# Challenge Rules

## Completion Criteria

There is a progress bar at the top of the challenge interface. The bar advances each time you complete a trade that satisfies the challenge rules.To successfully complete a challenge, you must meet all of the following conditions: reach the profit target, stay within the drawdown limit, complete the minimum number of valid trades, comply with the single-trade profit cap, close all positions, and follow the 60-second holding rule.

### Condition 1: Reach Profit Target

Your account equity must reach or exceed the target amount.**Example**:

* Starting capital: $10,000
* Target equity: $10,500 (+5%)
* Required: Account equity ≥ $10,500

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### Condition 2: Stay Within Drawdown Limit

Your account equity must never drop below the drawdown threshold.**Example**:

* Starting capital: $10,000
* Max drawdown: -3%
* Threshold: $9,700
* Required: Account equity ≥ $9,700 at all times

> **Warning**: Hitting the drawdown limit immediately terminates the challenge and triggers liquidation of all positions.

***

### Condition 3: Complete Minimum Valid Trades

Different challenge durations require different minimum trade counts:

| Challenge Duration | Minimum Valid Trades Required |
| ------------------ | ----------------------------- |
| 1 hour             | 2                             |
| 2 hours            | 2                             |
| 4 hours            | 3                             |
| 8 hours            | 3                             |

**What qualifies as a valid trade?** A trade is considered valid only if it is held for 60 seconds or longer.

***

### Condition 4: Single Trade Profit Cap

No single trade's profit may exceed 75% of the total profit target.

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**Why this limit exists:** To prevent completing challenges through extreme market moves or high leverage on a single trade, ensuring fairness and skill-based competition.

####  **Example**:

* Profit target: +8% ($800)
* Single trade profit cap: $800 × 75% = $600
* If a single trade profits over $600, challenge fails

***

### Condition 5: All Positions Closed

When the challenge ends, your account must have no open positions. Before countdown expires, you can manually close all positions.<br>

***

### Condition 6: The 60-Second Holding Rule

A trade is considered valid only if it is held for 60 seconds or longer. This rule prevents high-frequency manipulation and ensures challenges test genuine trading skill.Positions that have not yet reached 60 seconds will be highlighted. When you try to close a position before 60 seconds, a confirmation prompt will appear to remind you that the trade may be treated as an invalid trade.\
For trades held **less than 60 seconds**, P/L is handled as follows:

| Outcome      | Treatment                                |
| ------------ | ---------------------------------------- |
| Profit       | Profit NOT counted toward account equity |
| Loss         | Loss counted toward account equity       |
| Trading fees | Always counted toward account equity     |

#### **Examples**

**Scenario 1: Hold for 50 seconds, profit = $100**

* This $100 is not added to your account equity
* It does not count as 1 valid trade
* Your challenge progress remains 0

**Scenario 2: Hold for 50 seconds, loss = $50**

* This $50 is deducted from your account equity
* It does not count as 1 valid trade
* Account equity: $10,000 - $50 = $9,950

**Scenario 3: Hold for 70 seconds, profit = $100**

* The profit is counted normally toward your account equity
* It counts as 1 valid trade
* Account equity: $10,000 + $100 = $10,100

***

### Practical Tips

1. **Avoid frequent opening/closing**: Give each trade sufficient time to observe market movements
2. **Wait for signals patiently**: Don't rush—quality beats quantity
3. **Strike when ready**: One well-timed trade beats three rushed operations

***

## Account Equity vs. Challenge Progress

Edge Hour uses two distinct concepts that are easily confused:

### Account Equity

This is your **actual P/L**, used for:

* Determining if drawdown limit is hit
* Determining if profit target is reached
* Final settlement and reward claims

**Calculation**: Starting capital + All realized P/L + Unrealized P/L - Trading fees

***

### Challenge Progress

This is the metric used to determine if you've met the challenge target, **after applying** all challenge rules.\
**Why Progress ≠ Account Equity?**&#x42;ecause the system applies limits to:

* Profits from trades held under 60 seconds: Not counted toward progress
* Single trade profits exceeding 75% cap: Excess not counted toward progress

\
This explains why you might be profitable but still fail the challenge.

***

### Real-Time Monitoring Dashboard

During trading, you can monitor in real-time:

| Metric             | Description              |
| ------------------ | ------------------------ |
| Countdown          | Time remaining           |
| Account Equity     | Current actual equity    |
| Challenge Progress | Distance to target       |
| Drawdown Distance  | Distance to failure line |
| Valid Trades       | Completed / Required     |
| Current Positions  | Holding time, P/L        |

**Recommendation**: Keep a close eye on your drawdown buffer to avoid taking excessive risk.