HOTFTMO raises max funded to $400K — our review updatedNEWFundedNext now pays 90% profit split on all funded accountsDEALThe5ers free evaluation — limited spots this weekUPDATEE8 Markets drawdown rules updated — see our revised reviewHOTFTMO raises max funded to $400K — our review updatedNEWFundedNext now pays 90% profit split on all funded accountsDEALThe5ers free evaluation — limited spots this weekUPDATEE8 Markets drawdown rules updated — see our revised review

How to Pass the Trade The Pool Challenge (2026)

The rules as they actually apply, the drawdown maths on a $100K account, the mistakes that end most attempts at Trade The Pool, and a risk plan built around this firm's specific limits — not generic advice.

Start the Trade The Pool challenge → Read the full review

Trade The Pool challenge at a glance

Evaluation
1-Step (Day Trade / Swing)
Drawdown model
Static
Minimum days
None on Flex accounts
Time limit
No time limit on Flex
Consistency rule
None
Fee ($100K)
from $42
Fee refunded
No

What Trade The Pool actually asks you to do

Trade The Pool runs a 1-Step (Day Trade / Swing). We have not yet pinned the exact profit target and loss limits into our data for this firm — they are on the firm's own pricing page, and the shape of the challenge (drawdown model, minimum days, time limit) below is what actually decides whether your strategy fits, so read that first.

How the drawdown works here — and how people misread it

Trade The Pool uses a static drawdown: your loss floor is fixed from the starting balance and does not move as you profit. On a $100K account with a stated max loss, the floor stays at the stated floor no matter how high your equity climbs. This is the most forgiving model in the industry, and the mistake traders make with it is treating early profit as "free" risk. It is not free — every dollar you give back is a dollar closer to the same floor.

Model it against your actual stop sizes with the Drawdown Calculator before you start; two minutes there saves a reset fee.

The rules that end Trade The Pool evaluations

  • No consistency rule on record. One strong day counts fully. That does not mean you should swing for it — an oversized day that goes the other way is the daily loss cap.
  • News trading: restricted. Expect a no-trade window around high-impact releases. Note the exact minutes and which calendar the firm uses, and remember a stop that triggers inside the window can count as a trade inside the window.
  • Weekend holding: not allowed. Everything must be flat before the Friday close. If your strategy relies on multi-day holds, this firm is not the fit, and no amount of discipline changes that.
  • EAs / automation: not allowed. Manual only. Even a trade-management script can be flagged, so ask before you attach anything to the platform.
  • Copy trading between your own accounts is not permitted. Running the same trades on two Trade The Pool accounts via a copier is a termination, not a warning.
  • Minimum None on Flex accounts trading days. Hitting the target in two sessions does not pass you — you still have to log the days. Plan small, low-risk trades to fill them rather than sitting out and then forcing it.
  • No time limit. This removes the single biggest cause of blown evaluations — catch-up sizing. Use it: there is no reason to take a trade you would not take on a funded account.

A plan that fits Trade The Pool's rules

  1. Fix risk per trade at 1% and do not touch it. Two losers and the day is done, whatever the platform lets you do.
  2. Set a daily stop below the firm's. Your own line should sit well inside the firm's. The gap is slippage and the "one more trade" moment.
  3. Spread the target across as many sessions as the time limit allows. The target divided by twenty is a small daily number; the mistake is trying to make it a large one.
  4. Screenshot the rules page with the date visible. Terms change. "It said something different when I bought" is worth a lot more with evidence.

Platform

Trade The Pool runs on Trader Evolution (Interactive Brokers). Practise on the same platform before the evaluation starts — a mis-click on an unfamiliar ticket is the dumbest possible way to hit a daily cap, and it happens every week.

After you pass

Passing gets you a funded account, not a payout. The split is 70% flat (no confirmed scaling tier). Withdrawals were processing in Every 14 days when we last checked. The challenge fee is not refunded, so the first payout is where you start recovering it. Read the funded-account rules before your first funded trade: at many firms they are stricter than the evaluation rules, and that is where the second wave of terminations happens.

Quick answers

Does Trade The Pool allow weekend holding?

No — all positions must be closed before the weekend at Trade The Pool.

Can I trade news at Trade The Pool?

No — Trade The Pool restricts trading around high-impact news. Check the exact window in the terms.

How many trading days does the Trade The Pool challenge require?

A minimum of None on Flex accounts. Hitting the target faster does not shorten it.

Is there a time limit on the Trade The Pool evaluation?

No — Trade The Pool has no time limit on the evaluation.

Is the Trade The Pool challenge fee refundable?

No — the fee is not refunded.

Related

Rules change. This page is generated from our review data, last verified recently. Spot something outdated? Report it on the review page.