Performance Cycles
A Performance Cycle is the payout-measurement period used on an eligible Qualified Account or other payout-enabled account. It groups current-cycle realized performance, Qualified Profit Days, payout Consistency, Account Discipline inputs, the active Reward Share, and payout eligibility into one stable cycle.
The rules used to evaluate an active payout cycle should not move while the trader is being measured. FairTicks therefore snapshots important cycle values and keeps them stable for that active Performance Cycle.
Performance Cycle in one sentence
A Performance Cycle starts with a fixed payout Consistency snapshot
and active Reward Share,
tracks Qualified-stage performance and payout readiness,
and transitions to the next cycle after the applicable payout reaches
PAID.
When does a Performance Cycle start?
The first Performance Cycle begins when the payout-enabled account enters its Qualified-stage trading lifecycle.
Later cycles normally begin after the previous payout has reached
PAID
and the account transitions into a new payout measurement period.
| Event | Performance Cycle effect |
|---|---|
| Qualified Account becomes active | The account begins its first Qualified-stage Performance Cycle. |
Payout reaches PAID
|
The completed payout cycle closes and the account can begin the next Performance Cycle. |
| Account breaches | Trading is disabled under the breach lifecycle. The account does not continue normal payout-cycle progression. |
| Account is closed | Normal Performance Cycle progression ends with the account lifecycle. |
Creating or submitting a payout request does not immediately
reset current-cycle QPD,
activate a pending Reward Share,
or begin the next Performance Cycle.
Those cycle transitions occur when the payout reaches
PAID.
What is snapshotted for a Performance Cycle?
FairTicks stores the cycle-specific values that must remain stable while the cycle is active.
Depending on the account configuration, the cycle can include or reference:
- The active payout Consistency limit.
- The Account Discipline Score used for the Consistency selection.
- The Account Discipline confidence level used.
- The Consistency policy version.
- The snapshot timestamp.
- The current Performance Cycle identifier.
- The account's current-cycle QPD requirement.
- The active Reward Share.
- Any pending Reward Share already unlocked for a future cycle.
- The account's payout-rule snapshot.
A Discipline Score change during the active cycle does not retroactively change the Consistency limit already selected for that cycle.
The active Reward Share used by the current Performance Cycle does not change mid-cycle. A higher tier unlocked through lifetime QPD becomes pending and can become active only for an eligible future cycle.
Qualified Consistency during the cycle
Qualified payout Consistency compares the account's best profitable day with the net realized profit accumulated during the current Performance Cycle.
consistency ratio
= best profitable day ÷ current-cycle net realized profit
The ratio must remain at or below the Consistency limit snapshotted for that Performance Cycle before this payout condition can become eligible.
Snapshotted cycle limit: 35%
Best profitable day: $700
Net realized cycle profit: $2,500
$700 ÷ $2,500 = 28%
Result: within the 35% limit.
You do not need to make the same amount every day. Consistency limits how concentrated the cycle's positive result can be in its single best profitable day.
What counts in cycle Consistency?
FairTicks uses the official realized daily account results for the current Performance Cycle.
The Consistency calculation is based on net realized cycle profit, not open PnL.
| Item | Consistency treatment |
|---|---|
| Closed trading PnL | Included in official realized daily performance. |
| Trading commissions | Included in the net realized result. |
| Losing realized days | Included in net cycle profit. |
| Open unrealized PnL | Not counted as realized cycle profit. |
| Payout transaction | Not treated as a trading day result for the formula. |
| Administrative balance adjustment | Not treated as realized trading performance for the normal Consistency calculation. |
How Account Discipline affects future cycles
Under the current standard Qualified payout policy, Account Discipline can make the Consistency allowance more flexible for a new Performance Cycle.
The standard Qualified policy uses:
| Account Discipline state | Qualified Consistency limit |
|---|---|
| Unrated or Provisional | 30% |
| Established confidence with score below 60 | 30% |
| Established confidence with score 60 to 79 | 35% |
| Established confidence with score 80 or higher | 40% |
Under the current standard Qualified policy, the default payout Consistency limit is 30%.
When does Discipline confidence become Established?
Under the current Account Discipline confidence rules, Established confidence requires enough officially scored evidence.
| Confidence | Current evidence rule |
|---|---|
| Unrated | Fewer than 5 scored valid trades or fewer than 2 active trading days. |
| Provisional | At least the Unrated minimum, but fewer than 20 scored valid trades or fewer than 5 active trading days. |
| Established | At least 20 scored valid trades and at least 5 active trading days, until the higher trade-count bands are reached. |
| High Confidence | At least 50 scored valid trades with the required active-day evidence already satisfied. |
| Mature | At least 100 scored valid trades with the required active-day evidence already satisfied. |
The current practical minimum to reach Established confidence is 20 scored valid trades and 5 active trading days.
Account Snapshot still prevails
The tables above describe the current standard policy.
The active Performance Cycle must always use the Consistency limit actually stored for that cycle.
Generic policy tables never override a Consistency threshold already snapshotted for the current Performance Cycle.
Qualified Profit Days inside a cycle
Qualified Profit Days, or QPD, are counted within the active Performance Cycle.
A qualifying day can update two related but separate counters:
| Counter | Purpose | Reset behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Current-cycle QPD | Used for payout eligibility in the current cycle. |
Resets to 0 when the payout reaches
PAID
and the next cycle begins.
|
| Lifetime QPD | Used for long-term Reward Share progression on that specific Qualified Account. | Remains preserved across paid payout cycles. |
What qualifies as a QPD?
Under the current standard Qualified Profit Day policy, a completed day must satisfy the QPD requirements stored on the account.
EOD realized performance: at least +0.50% of starting capital
Valid trading activity: at least 1 valid trade
QPD is finalized through the official completed-day process.
Review Qualified Profit Days and Valid Trades for the detailed qualification logic.
Current standard QPD and minimum age requirements
| Qualified Account family | Required current-cycle QPD | Minimum Qualified age |
|---|---|---|
| Rapid | 7 QPD | 7 calendar days |
| Classic | 10 QPD | 10 calendar days |
| Discipline | 10 QPD | 10 calendar days |
| Instinct | 7 QPD | 7 calendar days |
Current standard Rapid uses 7 current-cycle QPD and a 7-day minimum Qualified age. Older 10 / 10 descriptions are no longer aligned with the current account configuration.
Minimum age does not reset every cycle
Qualified Account age belongs to the account itself, not to each individual Performance Cycle.
When payout reaches PAID
and a new Performance Cycle begins,
the Qualified Account does not become a brand-new account.
The minimum Qualified age is measured from the account's Qualified activation. Starting a later Performance Cycle does not normally reset that account age to zero.
Lifetime QPD and Reward Share progression
Lifetime QPD remain attached to the specific Qualified Account.
They can unlock higher Reward Share tiers under the progression policy stored on that account.
| Family | Current standard lifetime-QPD Reward Share ladder | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Rapid | 75% starting · 80% at 15 QPD · 85% at 35 QPD · 90% at 65 QPD | 90% |
| Classic | 80% starting · 85% at 10 QPD · 90% at 30 QPD | 90% |
| Discipline | 85% starting · 90% at 10 QPD · 95% at 25 QPD · 100% at 50 QPD | 100% |
| Instinct | 80% starting · 85% at 15 QPD · 95% at 40 QPD | 95% |
Current standard Instinct uses 80% → 85% → 95%. Older 90% → 95% → 100% descriptions do not match the current executable configuration.
Active vs pending Reward Share
The active Performance Cycle keeps one Reward Share throughout that cycle.
If lifetime QPD reaches a higher tier during the cycle, the new percentage becomes pending.
Active Reward Share: 80%
Lifetime QPD before cycle: 8
Lifetime QPD during cycle reaches: 10
Newly unlocked Reward Share: 85%
Current cycle stays at: 80%
Pending Reward Share: 85%
After the payout reaches
PAID
and the next eligible cycle begins,
the 85% tier can become active.
A tier earned during an active cycle does not change the payout economics already snapshotted for that cycle.
Reward Share progression belongs to one account
Lifetime QPD and unlocked Reward Share tiers belong to the specific Qualified Account where the QPD were earned.
They are not automatically shared with:
- another Qualified Account;
- another purchase;
- another family;
- a separate reset account; or
- another trader account.
Discipline Free Reset exception
Discipline has a special Free Reset lifecycle that can change the economics of the resulting Qualified Account.
When the eligible Discipline Free Reset path is used before Qualified generation, the resulting Qualified Account uses: 50% trader / 50% FairTicks.
Under the current generation logic, the standard lifetime-QPD Reward Share ladder is disabled for that special Free Reset Qualified Account.
Do not apply the standard 85% → 90% → 95% → 100% Discipline ladder to a Qualified Account generated from the special Free Reset lifecycle.
What is tracked during the cycle?
| Cycle metric | What it represents |
|---|---|
| Net realized cycle profit | Official net realized performance accumulated during the current Performance Cycle. |
| Best profitable day | Highest positive realized day within the current cycle. |
| Consistency ratio | Best profitable day divided by current-cycle net realized profit. |
| Current-cycle QPD | QPD earned toward this cycle's payout requirement. |
| Lifetime QPD | Long-term QPD progression retained on the specific Qualified Account. |
| Qualified Account age | Calendar age since Qualified activation. It does not reset with each Performance Cycle. |
| Active Reward Share | Trader percentage used for the active cycle. |
| Pending Reward Share | Higher lifetime-QPD tier already unlocked for an eligible future cycle. |
| Account Discipline inputs | Score and confidence information that can influence the Consistency snapshot of a future cycle. |
| Risk status | The current enabled Daily Loss, Maximum Loss, or Intraday Trailing Drawdown state. |
| Payout readiness | Whether the current payout eligibility conditions have been satisfied. |
Performance Cycle and payout eligibility
A Performance Cycle does not become payout-ready merely because it has positive profit.
Current payout eligibility can require:
- An eligible payout-enabled account status.
- The applicable minimum Qualified age.
- The required current-cycle QPD.
- Payout Consistency within the cycle's snapshotted limit.
- Sufficient eligible realized profit.
- At least the current minimum gross payout capacity.
- A valid active Reward Share.
- No open positions.
- KYC when required.
- A valid payout destination.
- No conflicting active payout.
The current snapshot-based Qualified payout framework uses account-specific minimum age and QPD requirements. It does not add an old generic five-active-trading-days condition as a separate standard payout gate.
What happens while a payout is active?
Under the current standard payout policy, trading is locked while the payout is:
PENDING;APPROVED; orPROCESSING.
Even though trading is locked during the active payout,
the Performance Cycle does not transition to the next cycle
until the payout reaches
PAID.
What happens after payout reaches PAID?
PAID
is the key cycle-transition event.
- The completed payout is finalized.
- Current-cycle QPD resets to 0.
- Lifetime QPD remains preserved.
- A pending Reward Share can become active for the next eligible cycle.
- A new Performance Cycle begins.
- A new cycle-specific Consistency threshold can be selected and snapshotted.
- The latest eligible Account Discipline information can influence that new Consistency snapshot.
- The account keeps its existing account history and risk framework.
Before PAID:
Current-cycle QPD: 10
Lifetime QPD: 18
Active Reward Share: 80%
Pending Reward Share: 85%
Active Consistency limit: 30%
After PAID and next-cycle activation:
Current-cycle QPD: 0
Lifetime QPD: 18
Active Reward Share: 85%
A new Consistency limit: selected from the account's current policy and eligible Discipline snapshot.
What does not reset after payout?
A paid payout begins a new measurement cycle. It does not create a new account.
| Area | After payout becomes PAID |
|---|---|
| Current-cycle QPD | Resets to 0. |
| Lifetime QPD | Preserved. |
| Qualified Account age | Continues. |
| Trading history | Preserved. |
| Risk rules | Continue according to the account snapshot. |
| Maximum Loss floor | Does not reset simply because payout was paid. |
| Instinct high-water mark | Preserved under the current persistent-HWM configuration. |
| Activated Reward Share tier | Preserved or increased by an eligible pending upgrade. |
A new Performance Cycle does not erase prior risk history, restore starting balance automatically, or create a fresh Qualified Account.
What if the cycle has zero or negative net realized profit?
Payout cannot become eligible without sufficient realized profit and payout capacity.
Consistency also requires positive current-cycle net realized profit before the ratio becomes meaningful.
A cycle can remain active while QPD, Consistency, minimum age, or payout profit requirements are incomplete, provided the account remains active and respects its hard-risk rules.
Consistency is eligibility, not a hard breach
Failing the payout Consistency check does not by itself breach the account.
The trader can continue building additional net realized profit while the account remains otherwise eligible.
Best profitable day: $1,000
Current net realized cycle profit: $2,500
Current ratio: 40%
Cycle limit: 30%
Result: payout Consistency is currently incomplete.
The account does not breach merely because the Consistency ratio is above 30%.
Performance Cycles and Instinct
Instinct follows the same Performance Cycle principles for payout measurement, but its account-level hard-risk model remains different.
Current standard Instinct 50K uses a $2,000 Intraday Trailing Drawdown, an 80% follow rate, a persistent high-water mark, a starting-balance floor cap, and a 15-second breach-confirmation buffer.
Starting a new Performance Cycle after payout does not reset the persistent Instinct trailing history.
Performance Cycle information in the dashboard
Depending on the available FairTicks interface, cycle information can include:
- Current Performance Cycle.
- Cycle start date.
- Current-cycle QPD.
- Lifetime QPD.
- Current payout Consistency ratio.
- Active Consistency limit.
- Active Reward Share.
- Pending Reward Share.
- Minimum Qualified age progress.
- Payout eligibility status.
- Payout capacity and Protected Reserve.
Account timeline and auditability
FairTicks records account and cycle data so that important lifecycle decisions can be explained from the account's official history.
Depending on the event and interface, the account can record or expose information related to:
- Performance Cycle start.
- Consistency snapshot creation.
- Consistency recalculation.
- Account Discipline updates.
- Qualified Profit Day progression.
- Reward Share tier changes.
- Payout lifecycle changes.
A snapshot makes it possible to explain which policy, score, confidence, Consistency limit, Reward Share, and payout-cycle information applied at a specific point in time.
Common mistakes to avoid
| Mistake | Correct understanding |
|---|---|
| Thinking Qualified Consistency defaults to 25% | Current standard Qualified default is 30%. |
| Thinking Consistency changes every time Discipline Score changes | The active cycle keeps its snapshotted Consistency limit. |
| Thinking Rapid requires 10 QPD | Current standard Rapid requires 7 QPD. |
| Thinking Rapid minimum age is 10 days | Current standard Rapid minimum Qualified age is 7 days. |
| Confusing current-cycle QPD with lifetime QPD | Current-cycle QPD reset after a paid payout. Lifetime QPD remain preserved. |
| Expecting a Reward Share upgrade during the active cycle | A newly earned tier becomes pending and applies to a future eligible cycle. |
| Thinking Instinct starts at 90% Reward Share | Current executable Instinct starts at 80%. |
| Thinking Instinct reaches 100% | Current executable Instinct tops out at 95%. |
| Thinking payout submission starts a new cycle |
The normal transition happens when payout reaches
PAID.
|
| Thinking payout creates a new Qualified Account | It starts a new measurement cycle on the same account lifecycle. |
| Using open PnL for Consistency | Consistency uses official realized Performance Cycle results. |
| Treating incomplete Consistency as a hard breach | Consistency can block payout eligibility, but is not itself a hard-risk breach. |
Common questions
Does a Performance Cycle exist during Training?
Training has its own evaluation lifecycle, including Target 1, Training Profit Days, and Training Consistency where enabled. Performance Cycles are primarily used for Qualified-stage payout measurement.
What is the default Qualified Consistency limit?
Under the current standard Qualified policy, the default is 30%.
Can Qualified Consistency improve to 35%?
Yes. With at least Established confidence and an Account Discipline Score of at least 60, a future cycle can use 35%.
Can Qualified Consistency improve to 40%?
Yes. With at least Established confidence and an Account Discipline Score of at least 80, a future cycle can use 40%.
Can the Consistency limit change during an active cycle?
No. The active Performance Cycle keeps its snapshotted limit.
What is the minimum evidence for Established Discipline confidence?
Under the current policy: at least 20 scored valid trades and 5 active trading days.
When do current-cycle QPD reset?
When the applicable payout reaches
PAID
and the next Performance Cycle begins.
Do lifetime QPD reset?
No. Lifetime QPD remain attached to that Qualified Account.
How many QPD does Rapid require?
Current standard Rapid requires 7 QPD.
How many QPD does Classic require?
Current standard Classic requires 10 QPD.
How many QPD does Discipline require?
Current standard Discipline requires 10 QPD.
How many QPD does Instinct require?
Current standard Instinct requires 7 QPD.
Can Reward Share change during an active Performance Cycle?
No. The active cycle keeps its current Reward Share. A higher lifetime-QPD tier becomes pending.
When does a pending Reward Share become active?
After the applicable payout reaches
PAID
and the next eligible Performance Cycle begins.
Can an activated Reward Share tier decrease?
Standard QPD Reward Share progression does not step backward once a tier has become active.
What is the current Instinct Reward Share ladder?
80% starting, 85% at 15 lifetime QPD, and 95% at 40 lifetime QPD.
Does a losing day restart the Performance Cycle?
No. A losing day changes realized cycle performance but does not automatically restart the cycle.
Can the cycle continue after payout eligibility appears?
Yes. Eligibility means the account can submit a payout request if all checks remain satisfied. Once a payout is active, trading can be locked according to the payout policy.
Does submitting payout immediately reset QPD?
No.
QPD resets when payout reaches
PAID,
not when it is merely submitted.
Does payout reset my Qualified Account age?
No. Qualified age continues on the same account.
Does payout reset risk floors?
No. Risk rules continue according to the account snapshot.
Does payout reset Instinct's high-water mark?
No. The current Instinct configuration uses a persistent high-water mark.
Where can I see the official current cycle values?
Use the Account Snapshot, payout panel, QPD information, Consistency information, Reward Share information, and account timeline available for the selected account.
Summary
A Performance Cycle is a stable payout-measurement period on a Qualified or other payout-enabled account.
During the cycle:
- the payout Consistency threshold remains snapshotted;
- the active Reward Share remains stable;
- current-cycle QPD accumulate toward payout eligibility;
- lifetime QPD accumulate toward Reward Share progression;
- Account Discipline improvements can affect a future cycle, not retroactively change the active one.
Current standard Qualified requirements are:
- Rapid: 7 QPD, 7-day minimum age, Reward Share 75% → 80% → 85% → 90%.
- Classic: 10 QPD, 10-day minimum age, Reward Share 80% → 85% → 90%.
- Discipline: 10 QPD, 10-day minimum age, Reward Share 85% → 90% → 95% → 100%.
- Instinct: 7 QPD, 7-day minimum age, Reward Share 80% → 85% → 95%.
When payout reaches
PAID,
current-cycle QPD resets,
lifetime QPD remains preserved,
a pending Reward Share can activate,
and a new cycle-specific Consistency snapshot can be created.
One Performance Cycle means one stable Consistency snapshot, one active Reward Share, one current-cycle QPD counter, and one auditable payout measurement period.
Performance Cycles keep payout rules stable while the trader is being measured.
The cycle keeps its Consistency threshold and active Reward Share, tracks current-cycle payout progress, preserves lifetime QPD, and transitions only through the applicable payout lifecycle.
Performance Cycle values not matching your expectation?
Check the selected account's current Performance Cycle, current-cycle QPD, lifetime QPD, active Consistency threshold, Account Discipline snapshot, active Reward Share, pending Reward Share, Qualified age, payout status, and Account Snapshot. If something still appears incorrect, contact FairTicks Support with your account number and relevant screenshots.