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Forex prop firm · review & rules

Trade The Pool

8.0/ 10

The5ers' stock-trading sibling — a US-equities prop firm where you trade 12,000+ real stocks and ETFs (long and short, no locate fees, no PDT rule) on buying power rather than forex lots. The catches are an equity-based daily pause that counts unrealized P&L, consistency measured against the profit TARGET (one big winner can disqualify you), a $1.50 penny-stock floor, and automation locked to SignalStack only.

Trade The Pool Locking Drawdown Rule: The Floor That Never Drops45s explainer, decoded by FundedWiki

Every Trade The Pool rule, on video

A short explainer for each rule — tap one to watch and read the full breakdown.

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The FundedWiki verdict

8.0/10

The most credible stock prop firm (backed by The5ers): real US equities long/short with no locate fees and no PDT rule — just mind the equity-based daily pause and the consistency-vs-target math.

Pros

  • Trade 12,000+ real US stocks/ETFs long and short, no locate fees, no PDT restriction
  • FLEX accounts are untimed; a 'Bypass Button' lets you keep trading after the daily pause
  • Drawdown locks to your initial balance once you build a 3×-daily-loss buffer
  • Backed by Five Percent Online (The5ers) — a long-established operator

Watch out

  • Daily Pause is equity-based (includes unrealized P&L) — a big floating swing can halt you
  • Consistency is measured against the profit TARGET, so one outsized winner can disqualify a profitable account
  • Penny stocks under $1.50 are blocked; automation is restricted to SignalStack only

Best for: Equity day and swing traders who want real-stock long/short exposure with no PDT rule — and who size positions so no single winner dominates and avoid sub-$1.50 tickers.

Bottom line: The go-to decoded rulebook for stock-prop trading; the equity daily pause and target-based consistency are the rules to internalize.

Quick facts

Account sizesDay: $5K–$200K BP · Swing: $2K–$40K BP
Profit split70% (up to 80%)
Max scalingDay-trade buying power scales (reported up to ~$450K)
PlatformsTraderEvolution (proprietary), TradingView, SignalStack
Instruments12,000+ US stocks & ETFs (long & short)
PayoutsMin 14 days between payouts; $300 minimum; KYC/AML

Challenge plans at a glance

PlanTypeMax DDDailyTargetsMin days
Day Trade (MAX / FLEX)1-Step4% equity2%6%0
Swing Trade (MAX / FLEX)1-Step7% equity3%15%0

The rules, one by one

DrawdownConditionalVoids accountHidden ruleVerified

Maximum drawdown (locks to initial balance)

A static dollar floor equal to 2× the daily loss limit at start — effectively 4% of buying power (day trade) or 7% (swing), measured on equity (projected balance, including unrealized P&L). Once the account reaches 3× the daily loss in equity, the max drawdown moves up to the initial balance and locks there; falling below it terminates the account.

Gotcha: Until you build the 3×-daily-loss buffer the floor sits below your start; after that it ratchets to breakeven and stays — you can never give back below your entry capital.

DrawdownConditionalWarningHidden ruleVerified

Daily Pause (daily loss limit)

A daily loss limit branded 'Daily Pause' (configured per-account as RPD, Risk Per Day): 2% of buying power on day-trade, 3% on swing. It's measured on current equity (including unrealized P&L) minus the day's starting realized balance. A 'Bypass Button' lets you choose to keep trading after hitting it; reaching the pause halts you (unless bypassed) but does not itself breach the account.

Gotcha: Because it includes unrealized P&L, a large floating swing can trip the Daily Pause even if you never realize the loss.

ConsistencyConditionalPayout deniedHidden ruleVerified

Consistency (best position vs profit target)

Your best single profitable position cannot account for more than 30% of the profit TARGET on MAX (50% on FLEX). Example: a $1,500 target → best trade ≤ $450. Applies to both evaluation and funded.

Gotcha: It's measured against the profit target, not your realized profit — so one outsized winner can disqualify even a profitable account.

News tradingConditionalWarningVerified

News & earnings

General news trading is allowed. But during earnings season you may NOT hold an overnight position in a reporting company (or any instrument tracking/mirroring/leveraged-inverse to it). 'Bracketing' around major news events (straddling) is prohibited.

Gotcha: The stock-specific trap is the earnings rule — no overnight in a reporter, extended to any ETF/leveraged/inverse that tracks it.

Weekend holdingConditionalWarningHidden ruleVerified

Overnight & weekend holding

Day-trade accounts: no overnight holds — positions auto-liquidate near the end of the session (≈3:50 PM ET). Swing accounts: overnight, weekend and extended-hours holding allowed, but to hold overnight the stock must average ≥500,000 shares/day over the prior 14 days. You must also close before a stock splits (if announced ≥1 day prior) and before it trades ex-dividend.

Gotcha: The 500,000-shares/day liquidity gate silently blocks low-float overnight plays on swing accounts.

EAs & algosConditionalVoids accountVerified

Automation & copy trading

Automation is permitted only via SignalStack (a no-code integration; alerts from TradingView/TrendSpider trigger orders) at ≤2 requests/min; EAs, bots and third-party copiers are otherwise prohibited. Copy trading is allowed only between 2 accounts, both ≤ $50K, where 'copying' means entering the same position within 30 minutes. Wash trading (opposing positions within 30 min across accounts) is forbidden.

Gotcha: Popular EAs/bots are off-limits — automation must run through SignalStack, and copy trading is capped at two ≤$50K accounts.

Prohibited strategiesForbiddenVoids accountHidden ruleVerified

HFT, tick scalping, penny stocks, volume cap

Prohibited: HFT, tick scalping, arbitrage/hedge arbitrage, bracketing major news, one-sided bets, account sharing, and EA scalping during rollover. Stocks under $1.50 are blocked. Each opening trade may not exceed 5% of the prior 1-minute candle's volume for that instrument.

Gotcha: The 5%-of-prior-1-minute-candle-volume cap limits aggressive sizing in thin tape, and sub-$1.50 tickers (most penny stocks) are simply unavailable.

Min trading daysConditionalPayout deniedVerified

Minimum positions (not days)

Trade The Pool counts positions, not days. Day trade: minimum 20 positions (MAX) / 10 (FLEX) to qualify. Swing: minimum 5 positions. FLEX additionally requires 3 days of ≥0.5% profit per payout cycle.

InactivityConditionalVoids accountVerified

Inactivity

MAX accounts have a 14-day inactivity timeout on funded accounts only (not during evaluation). FLEX accounts have a 14-day timeout on both evaluation and funded.

PayoutsConditionalPayout deniedVerified

Payouts & split

70% trader / 30% firm baseline (reviews cite up to 80% on higher tiers), applied at each scaling event. Payouts on request with a minimum 14 days since the last one and ≥ $300 profit (all positions closed), processed in ~1–5 business days. Funded buying power scales +5% (and the daily pause +10%) at each 10% profit milestone; KYC/AML documentation may be required.

Gotcha: Each scaling event closes the old account and opens a new one with reset parameters.

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Informational and comparison content only — not financial advice and not affiliated with Trade The Pool. Rules change often; verify against Trade The Pool's official terms before relying on any detail. Last reviewed Jun 5, 2026.