Skip to main content

Rules restricting gambling

Upcomers is designed to support disciplined, responsible trading and long term consistency. To protect that environment, we restrict behaviors that resemble gambling, uncontrolled risk taking or attempts to bypass risk controls.

Certain behaviors and approaches are considered inconsistent with responsible trading and may be treated as a breach of our rules, including the prohibited strategies described in our Help Center article "What trading strategies are prohibited at Upcomers".

What we mean by "gambling style behavior"

Gambling style behavior does not mean having losing trades. Losses are a normal part of trading. In this context, "gambling" refers to patterns of trading that show a lack of risk control, excessive exposure, or emotional escalation that can destabilize an account and compromise fair trading conditions.

We monitor for behaviors such as:

1) Excessive margin exposure (overleveraging)

Overleveraging refers to using an excessive portion of available margin, either on a single instrument or single trade idea (concentrated exposure), or across the account overall (total exposure).

This behavior can make the account highly sensitive to normal market volatility, increase liquidation risk and reduce the trader's ability to manage positions responsibly.

What is expected:

  • Keep a reasonable free margin buffer at all times

  • Avoid concentrating a disproportionate share of margin into one idea

  • Avoid operating the account at persistently high margin usage levels


2) Escalating position building (position stacking / averaging behavior)

Position stacking refers to repeatedly adding positions instead of managing risk properly on the original setup.

This commonly happens in drawdown, when a trader keeps adding into a losing idea to "average down", or in profit, when FOMO leads to adding entries emotionally and without a clear plan.

A high number of simultaneous positions, especially when used to amplify exposure quickly, is typically a sign of impulsive risk escalation rather than structured execution.

What is expected:

  • Maintain controlled, planned position management

  • Avoid rapid, repetitive adding of positions that increases exposure without clear risk limits

  • Keep the number of concurrent open trades within reasonable boundaries for stable risk control

  • Use protective tools such as stop loss and take profit to define risk boundaries on each trade


3) Trading without defined risk boundaries

Consistently opening positions without stop loss or take profit levels may indicate a lack of structured risk management. While these tools are not mandatory on every trade, their systematic absence across trading activity can be a sign of uncontrolled exposure and poor risk discipline.

Relying solely on manual monitoring without predefined exit levels increases the risk of emotional decision-making and significant drawdowns.

Trading activity conducted without appropriate risk controls may be subject to review and could affect the eligibility of any associated outcomes.

What is expected:

  • Define exit levels (stop loss and/or take profit) as part of your trade planning

  • Avoid leaving positions exposed to unlimited downside without a clear risk rationale

  • Demonstrate consistent use of protective tools across your trading activity


4) Account rolling

Account rolling refers to a pattern where the option to purchase additional accounts is used as a substitute for risk management itself. There is no limit on how many accounts a trader can own, and using multiple accounts as part of a structured approach is fully permitted. What falls outside responsible trading is treating each new account as another attempt to catch a favorable outcome through repeated exposure rather than skill.

This pattern typically appears when a trader takes oversized or high-leverage positions without a defined plan or stop-loss, accepts that the account is likely to breach, and proceeds to purchase another account to repeat the same approach. The intent in this case is not to trade. It is to rely on probability across multiple accounts, with the assumption that one of them will eventually produce a payout.

A clear way to distinguish legitimate multi-account trading from account rolling is the trader's behavior across the accounts. A trader running multiple accounts as a structured approach applies the same risk discipline to each one. Position sizing is consistent. Protective levels are in place. The trader's activity on the third account looks the same as on the first. Account rolling shows the opposite: outsized positions, missing or arbitrary risk controls, and behavior consistent with the assumption that any breached account will simply be replaced.

When trading activity reflects this pattern, the resulting outcomes may not be eligible for withdrawal regardless of the final account balance, and access to future purchases may be restricted.

What is expected:

Apply the same risk discipline to every account you trade, regardless of how many you own

Use position sizing and protective levels consistent with what a reasonable trader would apply to capital they could not easily replace

Treat each account as an independent test of your trading methodology, not as one of several attempts to catch a favorable outcome

Avoid trading patterns that rely on the availability of additional account purchases as a fallback for breaches

5) Impulsive and reactive trading patterns

Impulsive trading refers to patterns where entries appear to be driven by emotional reaction rather than planned, analysis-based execution. This does not refer to active or short-term trading styles, which are fully permitted. It refers specifically to behavioral patterns suggesting that decisions are made reactively rather than strategically.

This commonly includes entering new positions immediately after closing previous trades without allowing time for market reassessment, clustering multiple entries within very short timeframes without clear strategic justification, persisting with a directional view despite repeated adverse outcomes suggesting the thesis is no longer valid, rapidly reversing direction following losses in a manner consistent with emotional reaction rather than considered repositioning, or increasing position size after losses in an attempt to accelerate recovery.

These patterns often emerge during periods of drawdown when emotional pressure increases. When trading activity shows systematic impulsive characteristics, it suggests that decisions are being driven by reaction to recent outcomes rather than independent analysis of market conditions.

What is expected:

  • Allow adequate time between trades for proper market assessment and fresh analysis

  • Maintain emotional discipline during drawdown periods

  • Recognize when market conditions have invalidated a trading thesis and adapt accordingly

  • Base trading decisions on current market analysis rather than reaction to previous outcomes

  • Maintain consistent position sizing regardless of recent results


6) Absence of demonstrable strategy

Trading activity that produces results heavily dependent on a small number of isolated outcomes, rather than consistent performance across a broader sample, may indicate absence of a repeatable trading methodology.

When a disproportionate share of account profits derives from a few favorable trades while the majority of activity produces negligible or negative results, it suggests that the positive balance reflects favorable variance rather than systematic edge.

Sustainable trading performance is typically characterized by reasonable consistency across trades rather than extreme concentration of results in isolated moments.

A positive account balance alone does not demonstrate compliant trading activity. Profits derived primarily from a small number of favorable outcomes, while the majority of trading activity shows no consistent edge, may not be eligible for withdrawal.

What is expected:

  • Demonstrate a consistent approach to market analysis and trade selection

  • Produce results that reflect repeatable methodology rather than isolated fortunate outcomes

  • Show evidence of strategic decision-making across the full sample of trading activity


Monitoring

These rules are evaluated based on observed trading behavior and exposure patterns. Monitoring may include, among other factors, margin usage levels, concentration of exposure, position build-up behavior, timing and frequency of entries, behavioral patterns following losses, consistency of execution and distribution of results across trades.

These patterns are evaluated in combination, not in isolation. A single instance of any behavior described above does not necessarily indicate a problem. However, when multiple patterns occur together or repeatedly across trading activity, it may indicate that the overall approach is inconsistent with responsible trading standards.


Enforcement and our rights

If we identify behavior consistent with gambling style trading or prohibited strategies, we reserve the right to take protective action to maintain a fair and risk controlled environment.

This may include:

  • Applying account restrictions

  • Reducing leverage

  • Adjusting risk parameters or trading conditions

  • Conducting enhanced review of payout requests

  • Closing the account

  • Withholding any benefits or outcomes derived from the affected trading activity


Key takeaway

We support active trading and a wide range of legitimate strategies. These rules exist to discourage uncontrolled risk escalation, emotional decision-making and trading patterns inconsistent with professional standards. If you trade with a clear methodology, responsible exposure and disciplined execution, you should have no issues.

Did this answer your question?