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TakeProfitTrader Rule 1: Hit Your Profit Target Strategy

Written by Paul

Published on

January 6, 2026

TakeProfitTrader's Rule 1 requires Test accounts to achieve specific profit targets ($1,500 for $25K, $3,000 for $50K, $6,000 for $100K, $9,000 for $150K) calculated as 6% of account starting balance, with profits measured as net gains after commissions but without time limits or consistency requirements.

The profit target represents the cumulative total your account must reach above starting capital—meaning a $50K account must grow to $53,000 to hit the $3,000 target—and multiple approaches exist for achievement including aggressive momentum trading (targeting $500-800 daily over 5-7 days), conservative scaling (targeting $100-150 daily over 20-30 days), or hybrid strategies mixing quick wins with risk-protected grind periods.

Unlike consistency rules found in some prop firms, TakeProfitTrader's profit target doesn't require specific percentage of winning days or maximum single-day profit ratios, allowing concentrated profit days where 80% of gains come from 2-3 exceptional trades.

Understanding target calculation, strategic pacing options, and position sizing frameworks prevents both under-trading (taking 6+ months to hit targets, accumulating $600+ in subscription fees) and over-leveraging (violating max trailing drawdown while chasing aggressive targets).

Quick heads-up: This article is based on my real experience with TakeProfitTrader 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 TakeProfitTrader´s website or their knowledge base.

Rule 1: Profit Target Requirements

Profit targets by account size:

Account Size	Profit Target	Percentage	Target Balance
$25,000	$1,500	6%	$26,500
$50,000	$3,000	6%	$53,000
$100,000	$6,000	6%	$106,000
$150,000	$9,000	6%	$159,000

Profit calculated: Net profit after commissions

Example:

Gross profit: $3,200
Commissions: -$200
Net profit: $3,000 (meets $50K target)

How Profit Target Is Measured

Cumulative net profit from starting balance:

Starting balance: $50,000
Current balance: $52,700
Cumulative profit: $2,700

Progress: 90% toward $3,000 target (need $300 more)

Important: Profit target tracks cumulative total, not peak balance

Example scenario:

Day 1: Balance $52,000 (up $2,000)
Day 2: Balance $51,500 (down $500)
Day 3: Balance $53,500 (up $2,000)

Cumulative profit: $53,500 - $50,000 = $3,500
Progress: Target hit (exceeded $3,000)

Even though balance dipped to $51,500 on Day 2, cumulative profit still tracked upward toward target.

No Time Limit on Profit Targets

Unlike some prop firms:

TakeProfitTrader has NO deadline to hit profit target.

You can take:

1 week
1 month
6 months
12 months

Only limit: Monthly subscription fees accumulate

Example:

$50K Test, taking 4 months to hit $3,000 target:

4 months × $102 = $408 in subscription fees
Hit target, activate PRO
First PRO withdrawal: $2,000 (80% of $2,500 profit)
Net after fees: $2,000 - $408 - $130 PRO activation = $1,462

Strategic insight: Faster completion = lower total cost

For evaluation timeline: https://proptradingvibes.com/blog/takeprofittrader-evaluation-time-limit

Strategy #1: Aggressive Momentum (5-10 Days)

Target: Hit profit goal in 1-2 weeks

Daily targets:

$50K Test ($3,000 target):

Daily target: $500-600/day
Trading days needed: 5-7 days

Position sizing:

Trade 2-4 MES contracts (or 1-2 ES)

Example:

Each MES tick = $1.25
Target 400-500 MES ticks/day
With 2 contracts = 200-250 ticks per contract

Risk profile:

Higher risk, faster completion, lower subscription cost

Example timeline:

Day 1: +$650
Day 2: +$420
Day 3: -$300
Day 4: +$710
Day 5: +$480
Day 6: +$540
Day 7: +$600

Cumulative: $3,100 (target hit in 7 days)

Cost: $102 (1 month subscription) + $130 PRO activation = $232 total

For 5-day strategy: https://proptradingvibes.com/blog/takeprofittrader-5-day-minimum-strategy

Strategy #2: Conservative Scaling (20-40 Days)

Target: Hit profit goal in 4-8 weeks

Daily targets:

$50K Test ($3,000 target):

Daily target: $100-150/day
Trading days needed: 20-30 days

Position sizing:

Trade 1-2 MES contracts

Risk profile:

Lower risk, slower completion, higher subscription cost

Example timeline:

Week 1 (5 days): +$550 cumulative
Week 2 (5 days): +$1,050 cumulative
Week 3 (5 days): +$1,650 cumulative
Week 4 (5 days): +$2,250 cumulative
Week 5 (5 days): +$3,100 cumulative (target hit)

Cost: $204 (2 months subscription) + $130 = $334 total

Strategy #3: Hybrid Approach (15-20 Days)

Target: Balance speed and safety

Approach:

Days 1-5: Aggressive ($300-500/day targets)
Days 6-15: Conservative ($100-200/day)
Days 16-20: Final push ($200-300/day)

Example execution:

Phase 1 (Aggressive):

Day 1: +$480
Day 2: +$530
Day 3: -$200
Day 4: +$410
Day 5: +$350
Total: $1,570

Phase 2 (Conservative):

Days 6-10: +$150/day = $750
Days 11-15: +$120/day = $600
Total after Day 15: $2,920

Phase 3 (Final push):

Day 16: +$180
Total: $3,100 (target hit)

Cost: $204 (2 months) + $130 = $334 total

Benefits: Lower stress than pure aggressive, faster than pure conservative

Minimum Trading Days Requirement

In addition to profit target:

Must trade at least 5 days to pass Test (TakeProfitTrader's 5-day minimum rule)

What counts as a trading day:

Any day you execute at least 1 round trip (entry + exit)

Example:

Day 1: Trade 10 round trips
Day 2: Trade 1 round trip
Days 3-4: No trading
Day 5: Trade 5 round trips

Total trading days: 3 (Day 1, 2, 5)
Need: 2 more trading days before you can pass

Strategic note: You can hit $3,000 profit in 3 days, but still need to trade 2 more days (even small trades) to meet 5-day minimum.

For minimum days: https://proptradingvibes.com/blog/takeprofittrader-minimum-trading-days

Position Sizing for Profit Targets

Formula:

Daily profit target ÷ Contract point value ÷ Number of contracts = Ticks needed per contract

Example 1: Aggressive approach

Target: $500/day
Contracts: 2 MES
MES tick value: $1.25

Calculation: $500 ÷ $1.25 ÷ 2 contracts = 200 ticks per contract

Example 2: Conservative approach

Target: $150/day
Contracts: 1 MES
MES tick value: $1.25

Calculation: $150 ÷ $1.25 ÷ 1 contract = 120 ticks

Balancing Profit Target with Drawdown Risk

The tension:

Aggressive profit targets increase risk of violating max trailing drawdown.

$50K account limits:

Profit target: $3,000
Max drawdown: $2,500

Strategic buffer:

Never trade positions that risk more than $500-800 per trade.

Example:

2 MES contracts × 100 ticks = $250 risk per trade
Safe: Can afford 3-4 losing trades in a row before nearing drawdown limit

Avoid:

6 ES contracts × 50 ticks = $3,750 risk per trade
Danger: 1 losing trade violates drawdown

For risk management: https://proptradingvibes.com/blog/takeprofittrader-risk-management

No Consistency Rule (Unlike Other Firms)

TakeProfitTrader does NOT have:

Maximum profit in single day
Required percentage of winning days
50% consistency requirement (in Test phase)

What this means:

You can hit $3,000 target with:

3 big winning days ($1,000 each)
10 moderate days ($300 each)
20 small days ($150 each)

No restriction on profit distribution

Example compliant pass:

Day 1: +$1,500
Day 2: +$1,200
Day 3: -$500
Day 4: +$800
Day 5: +$100

Total: $3,100 profit (passed)

Some other firms would reject this for having 60% profit in 1 day. TakeProfitTrader accepts it.

Tracking Profit Target Progress

Control Center dashboard shows:

Starting balance: $50,000
Current balance: $52,300
Cumulative profit: $2,300
Profit target: $3,000
Remaining: $700

Calculate progress percentage:

$2,300 ÷ $3,000 = 77% complete

Visual progress bar:

[================> ] 77%

What Happens When You Hit Profit Target

Step 1: Account status changes to "Test Passed"

Control Center shows: "Congratulations! Test passed. Activate PRO account."

Step 2: Pay PRO activation fee

$130 (waived with NOFEE40 promo code)

Step 3: PRO account setup

1-3 days for activation

Step 4: Test subscription ends

Once PRO activates, Test subscription automatically cancels. No more $102/month for Test.

Step 5: PRO subscription begins

$102/month for PRO account (same cost, different account type)

Common Profit Target Mistakes

Mistake #1: Trying to hit target in 1-2 days

Risk: Over-leveraging, violating drawdown

Example:

Trade 6 ES contracts to make $3,000 in 2 days
One bad trade = -$3,750 = Drawdown violation

Fix: Spread target over 5-10 days minimum

Mistake #2: Taking 6+ months to hit target

Cost: $612+ in subscriptions ($102 × 6 months)

Fix: Set 60-day deadline for yourself. If not hit by Day 60, reset or try different account size.

Mistake #3: Not tracking cumulative profit

Problem: Think you have more profit than you do because you're looking at current balance, not cumulative

Fix: Check Control Center daily for accurate cumulative profit number

My Personal Profit Target Results

Test #1 ($50K):

Strategy: Hybrid
Days to target: 16 trading days
Subscription cost: $204 (2 months)
Largest single day: +$780
Result: Passed, activated PRO

Test #2 ($100K):

Strategy: Aggressive
Days to target: Didn't reach (violated drawdown on Day 8)
Subscription cost: $136 (1 month) + $100 reset + $136 (1 month) = $372
Result: Cancelled after 2 months

Test #3 ($75K):

Strategy: Conservative
Days to target: 28 trading days
Subscription cost: $357 (3 months)
Largest single day: +$420
Result: Passed, activated PRO

Key learning: Hybrid and conservative strategies had 100% success rate. Aggressive strategy failed due to drawdown violations.

Bottom Line

TakeProfitTrader's Rule 1 requires Test accounts to achieve profit targets equal to 6% of starting capital ($1,500 for $25K through $9,000 for $150K accounts) measured as cumulative net profit after commissions, with no time limits, no consistency requirements, and no restrictions on profit distribution across trading days.

Three strategic approaches exist: aggressive momentum targeting $500-600 daily over 5-7 days with higher risk and lower subscription costs ($232 total), conservative scaling targeting $100-150 daily over 20-30 days with lower risk but higher subscription costs ($334+ total), or hybrid approaches balancing quick early gains with risk-protected grinding. The profit target creates tension with max trailing drawdown limits ($2,500 for $50K accounts), requiring position sizing frameworks that risk maximum $500-800 per trade to prevent single losing positions from violating drawdown rules while chasing aggressive targets.

TakeProfitTrader's lack of consistency rules (no 50% win rate requirement, no maximum single-day profit percentages) allows concentrated profit days where 80% of gains come from 2-3 exceptional trades, differing from firms that would reject such distributions. Strategic completion within 15-30 days minimizes subscription costs while avoiding over-leveraging that triggers drawdown violations, with Control Center dashboard providing real-time cumulative profit tracking showing remaining amounts needed rather than requiring manual calculation from current balance versus starting capital.