Blue Guardian 1-Step $100K vs Blue Guardian 2-Step $100K

A trailing drawdown level moves in one direction only. It follows the account upward as the reference figure it tracks makes new highs, and it stays where it is when the account falls. A losing day does not pull the level back down; the room between the current balance and the level simply shrinks. This is what people mean when they call it a ratchet. The consequence is that a run of gains followed by a return to the starting balance can leave an account close to breach even though it has not lost anything relative to where it began. Full explanation →

An evaluation is a simulated test of whether a participant can reach a stated gain on a demo balance without breaching the loss limits attached to that balance. The structure exists because the firm cannot observe the participant's method directly; it can only observe outcomes against fixed constraints. A phase is therefore a bounded window in which two things are measured at once: whether the profit target is met, and whether the daily and overall drawdown limits stay intact throughout. A phase ends in one of three ways — target reached, limit breached, or, where a time constraint applies, the window closes. Full explanation →

A profit target is the gain a simulated account must show before an evaluation phase counts as passed. It is measured against the account's nominal size — the notional balance the simulated account is opened with — and not against the fee paid to enter. The two numbers are unrelated in kind: the fee is an amount actually paid, while the nominal size is a reference figure used to scale the rules. Because the target is expressed as a proportion of that reference figure, the same proportional target represents a different absolute gain on each account size offered, while the underlying trading requirement stays the same in relative terms. Full explanation →

Drawdown rules define the loss floor at which an evaluation account is closed. A static maximum loss anchors that floor to the account's opening balance. It is set once and never moves: gains raise the distance between the current balance and the floor, and losses reduce it. A trailing maximum loss anchors the floor to the account's peak instead. As the account rises, the floor rises with it, keeping the permitted loss at a constant distance below the highest point reached. The consequence is that a sequence of gains followed by a partial give-back can breach a trailing limit while the account is still above its starting balance — an outcome that is structurally impossible under a static rule of the same size. Full explanation →