Guides · How a programme is built
A larger nominal balance is not the same contract with more zeros
Dollar limits, consistency caps, and contract caps change by size. Doubling the title does not double the room.
Traders rank challenges by the number in the title, then assume the rules are a percentage of that number. Futures combines often are not. Topstep’s maximum-loss article, captured 19 October 2026, prints 2,000 dollars on a 50k, 3,000 on a 100k, and 4,500 on a 150k. Half the room, not double, when the title goes from 50 to 100. The 150k is not three times the 50k’s loss allowance.
Three sizes, not one rule stretched
- Combine
- 50k
- Profit target
- 3,000 dollars
- Maximum loss limit
- 2,000 dollars, trailing
- Daily loss article
- −1,000 dollars
- Max contracts
- 5 minis / 50 micros
- Combine
- 100k
- Profit target
- 6,000 dollars
- Maximum loss limit
- 3,000 dollars, trailing
- Daily loss article
- −2,000 dollars
- Max contracts
- 10 / 100
- Combine
- 150k
- Profit target
- 9,000 dollars
- Maximum loss limit
- 4,500 dollars, trailing
- Daily loss article
- −3,000 dollars
- Max contracts
- 15 / 150
The profit targets do scale linearly. The maximum loss does not. A trader who ‘just wants the 150k’ has a floor that is 4,500 dollars under the start, which is 3% of the nominal balance, while the 50k floor is 4% under the start. The room got tighter as the title got larger.