Mission 05 / 7 min read

Account Survival

Sizing, daily loss limits, and the behaviour patterns that end most accounts early.

Rank

Cadet

XP0 / 60 → Trainee Pilot
Streak

0 days

Unit 1 of 3

Size against drawdown, not against balance

Survival comes before profitability. An account that is still open next month can still be profitable; one that breached its drawdown cannot. This lesson is about staying in the game.

Your account balance is not your risk capital. Your drawdown buffer — the distance between current equity and the level that closes the account — is. On a $50,000 account with a $2,000 trailing drawdown, you are trading a $2,000 account with a large number printed on the screen.

  • Risk no more than 1% of your drawdown buffer per trade (e.g. $20 of a $2,000 buffer).
  • Cap daily loss at 3 times your per-trade risk, then stop for the day.
  • Recalculate size whenever the buffer changes — it is not a one-time setting.
  • Aim to survive at least 30 consecutive losing trades without breaching.
The arithmetic of ruin

Risking 10% of your buffer per trade means ten losses in a row ends the account. Ten losses in a row is an ordinary, expected event for any strategy — plan to survive it.

Checkpoint

A $50,000 account has a $2,000 trailing drawdown buffer. Using the 1% rule, what is your maximum risk per trade?

15 XP
$

Your per-trade risk is $20. Using the 3x rule, where does your daily loss limit sit?

10 XP
$

You risk a fixed $200 per trade against a $2,000 buffer (10%). How many consecutive losses close the account?

15 XP

Educational content only. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. Mission 05 — Astrofund program rules & FAQs.