THE DOSSIER — ACCOUNT DEEP-DIVE
Topstep $100,000 Futures Combine Account Rules
Exact dollar thresholds, breach math, and verified sources for this tier.
All-In Cost to First Payout
Sticker price vs real cost — All-In Quantitative Fee Model
If you pass first try
Assumes pass on first attempt. Add 1–2 resets for realistic avg (FPFX: only 7% get payout).
Realistic (1 reset avg)
Non-refundable — every reset is sunk cost
Assumes 1 reset(s). Data fees vary by platform. FPFX base rate: ~7% ever get payout — budget for resets.
Methodology: challenge + resets + activation + data + add-ons − documented refund. Futures add $38/mo data + $149 activation where applicable. We never hide reset cost behind “bonus” language.
RISK ANALYSIS
How Can I Fail This Account?
Before spending capital on this evaluation, these are the exact mathematical and operational tripwires that disqualify traders on this specific model.
EOD Floor Steps Up Behind You
Only your daily close moves the maximum-loss floor — intraday peaks bank nothing, but every closing high permanently tightens your room. Grinding up slowly then holding losers overnight is how EOD accounts die.
30-Day Inactivity Forfeiture
30 consecutive days without a trade = automatic lock and revoked credentials. Many pass the evaluation and pause before the next step, losing all progress.
Withdrawal Gates Bite After Passing
5 days with at least $200 profit each
Banned Patterns Pass Silently, Fail at Payout
Grid, martingale, all-in sizing, copied signals, and cross-account hedging often trigger no dashboard warning during evaluation — the review lands when you request real money.
COMPLETE RULEBOOK
Every Rule on This Account
Daily drawdown, max drawdown, targets, trading days, payouts, news, holding, automation, inactivity — each rule translated to this 100,000 account's exact dollar numbers.
Daily Loss Limit: 2% ($2,000/day)
Touching the daily cap does NOT kill this account — trading pauses for the rest of the session and resumes the next day. The cap resets at 5:00 PM CT, not midnight server time. The lifetime EOD-trailing max still applies underneath.
Maximum Loss: 3% (floor starts at $97,000)
End-of-day trailing: only your daily CLOSE moves the floor. It steps up on closing highs, never loosens, and locks at $100,000. Intraday peaks bank nothing. Across the whole lifetime of the account, equity can never print below the current floor.
Profit Target: 6% ($6,000)
Bank $6,000 from the starting balance to pass. Measured on closed-trade profit — floating P&L does not count until you close.
Minimum Trading Days: 2
You must trade on at least 2 separate days before the phase counts as passed — even if you hit the profit target on day one. A trading day counts when you place at least one trade that closes with non-zero P&L.
Payouts: Daily On-Demand (after 5 winning days) · 90% split
5 days with at least $200 profit each. Your share of every approved withdrawal is 90%, up to 100% with the scale-up/add-on.
News Trading: Allowed
Futures news trading allowed
Flat Before Close — No Overnight, No Weekend
Every position must be closed before the market close. Being in a trade past the close is itself a rule violation — independent of profit or loss. Swing strategies built for CFD holding will breach here by habit, not by P&L.
Expert Advisors / Bots: Allowed
Automation is permitted — but verify whether your firm requires a paid add-on, platform restriction (MT4/MT5 only at some firms), or bot registration before the first automated trade. Unauthorized automation is a standalone violation.
Copy Trading & Hedging Boundaries
Copy trading involving a funded account (either direction), third-party signals, and for-hire account management are prohibited. Hedging inside this single account is fine; mirrored positions across accounts or external brokers are banned.
Inactivity: 30 Days
Place at least one trade every 30 consecutive days or the account is automatically deactivated — no warning email, no extension. This kills more passed evaluations than any market move: traders pass, take a break, and return to revoked credentials.
Markets, Leverage & Platforms
Trade CME Futures (ES, NQ, YM, CL, GC). Leverage: 1:20 Futures margin. Platforms: Tradovate, NinjaTrader, TradingView.
SIMULATOR
Interactive Drawdown Simulator
Pre-configured for 100,000 • 2% daily, 3% max — adjust equity to test breach.
Account size
Live calculations
Daily floor
$98,000
Buffer $2,000
Max floor
$97,000
Buffer $3,000
Account is currently SAFE. You have $2,000 (2%) of buffer remaining above your nearest loss floor.
SIGNATURE VISUAL
Same trade, different fate — see why
This +1.8% win (+$1,800) followed by a -0.5% loss with an intraday dip is replayed against each program's real drawdown math.
Same Trade → Different Program → Different Outcome
One trade history, replayed against each program's real rules
Day 1 Win (+1.8%)
+$1,800
Day 2 Loss (-0.5%)
$-500
low $96,500
Day 3 Overnight (+0.3%)
+$300
low $99,000
Topstep Trading Combine (Futures 1-Step)
Daily drawdown breach on Day 2 Loss (-0.5%)
2% daily • 3% max • end of day
$100,000 • final $101,300
- • Trade 2 (Day 2 Loss (-0.5%)): equity low $98,300 ≤ daily floor $99,764 (2%)
Topstep Instant (5% trail)
Daily drawdown breach on Day 2 Loss (-0.5%)
2% daily • 5% max • trailing equity
$100,000 • final $101,300
- • Trade 2 (Day 2 Loss (-0.5%)): equity low $98,300 ≤ daily floor $99,764 (2%)
This is the moat: traders finally understand “the problem is not your trade, it is how the program's rules interpret the trade.” Math is exact — equity vs balance, EOD vs intraday included.
THE RULES · 10 APPLY TO THIS TRADING COMBINE (FUTURES 1-STEP)
Explain the Rules
Exact formulas, plain translations, and verified source citations — filtered to 10 of 10 firm rules that govern this program.
ACCOUNT FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions: Topstep $100,000 Futures Combine Rules
What are the Topstep $100,000 Futures Combine account rules?
The Topstep $100,000 Futures Combine ($100,000 nominal capital) enforces a 2% daily loss limit, a 3% end of day maximum drawdown, a 6% Phase 1 profit target, and 2 minimum trading days.
How is drawdown calculated on the Topstep $100,000 Futures Combine account?
Daily drawdown is 2% ($2,000) calculated via balance based. Maximum total loss is 3% ($3,000) enforced as end of day from the $100,000 starting balance.
What is the profit split and minimum trading days for Topstep $100,000 Futures Combine?
Traders receive a 90% base profit split (up to 100% with add-on) paid on a daily on-demand (after 5 winning days) cycle, with 2 minimum trading days required per evaluation phase.