Guides
How prop-firm evaluations actually work — trailing drawdown, the consistency rule, profit targets — laid out plainly with worked examples, plus how to get your trades into Tradervana.
Start here
How to paper trade futures on TradingView, step by step
A free, beginner-friendly walkthrough: open a micro futures chart (MES, MNQ), connect TradingView's paper trading account, place your first bracket order with a stop and target, and set the account up like a prop-firm evaluation.
Updated Oct 3, 2026 · 11 min read
Prop firm trading for beginners: zero to your first account
Starting from no trading knowledge at all: how futures work, how to set up TradingView and paper trade, how prop firms really make money, the rules that fail people, and a step-by-step plan to your first evaluation.
Updated Oct 3, 2026 · 30 min read
Prop firm rules
Topstep rules, explained
Topstep's rules in plain English: the trailing Maximum Loss Limit, 55% consistency target, optional DLL, XFA payout paths, scaling plan and fees.
Updated Oct 10, 2026 · 10 min read
Daily loss limit vs. max loss limit, explained
Two separate rules that both end a prop-firm evaluation, and why confusing them is the mistake. How a daily loss limit resets every trading day while a max loss limit never does, and why some firms only enforce one of the two.
Updated Sep 21, 2026 · 4 min read
Payout buffer and days to payout, explained
Getting funded doesn't mean you can request a payout yet. The extra profit cushion some firms require above your starting balance, why it's tied to the max loss limit, and the separate cadence that decides how often you're even allowed to ask.
Updated Sep 21, 2026 · 3 min read
Reset vs. new evaluation: when a reset actually makes sense
Fail an evaluation and most firms offer a discounted reset instead of buying a fresh one. The size of that discount isn't close to consistent across firms — it ranges from over 80% off to functionally nothing.
Updated Sep 21, 2026 · 3 min read
Lucid Trading rules, explained
How Lucid Trading's four account types actually differ — LucidPro, LucidFlex, LucidDaily, and LucidDirect — including the consistency rule, payout buffer, and drawdown mechanics for each.
Updated Oct 10, 2026 · 5 min read
Apex Trader Funding rules, explained
How the Apex evaluation and funded accounts actually work — the EOD vs intraday trailing threshold, profit target, the consistency rule, contract scaling, and what it takes to get a payout.
Updated Oct 10, 2026 · 5 min read
The consistency rule, explained
Why prop firms cap how much of your profit can come from one day, how the best-day percentage rule is actually calculated, and how to pace toward a payout without tripping it.
Updated Sep 13, 2026 · 3 min read
Prop firm rules compared: Apex vs Topstep vs Lucid vs MyFundedFutures vs TakeProfitTrader
The evaluation rules that matter — drawdown type, profit target, daily loss limit, consistency rule, and payout terms — for five of the biggest futures prop firms, side by side.
Updated Oct 10, 2026 · 3 min read
Trailing drawdown, explained
The single rule that fails the most prop-firm evaluations. How a trailing drawdown works, the difference between intraday and end-of-day trailing, when it locks, and why finishing green can still blow the account.
Updated Sep 13, 2026 · 4 min read
Setup & syncing
How to sync your Interactive Brokers account with Tradervana
Connect Interactive Brokers so your trades sync into your journal automatically — setting up a Flex Query and Web Service token, the beta status, and what to do if a sync looks off.
Updated Oct 5, 2026 · 8 min read
How to import trades from a CSV or your own spreadsheet
Get your trade history into Tradervana from any spreadsheet or CSV export — the columns it recognizes automatically, a ready-made template, and how the manual column mapper works when your format is different.
Updated Sep 11, 2026 · 2 min read
How to sync your TopstepX account with Tradervana
Connect TopstepX so your trades sync into your journal automatically — where to get your API key, the beta status, updating a key, and what to do if a symbol or an account doesn't look right.
Updated Sep 1, 2026 · 4 min read
How to sync your Tradovate account with Tradervana
Connect Tradovate so your trades sync into your journal automatically — the connect flow, why prop-firm accounts use the Demo environment, reconnecting, and what to do if an account or its trades don't show up.
Updated Aug 30, 2026 · 3 min read
Get the most out of Tradervana
Getting the most out of Tradervana — Free plan
Everything the free plan can do: importing and entering trades, the dashboard and calendar, tags and R-multiples, strategies and their step checklists, goals, the daily session review, manual account tracking, and share cards.
Updated Sep 5, 2026 · 5 min read
Getting the most out of Tradervana — Pro plan
Everything Pro adds on top of the free plan: automatic broker sync, live rule-set tracking, a pass-plan simulator, inactivity and tilt alerts, payouts and the payout buffer, strategy analytics, the Monthly Debrief, email recaps, the economic-calendar overlay, trade screenshots, and branding-free share cards.
Updated Oct 10, 2026 · 6 min read