Understanding Profit Targets
How the 6% profit target works in each phase, and how to plan your trading to reach it safely.
What It Means
Each evaluation phase requires you to reach a 6% profit target on the starting balance. For a $10K account, you need to grow equity from $10,000 to $10,600. For a $100K account, from $100,000 to $106,000. The target is the same in both Phase 1 and Phase 2.
The 6% target is not arbitrary — it is set at a level that demonstrates trading competence without being so easy that luck plays a major role, nor so difficult that it requires extraordinary performance. Combined with the drawdown limits, it creates a risk-reward framework: you can lose at most 7% but need to gain 6%. The asymmetric risk (lose 7% or gain 6%) forces you to be selective with your trades.
Profit Targets by Account Size
| Feature | $5K | $10K | $25K | $50K | $100K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Balance | $5,000 | $10,000 | $25,000 | $50,000 | $100,000 |
| Phase 1 Target | $5,300 | $10,600 | $26,500 | $53,000 | $106,000 |
| Phase 2 Target | $5,300 | $10,600 | $26,500 | $53,000 | $106,000 |
| Profit Needed | $300 | $600 | $1,500 | $3,000 | $6,000 |
Why 6%?
The 6% profit target is calculated based on industry data about what consistent traders can achieve. A 6% return over a reasonable period (e.g., 2-8 weeks) is challenging but achievable for a skilled trader using 1:100 leverage. It filters out underperformers while remaining realistic for those with a genuine edge.
With 1:100 leverage, a 1% move in the right direction on a standard lot size can represent a significant percentage of your account. However, leverage works both ways — the same move against you can breach your drawdown limits quickly. The 6% target requires you to find a balance between using enough leverage to reach the target and maintaining drawdown protection.
Key Rules About Profit Targets
- Exact target: Your equity must hit or exceed 6% above the starting balance. Partial completion does not carry over.
- Same target in both phases: Phase 2 resets to the starting balance, so you need to earn 6% again from scratch.
- No time pressure: You can take as long as you need to reach the target. Some traders finish in 2 weeks, others take 3 months.
- Minimum 4 trading days: Even if you hit 6% on Day 2, you need to keep trading until Day 4.
- Stop at the target: Once your equity reaches the target, stop trading that phase. Additional trades only add unnecessary risk.
Approach Strategies
There is no single correct way to reach 6%. Your approach depends on your trading style:
- Conservative approach: Target 0.5-1% per trade with high probability setups. This gives you room for 6-12 losing trades before hitting drawdown limits. It takes longer but has a higher pass rate.
- Moderate approach: Target 1-2% per trade with a 1:2 risk-reward ratio. This balances speed with safety and is the most common approach among successful traders.
- Aggressive approach: Target 2-3% per trade. This is riskier because a single loss can use up most of your daily drawdown allowance. Only recommended if you have a very high win rate.
Risk-Reward Reality
Allowed Examples
You trade a $10K challenge with 0.5% risk per trade and 1:2 risk-reward. After 15 trades (10 wins, 5 losses), your equity is $10,500. On the 16th trade, you win and hit $10,608.
You hit 6% in a controlled, consistent manner. Each loss was small (0.5%), and the wins were larger (1%). This is the ideal approach.
You are at $10,590 with 3 trading days remaining to meet the 4-day minimum. You take a small 0.1% risk trade to hit $10,600 exactly on Day 4.
You met the minimum day requirement and used a negligible-risk trade to cross the target. Smart management of the last few dollars.
Violation Examples
You reach $10,600 on Day 2 of Phase 1 but stop trading. The system does not count this as a pass because you have not traded 4 calendar days.
Even though you hit the profit target, the 4-day minimum is a separate requirement. You must trade on at least 4 separate calendar days.
You are at $10,580 and take a full lot size trade hoping to hit $10,600 quickly. The trade goes against you and drops your equity to $10,150, breaching the 3% daily drawdown.
Overtrading near the target is a common failure mode. You were close to passing but took unnecessary risk and failed.
Common Mistakes
- Getting impatient near the target and increasing position sizes, which leads to drawdown breaches just before passing.
- Not accounting for trading costs (spreads, commissions, swaps) when calculating how much profit you actually need.
- Assuming that because 6% is the target, you should aim for 6% returns every month on the funded account — funded accounts have no profit target.
- Comparing your progress to other traders — some finish in days, others in months. Your pace is valid as long as you do not breach drawdown.
- Forgetting that Phase 2 resets to zero. Hitting 6% once does not mean you can relax in Phase 2 — you need to do it again.
- Trading through a profit target accidentally by not monitoring equity in real time.