Guide · 6 min read

The consistency rule, explained with numbers

One great day can delay your payout. Here is the arithmetic, and how to plan around it.

Guides › The consistency rule

What the rule measures

The consistency rule caps how much of your total profit a single day may represent. It is written as a percentage: with a 40% rule, your best day must be no more than 40% of everything you have made on the account.

The exact percentage, and whether it applies to the evaluation, the funded account or only the payout request, depends on the firm — check each firm's page in our firm guides.

A worked example

Say your total profit is $2,000 and your best day made $1,200. That day is 60% of your profit. Under a 40% rule, you are over.

To get back under, your total profit has to reach $1,200 ÷ 0.40 = $3,000 — so you need $1,000 more, made without a new day bigger than $1,200. If you have one more $1,500 day, the bar moves again: $1,500 ÷ 0.40 = $3,750.

The consistency rule calculator does this arithmetic for any best day and any percentage.

Why firms use it

A firm wants to fund traders who can repeat what they do, not one lucky session. The rule makes one outsized day worth less than several ordinary ones — which is also, conveniently, the way most traders keep an account alive.

It usually delays the money, not the account

On most firms, breaking consistency does not fail the account: it blocks or postpones the payout until the share comes back under the cap. That is why it is easy to ignore — until the day you request a withdrawal and find it refused.

How to trade with it

How Propbook shows it

Propbook recalculates each account's consistency share after every trade you log, import or sync, next to its drawdown and target, and puts it in the payout verdict: when every condition is met, the account shows Payout ready.

Know your share before you ask for the money

Propbook shows each account's consistency share and payout verdict, recalculated after every trade you log — free, no card.

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FAQ

Does breaking the consistency rule fail my account?

On most firms it blocks or delays the payout rather than failing the account. Some firms apply it during the evaluation too — check the firm's own rules.

How do I calculate how much more profit I need?

Divide your best day by the consistency percentage: that is the total profit you need. Subtract what you have already made. A $1,200 best day under a 40% rule needs $3,000 of total profit.

Do losing days count?

The rule compares your best day with your total net profit, so losing days lower the total and push the share up.

Does Propbook know my firm's percentage?

Its presets carry the rules of 19+ firms, and every number stays editable if your account differs.

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