Shark Futures denied my first $1,500 payout after I built roughly $12K in funded profits — my experience
I found Shark Futures through Instagram, where they were advertising cheap evaluations. A $50K eval was under $68, which caught my attention, so I decided to try them. Altogether, I bought four evaluations: failed two, passed two. I eventually lost one funded account, but on the remaining account, I started putting together multiple successful trades. By around the third or fourth day, I had taken the balance from $50K to roughly $62K—about $12K in profit. This was my first time making over $10K in a week on a funded account, so it was a huge milestone for me. Obviously, account profits aren’t money in your pocket until you actually receive a payout, but I was excited.
My understanding of the payout requirements was that I needed to meet the profit target, complete six qualifying trading days with at least $150 in net profit each, and meet the 35% consistency requirement. My biggest winning day was around $4K, and I believed I had satisfied those requirements when I requested my first payout of $1,500, the first-payout cap for my account. After waiting several days without an approval message, I contacted support and was told it could take up to 10 days. That was longer than I’d personally waited for a payout elsewhere, but I gave them time.
About a week after requesting it, I received a denial. The email cited “Disproportionate Risk-to-Target Ratio (‘Lucky Shot’ Trading)” and “Lack of Risk Management Discipline.” What frustrated me most was that the notice didn’t identify which trades violated those rules or provide the calculations behind the decision. It also said a new evaluation account would be issued and gave me six calendar days to demonstrate compliance, without clearly explaining whether completing that process would restore my payout.
I understand that meeting a consistency requirement doesn’t automatically prove that every trade followed separate risk-management rules. But if you’re denying a payout over those rules, show me the specific trades, explain the risk involved, and show how they violated the policy. Calling it “lucky shot” trading without that explanation doesn’t give me a meaningful way to understand or challenge the decision. From my perspective, these were deliberate trades based on my analysis and experience, and I wanted my trading history assessed with actual evidence.
I’m seriously disappointed because I initially had enough confidence in Shark Futures that I wanted to explore partnering with them and promoting the firm. After this experience, I’m no longer comfortable recommending them. Cheap evaluations mean very little to me if the payout review leaves me with unanswered questions about why my request was denied. I’m glad I limited my spending to four evaluations, and based on what’s happened, I won’t be buying more.
This is my personal experience, and I’m sharing it so other traders can consider it before spending their money. I can’t speak for every customer, but I would not recommend Shark Futures based on how my payout request has been handled. If they provide a specific explanation or resolve the issue, I’ll update this post. Has anyone else received a similar denial, and were you able to get a proper review?