Flip trading — placing a single order that both closes your current position and opens a new one in the opposite direction — is not supported or recommended in Tradecopia. It is not hardcoded as a block, but the replication behaviour it produces is unpredictable and depends on how the order is placed. This article covers what to expect when it happens and how to reverse direction safely.

You might be experiencing this if:

This article covers flip trades placed on the leader account — where the leader reverses direction and the follower replicates unexpectedly. If you are seeing an orphan position from a previous session causing an unexpected reversal after a restart, see What happens to my follower positions when I close and reopen Tradecopia? instead. If your follower appears to hold an opposing position to the leader during a live session without a reversal attempt, see What does the Position Reconciler do and when does it activate?.

A flip trade is placing a single order large enough to both close your existing position and open a new position in the opposite direction in one action. For example: you are long 2 contracts and you place a 4-contract short — the first 2 contracts close the long, and the remaining 2 open a new short. The result is a full directional reversal in one order.

In futures trading this works through netting: when an opposing order arrives at the broker, it settles against the existing position rather than being processed as two separate actions.

Tradecopia does not support or recommend this pattern. The reason is not a hard technical block — it is a deliberate guardrail that protects prop firm traders from rule violations. Most prop firms prohibit hedging, meaning holding opposing positions on the same instrument simultaneously. A flip trade can produce a temporary hedged state on a follower account before netting settles, which may register as a rule violation at the prop firm level before the position resolves. The outcome for follower accounts is unpredictable and depends on how the flip order is placed.

Prevent Hedging is a setting in your Copy Group configuration. When enabled, it intercepts flip attempts on follower accounts to prevent them from entering a reversed direction — specifically for market orders.

Prevent Hedging activates based on the follower's current position state at the moment the order arrives:

In both cases the follower does not replicate the reversal into the new direction. The leader holds the new position; the follower is flat. This is a size and direction mismatch, but it is the intended safe outcome — flat is recoverable, an unintended hedge is not.

Prevent Hedging applies to market orders only. Standalone limit orders, stop orders, and bracket entries are not intercepted by this setting. The behaviour is consistent across all four supported brokers.

If you reverse direction using a limit order, stop order, or bracket entry, Prevent Hedging does not intercept the order. Futures netting applies at the broker level.

The outcome depends on the size relationship between the incoming order and the follower's current position:

The Position Reconciler monitors for direction and symbol mismatches, not quantity mismatches. Because both accounts are in the same direction after netting, the reconciler sees no breach and does not act. The size difference persists silently.

For full detail on how the reconciler monitors and responds to position states, see What does the Position Reconciler do and when does it activate?.

A related scenario where Prevent Hedging also activates: entering a new position in the opposite direction immediately after closing a trade.

When the leader exits a position and places a new market order in the opposite direction within milliseconds, the close and the new entry can arrive at the follower nearly simultaneously. The follower's position may not have fully settled at the broker level by the time the new entry arrives. From Tradecopia's perspective, the follower registers as flat — and Prevent Hedging treats the incoming opposite-side market order as it would any opposite-side order on a flat follower: the order is skipped.

This is not an error. It is the same guardrail working correctly to protect against a potential hedging rule violation at the prop firm level. The leader's new entry is not replicated; the follower remains flat.

If you are entering a new direction after a clean exit, allow a moment before placing the next order. This gives the broker and Tradecopia time to fully settle the previous position state before the next entry arrives.

To reverse direction and have your follower accounts follow correctly:

Going flat first removes the conditions that trigger Prevent Hedging and eliminates the netting risk that leads to size mismatches. This is also the most reliable pattern for prop firm accounts where any transitional hedged state may count against your rules.

If a follower is still holding a position that does not match the leader after following these steps, contact the Tradecopia support team with the account details and the current position state on both the leader and the follower.