Daily loss
Hard breach vs soft breach (day-lockout)
Also searched: hard breach · soft breach · day lockout · daily lockout · account failed
A hard breach fails the account outright. A soft breach only locks you out for the rest of the day — the account survives to trade tomorrow.
Definition
Not every limit you hit ends the account. Firms enforce two severities. A hard breach is terminal: touch the line and the account is failed, no recovery. A soft breach is a timeout: hitting the limit closes your positions and locks trading for the rest of the day, but the account lives on.
The distinction usually applies to the daily loss limit. A hard daily limit fails you on the spot; a soft daily limit (sometimes called a day-lockout) just pauses the day. The maximum-loss / drawdown line, by contrast, is almost always a hard breach.
Why it fails evaluations
Traders on a soft-breach firm can grow complacent — 'I'll just get locked out' — and forget that repeated soft breaches still bleed the hard max-loss line underneath. The day resets; the drawdown room you spent does not.
On a hard-breach firm the opposite mistake is fatal: treating the daily limit as a soft stop, adding 'one more' trade near the line, and ending the account instead of the day.
How each verified firm's daily limit breaches
Soft (locks the day, account survives)
2 firmsHitting the daily limit pauses trading for the day rather than failing you.
Hard (fails the account)
7 firmsHitting the daily limit ends the account on the spot.
No daily limit to breach
8 firmsOnly the max-loss line applies (a hard breach when touched).
The max-loss / drawdown line is a hard breach at effectively every firm — the soft/hard split above is about the DAILY limit specifically.
FAQ
What's the difference between a hard and soft breach?
A hard breach fails the account permanently. A soft breach (day-lockout) only stops you trading for the rest of the day; the account resumes at the next reset.
Does a soft daily loss breach fail my account?
No — it locks the day. But repeated soft breaches still spend room against the hard maximum-loss line, which does fail the account.
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