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Lucid Trading Allowed Trading Times: Session Rules and Close Times

Written by Paul

Published on

January 3, 2026

Lucid Trading enforces different trading time restrictions by account type. LucidPro, LucidFlex, and LucidDirect require mandatory closure by 4:45 PM EST daily with auto-liquidation. LucidLive allows swing trading and overnight holds with proper margin.

Quick heads-up: This article is based on my real experience with Lucid Trading 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 Lucid Trading´s website or their help center.

LucidPro, LucidFlex, and LucidDirect: Daily Close Requirement

All three standard programs enforce strict daily closure by 4:45 PM EST Monday-Friday. No overnight holds, no weekend positions. This applies to evaluation and funded accounts equally.

4:45 PM EST mandatory close: All open positions must close by 4:45 PM Eastern. Applies to all futures instruments—ES, MES, NQ, MNQ, CL, GC, or any contracts tradeable on your account.

Automatic liquidation: Open positions at 4:45 PM auto-close at market price. Down -$500 unrealized? Closes at market, locking -$500 loss. Up +$800 unrealized? Also closes, banking +$800 profit. The liquidation occurs regardless of your current P&L status or trading intent.

No account breach: Critical point—holding past 4:45 PM doesn't fail your account or trigger evaluation failure. Auto-close is administrative policy, not a rule violation. Your account remains active for next session. This differs from Max Loss Limit violations which do terminate accounts.

Trading Session Hours

Lucid trading window: Sunday 6:00 PM EST through Friday 4:45 PM EST. You can trade during all futures sessions—Asian session (6 PM - 3 AM EST), European session (3 AM - 9:30 AM EST), and U.S. session (9:30 AM - 4 PM EST) all fully accessible.

Daily schedule Mon-Thu:

6:00 PM EST: Trading resumes after previous day's 4:45 PM close
4:45 PM EST next day: All positions must close

Friday close: All positions close by Friday 4:45 PM EST. No weekend trading until Sunday evening reopen.

Sunday reopen: Trading resumes 6:00 PM EST when futures markets restart for the new week. This gives you Sunday evening, overnight, and all day Monday through Friday 4:45 PM.

Why 4:45 PM Instead of 5:00 PM

Futures officially close at 5:00 PM EST, but Lucid requires closure 15 minutes earlier at 4:45 PM. This 15-minute buffer ensures:

Order execution time: Gives manual close orders time to execute before market close. Submit market order at 4:44 PM, it processes by 4:45 PM comfortably.

Auto-liquidation processing: Allows Lucid's systems to detect open positions and execute forced liquidation before 5:00 PM market close, preventing complications with market close timing.

Risk management buffer: Prevents positions from accidentally rolling into overnight sessions due to late close attempts or system delays.

Manual close by 4:30 PM provides safest approach—giving yourself 15 extra minutes of buffer before Lucid's auto-close mechanism triggers at 4:45 PM.

Holiday and Altered Hours

On holidays with early market closures, positions must close before market closes, not the usual 4:45 PM.

Example: Market closes 1:00 PM EST on holiday. Close all positions before 1:00 PM. Lucid auto-closes before altered market close.

Monitor CME Group holiday schedules. Lucid doesn't send special notifications for altered times.

LucidLive: Overnight and Swing Trading Allowed

LucidLive operates under different rules, allowing positions to be held past 4:45 PM EST and through overnight sessions without forced liquidation.

Swing trading permitted: Hold positions across multiple days matching your strategy. Enter Monday morning, hold through Wednesday close, or carry positions for any multi-day period your edge requires. No mandatory daily close requirement.

Overnight margin requirements: Must meet margin maintenance requirements to hold overnight. These are typically higher than intraday margin—ensuring sufficient capital to withstand overnight volatility and gaps.

Auto-liquidate option: Enable during LucidLive onboarding to automatically close positions before nightly maintenance windows. This prevents gap risk during overnight sessions if you prefer not to hold through low-liquidity periods or overnight news events.

Maintenance windows: Futures markets have brief maintenance periods (typically 4:00-6:00 PM EST weekdays). Positions held through these may experience reduced liquidity immediately after reopening.

LucidLive's swing capability attracts traders whose edge involves multi-day holds, overnight gap strategies, or setups requiring 24-48+ hour holding periods.

Practical Implications by Trading Style

Day traders/scalpers: 4:45 PM close doesn't impact you. Already close intraday.

Swing traders: Cannot use LucidPro/Flex/Direct for multi-day holds. Need LucidLive for overnight strategies.

News traders: FOMC (2 PM) and NFP (8:30 AM) occur before 4:45 PM. Close requirement doesn't restrict news trading.

Asian/European session traders: Full overnight access (6 PM - 9:30 AM). Only prevents holding across 5 PM market close.

Close Time Violations and Forced Liquidation

Holding past 4:45 PM triggers auto-liquidation but doesn't breach your account.

Forget to close: Lucid closes at market. Up +$600? Bank +$600. Down -$400? Realize -$400 loss. Account continues—no violation.

Deliberately hold overnight: Lucid still auto-closes 4:45 PM. Cannot bypass through intent.

Late close order: Submit 4:44 PM, doesn't execute before 4:45 PM? Auto-close catches it. Close by 4:30 PM for safety.

Bottom Line

LucidPro, LucidFlex, and LucidDirect require all positions closed by 4:45 PM EST Monday-Friday with automatic liquidation. Trading resumes 6:00 PM EST Sunday-Thursday. No overnight holds, no weekend positions. Holding past 4:45 PM triggers auto-close but doesn't breach your account.

LucidLive allows swing trading and overnight holds with proper margin maintenance. Optional auto-liquidate settings available during onboarding.

Close positions manually by 4:30 PM for 15-minute safety buffer. Monitor holiday schedules for altered close times. If your edge requires multi-day holds, use LucidLive—LucidPro/Flex/Direct force daily liquidation regardless of strategy.