Drawdown rules: what triggers you to step back to demo?

A predetermined drawdown level that sends you back to demo — or to smaller size — turns a spiral into a pit stop. Without one, the account decides for you, usually at zero.

Drawdown rules: what triggers you to step back to demo? — drawdown and recovery diagram
An equity curve during a drawdown and its recovery

What's your trigger?

  • the drawdown percentage or R level
  • what stepping back looks like for you
  • whether you've honoured the rule when it fired
Drawdown rules: what triggers you to step back to demo? — support and resistance diagram
Price bouncing between support and resistance

The drawdown guide shows how much harder recovery gets the deeper you go.

Background: Drawdown and recovery: why a 50% loss needs a 100% gain

Losses and gains aren't symmetrical. See how much you need to recover from a drawdown, what losing streaks do at different risk levels and how to set limits.

How much do you need to gain to recover from a 50% loss?

100%. The gain needed is the loss divided by one minus the loss, so larger drawdowns need disproportionately larger gains.

What is maximum drawdown?

The largest fall in account value from a peak to a later low, before a new peak is reached, usually expressed as a percentage.

Read the full guide

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