Futures Paycheck builds its position gradually rather than committing your whole allocation on the first day. Here's how it decides how much, and when.
Working out the total
Before entering, the system asks your brokerage what margin one /ES contract requires right now. It divides your allocation — after any reduction from the trend indicator — by that figure to get a total contract target.
Because margin is confirmed with your brokerage rather than estimated, this reflects your actual account.
Spreading the entries
That total is then spread across specific weekdays:
Total contracts | Entry days (Eastern) | Per entry |
1 | Wednesday | 1 |
2 | Tuesday and Thursday | 1 |
3 or more | Monday, Wednesday, Friday | Total divided by 3 |
If your allocation supports 9 contracts, the system enters 3 on each of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until fully deployed.
The point is to avoid putting the entire allocation on at one price on one day. Spreading entries across a week means your position is built at a range of prices.
Two windows per entry day
On each of its scheduled entry days, the system evaluates twice: at 10:00 AM and again at 1:00 PM Eastern.
This doesn't double your position size. That day's contract allotment is still the number in the table above — the afternoon run exists to complete it if the morning run couldn't, not to add to it. If the day's entry went in at 10:00 AM, the 1:00 PM run has nothing to do.
What this means in practice
A newly deployed system takes time to reach full size. If you deploy on a Tuesday with a schedule of Monday, Wednesday and Friday, your first entry is Wednesday and full deployment takes a week or more.
Seeing only part of your allocation in use during the first week is expected.
Stable sizing during deployment
Futures margin moves during the day. To stop the schedule shifting underneath itself, the system locks its contract target and margin figure when a deployment cycle starts and reuses them until the cycle completes.
A new cycle begins when all positions are closed and nothing is pending, or when your allocation changes.
Why an entry was skipped
All of these appear in your execution history:
Not a scheduled entry day — the most common. Your system only enters on its assigned days.
Exceeds remaining allocation — open positions have used the budget. It resumes as positions close.
Already submitted today — the day's allotment has already gone in. You'll see this on the 1:00 PM run when the 10:00 AM run succeeded.
Entries halted — the trend indicator is in a halt state or unavailable.
Market closed — including early-close days.
Pending orders
Entries are limit orders at the mid price, placed with day duration. A position shows as pending until your brokerage confirms the fill, then becomes open.
If the order doesn't fill by the end of the day, it's cancelled and the position is marked cancelled. The system tries again at the next entry window.
Pending positions don't count toward committed capital until they fill.
Changing your allocation
Raising it lets the system work toward more contracts on subsequent entry days. Lowering it doesn't close positions already open — those run to their take profit or stop loss.
If No Open Trades, Entry Timing Is Handled Differently
The whole goal is to have your money working for you, so we don't like to make you wait for your next entry. Let's say it's Thursday and the system is scheduled to open a trade on Wednesday — it would take nearly a week to open a trade. Because of this, if there are no open positions, the system will enter on the next trading day, at 10:00 AM or 1:00 PM Eastern.