Maximum contracts (position size rule)
Maximum contracts is the position size rule of a prop-firm account: the largest number of futures contracts that may be open at once, often with a separate, larger allowance for micro contracts. Exceeding it can fail the account even when the trade is profitable.
Senzoukria · Glossary · Updated September 2026
Reading the cap
The cap is expressed in contracts per account size, for example a number of minis with micros counted at one tenth. It is a limit on open exposure, not on the number of trades: closing and reopening does not accumulate. Some firms apply a scaling plan, where the allowed size grows as the balance grows above the starting balance, and shrinks back if the balance falls.
The rule is checked on the aggregate position, all instruments included, at the moment an order fills. Working orders that would exceed the cap if filled are also a breach at firms that count them, and a rejected order is the mildest outcome; a filled one may end the account.
Why firms impose it
- It bounds the loss a single trade can cause relative to the drawdown allowance.
- It stops an evaluation being passed with one oversized trade.
- Combined with the daily loss limit, it defines how many losing trades a day can absorb.
- It keeps the firm's own hedging, when there is any, within a known size.
In Senzoukria
The cap appears in two places. In the "Prop firm rules" form, the field "Maximum contracts" is part of the saved rule set; the prop simulation then lists breaches under "Position size" in "Why accounts died". On the Trading page, the Autopilot panel has its own "Max contracts" setting, alongside "Max daily loss ($)", and an armed strategy cannot send an order that would exceed it.
The manual order ticket applies the trading guards configured in the settings center; those guards are local to the software and do not replace the firm's own check on its side.
Common slips
- Adding to a position on a second chart and crossing the cap by accident.
- Counting micros as full contracts, or the reverse, when the firm publishes separate numbers.
- Setting a strategy's size for the funded cap and running it on an evaluation with a smaller one.
Related
This page in other languages
Frequently asked questions
- Does the cap apply to the total across instruments?
- At most firms the cap applies to the total across instruments: the sum of open contracts on every instrument, with micros converted, must stay under the limit. A few programs publish per-instrument caps. Your contract, and the firm's dashboard, are the reference.
- Is a rejected order a breach?
- Whether a rejected order is a breach depends on the firm and on whether the order was rejected by the firm's risk layer before reaching the exchange. Some treat the attempt as a warning, others as a violation. A local guard in the trading software avoids the attempt altogether, which is the safer position.