Holiday Trading Restrictions in Prop Firms
Holidays are where traders get lazy and prop firms get strict. Volumes die, hours change, spreads widen, and one bad decision can smash your trailing drawdown. Prop firms publish holiday trading restrictions for a reason. If you ignore them, you’ll either get force-flattened or violated.
Why Holidays Are Treated Differently
On holidays and pseudo-holidays, the market is technically open but half the liquidity is gone. That creates:
- random gaps inside the session
- thin depth on the book
- orders that slip way past your stop
- strange behavior around open and close
This is the same logic behind low-liquidity session rules. Thin markets and prop firm drawdowns don’t mix.
Common Holiday Restrictions in Prop Firms
Most prop firms implement some version of:
- no trading during certain holiday windows
- mandatory flat before early closes
- instrument-specific bans on products like CL, NG, NQ, and RTY
- reduced max size during holiday sessions
- no new trades in the final hour of an early close
If you see “modified hours” in the firm’s email or dashboard and you trade like it’s a normal day, you’re asking for trouble.
Types of Holiday Trading Days
| Type | Description | Risk Level |
|---|---|---|
| Full Market Holiday | Markets closed, no trading | None |
| Early Close / Half-Day | Shortened session with low liquidity | High |
| Pseudo-Holiday | Market open, but volume weak | Medium–High |
Risk is highest when the market is open but most participants are gone.
Early Close Rules You Can’t Ignore
On early-close days (like the day after major holidays), prop firms usually require:
- all positions flat well before the posted close time
- all working orders canceled
- no “last minute” entries trying to ride the close
They don’t want your account hanging in a dead market while exchanges shut down. This ties directly into weekend maintenance windows because the last hour before an early close behaves a lot like pre-weekend risk.
Holiday News + Thin Liquidity = Account Killer
Holiday weeks often stack two problems:
- scheduled economic releases
- low participation
If you trade into news during a holiday session, you’re walking straight into:
- slippage through stops
- massive one-candle moves
- spreads blowing out
On top of that, you’re probably breaking news trading restrictions at the same time.
How Firms Enforce Holiday Trading Rules
Risk systems check:
- time stamps against holiday schedules
- whether you were flat when you should have been
- instrument lists for banned products on specific days
- positions held into early closes
Violations around holidays are usually treated as hard violations, not soft warnings.
Simple Holiday Survival Rules
- read every holiday email the firm sends
- don’t trade full size on any holiday or half-day
- flatten earlier than you think you need to
- avoid trying to “force” one last trade before the break
- skip trading entirely if volatility and volume look abnormal
If your edge depends on clean liquidity and tight spreads, holidays are not where you press.
Final Takeaway
Holiday trading restrictions aren’t suggestions. Prop firms clamp down because holidays combine low liquidity, weird behavior, and scheduling changes. Respect early closes, size down, or just stay flat — but don’t pretend it’s a normal session and then act surprised when your account gets flattened.