AquaFutures Daily Loss Limit: How the 2.5% Rule Works

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Quick heads-up: This article is based on my real experience with Aquafutures and the info available when I published/updated this. Things change in prop trading — rules, payouts, promos, all of it.

For the absolute latest, check Aquafutures´s website or their faq page.

The 2.5% daily loss limit is a safety mechanism on Beginner evaluation accounts that caps how much you can lose in a single trading session. If you hit -2.5% at any point during the day, your account breaches immediately—even if you would have recovered by close.

This rule is enforced intraday in real-time, not at market close. It's separate from your 5% max drawdown, which operates on a different timeframe (EOD tracking on Beginner accounts).

The daily loss limit exists to prevent catastrophic single-session losses. It's a guard rail—not a target. But it can also trap you if you're not careful about position sizing and stop placement.

I'm breaking down exactly how the 2.5% daily loss limit works, when it applies, how it differs from the 5% max drawdown, and how to trade within it without constantly approaching the edge.

What Is the 2.5% Daily Loss Limit?

The 2.5% daily loss limit means you can't lose more than 2.5% of your starting balance in a single trading session. If your account equity drops 2.5% below your starting balance at any point during the day, you breach immediately.

On a $50K Beginner account:

• Starting balance: $50,000
• Daily loss limit: $1,250 (2.5% of $50K)
• Breach point: $48,750

If your equity drops to $48,750 or below at any time during the session—even for a second—your account terminates. No recovery period, no chance to fix it by close.

The daily loss limit is measured from your original starting balance, not from your high water mark. Even if you make $10,000 and your account grows to $60,000, your daily loss limit is still $1,250 per day (2.5% of your original $50K).

Which Accounts Have the Daily Loss Limit?

The 2.5% daily loss limit only applies to Beginner evaluation accounts.

Standard accounts have no daily loss limit. You could lose 4% in a single day and still be fine—as long as you stay within your 5% max drawdown.

Once you transition to a funded account, the 2.5% daily loss limit is replaced by 2% wave stop—a similar but stricter rule.

How the Daily Loss Limit Is Calculated

The daily loss limit is always 2.5% of your original starting balance, regardless of how much profit you've made.

Example:

• You start with $50,000
• Daily loss limit: $1,250 (2.5% of $50K)
• You make $5,000 and your account grows to $55,000
• Your daily loss limit is still $1,250—not $1,375 (2.5% of $55K)

The limit is fixed based on your original account size. It doesn't grow as your account grows.

Here's the daily loss limit across different account sizes:

Larger accounts have more dollar cushion, but the percentage is the same—2.5% across all sizes.

Daily Loss Limit in Points Per Contract

Here's how much room you have before the daily loss limit triggers, based on account size and contracts traded:

$50,000 account ($1,250 daily loss cushion):

• 3 ES contracts: 41.7 points
• 6 ES contracts: 25 points
• 9 ES contracts: 16.7 points

$100,000 account ($2,500 daily loss cushion):

• 6 ES contracts: 50 points
• 9 ES contracts: 33.3 points
• 12 ES contracts: 25 points

On a $50K account with 6 ES contracts, you have 25 points of cushion before the daily loss limit triggers. That's tight—one bad 20-point trade puts you dangerously close to breach.

For a detailed comparison of account sizes and contract limits, see the account sizes guide.

How the Daily Loss Limit Resets

The daily loss limit resets every day at 4:00 PM ET based on your starting balance for that session.

Example:

• Monday: Start at $50,000, close at $51,000 (+$1,000 profit)
• Tuesday: Start at $51,000, daily loss limit is $1,250, breach point is $48,750

Wait—Tuesday's breach point is $48,750, not $49,750. Why?

Because the daily loss limit is based on your original account size ($50K), not your current balance ($51K).

Even though you made $1,000 on Monday, your daily loss limit on Tuesday is still calculated from the original $50K starting balance. Your breach point is always:

Original Starting Balance - $1,250 = Daily Loss Threshold

On a $50K account, that's $48,750—forever. The threshold never moves, even as your account grows.

Daily Loss Limit vs 5% Max Drawdown: What's the Difference?

The 2.5% daily loss limit and the 5% max drawdown are two separate rules that both apply to Beginner accounts.

Daily Loss Limit (2.5%):

• Measured intraday in real-time
• Based on original starting balance (fixed)
• Resets every day
• Prevents catastrophic single-session losses

Max Drawdown (5%):

• Measured from your all-time high water mark
• Trailing drawdown (moves up with profits, never down)
• Never resets—permanent from Day 1
• Calculated at market close (EOD) on Beginner accounts

You can breach either rule independently:

Example 1: You breach daily loss but not max drawdown

• Starting balance Monday: $50,000 (high water mark: $50,000)
• Daily loss threshold: $48,750 (2.5% below $50K)
• Max drawdown threshold: $47,500 (5% below $50K, EOD tracking)
• You drop to $48,700 intraday → Daily loss breach ❌

Example 2: You breach max drawdown but not daily loss

• Starting balance Monday: $50,000 (high water mark: $52,000)
• Daily loss threshold: $48,750 (2.5% below original $50K)
• Max drawdown threshold: $49,400 (5% below $52K high water mark)
• You close Monday at $49,200 → Max drawdown breach ❌

Both rules are enforced simultaneously. You need to stay above both thresholds at all times.

The key difference: daily loss is intraday, max drawdown is EOD on Beginner accounts.

For a detailed breakdown of how EOD drawdown works, see the EOD drawdown guide.

Can You Recover From a Daily Loss Violation?

No. Daily loss breaches are immediate and irreversible. If your equity drops 2.5% below your starting balance at any point during the session, your account terminates immediately—even if you would have recovered by close.

Example: You start at $50,000 (daily loss threshold: $48,750). At 11:00am, your equity drops to $48,700. Your account breaches.

Even if you recover to $49,500 by close, it doesn't matter—the breach happened intraday at $48,700.

This is the danger of the daily loss limit. It's enforced tick-by-tick in real-time, not at market close like the 5% max drawdown on Beginner accounts.

What Happens If You Hit the Daily Loss Limit?

If you breach the 2.5% daily loss limit, your evaluation terminates immediately. You lose:

• Access to the account
• All progress toward your profit target
• Any profits already made during the eval

You keep:

• Nothing—evaluations are subscription-based, so there's nothing to withdraw

You'll need to restart a new evaluation (and pay another month's subscription fee) if you want to try again.

How to Avoid Daily Loss Violations

Here's how to protect yourself from daily loss breaches:

1. Trade Smaller Position Sizes

On a $50K account with 6 contracts, you only have 25 ES points before the daily loss limit triggers. Use 3-4 contracts max if you want breathing room.

With 3 contracts, you have 41.7 points of cushion—enough for 2-3 full stop-outs before you're in danger.

2. Use Disciplined Stops

With a 2.5% daily cushion, you can't afford to hold losing trades hoping they'll recover. Use tight stops (10-15 points on ES) and cut losers quickly.

If you use 20-point stops with 6 contracts, one full stop-out ($6,000 loss) blows your entire $1,250 cushion. You'd need 5-point stops to stay safe with 6 contracts.

3. Don't Revenge Trade After Losses

If you lose $800 early in the session, you only have $450 left before breach. Don't try to "make it back" with bigger size—that's how you breach.

Take the loss, stop trading for the day, and reset tomorrow.

4. Close Positions Before Major News

Major news events (NFP, FOMC, CPI) can move ES 50+ points in 30 seconds. If you're holding 6 contracts and ES drops 25 points against you, you've breached the daily loss limit before you can react.

Close all positions before major news or trade extremely small size (1-2 contracts).

5. Track Your Cushion in Real-Time

Know where your daily loss threshold is at all times. If you start at $50,000 and you're at $49,000, you're only $250 away from breach—don't take any more trades unless you're extremely confident.

Does the Daily Loss Limit Apply Overnight?

Yes. The daily loss limit tracks your equity 24 hours a day—overnight sessions (6:00pm-9:30am ET) are included.

If you hold positions overnight and your equity drops 2.5% below your starting balance at 3:00am, you breach immediately—even though it's the overnight session.

This is why most Beginner traders avoid holding overnight positions. You're exposed to daily loss risk for 16+ hours when the market is thin and spreads are wide.

The smart play: close all positions by 4:00pm ET unless you're intentionally swing trading—and even then, use extremely small size (1-2 contracts).

Daily Loss Limit on Funded Accounts

Once you transition from Beginner evaluation to a funded account, the 2.5% daily loss limit is replaced by 2% wave stop.

Wave stop is stricter:

• Daily loss limit: 2.5% fixed (based on original starting balance)
• Wave stop: 2% floating (resets daily based on closing balance)

On a funded $50K account, your wave stop cushion is only $1,000 per day (vs $1,250 on the Beginner eval).

Most traders find the transition from evaluation to funded challenging because wave stop is tighter and requires smaller position sizes or tighter stops.

Why Does the Daily Loss Limit Exist?

The daily loss limit exists to protect you from catastrophic single-session losses. Without it, a trader could:

• Lose $2,500 in one bad session
• Still have $47,500 left (within the 5% max drawdown)
• Continue trading with a damaged account

With the 2.5% daily limit, the account breaches at -$1,250, preventing the full $2,500 loss from happening.

From AquaFutures' perspective, the daily loss limit is a risk management tool. From a trader's perspective, it's a safety feature that prevents you from blowing up in one session.

The downside: it can also trap you if you're holding positions through volatility and you don't have time to exit before the limit triggers.

Can You Request a Higher Daily Loss Limit?

No. The 2.5% daily loss limit is fixed on all Beginner accounts. You can't increase it, disable it, or opt out.

If you don't want a daily loss limit, your options are:

• Trade a Standard account (no daily limit, but 8% profit target and intraday drawdown tracking)
• Trade an Instant account (no daily limit, skip evaluation entirely)

For a detailed comparison of Beginner vs Standard accounts, see the account comparison guide.

Final Thoughts: The Daily Loss Limit Is a Safety Feature, Not a Target

The 2.5% daily loss limit is designed to protect you from blowing up your account in one session. It's a guard rail—not something you should regularly approach.

If you're frequently getting close to the daily loss limit (hitting -2% or -2.3%), you're trading too aggressively. Either your position size is too large or your stops are too wide.

The traders who pass Beginner evaluations consistently never get close to the daily loss limit. They trade 3-4 contracts with tight stops, and their worst days are -$400 to -$600—well under the $1,250 limit.

If you want to survive the Beginner evaluation, trade like the daily loss limit is half of what it actually is. Give yourself margin for error. One bad trade shouldn't put you at risk of losing everything.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the daily loss limit at AquaFutures?

The daily loss limit is 2.5% of your original starting balance on Beginner evaluation accounts. On a $50K account, that's $1,250 per day. If your equity drops 2.5% below your starting balance at any point during the session, you breach immediately—even if you recover by close.

Which AquaFutures accounts have a daily loss limit?

Only Beginner evaluation accounts have a 2.5% daily loss limit. Standard accounts, Instant accounts, Instant Pro accounts, and funded accounts do not have daily loss limits (funded accounts use 2% wave stop instead).

Can I recover from a daily loss violation?

No. Daily loss breaches are immediate and irreversible. If your equity drops 2.5% below your starting balance intraday, your account terminates immediately—even if you would have recovered by close.

Does the daily loss limit reset each day?

Yes. The daily loss limit resets at 4:00 PM ET based on your starting balance for that session. But the limit is always calculated from your original account size ($50K), not your current balance—even if you've made profits.

How is the daily loss limit different from the max drawdown?

The daily loss limit (2.5%) is enforced intraday in real-time and resets daily. The max drawdown (5%) is measured from your all-time high water mark and is calculated at market close (EOD) on Beginner accounts. Both rules apply independently—you can breach either one.

Does the daily loss limit apply overnight?

Yes. The daily loss limit tracks your equity 24 hours a day, including overnight sessions (6:00pm-9:30am ET). If you hold positions overnight and your equity drops 2.5% below your starting balance at 3:00am, you breach immediately.

How much room do I have before the daily loss limit triggers?

On a $50K Beginner account with 6 ES contracts, you have 25 points of cushion before breach. With 3 contracts, you have 41.7 points. The more contracts you trade, the faster you approach the daily loss limit.

Can I request a higher daily loss limit?

No. The 2.5% daily loss limit is fixed on all Beginner accounts. If you don't want a daily loss limit, you need to trade a Standard account (no daily limit but harder rules) or an Instant account (skip evaluation entirely).

Your Next Steps

‍👉 Start Trading at Aquafutures Today

‍👉 Read My Full Aquafutures Review

‍👉 Check out Aquafutures´s Payout Rules

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