Lucid Trading Allowed Trading Times: Session Rules and Close Times

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.

Learned the hard way: I've breached Lucid accounts, passed Lucid accounts, and spent 18+ months figuring out which rules trip traders versus which ones are manageable. This reflects trial-and-error experience—including my mistakes.

The single most important rule at Lucid is the EOD trailing drawdown—it's fundamentally different from intraday drawdown most firms use, and that difference changes how you size positions and manage risk during volatile sessions. I broke it down in my complete max drawdown guide, including real scenarios and exactly how to calculate safe position size. 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.

Frequently asked questions about Lucid Trading Allowed Trading Times

What time must I close positions on Lucid Trading?

LucidPro, LucidFlex, and LucidDirect all require positions closed by 4:45 PM EST Monday through Friday. This is not 5:00 PM when futures officially close — Lucid uses a 15-minute early cutoff. Close manually by 4:30 PM for a safe buffer. Any positions still open at 4:45 PM will be automatically liquidated at market price by Lucid's system.

What happens if I am still in a trade at 4:45 PM EST?

Lucid auto-liquidates all open positions at market price at 4:45 PM EST. If you are up $600 unrealized, you bank $600. If you are down $400 unrealized, you realize a $400 loss. The auto-liquidation is administrative — it does not count as an account violation or evaluation failure. Your account remains fully active for the next session. The loss from the forced close does count toward your daily and max loss calculations, so being down at 4:45 PM has real consequences even if the close itself is not a rule breach.

Does holding past 4:45 PM fail my LucidTest evaluation?

No. Holding past 4:45 PM triggers auto-close but does not fail your evaluation or breach any rule. The account is not penalized for the position being open at cutoff — Lucid simply closes it for you. This differs from Max Loss Limit violations, which do terminate accounts. That said, you cannot intentionally hold overnight to bypass the rule — Lucid's auto-close fires regardless of intent, and there is no way to keep a position open past 4:45 PM on evaluation or standard funded accounts.

When does the trading window open each day on Lucid?

Trading resumes at 6:00 PM EST Sunday through Thursday after the previous day's 4:45 PM close. This gives you access to the Asian session (6 PM – 3 AM EST), European session (3 AM – 9:30 AM EST), and US session (9:30 AM – 4:45 PM EST). On Friday the window closes at 4:45 PM and does not reopen until Sunday 6:00 PM EST — no weekend trading.

Can I trade overnight on Lucid?

On LucidPro, LucidFlex, and LucidDirect — no. All positions must close by 4:45 PM EST. On LucidLive (the funded account stage after passing LucidTest or qualifying through LucidDirect) — yes. LucidLive allows swing trading and multi-day holds as long as you maintain overnight margin requirements. The 4:45 PM close rule is specific to evaluation and standard funded accounts; it does not apply once you graduate to LucidLive.

Why does Lucid use 4:45 PM and not 5:00 PM?

Futures officially close at 5:00 PM EST but Lucid uses 4:45 PM to create a 15-minute processing buffer. This gives manual close orders time to execute cleanly before market close, allows Lucid's auto-liquidation systems to detect and close open positions before 5 PM, and prevents complications with positions accidentally rolling into the brief overnight gap before futures reopen. The 15-minute buffer is a risk management design choice, not an arbitrary restriction.

Can I trade during Asian and European sessions on Lucid?

Yes. The full trading window from Sunday 6:00 PM EST through Friday 4:45 PM EST includes Asian and European sessions. You can trade overnight from 6 PM to 9:30 AM EST and into the full US session. The only restriction is that all positions must be flat by 4:45 PM EST — you cannot hold a position opened during the Asian session through the 5 PM close. Day traders and scalpers working Asian or European session setups have full access to those hours.

What happens to trading times on market holidays?

On holidays with early market closures, all positions must close before the CME early close, not at the usual 4:45 PM EST. Lucid auto-closes before the altered market close time. Lucid does not send special notifications for holiday schedule changes — monitor the CME Group holiday schedule independently and plan your trading accordingly. If you are in a trade on a holiday and miss the early close, the auto-liquidation fires at the CME cutoff, which could be significantly earlier than your usual close time.

Does the 4:45 PM close apply to scalpers and news traders?

Yes, but it does not affect most news events or intraday strategies. NFP is released at 8:30 AM EST, FOMC at 2:00 PM EST, and CPI at 8:30 AM EST — all of these fall well within the trading window. Scalpers are unaffected because they close positions intraday anyway. The close restriction only impacts traders who specifically need to hold positions overnight or through the 5 PM settlement — that strategy requires LucidLive, not evaluation or standard funded accounts.

How does LucidLive handle overnight positions?

LucidLive allows swing trading and overnight holds without the 4:45 PM forced close. You must maintain overnight margin requirements to hold through sessions — overnight margin is typically higher than intraday margin. An optional auto-liquidate setting is available during LucidLive onboarding for traders who prefer automated close before nightly maintenance windows (typically 4:00–6:00 PM EST). Traders whose edge requires multi-day holds, overnight gap strategies, or 24–48 hour positions need LucidLive; it is not available on evaluation accounts.

What is the safest practice for managing the 4:45 PM close?

Close all positions manually by 4:30 PM EST — this gives you a 15-minute buffer before Lucid's auto-liquidation triggers at 4:45 PM. If you are in a winning trade at 4:15 PM and the market is trending, take profits rather than risking auto-close at an unpredictable market price. Set an alert in your platform at 4:20 PM as a reminder to begin closing. Never rely on auto-liquidation as your close mechanism — market conditions at exactly 4:45 PM can be unfavorable, and you want control over the exit price.

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