The question is not whether you can pass once. It is whether your process can keep the account alive.
The common mistake is treating the symptom as the problem. The DTR standard is to find the behavior, name the trigger, write the rule, and test it under live account pressure. Kahneman and Tversky showed that losses hit behavior harder than equivalent gains. Steenbarger and Tendler both point to the same practical truth: performance improves when behavior is observed, scored, and corrected. Jared Tendler's mental-game work points to the same standard: name the pattern before it hijacks the next decision.
Score Your Payout-Ready Behavior
Answer against your most recent account, not the ideal version of your trading. This only works if the evidence is honest.
Question 1
When does your survival scorecard problem usually show up?
Pick the moment that most often changes your decision quality.
Why passing is the wrong finish line
A trader can pass with behavior that will fail the funded account. Rushing, oversizing, and emotional recovery may work once, but they do not scale to payouts.
The scorecard measures the behaviors that must survive after the evaluation is over.
A pass built on fragile behavior is not proof. It is a deferred failure.
The five scores
Setup discipline, risk discipline, stop discipline, loss recovery, and review process each receive 0, 1, or 2 points.
The point is not to feel judged. The point is to locate the weak link before you pay for another account.
Score meaning
0-4: do not buy another account yet. Fix the process.
5-7: you have potential, but one behavior is leaking.
8-10: you are building payout behavior.
Worked example
A trader scores 8 on setup and risk but 0 on loss recovery. That trader does not need a new strategy.
They need a first-loss protocol, because the account only breaks after pressure arrives.
Operating note
A brief only matters if it changes the next decision under pressure.
Keep this document close enough to use before the trade, not after the damage is already visible in the account.
The standard is simple: fewer explanations, cleaner rules, and written evidence that your behavior is becoming more repeatable.
Choose the coached evaluation that matches your discipline.
Coached evals are for traders who want structure around the process. You get the evaluation account, live DTR access tied to the coached eval, and one free reset if the first attempt does not click.
Starter
50K
$369
$221
40% off
automatically applied at checkout
- $3,000 target
- $2,000 max drawdown
- Live coached access
Most popular
100K
$569
$341
40% off
automatically applied at checkout
- $6,000 target
- $3,000 max drawdown
- Best process-to-cap fit
Serious cap
150K
$769
$461
40% off
automatically applied at checkout
- $9,000 target
- $4,500 max drawdown
- For controlled sizing
FAQ
Is this a strategy?
No. It is an operating document for the behavior that decides whether a prop account survives.
Why does this matter for prop accounts?
Because the account usually fails when the trader changes size, timing, stop logic, or review behavior under pressure.
Should I buy another evaluation if I score poorly?
Only if the score produces a rule first. A new login does not fix the same reaction pattern.
Why DTF instead of a cheaper eval?
Because the coached path gives you an account plus a process environment: live trading, rules, review, and a reset structure.