Pine Script Strategy for TradeDay Prop Firm

TradeDay evaluation rules

What makes TradeDay ideal for Pine Script algos

EOD trailing drawdown — the biggest advantage

On a 50k TradeDay account, the floor starts at $48,000. If you close a session at $50,400, the floor steps up to $48,400 — but only at that day's close, not on the way there. A trade that runs to +$1,000 intraday and gives back $600 before you close it out doesn't touch the floor at all, because the floor never saw that intraday peak. Compare this to an intraday trailing account (Apex), where that same +$1,000 peak would have raised the floor immediately, in real time, regardless of what the position later gives back.

No consistency rule

TradeDay doesn't limit what percentage of your total profit can come from a single day. If your strategy has one exceptional trend-following day that generates $800 in a session where average days are $200, that's not a violation. You just keep trading.

Minimum trading days

TradeDay's minimum trading day requirement is 10. Your algo still needs to reach the profit target without a daily-limit or drawdown breach, but plan for at least 10 sessions rather than sizing the strategy around a same-day pass. Verify the current plan terms at tradeday.io — terms do update periodically.

Configuring your Pine Script strategy for TradeDay

Daily loss kill switch

Required regardless of drawdown type. On a 50k TradeDay account, set your kill switch at $800 (80% of the $1,000 daily limit). This gives buffer for an open position to hit its stop after the switch triggers without breaching the hard limit.

No overnight positions

TradeDay requires positions flat before market close. Your Pine Script strategy should include a session-end flatout at 4:00 PM ET (or the close time for the contract you're trading). On Fridays, the flatout should trigger by 3:30 PM ET to avoid any weekend gap risk.

EOD trailing sizing model

Because the floor only moves at the close, a strategy that closes flat or green most sessions builds toward the target without the floor chasing every intraday tick. Recommended starting points for TradeDay:

• $25k account: 1-2 MES, 6-8 point stop, 10-12 point target
• $50k account: 2-3 MES or 1-2 MNQ, scale up after 3 profitable sessions
• $100k account: 4-6 MES or 2-3 MNQ, scale after proven live edge (10+ sessions)

Complete TradeDay ORB strategy — Pine Script v5

15-minute opening range breakout, pre-configured for a 50k TradeDay account (EOD trailing DD $2,000, daily loss $1,000, kill at $800). Works on MES or MNQ on a 1- or 3-minute chart.

//@version=5
strategy("TradeDay — ORB EOD Trail", overlay=true,
         default_qty_type=strategy.fixed, default_qty_value=1)

// ── TradeDay 50k: EOD trailing DD $2,000, daily loss $1,000 ───────
// Kill at 80% = $800
dailyLossLimit = input.float(800.0, "Kill Switch ($)")
rrRatio        = input.float(2.0,   "Reward:Risk Ratio")

// ── 15-min ORB from 9:30 ET ────────────────────────────────────────
isRTHOpen = not na(time("1", "0930-0931:23456", "America/New_York"))
inORBWin  = not na(time("1", "0930-0945:23456", "America/New_York"))
afterORB  = not na(time("1", "0945-1200:23456", "America/New_York"))

var float hi  = na
var float lo  = na
var bool  set = false

if isRTHOpen
    hi  := high
    lo  := low
    set := true

if inORBWin and set
    hi := math.max(hi, high)
    lo := math.min(lo, low)

// ── daily kill switch ──────────────────────────────────────────────
newDay       = ta.change(time("D")) != 0
var float ds = 0.0
ds          := newDay ? strategy.equity : ds
if newDay
    set := false
halted = math.min(0.0, strategy.equity - ds) <= -dailyLossLimit

// ── breakout signals ───────────────────────────────────────────────
rng  = hi - lo
bull = close > hi and close[1] <= hi[1] and barstate.isconfirmed
bear = close < lo and close[1] >= lo[1] and barstate.isconfirmed

if bull and afterORB and not halted and strategy.position_size == 0
    strategy.entry("ORB-L", strategy.long)
    strategy.exit("L-x", "ORB-L", profit = rng * rrRatio / syminfo.mintick,
                                   loss   = rng / syminfo.mintick)

if bear and afterORB and not halted and strategy.position_size == 0
    strategy.entry("ORB-S", strategy.short)
    strategy.exit("S-x", "ORB-S", profit = rng * rrRatio / syminfo.mintick,
                                   loss   = rng / syminfo.mintick)

// ── EOD flat ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
eod = not na(time("1", "1529-1531:23456", "America/New_York")) or
      (dayofweek == dayofweek.friday and
       not na(time("1", "1459-1501:6", "America/New_York")))
if eod and strategy.position_size != 0
    strategy.close_all("EOD")

Best strategies for TradeDay's structure

Opening range breakout (ORB)

TradeDay's EOD trailing drawdown tolerates variance well, making opening range breakout strategies a strong fit. ORB setups can have high per-trade variance (some big wins when the market trends, some small losses when it fades) — as long as you close the session green, the floor only steps up by that day's booked profit, not by the intraday peak.

VWAP reclaim

Standard VWAP reclaim setups (see our full VWAP guide) work well on TradeDay accounts. The setup's moderate win rate and 1:1.5-2 risk/reward ratio produces a steady, predictable equity curve that fits the evaluation timeline well.

Trend continuation after breakout consolidation

After a strong open in one direction, NQ and ES often consolidate for 15-30 minutes then resume the trend. Entering on the continuation break with a stop inside the consolidation range is a reliable TradeDay setup — it captures directional movement while using a specific, technical stop level.

TradeDay vs comparable firms

TradeDay (EOD trailing) and Funded Next (static) are both forgiving relative to Apex's intraday trailing, just via different mechanisms. The main differentiator between the two is payout split (Funded Next is slightly better at up to 90% on some plans) and account size options. Both are excellent for Pine Script algo traders. If you want to diversify across firms, running one account on each is a common approach.