Total drawdown
Total drawdown is the maximum cumulative loss an account can take since inception, across every day. It is the limit that ends the account for good, not just the day. Run this calculation now: drawdown calculator
Static versus trailing
With a static limit the floor is fixed: a 100k account at 10% dies at 90k and that number never moves. With a trailing limit the floor rises with equity. If the account reaches 106k the floor becomes 96k — the profit you earned becomes part of what you can lose. Some contracts freeze the floor once the balance reaches the initial value plus the target; others trail forever.
That is the difference between trading with a permanent 10k cushion and trading with a cushion that shrinks at every new high. Knowing which model applies to your account is the most important step before the first trade.
Why the platform number misleads
The trading platform shows balance and equity, not the distance to the floor. Doing that arithmetic in your head mid-session goes wrong, and it goes wrong more often when several accounts from different firms run at once, each with its own base and rule.
TCC stores the model of each account and shows, side by side, how much room is left on all of them. One reading instead of seven spreadsheets.