Prop and order-flow terms in plain English

What you actually pay to have a real shot at a funded seat: evaluation price + activation fee (if any) + the cost of each failed attempt (reset fee, or a new evaluation when the firm has no resets). A low sticker price with expensive resets is often not the cheapest path.

A paid test account with a profit target, drawdown rules and often a minimum trading-day count. Passing is not the same as receiving a payout. Read it as a product with a bill and a rulebook.

A fee some firms charge after you pass, before the funded or sim-funded account starts. We fold it into true cost whenever the firm’s official page lists one.

Paying to restart a failed evaluation — or buying a brand-new evaluation if resets are not offered. Budget at least one failed attempt before you click buy.

A fixed loss floor that does not trail higher as you make profits. Simple to reason about; still confirm whether open trades count.

A floor that usually updates from end-of-day closed equity. Intraday swings may be allowed as long as you finish the day above the trail. Confirm the firm’s exact wording.

A floor that can move while the session is open, sometimes including open profit. This is the rule that surprises traders who only practiced on static drawdown.

A hard or soft cap on how much you can lose in one day. Ask whether unrealized loss counts and whether hitting it closes positions automatically.

A rule that caps how much of the profit target can come from one day (for example 40%). Forces smoother equity; changes how you size winners.

The dollar amount you must make in the evaluation (or funded stage) before you “pass.” Always pair it with minimum days and consistency.

When and how you can withdraw, what buffer stays locked, and what share of profits you keep. Passing the target without reading payout rules is how paper wins vanish.

Studying who was aggressive at which prices and in what size (footprint, delta, volume profile) instead of reading candle shape alone. It describes what traded — it does not reveal intent or guarantee an edge.

Delta = aggressive buy volume minus aggressive sell volume in a bar or at a price. Cumulative volume delta (CVD) sums delta over time. Visual context only — not a buy/sell signal by itself.

A chart that splits each bar into price levels and shows volume traded at the bid and ask. Useful for spotting imbalances, absorption and exhaustion.

A histogram of volume by price. POC (point of control), value area high/low, and high/low volume nodes help mark accepted vs rejected prices.

Price levels inferred from options positioning (call/put walls, gamma regimes, and similar maps). Futures traders use them as context for a daily map — this site does not teach options trading or provide options signals.

Price running resting stops beyond a level, often before reversing. A description of an event — not an automatic entry.

Aggressive orders hitting large passive size without much price progress. Suggests a fight at the level; still needs context and risk rules.

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