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What trading strategies are prohibited?
What trading strategies are prohibited?
Updated over 2 months ago

You’re encouraged to explore various trading methodologies, whether it’s Support/Resistance, Candlestick Patterns, EA’s, Supply/Demand, or Smart Money Concepts.

We acknowledge that the most successful traders hail from diverse backgrounds with unique strategies.

However, on all Challenges and Funded Accounts, certain strategies and approaches are not allowed:

Prohibited Strategies

  • Grid Trading or Grid Trading Softwares

  • Martingale Trading Or Martingale EA’s

  • High Frequency Trading (HFT)

  • Latency Arbitrage

  • Hedging Orders Across Multiple Accounts

  • Exploiting Volatility Of News By Guaranteeing Limit Order Fills

  • Using Delayed Data Feeds For Risk-Free Profit

  • Copying Signals/System or Engaging in Copy Trading Amongst Multiple Users

  • Third-Party Account Management

Gambling

Engaging in gambling is not allowed. According to Alpine Funded guidelines, gambling entails:

  • Executing over 50% of your trades with a hold time of less than one minute.

  • Initiating five positions within a losing trade, including both the initial entry and any subsequent positions.

  • Committing to a single market direction and maintaining that stance until either success or failure is determined.

  • Having open positions with a total risk of 3% or more at any time when a stop loss is used.

    • If a stop loss is added after the position was opened (even within seconds), we will calculate the risk with the lot size.

  • Having open positions without a stop loss: We will use the lot size as an identification of too much risk.

    • Exceeding the max. lot size with your open positions (alone or combined) is identified as a violation. The combined exposure of multiple open positions can't exceed 100% of the total exposure. An example is added below.

    • If a stop loss is added after the position was opened (even within seconds), we will calculate the risk with the lot size.

The maximum lot size allowed per account are:

The lot size is ONLY relevant when NO stop loss is used at the time of entry.
If a stop loss is used, the total % of risk will determine if it is gambling.

Standard Account

Forex

Indices

Metals

Crypto

Energies

10'000$

5 lot

0.5 lot

0.4 lot

0.2 lot

1.25 lot

25'000$

10 lot

1 lot

0.8 lot

0.4 lot

2.5 lot

50'000$

20 lot

2 lot

1.6 lot

0.8 lot

5 lot

100'000$

40 lot

4 lot

3.2 lot

1.6 lot

10 lot

200'000$

80 lot

8 lot

6.4 lot

3.2 lot

20 lot

When managing multiple trades without stop losses, it's crucial to ensure that the combined exposure doesn't exceed 100% of the total allowed exposure. Here's a detailed breakdown:

Example Scenario: Multiple trades without stop loss

  • Account Size: $50'000

1. Position 1:

  • Instrument: BTCUSD (Cryptocurrency)

  • Lot Size: 0.4 lot

  • Maximum Lot Size for Crypto: 0.8 lot

  • Exposure Calculation: 0.4 lot is 50% of the maximum lot size.

2. Position 2:

  • Instrument: EURUSD (Forex)

  • Lot Size: 12 lots

  • Maximum Lot Size for Forex: 20 lots

  • Exposure Calculation: 12 lots is 60% of the maximum lot size.

Combined Risk Assessment:

  • BTC Exposure: 50% of maximum lot size

  • Forex Exposure: 60% of maximum lot size

Total Exposure: 50% (BTC) + 60% (Forex) = 110%


Since the total risk (110%) exceeds 100% of the maximum permissible lot size, this situation violates the gambling rule.

The same calculation is done when trades are open with stop loss and without stop loss. With stop loss, the percentage amount of risk is calculated and without stop loss, the max. lot size is used as an indication of too much exposure. See an example scenario here:

Example Scenario: A mix between trades with and without stop loss

  • Account Size: $50'000

1. Position 1:

  • Instrument: BTCUSD (Cryptocurrency)

  • Risk with stop loss: 1.5%

  • Exposure Calculation: 1.5% is 50% of the maximum percentage of risk (3%).

2. Position 2:

  • Instrument: EURUSD (Forex)

  • Lot Size: 12 lots

  • Maximum Lot Size for Forex: 20 lots

  • Exposure Calculation: 12 lots is 60% of the maximum lot size.

Combined Risk Assessment:

  • BTC Exposure: 50% of maximum lot size

  • Forex Exposure: 60% of maximum lot size

Total Exposure: 50% (BTC) + 60% (Forex) = 110%

Since the total risk (110%) exceeds 100% of the maximum permissible lot size, this situation violates the the gambling rule.

You can find the assets and the associated asset classes here: Tradeable assets

We aim for transparency regarding acceptable trading styles. Strategies listed above are prohibited on all Challenges and Funded Accounts due to their inability to replicate real market conditions, reliance on demo environments, or their tendency to exploit the system. Not following these rules will result in an account loss.

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