Apex-Style Rules By The Numbers

This is a clean, numerical breakdown of how a typical Apex-style futures evaluation works. These numbers aren’t guesses—they’re the actual structure nearly every firm using the “Apex model” follows.

Example Account: $50,000 Evaluation

• Starting balance: $50,000 (this number doesn’t actually matter)
• Profit target: $3,000
• Trailing drawdown: $2,500 (trails unrealized equity)
• Daily loss limit: ~$1,100–$1,200 depending on the firm
• Max contracts: 6 ES / 12 MES / 2 NQ / 4 MNQ (varies slightly by firm)
• Minimum active days: 7

Every number above is designed to push you toward small sizing, tight risk, and clean entries. The trailing drawdown is the biggest rule people get blindsided by, so we break it down below.

How The Trailing Drawdown Actually Moves

Suppose your trailing drawdown floor starts at:

$50,000 - $2,500 = $47,500 (initial trailing drawdown floor)

If your open profit reaches +$800 during a trade, even if you close it at +$200, the system has already “seen” the +$800 and moves your drawdown floor up:

$47,500 + $800 = $48,300 (new trailing floor)

This is why people fail after a good run—open PnL moves the floor even if you never realize the profit.

You Violate When:

• Your realized/total equity hits the trailing floor
• OR you hit the daily loss limit
• OR you break news/overnight rules

Most violations come from hitting the trailing floor on a pullback after a big open profit spike.

What A “Safe” Day Looks Like

Realistic risk levels for a $50k Apex-style account:

• Risk per trade: $50–$120
• Max risk per day: ~$300–$400
• Contracts: 1–2 MES or 1 MNQ until you are ahead by +$1,000+

The evaluation isn’t a test of skill under pressure—it’s a test of whether you can avoid blowing yourself up.

How Long It Actually Takes To Pass

• If you average +$150/day → ~20 trading days
• If you average +$250/day → ~12 trading days
• If you average +$400/day → ~7–8 trading days

These are realistic numbers for someone trading MES/MNQ with discipline. Anyone talking about passing in “one big NQ trade” is the reason Apex makes millions.

What Happens After You Pass

You usually get:

• Static drawdown (much easier)
• Payout windows (first one is usually 30 days)
• Same contract rules, but no trailing nonsense

This is why most traders find the evaluation harder than the funded account.

The Short Version

• Don’t push size early.
• Don’t let open profits explode—traildowns will follow.
• Take consistent small wins instead of trying to be a hero.
• The evaluation is designed to punish overconfidence, not bad ideas.