TakeProfitTrader Rule 4: Approved Products & Trading Hours

TakeProfitTrader Rule 4 restricts trading to approved CME Group futures products including equity index futures (ES, NQ, RTY, YM and their micro equivalents MES, MNQ, M2K, MYM), energy futures (CL, NG), metals (GC, SI, HG), and agricultural commodities (ZC, ZS, ZW), while prohibiting Treasury products like ZB and ZN entirely.

Trading hours follow CME's extended trading hours (ETH) from 6:00 PM Sunday to 5:00 PM Friday ET with a 60-minute maintenance break 5:00-6:00 PM daily, allowing overnight and weekend positions except during the brief nightly maintenance window and official CME market closures for holidays.

Violating Rule 4 by trading non-approved products triggers immediate account lockout with potential permanent termination rather than simple reset options, while trading outside permitted hours (during maintenance or holidays) results in position force-closure and rule violation flags. Understanding which products are approved and when markets are accessible prevents accidental violations that can end your funded trading career.

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 4 Part A: Approved Products List

Equity Index Futures (Approved)

Standard contracts:

• ES – E-mini S&P 500 ($50 per point)
• NQ – E-mini Nasdaq-100 ($20 per point)
• RTY – E-mini Russell 2000 ($50 per point)
• YM – E-mini Dow Jones ($5 per point)

Micro contracts:

• MES – Micro E-mini S&P 500 ($5 per point)
• MNQ – Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 ($2 per point)
• M2K – Micro E-mini Russell 2000 ($5 per point)
• MYM – Micro E-mini Dow Jones ($0.50 per point)

Why these are approved:

High liquidity, tight spreads, predictable volatility, most popular retail futures products.

Energy Futures (Approved)

• CL – Crude Oil WTI ($1,000 per $1 move)
• NG – Natural Gas ($10,000 per $1 move)
• RB – Gasoline RBOB ($42,000 per $1 move)
• HO – Heating Oil ($42,000 per $1 move)

Why these are approved:

Liquid markets, clear fundamental drivers, widely traded.

Metals Futures (Approved)

• GC – Gold ($100 per $1 move)
• SI – Silver ($5,000 per $1 move)
• HG – Copper ($25,000 per $1 move)
• MGC – Micro Gold ($10 per $1 move)
• SIL – Micro Silver ($50 per $10 move)

Why these are approved:

Stable liquidity, clear technical patterns, 24-hour trading.

Agricultural Futures (Approved)

• ZC – Corn ($50 per bushel)
• ZS – Soybeans ($50 per bushel)
• ZW – Wheat ($50 per bushel)
• ZL – Soybean Oil ($600 per cent)
• ZM – Soybean Meal ($100 per ton)

Why these are approved:

CME's most liquid agricultural products, seasonal but predictable.

For complete permitted products: https://proptradingvibes.com/blog/takeprofittrader-permitted-products

Rule 4 Part A: PROHIBITED Products

Treasury Futures (Explicitly Banned):

• ❌ ZB – 30-Year Treasury Bonds
• ❌ ZN – 10-Year Treasury Notes
• ❌ ZF – 5-Year Treasury Notes
• ❌ ZT – 2-Year Treasury Notes

Why these are prohibited:

High leverage with relatively low margin requirements creates extreme risk for prop firms. A small move can cause massive drawdown.

Currency Futures (Restricted):

• ❌ 6E – Euro FX
• ❌ 6B – British Pound
• ❌ 6J – Japanese Yen
• ❌ 6A – Australian Dollar

Why these are restricted:

Lower liquidity in retail futures markets, spreads too wide for micro accounts, geopolitical event risk.

Exotic/Low Liquidity Products:

• ❌ Bitcoin futures (BTC)
• ❌ Lumber (LBR)
• ❌ Lean Hogs (HE)
• ❌ Most single-stock futures

Why these are prohibited:

Low liquidity = poor fills, high slippage, manipulation risk.

What happens if you trade prohibited products:

Penalty: Immediate account termination (not just lockout—permanent ban)

Why so harsh:

Rule 4 is clearly stated. Violating it suggests intentional rule circumvention.

Rule 4 Part B: Permitted Trading Hours

CME Extended Trading Hours (ETH):

Available: 6:00 PM ET Sunday – 5:00 PM ET Friday

Daily maintenance break: 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET (60 minutes)

Example trading schedule:

Sunday:

• 6:00 PM ET: Futures markets open
• Trade overnight through Monday

Monday - Thursday:

• Trade 6:00 PM Sunday through 5:00 PM ET
• Break: 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET
• Resume: 6:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET next day

Friday:

• Trade until 5:00 PM ET
• Markets close for weekend

Total available trading time: 113 hours per week (6 days × 23 hours - maintenance breaks)

Can You Hold Positions Overnight?

Yes. No restrictions on overnight positions.

Example:

Monday 2:00 PM: Enter long 1 ES at 5,000
Tuesday 9:30 AM: Exit long 1 ES at 5,020

Compliant? Yes. Holding overnight is allowed.

Can you hold over weekends?

Yes, but markets are closed Friday 5:00 PM – Sunday 6:00 PM ET.

Example:

Friday 3:00 PM: Enter long 1 MES
Monday 9:30 AM: Exit long 1 MES

Compliant? Yes.

Risk: Weekend gap risk. News over the weekend can cause large gap opening Sunday evening.

Trading During CME Maintenance Break

Daily maintenance: 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Can you trade during this window?

No. CME futures exchanges are offline. No orders can execute.

What happens to open positions?

They remain open. You just can't enter new positions or close existing ones.

Can you place limit orders that activate during maintenance?

No. Orders placed before 5:00 PM might execute between 5:59 PM and 5:00 PM, but during the 60-minute window, exchanges are completely offline.

Strategy: Close all day trades before 5:00 PM ET if you don't want to hold through the break.

Trading During Major Market Holidays

CME closes completely for:

• New Year's Day
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day (partial closure)
• Good Friday (partial closure)
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day

What happens if you have open positions?

Your options:

1. Close positions before market close day before holiday
2. Hold through holiday (positions remain open, can't adjust)

Can you trade early on holiday shortened days?

Yes, but markets may close early (e.g., 1:00 PM ET instead of 5:00 PM ET).

Strategy: Check CME holiday calendar at start of each month: https://www.cmegroup.com/tools-information/holiday-calendar.html

Time Zone Considerations

All TakeProfitTrader times are Eastern Time (ET).

If you're in Pacific Time (PT):

ETH opens: 3:00 PM PT Sunday (6:00 PM ET)
Maintenance: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM PT daily (5:00-6:00 PM ET)
Weekly close: 2:00 PM PT Friday (5:00 PM ET)

If you're in Europe (CET/GMT+1):

ETH opens: 12:00 AM CET Monday (6:00 PM ET Sunday)
Maintenance: 11:00 PM – 12:00 AM CET (5:00-6:00 PM ET)

If you're in Asia (Singapore SGT/GMT+8):

ETH opens: 6:00 AM SGT Monday (6:00 PM ET Sunday)
Maintenance: 5:00 AM – 6:00 AM SGT (5:00-6:00 PM ET)

Set your trading platform timezone to ET to avoid confusion about permitted hours.

Most Commonly Traded Products by TPT Traders

Based on volume:

1. MES (Micro E-mini S&P) – 40% of all trades
2. ES (E-mini S&P) – 25%
3. MNQ (Micro Nasdaq) – 15%
4. NQ (E-mini Nasdaq) – 10%
5. CL (Crude Oil) – 5%
6. GC (Gold) – 3%
7. Others – 2%

Why MES dominates?

• Lowest capital requirement per contract
• Same price movements as ES (1/10 the risk)
• Perfect for smaller accounts ($25K-50K)
• Tight spreads, high liquidity

Position Size Limits by Product

Even approved products have position limits:

These limits apply to approved products only.

Violating position size limits = immediate account violation regardless of product.

For position size details: https://proptradingvibes.com/blog/tpt-es-nq-limits

Common Rule 4 Violation Scenarios

Scenario 1: Accidentally trading ZB (30-year bonds)

You usually trade ZC (corn). You mistype "ZB" instead of "ZC" in your order entry.

Result: Immediate account termination (not reset—permanent ban)

Prevention: Double-check product symbol before executing.

Scenario 2: Holding position through maintenance, forgot to close

You have long ES position open at 4:50 PM ET. You intended to close but forgot.

5:00 PM: Maintenance starts, you can't close position

Result: No violation (positions can stay open during maintenance). But you're exposed to potential gap risk when market reopens at 6:00 PM.

Scenario 3: Trying to trade during Christmas

You forgot Christmas is a full market closure. You attempt to place order.

Result: Order rejected by platform (market closed). No violation because order never executed.

Scenario 4: Trading currency futures because you thought all CME products allowed

You trade 6E (Euro FX) thinking "it's on CME, must be approved."

Result: Account termination

Prevention: Review permitted products list before trading any new product.

How to Verify Product Approval Before Trading

Step 1: Check TakeProfitTrader's official permitted products page

Step 2: If product not explicitly listed, assume it's prohibited

Step 3: Contact support if unsure: support@takeprofittrader.com

Better safe than sorry: Getting a written confirmation from support takes 24 hours. Better than risking account termination.

Bottom Line

TakeProfitTrader Rule 4 restricts trading to approved CME Group futures including equity index futures (ES, NQ, RTY, YM plus micros), energy products (CL, NG), metals (GC, SI, HG), and agricultural commodities (ZC, ZS, ZW), while explicitly prohibiting Treasury products (ZB, ZN) and currency futures (6E, 6B) entirely. Trading hours follow CME extended trading hours from 6:00 PM ET Sunday through 5:00 PM ET Friday with a 60-minute daily maintenance break 5:00-6:00 PM ET where no orders can execute, and overnight/weekend positions are permitted except during official CME holiday closures.

Violating product restrictions by trading prohibited instruments like ZB or currency futures triggers immediate permanent account termination rather than reset options, while position size limits (6 standard or 60 micro contracts per $50K) apply even to approved products. The most commonly traded products are MES (40% of volume), ES (25%), and MNQ (15%), with equity index futures dominating due to tight spreads, high liquidity, and 24-hour trading availability. Traders must verify product approval through TakeProfitTrader's permitted products list before trading any new instrument, check CME holiday calendars monthly to avoid trading during market closures, and understand that all time references use Eastern Time to prevent confusion about permitted trading windows across different global timezones.

Your Next Steps

👉 View Complete Permitted Products List

👉 Learn About Position Size Limits

👉 Read About PRO Account Rules

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