Buy on a breakout" does not.

4. Position size. The formula, not the number. "Contracts = floor(risk_per_trade / (stop_distance_ticks × tick_value))" with risk_per_trade defined against the account's drawdown floor. On a prop account this is the rule that decides survival; it deserves its own line, not a footnote.

5. Stop loss. Where, in ticks or as a function of a measured value (ATR, range). Whether it moves. If it trails, the exact trailing rule.

6. Exit. Target, time exit, signal exit — whichever apply, each as a condition. If there are multiple legs, the size of each leg and its trigger.

7. Re-entry. Cooldown after a stop, whether the signal must re-trigger, maximum attempts per session. See re-entry rules.

8. Scheduled events. What the strategy does on FOMC, CPI, NFP days: flat window (state the times), reduced size (state the fraction), or trade through. "Depends on the setup" is the discretionary answer and fails the test.

9. Prop firm constraints. The daily loss limit, the drawdown model (EOD or intraday), the consistency rule, minimum days — and how each rule above respects them. If the strategy is meant for a specific firm, name it and date the rule check.

10. What is not a rule. A short list of things the trader is explicitly not allowed to decide live: moving stops, adding to losers, skipping signals, trading outside the window. Writing the prohibitions down is what makes the document enforceable.

The two words that fail the test

Usually and depends. Every appearance of either is a decision that has been pushed from the document to the live session. Replace each one with the condition it hides, or with an explicit "this is left to discretion" — which is allowed, as long as it is written down and counted.

Why this matters more on a funded account

A prop firm rule set is itself a writeup — a set of binary conditions the account must satisfy. A strategy written to the same standard can be checked against it line by line. A strategy that lives in the trader's head cannot, which is why the same trader passes one evaluation and blows the next: the strategy did not change, the unwritten parts did.

Download the writeup template — the ten sections as a one-page checklist.

FAQ

What should a trading strategy writeup include?

Instrument and timeframe, session filter, entry condition, sizing formula, stop, exit, re-entry rule, scheduled-event handling, prop firm constraints, and an explicit list of what is not a rule. Each as a condition that is true or false at the moment of decision.

How do I know if my strategy rules are specific enough?

Hand the writeup to a trader who has never seen the strategy. If they can execute it without asking a question, it passes. The words "usually" and "depends" are the usual failures.

Do I need to code the strategy for the writeup to matter?

No. The standard is that it could be coded. A writeup at that standard is checkable against a prop firm rule set line by line, whether or not a script ever exists.

What is the most commonly missing rule?

Scheduled-event handling. Most writeups say nothing about FOMC or CPI, which means the decision is made live at the worst possible moment.

Firm rules verified against official documentation and current third-party rule trackers in September 2026. Prop firm rules change frequently; confirm on the firm's site before purchasing an evaluation.

Tools →Re-entry rules →