FTMO rules: the numbers that decide a pass or a fail

FTMO runs two challenges. The 2-Step asks for 10% then 5%, with a 5% daily loss and a 10% max loss that never moves. The 1-Step asks for 10% in one go, with a tighter 3% daily loss, a 10% max loss that trails your best end-of-day balance, and a Best Day rule. Both daily limits reset at midnight Prague time (CE(S)T) and are checked against equity, so open trades count.

Below are the rules side by side, a worked example on a $100,000 account, and the specific ways traders run out of room at FTMO.

2-Step and 1-Step side by side

Both run with no time limit. Prices are shown in euros at checkout and change with promotions, so we do not list them here: check the current price on FTMO's site.

How the daily loss is really calculated

At 00:00 CE(S)T, midnight in Prague, FTMO takes your balance and subtracts 5% of your initial capital (3% on the 1-Step). Your equity, including open trades, swaps and commissions, may not touch that number until the next midnight. On day one the starting figure is the initial capital.

The 1-Step trailing max loss and Best Day rule

On the 1-Step, the 10% max loss is recalculated every midnight as your highest end-of-day balance (or the initial capital, if higher) minus 10% of initial capital. It only rises. Close a day at $104,000 on a $100,000 account and your floor becomes $94,000 for good.

The Best Day rule says your best day may not be more than 50% of your Positive Days' Profit, the sum of all profitable days. Going over it is not a breach. You simply keep trading until the ratio is back at 50% or lower, both to pass and to qualify for a reward. If your best day is $6,000, your profitable days need to add up to at least $12,000.

News, weekends, EAs and rewards

• News: no restriction during the Challenge or Verification. On a funded Standard account you may not open or close trades on targeted instruments from 2 minutes before to 2 minutes after selected releases, and a stop or target filling inside that window counts. Swing accounts are exempt.
• Weekends: on a funded Standard account, close positions before the weekend market close. No restriction in evaluation or on Swing, which runs at up to 1:30 leverage instead of 1:100.
• EAs: allowed. FTMO warns that a third-party EA many other traders run can clash with its capital allocation rules.
• Rewards: request from the 14th day after your first trade, all positions closed. The 2-Step fee is refunded with the first reward.
• Scaling: after a 4-month cycle with at least 10% net profit and 2 processed rewards, the balance grows 25% and the split moves to 90%, up to $2,000,000.

FTMO's copy trading position was not stated on the pages we read, so check the firm's current rules before you copy between accounts. For the deep dive on every threshold, read our FTMO rules explained guide.

How traders fail FTMO's rules

A simple risk budget for an FTMO account

Work backwards from the limit, not forwards from the target. On a $100,000 2-Step the daily room is $5,000 and the total room is $10,000. If you decide that no single day may use more than half of the daily room, your working daily stop is $2,500. At 0.5% risk per trade that is five losing trades, which is more than most traders take in a session.

The target looks after itself at that size. Ten percent is $10,000; at 0.5% risk and a 2R average winner you need ten net winning trades over the phase, with no time limit to do it in. On the 1-Step, halve the daily stop again, because a 3% limit gives you $3,000 of room and the trailing max loss tightens as you make money.

Write the plan into your journal before the phase starts, then check each day's result against it, not against how you feel.

Track FTMO in the RB journal

The RB journal's Prop Tracker, inside Risk Manager, has FTMO presets for the 2-Step, the 1-Step and Swing, with the limits and source link already filled in.

1. Open Risk Manager, add a prop account, and pick FTMO, Standard 2-Step (or 1-Step or Swing) and your size.
2. Log trades as you take them, or sync MT4 and MT5 live through the RBSync EA, so the tracker sees your equity.
3. Read Daily room left before each entry. Size the trade so one full stop uses no more than a quarter of it.
4. Watch Room Left on the max loss. On the 1-Step the journal trails it on live equity, stricter than FTMO's end-of-day trail, so it warns you early, never late.
5. If an account ends, mark it breached with the reason. Your firm history then shows spend against payouts, and which rule keeps costing you.

Our FTMO trading journal page walks through the setup screen by screen.