How the High Stakes drawdown works
The5ers High Stakes uses a fixed maximum drawdown of 10%: the floor sits at $90,000 on the $100,000 account and stays there however much profit you bank, alongside a 5% ($5,000) daily loss limit.
Because the floor is static, the account gets safer as you bank profit: the gap between your equity and the line only widens. The risk is front-loaded: the early days, when your buffer is thinnest, are when discipline matters most.
A worked example
At 0.5% risk ($500) per trade, a five-loss day costs $2,500, half the $5,000 daily allowance and a quarter of the $10,000 total. At 2% per trade ($2,000), three straight losses already put the day past the daily line. Same account, same rules: the sizing decides which trader survives.
The 3-day minimum and the breach
High Stakes requires only 3 days (the lowest minimum of the firms covered here), which tempts traders to force the 8% ($8,000) target in a handful of oversized sessions. That is exactly the behaviour the daily line punishes. Breach it, or walk your equity down to the $90,000 floor, and the evaluation ends.
- →Keep per-trade risk small and consistent: the 5% day is the line most traders breach first.
- →Three trading days is the minimum; spread your entries rather than forcing the target in one session.
Figures reflect a common The5ers account at the time of writing. Firms revise rules often, so verify against the The5ers site before relying on them.
Merlin's gauges derive from closed trades. Your firm watches live equity including open positions.
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