How to Pass the Evaluation
Trade a minimum of 5 days.
Hit your profit target.
Follow the rules in this article.
If you do that, you’ll be assigned an Elite account within 72 hours and be on your way to Live Funding.
Diamond Hands Evaluation Product Rules
1. Reach the Profit Target
Each Diamond Hands Evaluation has its own Profit Target and End-of-Day (EOD) Trailing Drawdown. The goal is to reach the Profit Target without hitting the EOD Drawdown.
2. Diamond Hand Trailing Drawdown – Evaluation
Q: How does the trailing drawdown work in Diamond Hands evaluations?
In your Evaluation account, the drawdown trails your highest end-of-day balance.
You also have a daily loss limit calculated from the prior day’s ending balance.
Losses from open positions count intraday. If an open trade dips your balance below the daily loss limit, or the max loss limit, at any point during the session, the Evaluation fails.
Example: You start with $50,000 and a $2,000 max drawdown (minimum balance $48,000). If you end the day with a $1,000 profit, your minimum balance moves to $49,000. If your account touches the daily loss limit intraday, the account fails.
3. Minimum Trade Day Requirement
You must trade for a minimum of 5 days and reach your profit target to qualify for an Elite account. You can purchase the Add-On ODTP to skip the 5-day minimum.
Details on Trading Days
Q: What qualifies as a trading day?
Any day you place a trade qualifies.
Q: Does Sunday count?
No. Sunday evening and Monday are counted as the same trading day.
Q: Is there a maximum number of days to hit my profit target?
No. You may take as many days as you need to hit your profit target. Simply pay the Evaluation subscription every 30 days until you pass.
Note: If you have not failed your Evaluation, your current profit and drawdown will carry over when your renewal is processed.
Q: Can I trade on holidays and during news?
Yes, but volatility can be very low or extremely high. Manage risk carefully to avoid wiping out your account.
Note: Elite Trader Funding is not responsible for your account during times of very low or extremely high volatility.
4. Evaluation Resets
If you fail the Evaluation, you can reset your account anytime from your Trader Dashboard for a fee.
You may reset as many times as needed to pass.
Resets for failed evaluation accounts occur immediately upon monthly renewal, allowing traders to continue without significant interruption.
Note: Resetting your Evaluation does not change your monthly subscription renewal.
Diamond Hands Elite Sim-Funded Product Rules
In this section, we’ll cover the rules for trading your Diamond Hands Elite account and the requirements you must meet to qualify for a payout.
1. Diamond Hand Trailing Drawdown
Q: How does the trailing drawdown work in Diamond Hands Elite Sim-Funded accounts?
How it works: The drawdown trails your highest end-of-day balance until you’ve earned realized profits equal to the max drawdown + $100.
When it stops: Once that safety net is reached, the daily loss limit is removed and the drawdown never moves again.
Your minimum balance: From then on, your starting balance + $100 becomes your minimum allowable balance. If your account falls below this static level, the account will fail.
Example: How the EOD Drawdown Moves
Starting point: You open with a $50,000 account balance. Max drawdown: $2,000 → your minimum balance is $48,000.
EOD trail: If you end a day at $50,900, your minimum moves to $48,900. This process continues each time you set a new highest end-of-day balance.
Locking the drawdown: Once you build $2,100 in realized profits (max DD $2,000 + $100), the trailing stops. From then on, starting balance + $100 is the permanent minimum.
2. No Hedging
Traders are not allowed to hedge against themselves with the same or correlated instruments across one or multiple accounts. This prevents conflicts of interest and market manipulation. Learn more.
3. Maximum Account Position Limits
Each account type and size has maximum position limits for minis and micros.
Q: How do the maximum account positions work?
You are not allowed to exceed the maximum allowed positions at any time. Doing so will result in account failure. In Elite accounts, going over the limit will also forfeit profits with account closure.
Legend: 1 mini = 1 position, 10 micro = 1 position.
Example: An account with a maximum open position of 3 minis (or 30 micros). Allowed: 2 mini + 10 micro. Not allowed: 2 mini + 20 micro (equivalent to 4 positions). Not allowed: 3 mini + 60 micro (9 positions).
4. Household Trading Rule
Traders from the same household are not allowed to participate at ETF under any circumstances. Learn more.
5. Trading for Others
Trading for another user, whether within the same household or remotely, is strictly prohibited. Learn more.
6. Flatten Trades
Diamond Hands can hold trades overnight. There is no requirement to close positions one minute before market close. Manage risk appropriately across sessions and be mindful of holiday/maintenance gaps.
Example: You may carry an ES position overnight. Be aware that overnight moves can be significant and may impact your daily loss limit at the next session’s open.
7. Weekly Trading Requirement
Traders must execute at least one trade per week to keep their account active. If you cannot trade, notify ETF via the self-serve form. Missing a week will result in account closure and void payouts. Applies to all account types, including Diamond Hands.
8. Loss Limit Rule
Once a trader earns 20% profit on their Elite Sim-Funded account, a new loss limit applies. If you lose more than 35% of your total profit from that point, ETF may remove your account from the Elite Sim program. This overrides the initial max drawdown and disqualifies you from the Live Elite program. This rule promotes responsible risk management.
This assessment occurs during audits or payout requests, where accounts are checked for stability.
9. Elite Reset
All ETF Elite accounts can be reset only three times.
Please visit the article below to review your reset pricing options.
10. Details on Trading Days
Q: What qualifies as a trading day?
Any day you place a trade qualifies.
Q: Does Sunday count?
No. Sunday evening and Monday are counted as the same trading day.
Q: Can I trade on holidays and during news?
Yes, but volatility can be very low or extremely high. Manage risk carefully.
Note: Elite Trader Funding is not responsible for your account during times of very low or extremely high volatility.
Q: What contract can I trade?
You must trade the most current contract with the highest volume.
Q: What happens when a contract expires?
Prior to contract expiration, traders should close positions in the expiring contract and re-establish them in the most liquid contract.
Elite Payout Requirements
For each payout cycle, you must maintain the safety net and achieve the required number of Active Trade Days.
1. Meet the Active Trade Day Requirement
Traders must complete 8 Active Trading Days (ATDs) for Payout Cycle 1. For Payout Cycles 2–4, 10 ATDs are required.
Q: What qualifies as an ATD? Any day you place a trade that results in at least $200 realized profit and at least 23% of your best ATD P&L.
For 10K 1 Step, 25K 1 Step, 25K EOD, and 100K Static Elite accounts, the minimum is $100 instead of $200.
If both criteria are not met, the day will not qualify as an ATD, but profits still count toward your balance. Continue trading until you meet the ATD requirements.
23% Rule: You must earn at least 23% of your best trading day’s profit for the day to qualify. For example, if your best day’s profit is $1,000, you must earn at least $230 on other days for them to count as ATDs.
Check out the example below:
Note: Your best trading day P&L does not reset after a payout. It only resets if you establish a new best day with a higher realized profit.
2. Achieve the Safety Net
You must reach your safety net to meet the first payout requirement. Once you earn realized profits equal to the account max drawdown + $100, the EOD drawdown locks permanently, and the daily loss limit (if applicable) is removed. You cannot withdraw from the safety net during any payout cycles.
Payout Steps
Meet Requirements: Ensure you’ve met the safety net and ATDs.
Request a Payout: Visit your Trader Dashboard and request a payout.
Trade Activity Audited: Your activity will be audited for compliance.
Subscription Active: Keep your subscription active during the payout process.
KYC & Rise Onboarding: Complete KYC and onboard with Rise to receive payments. Residents of restricted countries are not eligible.
Use this table to see the payout ranges for each funding amount and how they increase across cycles until reaching the $25,000 cap and Live account eligibility.
Payout Requests Timing
Approval Timeline: Payouts are approved daily, Mon–Fri, from 3 PM Eastern (excluding holidays).
Cut-Off Time: The cut-off time for approved payout requests to be included in Monday’s batch is Friday at 5 PM EST and the cut-off time for the Wednesday batch is Tuesday at 5 PM EST. Requests after this time will be rolled over to next week.
Elite Sim Payouts: Processed twice weekly, Mondays and Wednesdays.
Live Elite Payouts: Processed daily.
Once you receive email confirmation that your payout is approved, funds are deducted from your account and you may immediately resume trading. Your Trader Dashboard will update with your next trade. You must still meet the weekly trading requirement, or your account may be closed, and payouts will be voided.
Profit Split
Once approved, traders keep up to 100% of simulation profits up to $25,000.
Payout Structure
You can request withdrawals once you’ve met the payout requirements and are in a Payout Cycle.
Withdrawals can be as little as $100, up to the Payout Cycle maximum.
In any Payout Cycle, you may withdraw a minimum of $100 until reaching the Payout Cycle maximum cap. (New requests can only be made once the payout has been processed.)
⚠️ If you qualify for Payout Cycle 2 before fully withdrawing Payout Cycle 1, unused funds from Payout Cycle 1 are forfeited.
The day your payout is approved does not count toward your ATD requirement, but the funds will be added to your account balance.
This same structure applies to each payout cycle.
Example: In Payout Cycle 1, the maximum payout is $2,000. You can withdraw $100 until reaching $2,000. If you qualify for Payout Cycle 2 after withdrawing $1,500, the remaining $500 is forfeited. In Payout Cycle 2, your new payout maximum applies with the same rules.
LIVE ELITE Transition
How do I get moved to Live?
ETF may transition traders from their Elite Sim-Funded account to a LIVE ELITE account at our discretion—this can happen before, during, or after a payout request.
Transition criteria may include:
5 payouts per trader
50 Active Trading Days per trader
$25,000 total payout cap per trader
What is my starting balance for LIVE ELITE?
Your LIVE ELITE static balance is based on your single best-performing Elite Sim-Funded account that has reached the safety net (account max drawdown + $100):
50K or below: $2,000
100K: $3,000
150K or above: $5,000
If your top-performing account is a Direct to Funded (DTF) account:
25K DTF: $2,500
50K DTF: $5,000
100K DTF: $5,000
NOTE: CME Rules Compliance
All traders must complete 34 lessons on CME Rules and Regulations before advancing to your LIVE ELITE account. Review CME guidelines here.
Diamond Hand Accounts bought before September 17, 2025, will continue under the previous payout/LIVE ELITE policies.
NOTE: ETF may transition traders from their Elite Sim-Funded account to a LIVE ELITE account at our discretion—this can happen before, during, or after a payout request.