Trading terms, plainly named.

Moving a stop loss to the original entry price after the trade moves favorably — converts a risky trade into a free option.

The hard ceilings on permitted account drawdown that prop firms enforce — breach either and the account is closed.

A time-series plot of an account's cumulative equity. Smooth upward curves suggest robust systems; jagged or stair-step curves often hide risk.

The average dollar amount a trading system can be expected to make per trade, given its win rate, average win, and average loss.

FTMO's two-phase paid evaluation traders must pass to get a funded account, now copied by most retail prop firms.

Inner Circle Trader and Smart Money Concepts — price-action frameworks built on identifying institutional order flow.

The ratio of position size to account equity — amplifies gains and losses equally and compresses the timeline to ruin without raising expected return.

The depth of buy and sell orders around the current price — high liquidity means tight spreads and clean fills.

The standardized unit of trade size in forex — standard, mini, micro, and nano lots define how much currency you control per trade.

Maximum Adverse Excursion — the largest unrealized loss a trade reached during its lifetime, before you exited or price recovered.

The largest peak-to-trough decline of an equity curve, in dollars or percent. Captures the worst losing streak the account actually survived.

Maximum Favorable Excursion — the largest unrealized profit a trade reached during its lifetime, before you exited.

An ICT/SMC concept — the last opposing candle before a sharp move, treated as a zone where institutional orders rest.

Closing part of a position to lock in gains while leaving the rest to run — a hybrid between a fixed take-profit and a runner.

The trader's share of profits from a funded prop firm account, typically 70-90%, paid monthly or biweekly.

The smallest standard price increment in forex — typically 0.0001 on majors and 0.01 on JPY pairs, worth $10 per standard lot on USD pairs.

The decision of how much capital to risk on a single trade, typically as a percentage of equity. The most consequential decision outside of edge.

The ratio of gross winning profits to gross losing losses. Above 1 is profitable; above 1.5 is generally needed to survive normal drawdowns.

A proprietary trading firm that funds traders to trade firm capital and takes a share of the profits in return.

A trade's profit or loss expressed in multiples of the original risk taken — the language professional traders use to compare trades.

The ratio of expected profit to expected loss on a trade. Combined with win rate, it determines whether a strategy has positive expectancy.

A prop firm policy that increases a funded trader's account size based on consistent profitability over time.

The gap between expected fill price and actual fill price — usually adverse, worst on news, gaps, and triggered stop orders.

The bid-ask price difference paid every time you cross it — a direct, recurring cost on every trade, expressed in pips or dollars.

An order that auto-closes a position at a predefined level, capping the loss — the single most consequential discipline tool retail traders have.

Price levels where a market has historically reversed — support is the floor, resistance is the ceiling.

An order that auto-closes a position at a predefined favorable level, locking in gains without requiring screen time.

The active trading hours of a major financial center — Sydney, Tokyo, London, or New York — that define forex liquidity windows.

A stop loss that follows price by a fixed distance as the trade moves favorably — tightens to lock in profit, never loosens.

The percentage of trades that close in profit. Useful only when read alongside risk-reward and expectancy — high win rate alone does not mean profitable.