Intraday Trailing Drawdown
Definition
Intraday trailing drawdown adjusts the drawdown floor in real-time based on the highest equity reached at any point during the trading day, including unrealized profits from open positions.
Intraday trailing is the most aggressive form of trailing drawdown. If your equity touches $52,000 even briefly during the day — perhaps from an open trade that spikes in your favor before retracing — your drawdown floor moves up to reflect that high-water mark. This happens instantly and cannot be reversed.
This means that large unrealized profits during the day effectively reduce your available drawdown. A trader who sees $2,000 in unrealized profit before the trade reverses has permanently raised their floor by $2,000, even if they didn't capture those profits.
Topstep uses intraday trailing drawdown, which is why many Topstep traders use tight take-profits and avoid letting winners run too far without taking partial profits. The strategy adjustment required for intraday trailing is significant compared to end-of-day trailing or fixed drawdown. PropJournal tracks the intraday high in real-time for firms that use this method.
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