Risk Controls
Understanding PropShopTrader’s Risk Controls and Trading Guidelines is essential to structured participation.The following outlines core parameters within the Evaluation phase.
Maximum Adverse Excursion (MAE)
MAE is calculated per trade and is limited to 50% of the original account drawdown.
Example: A $2,500 drawdown account has a maximum per-trade MAE of $1,250.
MAE Enforcement
- MAE Enforcement:
- MAE rules differ between Gladiator Light and the Gladiator Forge & Sprint accounts. Stocks (Equities) accounts and Legacy Gladiator Futures accounts follow the Light three-warning model; Forge and Sprint use the instant-fail model below.
Gladiator Light, Stocks, and Legacy: Three-Warning System
- One (1) MAE warning resets qualifying trading days
- Three (3) MAE warnings result in permanent account failure
- MAE warnings do not reset
- One MAE warning per account per day maximum
- MAE violations are final and not subject to appeal
Gladiator Sprint & Forge: Instant-Fail (Single Trigger)
- Gladiator Sprint and Gladiator Forge accounts are governed by a single instant-fail trigger – Single-Trade MAE. The first occurrence of that trigger fails the account immediately.
- Trigger – Single-Trade MAE. The account fails the moment any open trade’s unrealized loss reaches the MAE Cap, or any single trade closes with a realized loss equal to or greater than that threshold.
- Daily Loss Limit (soft breach – not a fail). When net daily P&L (realized + unrealized) reaches the Daily Loss Limit in loss on a calendar trading day, all positions are closed and the trader is locked out until the next session (6:00 PM EST). It does not by itself fail the account. The Single-Trade MAE instant-fail and the account’s Max Drawdown still apply.
- For Forge, the Daily Loss Limit equals the MAE Cap for the same account size and variant. For Sprint, the MAE Cap and the Daily Loss Limit are different values (the DLL is higher) – see the table.
| Account / Variant | MAE Cap / Position (instant-fail) | Daily Loss Limit (soft breach) |
|---|---|---|
| Forge — 25K Intraday DD | $625 | $625 |
| Forge — 25K EOD DD | $612.50 | $612.50 |
| Forge — 50K Intraday DD | $1,250 | $1,250 |
| Forge — 50K EOD DD | $1,125 | $1,125 |
| Sprint — 25K (EOD DD) | $500 | $625 |
| Sprint — 50K (EOD DD) | $1,000 | $1,250 |
Forge instant-fail violations are final and not subject to appeal.
MAE limits exist to ensure position sizing remains aligned with structured risk parameters.
Hedging
Hedging between accounts in the same instrument is prohibited.
Not Permitted
- Simultaneous long and short positions in the same symbol across multiple accounts
- Micro-to-parent contract offsetting (e.g., MES ↔ ES)
- Synthetic neutrality designed to reduce genuine market exposure
Permitted
- Correlated market positioning (e.g., Long ES / Short NQ)
- Multi-asset exposure (e.g., Futures and related equities)
All activity is monitored for risk integrity.
Prohibited Practices
Once transitioned to Real Prop:
- Gambling-style risk concentration
- Excessive drawdown exposure on single trades
- Account manipulation or collusion
- Automation abuse
- Activity intended to circumvent program structure
All trading must reflect structured, risk-aligned behavior consistent with professional standards.
