# Funded Account Risk Management Rules

> Getting funded is only the first step. Learn the essential risk management rules to protect your funded account long term.

**Tags:** prop-firm, risk-management, funded-account, money-management
**URL:** https://traderjournal.app/prop-firms/funded-account-risk-management-rules

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# Funded Account Risk Management Rules

Many traders celebrate passing their prop firm evaluation, only to lose the funded account within the first week. The transition from a demo challenge to a live funded account introduces psychological pressure that often leads to mistakes.

Protecting your funded account requires shifting your focus from making profits to managing risk.

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## The Rules of Funded Account Survival

To keep your funded account, you must implement strict risk rules in your journal:

- **Risk per Trade:** Limit risk to 0.5% or 1.0% of the account balance. Do not increase this until you have built a buffer of profit.
- **Maximum Open Risk:** Never allow your total open stop loss risk to exceed your daily limit.
- **The Buffer Rule:** Try to make 2% to 3% in profits before taking normal risk. This buffer protects you from a bad streak early on.

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## Documenting Your Rule Compliance

Use your journal to track your adherence to these rules. Create a simple dashboard where you mark "Yes" or "No" for rule compliance on every trade. If you see a "No," pause trading and review the error.

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## Managing the Payout Cycle

Prop firms pay out profit splits bi-weekly or monthly. When you request a payout, your account balance drops, which can bring you closer to your maximum drawdown limit if the firm uses a trailing drawdown model. Track these cycles in your journal to avoid accidental breaches.

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Trader Journal for MT4 and MT5 makes tracking your funded account balance and rules compliance simple and automatic.

Download it today at android.traderjournal.app or ios.traderjournal.app.