Most traders who buy an evaluation don't pass it. Topstep reports that 16.8% of its Trading Combines were passed in 2025. The traders who pass are rarely the ones with the best entries. They are the ones whose risk plan fits the rules.
Start with the maths
A typical $50K futures evaluation asks for $3,000 profit with a $2,000 maximum loss. That means you need to make 1.5 times what you are allowed to lose, without ever giving back $2,000 from your best point if the limit trails.
Forex two-step evaluations look different: on a $100K account you usually need 8–10% in phase one and 5% in phase two, with a 5% daily limit and a 10% static maximum loss.
Size every trade from the drawdown
A common rule of thumb is to risk no more than a tenth of your maximum loss on one trade. On a $2,000 limit that is $200. At that size, five losers in a row costs $1,000 and you are still in the game.
| Risk per trade | Losers to fail | Winners at 2R to pass |
|---|---|---|
| $500 | 4 | 3 |
| $250 | 8 | 6 |
| $200 | 10 | 8 |
Bigger size passes faster when it works, and fails faster when it doesn't. The second outcome is more common.
Set your own daily stop
Some firms enforce a daily loss limit (Apex's evaluation and Alpha Futures Zero use $1,000; most forex firms use 5%). Even where there is none, set your own, such as $400–$500 on a $50K account. Most blown accounts come from one bad day of revenge trading, not a slow bleed.
Know the consistency rule
Many futures firms limit how much of your profit can come from one day:
- 50%: Apex at payout, Take Profit Trader's Test, MyFundedFutures and LucidFlex in the evaluation.
- 40%: Tradeify Select in the evaluation, Alpha Futures once funded.
- Topstep: your best day should stay under 55% of the target; if it doesn't, the target rises instead of failing you.
Plan for minimum days
Minimum trading days range from none (Apex) to 5 per phase (FundedNext, FXIFY). Don't rush to hit a target in two days if the firm needs five; you only add risk.
A pre-purchase checklist
- Is the drawdown static, end-of-day trailing or intraday trailing?
- Is there a daily loss limit, and does it close your positions or fail the account?
- Is there a consistency rule in the evaluation, at payout, or both?
- What does it cost after you pass (activation fee, monthly fees)?
- Does it support your platform and the hours you trade?
Our firm-matching quiz checks most of these for you.
Go deeper
- The maths of passing: simulated pass rates and a simulator for your own statistics.
- Consistency rules decoded: daily caps for every rule and a checker.
- Sizing NQ, ES, CL and gold inside a drawdown: sizing grids and a calculator.