Static vs EOD vs intraday trailing drawdown, with numbers

The example

A $50,000 evaluation with a $2,000 max loss. You start at $50,000, so the floor — the balance at which the account is closed — starts at $48,000. On day 1 your balance reaches $51,500 during the session and you close the day at $51,000.

Static drawdown

The floor never moves: it stays at $48,000 whatever you do. After day 1 you have $3,000 of room. It's the most forgiving type, and the rarest.

End-of-day (EOD) trailing drawdown

The floor follows your highest closing balance, once a day. You closed at $51,000, so tomorrow the floor is $49,000: $2,000 of room again. What happened during the session doesn't count — only the close.

Intraday trailing drawdown

The floor follows your highest balance in real time, including open profits. You touched $51,500, so the floor is now $49,500 — and you closed at $51,000, so you have only $1,500 of room. A trade that goes $500 your way and comes back has moved the floor for good.

When the floor stops

On most accounts a trailing floor stops rising once it reaches the starting balance (here $50,000, after the balance reaches $52,000). From then on it behaves like a static drawdown. On funded accounts this level is often called the buffer or the lock — check where it is on each card.

How much harder each type is

For a trader with no edge — every trade a coin flip — the chance of reaching a target before the floor, with the target 1.5 times the max loss:

• Static: 40%
• EOD trailing: 28%
• Intraday trailing: 25%

With a target equal to the max loss: 50%, 42% and 37%. Skill raises all three, but the order stays the same. These are the numbers behind our Challenge score (how we score). Ranked lists: static drawdown accounts and EOD drawdown accounts.

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