When To Take Profit in Prop Firm Evaluations

The target and timing logic that gives you the highest chance of passing a futures prop evaluation.

1. Profit Targets in Evaluations Are Not “Normal Trading”

In a regular account, you might shoot for a 2R–4R reward on a clean trend. In a prop evaluation, you must trade around:

  • a fixed profit target
  • tight trailing drawdown
  • limited daily losses
  • a small account buffer

This means you cannot chase giant runners. You take profits early and often — which is the opposite of what people do when they blow evaluations.

2. Your Daily Goal Determines Your Exit

First, calculate your daily goal using:

  • Daily goal = 5–10% of the total profit target

Example for a $3,000 target:

  • Low goal: $150/day
  • High goal: $300/day

These numbers sync with Prop Evaluation Game Plan.

3. The Optimal Take-Profit Zone (MES/ES Example)

For MES and ES, the best evaluation exits are:

  • 4–8 ticks on MES (10–20 points per micro)
  • 4–6 points on ES

These values give you:

  • fast wins
  • small drawdown impact
  • consistent progress on the target
  • less emotional stress

4. Never Let a Green Trade Turn Red

This is the #1 killer in evaluations. A +$150 unrealized trade that ends -$80 destroys TWO days:

  • you lose the winning opportunity
  • you hit trailing drawdown harder

Fix it with a rule:

When the trade moves 1R in your favor, move stop to breakeven.

This aligns with Risk-Per-Trade for Small Accounts.

5. Should You Ever Trail?

In evaluations, trailing stops are dangerous because trailing drawdown punishes you if the retrace is too big.

Best approach: no trailing until you’re funded.

6. Time-Based Exits

You also exit based on time:

  • If you’re still in the trade after 5–6 minutes → scale out or take profit
  • If price stalls at your level → exit immediately

Evaluations reward fast decisions and clean moves. Slow trades rarely finish strong.

7. When to Take Partial Profits

You don’t scale contracts in evals, but you can scale expectations.

Two scenarios for partials:

  • Hit +$100 → take profit and end the day
  • Hit +$150–$200 → take profit and only trade again if you see something perfect

This keeps your pass rate high and prevents overtrading (covered in Overtrading in Evaluations).

8. What a Perfect Evaluation Exit Looks Like

A good evaluation trade:

  • has clear structure
  • moves fast
  • hits 1R–2R cleanly
  • lets you lock profit and walk away

Passing evaluations is about consistency, not huge winners.

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