A 5% daily loss limit sounds simple. The question nobody asks is: 5% of what?
Most guards and many traders count it from the balance at the start of the day. Here is what that misses. You start the day at 10,000. By lunch an open gold trade is up 300, so your equity is 10,300. Then it turns, and you close the day at 9,550. Measured from the morning balance you lost 4.5%, inside the limit. Measured from what you actually had at your best moment, you gave back 750, more than 7%.
We tested this with a small daily loss lock in the MetaTrader 5 Strategy Tester (EURUSD and gold, January to April 2026, every tick). With the day counted from the balance at reset, open profit was given back without the lock ever stepping in; on one gold run an account went from 12,100 to 9,050 that way. Counting the day from the higher of balance and equity at reset closed that gap.
Prop firms differ too: some count from the balance at midnight in their own time zone, some from the higher of balance and equity, and some trail the maximum loss from the highest midnight balance. Read your firm's rule word for word and set your tools to the same number.
What to do
- Know which base your limit uses, and when the day resets (server time, CE(S)T, New York)
- Watch the room left, not only the loss so far
- Let something other than your nerves close the trades when the room is gone
TrueRisk Account Dashboard (free) shows today's result and the room left before your daily limit: https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/201221
TrueRisk Account Guard (free) closes everything and locks trading when the limit is reached: https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/200814
Already using a TrueRisk tool? A short review on its Market page helps other traders find it and tells me what to improve.
