The correct size is the size you can execute without becoming a different trader.
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 Risk-Before-Entry Discipline
Answer against your most recent account, not the ideal version of your trading. This only works if the evidence is honest.
Question 1
Before your last trade, did you write down the max loss?
Risk has to be defined before desire attaches to the trade.
Why risk must come before entry
Once you want the trade, your brain starts negotiating. You justify size, stop distance, and urgency because the entry already feels real.
Risk-before-entry forces the trade to earn permission before emotion attaches to it.
A smaller calm trade beats a larger trade that turns you into a negotiator.
The four-part risk check
Define max trade risk. If the loss would make you reactive, reduce size.
Define stop logic. If the stop is random, the trade is not ready.
Define emotional cost. If the size makes you hesitate or revenge trade, the size is wrong.
Define next action. Plan what happens after a win and after a loss before entry.
The calm-size rule
The correct size is not the largest size the account permits. It is the size you can execute without changing behavior.
A smaller calm trade is better than a larger trade you cannot manage honestly.
Worked example
A trader wants three contracts because the setup looks clean. The worksheet shows a full loss would trigger revenge trading.
The right trade is one contract or no trade. The setup may be valid, but the size is not.
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.