Daily loss
Daily loss limit
Also searched: daily loss limit · daily drawdown · max daily loss · DLL
A cap on how much you can lose in a single trading day. Its basis — what the cap is measured from — varies by firm and is where most confusion lives.
Definition
A daily loss limit caps your loss for one trading day. Hit it and, depending on the firm, either the account fails or the day locks out. It resets at the firm's trading-day boundary — not your local midnight.
The subtle part is the BASIS: what the day's cap is measured from. Three common forms exist. Start-of-day balance (the cap is a percentage of your balance at the reset). The higher of start-of-day balance or equity (the firm takes whichever is larger, tightening the cap after a green open). And the prior-day closing balance (recorded at a fixed time, e.g. 5PM in the firm's timezone).
Not every firm has one. Many futures firms rely on the trailing max-loss line alone, with no separate daily cap.
Why it fails evaluations
Daily-loss breaches are rarely one big trade — they're revenge sequences: three losers, size up to 'get it back,' and the fourth crosses the line. The limit resets tomorrow; the account doesn't.
The basis is where honest traders still get caught. If the cap is measured on equity, an open losing position can breach it before you ever close the trade. And if you don't know whether your firm counts from start-of-day balance or the prior-day close, you can misjudge the day's room by a meaningful amount.
Which verified firms enforce a daily loss limit
Has a daily loss limit
9 firmsA per-day cap in addition to (or instead of) the max-loss line.
Enforces one, firm's own docs conflict
1 firmThe firm has a daily rule but states its basis more than one way across its own pages — held off the meter until the firm resolves the conflict.
Enforces one, basis unverified
1 firmThe firm has a daily rule but we haven't verified its calculation basis from the firm's own docs yet — held off the meter until we can confirm it.
No daily loss limit
8 firmsThe trailing / static max-loss line is the only loss line.
When a rule is real but not safely encodable — the firm's own docs conflict on the basis, or we simply haven't verified it yet — TradersGuild shows it exists rather than publishing a number it can't stand behind. The honest answer is the content.
FAQ
What is a daily loss limit based on?
Depending on the firm, the cap is measured from your start-of-day balance, the higher of your start-of-day balance or equity, or your prior-day closing balance recorded at a set time. The basis decides how much room you actually have.
Is no daily loss limit safer?
It's simpler, not safer. Without a forced daily stop, one uncontrolled session can spend the entire account's drawdown budget — disciplined traders impose their own daily cap.
Free tools for this
Know this line before your next trade.
TradersGuild encodes each firm's verified rules and recomputes your drawdown, daily-loss, consistency and minimum-day standing the moment you log a trade — so you know your room, not just the definition. Runs on the trades you log, not a feed from your firm. Broker auto-sync coming soon. Free for your first account.