PPTFCalculation methodology
The calculation methodology is gathered in one place: how every calculator on the site is built, which assumptions are baked into it, where the firms' rules and the market estimates come from. Here too is an honest account of what in our own work has not been fully verified.
What every calculation consists of
All nine calculators are built the same way, and that is a deliberate decision: the reader should understand what they are looking at without working it out afresh each time.
Everything that affects the result is exposed as a slider or a field. A hard-coded constant counts as a defect: pip value, tax rate and limits are personal to everyone.
nothing is hard-codedThe same arithmetic is given in words and in a table. A calculation that cannot be reproduced on paper is not published here.
reproducibleEvery page has a section on “what the calculation does not account for” — stating which way that shifts the result.
in the openThe probability of passing is a property of your numbers under the assumptions named, not a forecast. All the assumptions push it up, so it is an upper bound.
not a forecastThe calculations run in the browser: the calculators make no network requests and no data is sent anywhere. The only things stored locally are the ticks in the checklists and the chosen theme.
Sources of rules and estimates
Three categories of statement, and we handle each differently.
| Category | How it is presented | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A particular firm's rules | As a documented example, with a reference and the date checked | FTMO Trading Objectives, 2-Step: targets of 10% and 5%, a daily limit of 5%, an overall 10% static, a minimum of 4 trading days. In the same firm's 1-Step the daily limit is 3%, the overall one trailing and Best Day no more than 50% |
| A firm's statements about itself | As a direct quotation | FTMO: «all accounts we provide to our clients are demo accounts with fictitious funds» |
| Market estimates | With attribution to the author and a note that these are not firms' data | A challenge pass rate of 5–10% — aggregated estimates by commercial prop-industry aggregators; as a rule they do not name a primary source |
Why FTMO's rules come up so often. Not because we recommend the firm, but because its terms are published in detail and unambiguously — they are convenient for showing the mechanics. Other firms differ in both numbers and bases: these values must not be put into your own calculations, they have to be taken from your own firm's rules.
What in our work is not fully verified
A section that usually does not exist, but without it the methodology would be a declaration. Two of the limitations concern the site's keyword core.
The limitations will be closed as the work goes on, and until then they stand here so that the reader knows the boundaries. If we did not name them, there would be nothing to judge the reliability of the site's structure by.
Frequently asked questions
Where do the numbers in the calculators come from?
From your inputs. The default values are an example, not a recommendation: they are chosen so that the result is instructive. Limits and your own statistics have to be entered by hand.
Why is FTMO in the examples so often?
Because its terms are published in detail and unambiguously — they are convenient for showing the mechanics of the rules. That is not a recommendation: other firms differ in numbers and in bases.
What does “a model calculation” mean?
That the result follows from the assumptions named rather than predicting the future. Change an assumption and the result changes, and that is a normal property of a model rather than a flaw in it.
Why do you give no forecasts?
Because a forecast of returns would require knowing your future statistics. We work out the consequences of the numbers you enter, and we always state that every assumption shifts the result to the optimistic side.
Where does my data from the calculators go?
Nowhere. The calculation runs in the browser and the widgets make no network requests. Only the ticks in the checklists and the chosen theme are stored locally.
How is the arithmetic checked?
By script, over extreme sets of inputs: do the table rows agree with the total, is there a NaN or a division by zero, is a negative number shown as negative, does a zero input produce a positive verdict.
What is known about the frequency of the queries?
Nothing reliable: the project has no external source of volume data. The high, medium and low frequency labels are assigned by judgement and serve as a guide to structure, but not as grounds for prioritisation.
Why do you admit the shortcomings of your own methodology?
Because otherwise it would be a declaration. Limitations that cannot be checked from outside have to come to the reader from us — just as we demand transparency from prop firms' terms.
Can your calculations be repeated by hand?
Yes, and that is the check we invite: the formula for every calculation is given in the text next to the widget. If the results diverge, that is a reason to write to us.
How do you check that pages do not contradict each other?
By reconciling the numbers: the default values in the widgets, the numbers in the diagrams and the examples in the text on one page have to match, and across pages they must not diverge. A divergence counts as an error and is corrected.
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