How do I check my actual drawdown on a prop firm account?

This is one of the most common questions clients ask — and getting it right matters, because the drawdown number displayed inside NinjaTrader is not always the most accurate one. NinjaTrader shows what it calculates from the data feed, which can diverge significantly from the drawdown your prop firm is actually tracking on the broker side.

The reliable way to check your real drawdown is to go directly to your broker's official tools — Tradovate's web dashboard (for Tradovate-routed accounts) or Rithmic R | Trader Pro (for Rithmic-routed accounts).

Why NinjaTrader's drawdown display is not the source of truth

NinjaTrader displays account balance and drawdown based on the data flowing into it. Several things can cause this number to drift from the broker's authoritative number:

• End-of-day vs real-time mismatches. Many prop firms use end-of-day (EOD) trailing drawdown that updates at a specific cut-off (typically 5:00 PM EST). The figure shown in NinjaTrader during the day may not reflect that EOD calculation.
• Simulated commissions and fees are often included in the broker's drawdown calculation but are not always reflected in the NinjaTrader view.
• Latency or sync issues between NinjaTrader and the broker can leave the displayed number stale.

Always treat NinjaTrader's drawdown as an estimate. For decisions that depend on the actual drawdown floor — can I still trade this account? / am I close to the limit? — go to the broker source.

How to check on Tradovate (web dashboard)

1. Log into the Tradovate web platform in your browser.
2. Click the (+) icon in the top-left of the page to open the Modules window.
3. Select the Accounts widget and drag it onto your workspace.
4. In the Accounts widget, add the Dis Drawdown Net Liq column. This shows your current trailing maximum drawdown floor.

The Accounts module also shows balance, P&L, open risk, and trailing drawdown in real time, which is what you want to refer to before entering or sizing trades.

Official reference: Accounts Module — Tradovate Web Support and Trailing Max Drawdown — Tradovate Support.

How to check on Rithmic R | Trader Pro

1. Open your R | Trader Pro Client instance.
2. Click the Trader Dashboard tab in the mid-left of the screen.
3. Scroll the dashboard to the right to find the Min Account Balance column. This value is your current EOD trailing drawdown floor — the level your balance cannot fall to or below without the account being failed.
4. The Auto Liquidate Threshold Value column also reflects your trailing drawdown level.

Note: the EOD number is calculated based on your account value at 5:00 PM EST each trading day, and it may take several hours after that cutoff to reflect correctly in R | Trader Pro.

Official reference: Where can I see my current trailing drawdown account value in R | Trader Pro?

Why this matters: failed-but-not-removed accounts

A common scenario clients run into:

• You have a Rithmic-routed eval account that shows a balance of, for example, $50,000 in NinjaTrader.
• The trailing drawdown floor — invisible inside NinjaTrader — has actually been pushed above $50,000 by earlier profit highs.
• The account has technically already failed the drawdown rule, but Rithmic eval accounts do not disappear from your platform immediately even after they have been deemed ineligible. They can stay visible and "tradable-looking" for some time.

Clients often assume an account that's still visible and showing positive balance is still in play — and continue trying to pass with it. It isn't. The only way to confirm the account's real status is to check the actual drawdown floor in R | Trader Pro (or your prop firm's own dashboard, which usually marks the account as ineligible).

Related: see Liquidation Only status for the broker-side state that indicates an account has hit a hard stop.

What Vector cannot interpret

Specific drawdown rules — type (EOD, intraday, static), size, the exact moment the floor stops trailing, and how withdrawals affect it — are defined by your prop firm, not by Vector. Refer to your firm's official rulebook for the rule definitions. Vector's role here is operational: helping you know where to look for the authoritative number once you understand how your firm's rule works.