Prohibited Strategies

Gambling

You cannot use gambling strategies to pass the challenge phase. SkillTrade defines gambling as follows:

1. Excessive Scalping

   Holding 50% or more of your trades for less than a minute. This includes Tick Scalping and HFT.

2. Martingale

   Trading accounts may not use martingale strategies (progressively increasing lot sizes after losses).What this means: You cannot respond to losses by placing larger positions in the same asset or correlated assets to attempt to recover previous losses.

   This includes:

   • Opening larger positions after a losing trade
   • "Doubling down" when positions move against you
   • Pyramiding positions with increasing size in drawdown

   What specifically constitutes a violation:

   • Opening a new position in the same asset with a larger lot size after a losing trade
   • Increasing position size by 50% or more following losses in the same trading session
   • Establishing a pattern of progressively larger positions during drawdown periods
   • Using multiple accounts to circumvent martingale detection
   • Opening larger positions in highly correlated assets after losses (e.g., switching from EURUSD to EURJPY with increased size)

   Why we enforce this: Martingale strategies exponentially increase risk and can lead to catastrophic account damage. Our policy protects your capital from unsustainable risk escalation.

   Position Stacking Limitations Rule:

   Position stacking is strictly limited to maintain appropriate risk distribution.

   Limits:

   • Same Asset Pair: Maximum 4 simultaneous positions per individual asset
   • Multiple Assets: Maximum 7 simultaneous positions across all assets

   What specifically constitutes a violation:

   • Same Asset Pair: Having 5 or more open positions on a single asset pair
   • Multiple Assets: Having 8 or more positions across all trading assets
   • Creating multiple smaller positions to bypass lot size restrictions
   • Opening and closing repetitive positions in the same asset in short time frames to disguise stacking
   • Using grid strategies that open multiple positions beyond stacking limits

   What constitutes position stacking: Multiple opens in the same (or opposing) direction on the same or correlated instruments.

   Why these limits exist: Excessive stacking circumvents size rules and creates dangerous risk concentration. These limits ensure proper diversification and prevent unintended overexposure.

3. All In

   “All-In Trading Behavior” refers to trading actions where a trader commits an excessively large portion of their account equity on a single trade or series of trades without proper risk management (e.g., no stop-loss). This approach often leads to extreme PnL swings and is seen as high-risk and misaligned with the firm’s goals.

4. Grid Trading

   Placing multiple trades at predetermined intervals to create a grid-like structure, with no clear risk management strategy.