"Consistency, creating and following trading rules got the luck out of my career"

Without a plan and clearly defined rules, it is impossible to achieve consistent results not only in forex, but in any business really. A well-constructed strategy gives the trader a statistical edge, which in turn gives the trader the peace of mind needed to perform and achieve long-term stable results. Of course, we can only agree with this, as do the new FTMO traders who answered a few of our questions.

Trader Qaiser: Your mindset is your key to success.

How has passing FTMO Challenge and Verification changed your life?

This process has helped me in discipline and patience and given me a new channel in life. What I make in my job I can make in a day is the amazing aspect of trading especially with the backing of FTMO.

What was easier than expected during your FTMO Challenge or Verification?

Finding opportunities was easier as I had a clear mind due to the process of stages to pass. A real structure to follow due to having targets to meet. This allows you to plan your trading day or week. You are not just blindly trading. This way I was able to hit my daily targets and switch off.

What was the most difficult during your FTMO Challenge or Verification and how did you overcome it?

Finding time to trade was hard due to personal commitments both work and family related. What helped me overcome this is identifying the best times to trade the market and then set this in my daily routine.

How did you manage your emotions when you were in a losing trade?

Every loss is a lesson and so what did I do wrong? How will I avoid such a trade? Trade evaluation is key here.

Describe your best trade.

All my trades for me are my best trades. I've learnt from each and every one, whether I made 1% or 5% the process has always been the same. Understanding market direction and structure was important for me and so I focused my efforts on this.

What is the number one piece of advice you would give to a new trader?

Focus on your psychology, read "Trading in the zone". Amazing book to overcome psychology. Your mindset is your key to success.

Trader Mario: I don't think there is a trader that did not have a psychology problem.

What do you think is the key to long-term success in trading?

Finding a trading strategy that suits you well is not that hard. What is most important is that you keep your mindset both in and outside the trading hours. Simply put - you have to live it. Start organizing your life, make consistency not just in trading but also in your daily routine and let the power of habits do the work for you.

How did loss limits affect your trading style?

Maximum loss limits mostly affected my money management style only. By becoming an FTMO Trader, which basically differs from challenges by only having a loss limit rules, my trading style will be stress-free and enjoyable like it should.

Do you plan to take another FTMO Challenge to manage even bigger capital?

Definitely. If it is possible, I won't stop until I get max allocation.

Has your psychology ever affected your trading plan?

I don't think there is a trader that did not have a psychology problem in his career. Through the years I've found that this topic is the most important for becoming successful in this business, so I started to find the flaws I had, write them down and slowly remove it. I mostly had problems with overtrading in a day and emotional roller-coaster while watching the positions live, but I have managed to solve it by using alerts and trade on a bit bigger timeframe since I have found out that scalping is not really my thing.

How did you eliminate the factor of luck in your trading?

Tough question to answer, but I'll try. I usually never believed luck exists in trading. What I only believed (at least in FX market) you have to know it inside-out. Every session start, every event and every potential zone that could create a momentum in market that someone would accidently open a position and "get lucky" with. I think consistency, creating and following trading rules got the luck out of my career and created a nice positive statistic measure in which I only believe in.

One piece of advice for people starting their FTMO Challenge now.

Take it slow. Believe me, you have enough time and 10% is not a lot to gain or lose. Money management is the key.

Trader Adrian: Backtest your trading edges as much as possible.

What was the hardest obstacle on your trading journey?

Having many years of losing a lot of money and failing several FTMO challenges and thinking I could never break bad habits which almost led me to completely give up on trading.

What was more difficult than expected during your FTMO Challenge or Verification?

I didn't expect to feel as much pressure on myself as I did during the verification.

How would you rate your experience with FTMO?

Very positive, support has always been helpful, and they respond quickly. Great website and lots of evidence online that FTMO is 100% legitimate.

How did you eliminate the factor of luck in your trading?

By back testing my 2 primary trading edges over 9 years of data so that each time I see my signal I know the statistical probability that it will be profitable.

What was the most difficult during your FTMO Challenge or Verification and how did you overcome it?

Going back to my main old bad habit I thought I had eliminated which was opening too large a position too early and almost failing the verification (came very close to max daily drawdown). However, despite a large initial loss, thanks to my back testing I knew this was still a high probability trade so I didn't panic and still let the trade play out.

What would you like to say to other traders that are attempting the FTMO Challenge?

Back test your trading edges as much as possible so that you have hard data which will give you confidence and help eliminate any doubts in yourself each time you open a trade.

Trader Muhammad: Stay calm, don't let your emotions get the best of you, and trust your analysis.

How did loss limits affect your trading style?

The maximum loss limit definitely helped me stay more disciplined as a trader and really made me look at percentage risk a lot more.

Describe your best trade.

My best trade I took was on GBPJPY. I took a long position and secured about 80 pips for a 1:8 Risk to Reward. The reason why I consider this my best trade was because it took quite a bit of patience because price kept pulling back and I was actively managing the trade. This took a lot of mental strength as well because I would see a lot of the profit go back to the markets and I just had to trust that my analysis was correct and let the trade play out.

What does your risk management plan look like?

Depending on how strong the setup is on the trade, I don't like to risk more than 1 to 1.5% per trade. I try to hit a minimum of 1:2 RRR per trade.

What inspires you to pursue trading?

The things that inspire me to pursue trading is the flexibility, the financial freedom, and the opportunities. The fact that you are your own boss, you work on your own time, and you get what you put in. You can be anywhere in the world with internet connection and still pursue your craft.

What was the most difficult during your FTMO Challenge or Verification and how did you overcome it?

The most difficult thing during my FTMO Challenge or Verification would be the pressure I put on myself mentally. I would begin to second guess myself and doubt my analysis. The way I overcame this was working on my trading psychology and just trust that if my analysis is correct the trade will work out and if not, I have pre-determined risk that I am fine with risking.

One piece of advice for people starting their FTMO Challenge now.

One piece of advice I would give to people starting the FTMO Challenge is to practice. Back test your strategy and when that is profitable, utilize the free trial FTMO offers. If you can pass the free trial, then you can pass the FTMO challenge. Stay calm, don't let your emotions get the best of you, and trust your analysis.