Drawdown lock — The point at which a trailing drawdown stops moving up, usually once the floor reaches the starting balance plus a set buffer.
How drawdown lock works in prop trading
A trailing drawdown does not trail forever. Most firms freeze it once the floor has climbed to your original starting balance, or that balance plus a fixed buffer of a few hundred dollars. After the lock the account behaves like a static-drawdown account: further profits add permanent cushion and the breach level stays put.
Reaching the lock is a genuine milestone and worth planning around, because it is the moment the account stops being able to lose the capital you began with. On many futures programs the lock point sits close to the profit target, which means the trader who passes the evaluation and the trader who locks the drawdown are often the same trader on the same day.
Key points
- The lock is usually the starting balance plus a buffer — commonly $100 to $500 above it.
- After locking, the account is effectively a static-drawdown account.
- Locking is the point at which your original balance can no longer be lost.
- Some programs never lock the trail; that is a materially harder product and worth checking before purchase.
Example
$50,000 account, $2,000 trailing drawdown, lock at starting balance plus $100. The floor stops at $50,100 once the balance reaches $52,100 — from then on your first $50,100 is safe.
Also known as
- locked drawdown
- drawdown stop moving
- trailing threshold
Frequently asked questions
When does the trailing drawdown lock?
Typically once the trailing floor has risen to your initial balance plus the firm's buffer. On a $50,000 account with a $2,000 trail and a $100 buffer, that happens when the balance reaches $52,100. The rule is stated per program and is not consistent across firms.
What happens after the drawdown locks?
The floor stops moving. Every subsequent dollar of profit becomes permanent buffer, and the account can no longer breach on giving back gains you made after the lock. It is the single biggest reduction in risk an account undergoes.
Put this into practice
Drawdown lock is described here as a plain-language educational definition. Firms, platforms, and account programs may apply different conditions or calculations. Verify the current official terms before using this definition to make an account decision.