Trading Rules
You can trade whenever CME futures markets are open (nearly 24 hours, 6 days a week), but every position is automatically flattened at 3:59:59 PM ET each day on all products. Trade League adds calendar boundaries: trading begins at 6:00 PM ET on the first trading day of the month and the tournament closes at 4:00 PM ET on the last Friday.
Updated
All products
You can trade whenever the CME futures markets are open — nearly 24 hours a day, 6 days a week.
The one hard rule: all positions are automatically closed at 3:59:59 PM ET every day — one hour before the official 5:00 PM ET daily close of the CME session. The flatten is enforced natively by the platform on every product — challenges and Trade League alike. You cannot hold positions past it, and there's no overnight or weekend holding.
Practical implications:
- Plan exits before the 3:59:59 PM ET flatten — a forced liquidation fills at whatever the market gives it.
- After the flatten, you can re-enter when you're ready during market hours (for example, the evening session).
Trade League calendar
Trade League runs on a calendar-month schedule with its own boundaries:
| Event | Time |
|---|---|
| Entries open | 12:00 AM ET on the 1st of the month |
| Trading begins | 6:00 PM ET on the first trading day of the month (the CME open) |
| Entry / reset deadline | 11:59 PM ET, Wednesday of the final week |
| Tournament close | 4:00 PM ET, last Friday of the month |
Trades after tournament close don't count — final rankings lock at that moment.
Challenges
Challenges have no time limit — no start window and no deadline. Trade at your own pace within market hours and the daily flatten.
Let us know if this article answered your question.
- Are there daily loss limits?No. No TradeSport product has a daily loss limit — not One-Phase challenges, not Two-Phase challenges, not Trade League. The only loss rules are each product's max loss / drawdown.
- Can I appeal a disqualification?Disqualification decisions are discretionary under the governing terms, and the reason is shared where possible. There's no formal appeals process, but if you believe a decision was made in error, contact support@trade-sport.com with your account details and the review can be revisited with any information you provide.
- Can I use trading bots or automated strategies?No. All trading must be manual — automated trading systems, bots, and algorithmic strategies are prohibited on every TradeSport account, with no approval path. Discretionary use of standard platform tools — alerts, bracket orders, and similar — is allowed.
- How does the consistency rule work?One-Phase: no single day's profit may exceed 30% of the current payout cycle's profit target. Two-Phase: no single day's profit may exceed 40% of total eval profit (eval phase) or 40% of the current milestone's profit requirement (funded phase). The window resets after every payout. Trade League has no consistency rule.
- How does the drawdown work? (trailing vs. locked)Challenge accounts use an intraday trailing drawdown until your first payout (or first milestone payout on Two-Phase), then the floor permanently locks at your starting balance plus $100 and stops trailing. Trade League uses a different mechanic: a Limited End-of-Day trailing drawdown plus a $2,000 intraday max loss. No TradeSport product uses a static drawdown.