GLOSSARY · PROP FIRMS
What is consistency rule?
A consistency rule limits how much of a trader's total profit may come from a single day or single trade, intended to filter out results driven by one lucky position.
What it means
Caps vary by firm. FTMO's Best Day Rule requires that "your Best Day does not represent more than 50% of your Positive Days' Profit", and Topstep's Trading Combine requires that "Your single best day of profit must stay at or below 55% of your Profit Target". Going over usually delays the pass or the payout rather than failing the account: at Topstep, "If it exceeds that, your Profit Target increases."
Why it matters
The intent is reasonable — it distinguishes a repeatable process from one large gamble — but it penalises legitimate strategies with uneven return distributions. Breakout systems in particular make much of their money on a small number of days by design.
What this changes in practice
It is one of the rules most likely to be overlooked when configuring a bot, because it does not fail the account, it silently withholds the payout. Read it before starting rather than at withdrawal time, and check whether it applies to the evaluation, the funded stage, or both.
Related terms
- Payout splitThe payout split is the share of funded-account profits the trader keeps, commonly 80% to 90%, w…
- Funded accountA funded account is the trading account a prop firm gives you after you pass its paid evaluation…
- Prop firmA prop firm, short for proprietary trading firm, gives traders an account to trade in return for…
- Evaluation challengeAn evaluation challenge is the paid assessment phase in which a trader must hit a profit target …
- Profit targetA profit target is the gain you must make in a prop firm evaluation to pass it, usually 8% to 10…
Further reading
Educational information only, not financial advice. Trading leveraged products carries substantial risk of loss. Last updated 2026-09-09.