What the rule is
Every trade has a recorded open time and a recorded close time. The rule compares the gap between them with a minimum, 30 seconds on our accounts. A trade that stays open at least that long counts like any other. What we do with a trade closed sooner follows below.
Formula
duration = recorded close time − recorded open time
profit counted = profit of trades with duration ≥ 30 seconds
Profit is left out, losses are not
| Trade | Held for | Result | Toward target and payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 20 seconds | $40 profit | Not counted |
| B | 45 seconds | $40 profit | Counted, $40 |
| C | 20 seconds | $40 loss | Comes off your balance and counts toward drawdown |
The rule removes credit, not the record. A loss on a short trade is still money off the account, so it counts toward your drawdown floors like any other loss. Only a profit is set aside, and only from that one trade: trades before and after it count in full.
Why we have it
A trade held for a few seconds is where price-feed delays, quote spikes and execution quirks pay best, and a profit made that way says little about a strategy. The rule lets us keep those seconds out of a pass without guessing at intent. It sits apart from the prohibited-practices list: high-frequency bursts and exploiting a feed or execution error are separate breaches, defined in the terms.
Our rule
The rule
Profit counts only from trades held at least 30 seconds, measured from the recorded open to the recorded close of each trade. A shorter trade is not a breach: the account stays open, and that trade’s profit is left out of your target and your payout. A loss on it counts like any other loss. Same rule on every plan, every size and every stage.
Worked example · 2-Step $10,000, stage 1 target 5% ($500)
Closed profit on balance: $520
Less a trade closed after 20 seconds: $40
Profit counted toward the target: $480, not yet passed