How the dollar target and daily pace are calculated
A prop-firm profit target is usually stated as a percentage of account size — commonly around 8%, though the exact figure varies by firm and by account phase. Turning that into dollars is simple: target $ = account size × target % ÷ 100. A $10,000 account with an 8% target needs $10,000 × 8 ÷ 100 = $800 in profit. Spread evenly across your trading days, that same target becomes a daily pace: per-day $ = target $ ÷ trading days. Over 20 trading days, $800 ÷ 20 = $40 a day — not a number you must hit every single day, but a reference point for whether your pace is on track or falling behind.
Trade count comes from expectancy, not hope
Knowing the dollar target doesn't say how many trades it takes — that depends on your edge. Expectancy per trade, in R, is win rate times reward R minus loss rate: expectancy = (win% × R) − (1 − win%). At a 50% win rate and a 2R reward, expectancy = 0.5 × 2 − 0.5 = 0.5R per trade. Trades needed = target $ ÷ (risk $ per trade × expectancy), rounded up to a whole trade. Risking $100 per trade against that $800 target: 800 ÷ (100 × 0.5) = 16 trades. Change the inputs to a 40% win rate at a 1R reward and expectancy flips to 0.4 × 1 − 0.6 = −0.2 — a negative edge. The calculator never turns that into an inflated or infinite trade count; it states plainly that with these numbers the expectancy is zero or negative and no trade count reaches the target reliably.
Targets vary by firm — edit the number, don't guess it
This calculator doesn't name a specific prop firm and doesn't claim any account will pass. Profit targets, the account phase they apply to, and whether a target even exists differ by firm and change over time — 8% is a common starting point, not a universal rule. That's why the target field defaults to 8% but stays fully editable: type in your own firm's current terms and every downstream number — dollar target, daily pace, trade count — recalculates instantly. For the sizing math behind the risk $ per trade you enter here, the related post below works through it in full; for a live view of firm-style buffers against your actual trade history rather than typed-in numbers, the prop-rules dashboard goes further.