Use Trader Lockout to Lock Yourself Out of Trading
Trader Lockout is the button that saves you from yourself. It slams the door on your account for a set stretch of time, no new orders, no exceptions. Here's how to set it up.
Some of the worst trades happen right after a big loss, when you're chasing it back, or right after a big win, when you feel untouchable. Trader Lockout is the button that saves you from yourself. It slams the door on your account for a set stretch of time, no new orders, no exceptions, not even a call to support gets you back in early. Here's how to set it up, and when it's actually worth pulling the trigger.
What Trader Lockout Does the Moment You Hit It
When you confirm a lockout, three things happen at once:
- Every open position gets flattened.
- Every working order gets canceled.
- Every new order, from any platform connected to your account, gets rejected until the timer runs out.
It's a hard stop, not a gentle nudge. The lock covers every account tied to your user profile, so you can't just hop to a second account and keep clicking.
Before You Start
It's for simulated (evaluation) accounts. This is a discipline tool for sim and prop-eval accounts, not for live funded money.
You can't undo it. Once the lockout is running, there's no early exit. Client Services can't lift it, and neither can you. You wait it out.
The ceiling is 24 hours. Pick a preset or a custom length, but you can't lock yourself out for longer than a day at a time.
Prop-eval rules like daily loss caps and trailing drawdown vary by firm and account size, check your firm's current rules. Trader Lockout sits on top of those limits; it doesn't replace them.
How to Set a Trader Lockout
Log in to Your Evaluation Account
Open the Tradovate web trader or the mobile app and sign in to the sim/eval account you want to protect. The feature lives on web and mobile, the desktop app doesn't carry it right now, so use one of those two.
Open the Lockout Control
On the web trader, look along the top of the screen for the lockout button, it's usually the orange one. On mobile, open the navigation drawer and find the same control. Tap it to open the lockout panel.
Pick How Long to Stay Out
Choose your duration. The presets are 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, or the rest of the session. Need something specific? Set a custom length up to the 24-hour max. Match the time to the reason, a short cooldown after a shaky setup, or the whole session once you've hit your number.
Confirm the Lock
Hit Lock Account to arm it. This is the point of no return, the second you confirm, open trades flatten and the door closes. Double-check the duration is what you actually want before you tap it.
Watch the Timer, Then Let It Run
Once it's live, a countdown shows at the top of the web trader. Click the timer to see the exact date and time the lock lifts. Then walk away, that's the whole point. When the clock hits zero, trading opens back up on its own.
When It's Actually Worth Using
The button only helps if you use it before you talk yourself out of it. A few honest triggers:
- You hit your profit target. A green day's a green day. Lock it and protect the number instead of handing it back.
- You're down and itching to make it back. A 30-minute lockout kills revenge trading before it starts.
- The tape's a mess. During news spikes or choppy swings, a 15-minute pause keeps you out of half-baked setups.
- You've got a hard cutoff. Locking at noon, or in the last 30 minutes, enforces the rule you keep breaking.
Pair it with Tradovate's built-in guardrails: set hard daily and weekly loss limits, review your full account risk settings, and know how to flatten every position and cancel orders fast when you need to bail on your own terms.
Automate This with PickMyTrade
Tired of babysitting the platform to enforce your own rules? PickMyTrade automates your TradingView strategies into Tradovate so your entries, exits, and risk logic run the same way every time, without the emotional override.
Trade Your Rules, Not Your Emotions
PickMyTrade turns your TradingView strategies into automatic Tradovate entries, exits, and brackets, so discipline runs on its own.
Start Your Free 5-Day TrialThis guide is for educational and informational purposes only and is not financial, investment, or trading advice. Trading futures and other leveraged products carries a substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. PickMyTrade is an independent third-party automation platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Tradovate, Inc. "Tradovate" and all related names, logos, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Platform features and steps change over time, so always confirm the current process in the official Tradovate platform and documentation before acting.