How to Build a Trading Plan for The 5%ers

About The 5%ers

The 5%ers is a UK-based proprietary trading firm offering multiple funding programs with an emphasis on long-term trader development and scaling. They are not simply selling a funded account — their model is designed to grow consistent traders to significantly larger allocations over time.

Programs: High Stakes (two-phase evaluation), Bootcamp (three-phase, entry-level), and Hyper Growth (one-step, accelerated path).

High Stakes

The main evaluation program. Two phases, no time limit on either.

Phase 1: 8% profit target, 4% max daily loss, 10% max total drawdown, minimum 3 profitable days.

Phase 2: 5% profit target, same drawdown rules (4% daily / 10% total), minimum 3 profitable days.

Account sizes: $5K, $10K, $20K, $40K, $60K, $80K, $100K.

Profit split: Starts at 50%, scales up toward 100% through the scaling plan.

Scaling mechanic: Each time you hit predefined profit milestones, your account allocation doubles. This continues through a series of phases until you reach a full allocation, at which point the profit split reaches its maximum.

Bootcamp

A three-phase evaluation with a lower entry fee — designed as an accessible entry point for traders new to prop firm evaluations.

Each phase: 6% profit target, same drawdown rules as High Stakes.

Profit split: Scales through the same mechanics as High Stakes once funded.

The lower entry price makes Bootcamp a reasonable starting point, but the three phases mean the path to funded status is longer. The same discipline is required throughout.

Hyper Growth

A one-step program for traders who want a faster route to funding.

Phase: 10% profit target, 6% max overall loss, 3% daily pause rule (trading is paused for the remainder of the day when the daily loss reaches 3% — the account is not closed, trading resumes the next day).

Profit split: Starts at 50%, scales toward 100%.

Note that the Hyper Growth daily pause rule is different from a hard daily loss limit — hitting 3% pauses your session for the day, not permanently. This is a more forgiving mechanism than a hard close, but it still requires respecting the 3% threshold as an effective daily ceiling.

Futures programs

The 5%ers also offers futures-specific programs (Futures Bootcamp and Futures Rebate) for traders focused on US futures markets. Rules and structures differ from the forex programs — verify against their current website if futures are your instrument of choice.

Max daily loss (High Stakes and Bootcamp): 4% of initial balance.

Max total drawdown (High Stakes and Bootcamp): 10% of initial balance (balance-based, not trailing).

Note: The 5%ers frequently updates their programs and pricing. Verify all rules against The 5%ers current website before starting an evaluation. Rules were accurate at time of writing (May 2026).

Why most traders fail The 5%ers challenges

The 5%ers evaluation has a 4% daily loss limit on High Stakes and Bootcamp — lower than many competitors. That tighter daily buffer is the most common source of failure.

Oversizing because the account feels small. A $5K account at 4% daily loss gives you only $200 of daily buffer. Many traders instinctively size positions as they would on a personal account, not realising that a single 2R loser can consume the entire day’s allowable loss on a small account.

Treating the scaling plan as distant and abstract. The scaling plan is the point of this firm’s model — but it requires consistent, low-drawdown trading over multiple phases. Traders who go aggressive to “hurry up and scale” instead defeat the entire premise and typically breach well before Phase 2.

Underestimating the 50% profit split in early phases. Starting at 50% split feels low. Some traders take this as a signal to increase risk to compensate for the lower split. This is backwards logic that consistently leads to failures.

Inconsistency between phases. Traders pass Phase 1 carefully, then treat Phase 2 as a formality. Phase 2 has the same drawdown rules. The evaluation is not over when Phase 1 ends.

Not tracking balance vs. equity daily loss correctly. The 4% limit is on your initial balance. On a $10K account, that is $400. Some traders misread this as a percentage of current equity and end up with different (often incorrect) calculations.

Abandoning the plan after a winning streak. A run of good trades creates overconfidence. Traders deviate from their setup criteria, take lower-quality entries, and size up. The drawdown that follows typically undoes a week of careful work in a single session.

The 5%ers are funding the version of you that shows up with the same process every day. That is the trader who passes.

The trading plan structure that passes

The 5%ers’ scaling model is a long-term commitment. To build a plan that works for it, you need to think beyond “passing Phase 1” and structure something you can execute identically whether you are on week one or month six.

Strategy with defined criteria. Specify your markets, your timeframe, your entry criteria, your invalidation levels. The Bootcamp, High Stakes, and Hyper Growth programs allow various instruments — decide in advance which you will trade and which you will not. Fewer markets, better execution.

Risk plan with firm-specific numbers. Your daily loss limit is 4% of your initial balance on High Stakes and Bootcamp — calculate this in dollars and write it down. On Hyper Growth, your effective daily ceiling is 3% (the pause threshold). Set a self-imposed daily stop below the firm’s hard limit, giving yourself a buffer. Define maximum position sizes and maximum concurrent positions.

Scaling-aware targets. Understand what profit milestones trigger account growth. Structure your weekly targets to move toward those milestones methodically — not in single-session rushes.

Review process. The 5%ers rewards consistency over time. A structured post-session review that tracks which setups are working, which are not, and where your drawdown stands is not optional — it is how you see the patterns that determine whether you will scale.

The plan does not have to be complex. It has to be specific, followed, and reviewed.

Position sizing for The 5%ers’ rules

The 4% daily loss limit on a balance-based calculation is tighter than many traders expect. Here is the math across account sizes:

$10K account: - 4% daily loss = $400 - At 1% risk per trade = $100 per trade - Four full-loss trades hit the daily limit

$25K account (not a standard 5%ers size, for reference): - 4% daily loss = $1,000 - At 1% risk = $250 per trade - Four losses = daily breach

$100K account: - 4% daily loss = $4,000 - At 1% risk = $1,000 per trade - Four consecutive full-risk losses hits the limit

Notice that at every account size, four consecutive 1% losses triggers the daily limit. If your strategy’s maximum expected losing streak is five trades, 1% risk per trade is too aggressive for The 5%ers’ rules.

One additional detail on the daily loss calculation: the 4% daily limit is calculated from the higher of (a) your previous day’s closing equity or (b) your initial balance. This means that if you had a profitable day yesterday, today’s daily loss floor is set higher — your buffer in absolute dollar terms is larger on up-days, and it resets accordingly. Track this carefully: do not assume your daily limit is always the same fixed dollar amount throughout the evaluation.

Recommended framework: - Risk 0.5-0.75% per trade on a $10K-$20K account, where the dollar buffer is small - Risk up to 1% on larger accounts where the absolute dollar buffer provides more margin - Set a hard self-imposed daily stop at 2.5% — this leaves 1.5% of buffer for unexpected spread, slippage, or news events - If you hit your self-imposed stop, the session ends. Not a suggestion — a rule.

For the Bootcamp program: the account sizes are different and the fee is lower, but the percentage rules apply identically. Do not let the lower entry price reduce your discipline.

The scaling plan rewards traders who protect capital first and grow it second. The math only works in your favour if you are still in the challenge to see the milestones.

The daily routine that protects your account

The 5%ers’ scaling model makes consistency over weeks and months the measure of success. That kind of consistency does not come from motivation — it comes from routine.

TradingPlan’s routine builder structures the day across five phases, each of which directly supports The 5%ers evaluation requirements:

Weekend Review: Review your current phase status. How close are you to the next profit milestone? Where does your drawdown sit? What was your best and worst decision last week? Set your target range for the coming week — not a single number, but a range that keeps you within your risk parameters.

Pre-Market: Identify your trade candidates for the session. Mark key levels. Check the economic calendar for high-impact events during your trading window. Confirm your position size formula — calculate the dollar amount you are risking per trade today, not estimated. Exact.

Live Session: Execute rule-compliant setups only. Log each trade as it occurs: time, instrument, setup type, direction, size, entry, stop, target. Check your running daily P&L against your self-imposed stop-loss rule throughout the session.

Post-Market: Review every trade from the session. Was each entry compliant with your setup criteria? Were stops respected? What was the setup quality, separate from the outcome? Note anything to review further.

Periodic Review: Weekly, assess your progress toward the current milestone. Are you on track? Is your drawdown managed? Are specific setups underperforming? Monthly, review your setup performance data. The 5%ers’ model requires this kind of longitudinal self-assessment to navigate successfully.

The routine creates one more important thing: a natural session boundary. You stop when the routine says stop, not when the market “gives you a reason to.”

Common mistakes that bust accounts

1. Sizing as if it is a personal account. The 4% daily limit is not abstract. On a $10K account, $400 is your entire day. Trade accordingly — not according to what “feels” right.

2. Taking setups outside your primary market. The 5%ers allows various instruments. This is not an invitation to diversify impulsively. Each new instrument has its own behaviour, spread characteristics, and session dynamics. Trade what you know.

3. Ignoring correlated positions. EUR/USD and EUR/GBP in the same direction, or two yen pairs, effectively doubles your exposure. This is not visible unless you think about it explicitly.

4. Abandoning your stop-loss placement rules. Moving stops to breakeven too early prevents losses, but also removes positions before they reach targets. This compresses your R:R over time and slows progress toward milestones.

5. Treating Phase 2 as nearly done. Phase 2 has a 5% target but the same 4% daily loss and 10% total drawdown rules. The evaluation does not end until you are funded. Full discipline, full routine, every session.

6. Not using the no-time-limit provision correctly. There is no deadline on The 5%ers evaluations. Slow, consistent trading over 8 weeks is better than aggressive trading over 2 weeks that ends in a breach. The patience is the skill being tested.

7. Getting attached to a specific profit milestone timeline. You do not know when the next winning week will come. Building a fixed timeline (“I will hit the first milestone by month two”) creates pressure that degrades decision quality.

8. Not reviewing failed trades for rule compliance. The difference between “I lost $300” and “I lost $300 on a trade that didn’t meet my criteria” is significant. The second type is preventable with a plan.

9. Ignoring the minimum profitable days requirement on High Stakes. High Stakes requires a minimum of 3 profitable days per phase — this is not a time limit but a distribution requirement. A trader who hits the 8% profit target across 1 or 2 big days will not pass, even if the numbers look right. The evaluation is checking for consistency, not a single great week. Structure your sessions so that profit is spread across multiple days, and do not try to accelerate by concentrating risk into a single large session.

How TradingPlan helps you stay disciplined for The 5%ers

The 5%ers’ model is built around a very specific proposition: prove you are a consistent trader over time, and we will give you progressively more capital. The only way to prove that is to have a documented, repeatable process — and then execute it.

TradingPlan structures that process across every dimension.

Strategy checklists. Before entering any trade, run through your strategy checklist. Every criterion must be met. This eliminates the “close enough” trade, which is the most expensive trade a prop trader takes.

Risk plan with your specific numbers. Input your account size, your daily loss limit in dollars, your self-imposed daily stop, your percentage risk per trade. The plan holds these numbers in front of you. There is no mental calculation when you are under pressure.

Daily routine execution. Pre-market, live session, post-market — each phase is defined. You do not decide what to do next. You follow the routine. Over the weeks and months that a scaling plan requires, this is what keeps the process consistent.

Trade log for milestone tracking. A structured trade log lets you look back over weeks and see exactly where you are relative to profit milestones, and more importantly, where your risk is being deployed. Are you taking more risk per trade as you approach a milestone? The data will show you.

Mindset framework. Define your protocol for after consecutive losses before you need it. “After two losses I stop for the day” is a rule. Write it, follow it, review whether you followed it. This is what separates traders who pass the evaluation from traders who almost pass it.

The 5%ers are giving you a long runway. TradingPlan helps you use it.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between High Stakes, Bootcamp, and Hyper Growth? High Stakes is the main two-phase program with larger account sizes and the full scaling plan — 8% target in Phase 1, 5% in Phase 2, minimum 3 profitable days per phase, 4% daily loss limit. Bootcamp is a three-phase program with a lower entry fee and a 6% profit target per phase — designed as an accessible entry point for traders new to prop firm evaluations. Hyper Growth is a one-step program with a 10% profit target, a 6% overall loss limit, and a 3% daily pause rule (hitting 3% pauses trading for the day rather than closing the account permanently). All three paths lead to funding with the same scaling mechanics, but the evaluation structure and fee differ.

How does The 5%ers scaling plan work? Each time you hit a profit milestone on your funded account, your allocation doubles. This continues through a series of growth phases until you reach the full allocation, at which point your profit split reaches its maximum. The exact milestones and allocation levels vary by program — verify against their current website.

Is The 5%ers drawdown trailing or balance-based? Balance-based on High Stakes and Bootcamp. Both the 4% daily loss and 10% total drawdown are calculated from the higher of your previous day’s closing equity or your initial balance — not from your peak intraday equity. This is a more forgiving structure than trailing drawdown models, but the 4% daily limit is tighter than many comparable firms. Note that after a profitable day, your daily floor adjusts upward, which slightly changes the absolute dollar amount at risk each session.

Can I trade news events? Check The 5%ers’ current rules for any news trading restrictions. Many prop firms restrict trading within a window around high-impact news events. Even where permitted, most disciplined traders avoid holding positions through scheduled high-impact events.

What happens if I fail the evaluation? You purchase a new evaluation. There is no lifetime ban for failing. However, failing the same way repeatedly is expensive — both financially and in terms of time. Before starting over, identify specifically what caused the failure and update your trading plan to address it.

How long does the evaluation take? There is no time limit. Most traders take several weeks to months per phase. The absence of a deadline is one of The 5%ers’ most trader-friendly features — use it. Rushing to hit a target is the primary cause of breach.

Is there a minimum number of trading days? High Stakes requires a minimum of 3 profitable days per phase — not simply 3 calendar days, but 3 days that close in profit. This means you cannot pass by hitting the profit target in one or two exceptional sessions, even if the numbers are technically sufficient. Hyper Growth and Bootcamp requirements may differ — verify against their current website before starting.

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