#1 · The daily-drawdown basis trap
Same “5% daily loss limit”, two different rules. How often a winning day still breaches intraday — and how to check which basis your firm measures.
#2 · The floor that moves
Static vs trailing max loss. How a trailing floor can fail you while you're up 7% — and which high-water mark the firm actually trails.
#3 · When winning too fast fails you
The consistency cap: hit target, denied the pass, because one day made too much of the profit. The arithmetic of concentration.
#4 · The finish line that moves
Payout traps: first-payout gates, splits that scale, checks that re-run at withdrawal, and speed as a risk disclosure.
Shape studies
Real challenge shapes through 2,000 Monte Carlo paths — the numbers, not the marketing.
FTMO-style 100k
10% / 5% / 10% static: ~88% close, ~85% funded, 63% under stress. The classic big-account shape, priced.
FundingPips-style 10k
8% / 4% / 12% static: 93% close, 91% funded, 7 days faster than the 100k shape — until stress flattens it.
New trap every couple of weeks. Have one we should write? Tell us.