Futures basics for prop firm traders

These pages cover the futures mechanics that show up in every prop firm evaluation: what a contract is worth per point, why micros exist, when the market is open, what happens at expiration and how your orders actually get filled.

You don't need a finance degree to trade an eval, but you do need to know what one point costs you before you click buy. Start with contract values, then work through hours, expiration and orders.

• Micro vs E-mini futures: same market, a tenth of the size

  Micro vs E-mini futures side by side: point values for ES and MES, NQ and MNQ, how prop firms count micros, and when micros are the smarter eval choice.

• Futures trading hours, and the earlier deadline your prop firm sets

  CME futures trade nearly 24 hours, but prop firms close your day earlier. Exchange hours, the daily break and each firm's flat-by time in one place.

• Futures expiration and rollover, for day traders

  How equity index futures expire every quarter, what the month letters in ESZ6 mean, when volume rolls to the next contract and what that means for your charts.

• Order types and slippage: why your stop isn't a promise

  Market, limit, stop-market and stop-limit orders explained for futures day traders, what slippage is, and why your stop can fill worse than its price in an eval.