"If you're scared, that’s good!"

The psychological side of trading is very important. But it's not about completely neutralizing your emotions and feelings, it's about being able to control them. Learn what helped some of our FTMO Traders to manage their emotions in today's article.

Trader Lawrence: "Maximize the potential of your trading system by letting it do its thing and not interfering."

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

Realizing that the time limit of one month was more than long enough. I attempted many challenges and have failed a good few. It took me losing and getting free re-tries before I realized that my strategy was more than good enough and after about a year I backtested my strategy and found for most of them I would have passed within the allotted time and for almost all of them would have been eligible for a free re-try.

Describe your best trade.

I was in a DD of about 3.71% and one of my high probability set ups came up on Cable. I executed perfectly it went in my favor instantly and within 3 hours my account was back into the green and it just got better with every trade.

What does your risk management plan look like?

I risk 40pips split into 10pips at 0.25% each with a 3% 80pip target, I use my top up EA and set the top up at 20% of my 80pip move. I like to have skin in the game and if the trade goes into my favor instantly its 1:12 Risk/Reward, otherwise if it goes against me less than 40pips I get in at a better price level. Once my top up level gets triggered both my stop losses get moved into a position that I never have more than 0.25% risked on the trade at any time, I allow 4 entries of 0.25% for a total of 1% risked.

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

Maximizing the potential of your trading system by letting it do its thing and not interfering.

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

I allow the trade to happen good or bad, because I know that my trading strategy is profitable in a series of trades. Whenever I feel a little weakness coming along, I watch Mark Douglas' 4-part series on YouTube about trading systems.

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

Find a strategy that works for your personality, lifestyle, mentality, psychology, style, aspiration etc. For instance, I started on Elliot Waves - my mentality would force trades as even though it has certain rules. I felt it left too much for me to interpret and I didn’t feel comfortable trading it, I needed something more mechanical. After watching YouTube and developing an algorithm with No Nonsense Forex it didn’t fulfill my aspirational needs as it took too long, so I needed something faster, to that end I developed the strategy I have now which ticks all the boxes for me, and I can follow though easily.

Trader Shawn: "The pursuit of constant improvement inspires and drives me to continue."

Do you have a trading plan in place, and do you follow it strictly?

Yes, every trader must have a plan in place to allow him to follow his edge down to the tee. It also contributes to the dismissal of indecision and fear when all you need to do is answer a simple question, is this against my rules.

How would you rate your experience with FTMO?

I've had an incredible journey with FTMO so far and I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds. Cannot recommend the firm enough, great customer service.

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

Of course, no trader in the world would settle for less than the non-stop urge to improve and learn through continuous experience and growth.

What inspires you to pursue trading?

The psychological involvement within trading forces you to learn about your mind and become the very best you can be. The pursuit of constant improvement inspires and drives me to continue. I feel it’s a career and skill that can serve you for the rest of your life and allow you the achieve things most people think aren't possible.

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

Personally, my strategy and edge had one of the quietest months since I started trading it during my verification, so waiting for the correct market conditions to suit my strategy required a great deal of patience. I believe the challenge itself is a great way to put traders who think they are ready for funding through the psychological rigmarole of time constraints and profit targets. You learn a thing or two about yourself during the process.

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

Make sure you have a well-tested strategy, and you are confident in your ability and edge to follow your rules without hesitation. It's supposed to be a difficult test of your experience and strategy, nothing worth having is easy so keep working hard and you will achieve your goals.

Trader Ines: "Detaching myself from the result and knowing that there is a probability of failure definitely was the hardest thing."

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

Disciplined myself and respected a certain set of rules in my trading and day to day life.

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

Detaching myself from the result and knowing that there is a probability of failure definitely was the hardest thing. However, I put myself in a head space where I didn’t base my confidence from the number of trades I won or lost but my ability to stick to a plan and have unfolded discipline throughout all the challenge and verification.

How did loss limits affect your trading style?

It influenced my trading in my risk/reward ratio. Risking one percent maximum was definitely challenging considering the fact that I only trade indexes (US30) it was definitely the risk management that was going to make or break me.

What was the hardest obstacle on your trading journey?

Emotional barriers, convincing myself that this is something that is within reach for me. Barreling every single mental broke mindset was and still is challenging but I am glad I have started to break down every wall that would stop me from reaching my highest potential with this skillset.

Describe your best trade.

The trade that got me out of drawdown in my verification, for the first time I allowed myself to get in the market for a second time after getting kicked out. An amazing sell on US30.

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

If your scared, that’s good! Use your fear to increase in preparation and make your trading automated as much as possible, so that your emotions don’t guide your actions.

Trader Jacob: "Discipline is the only way for my strategy to work as it should."

How did passing FTMO Challenge and Verification change your life?

Passing the challenge and verification has taught me a lot about how I trade under pressure, having to reach a profit target with time limit imposes a lot of new challenges concerning trading psychology. Early on during my first challenge attempt I reached a 9% open balance, trying to seal the deal with only 1% to go I increased my risk while still following my strategy. Unfortunately, when I increased my risk, the market got really choppy and with a few trades at increased risk I quickly lost most of the profit I had made. Bad timing but also very eye opening, when you think you have reached your goal anything can happen (especially in the markets). Getting funded by FTMO is a huge steppingstone for my trading career, as this will be my first-time trading for a prop firm, I hope it may eventually lead to being able to trade full time.

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

Yes, I am currently in an ongoing challenge. I plan to take a third challenge once I pass the first stage of my current challenge.

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

Starting the challenges, I always start with 1% risk until I have a buffer to increase my risk to 2% per trade. For the verification it was relatively easy to reach 5% while trading with 1% risk. Although for the first part reaching 10%, I found that every time I increase my risk, I get a couple loses for some reason eliminating my initial profit, this happened again during my second ongoing challenge.

Describe your best trade.

My best trade was late February, on USDJPY right before the market collapse. I got a really good entry and kept it all the way down until I saw it was best to get out. This was one of those trades that make your year, ending up with a profit ratio of 18:1.

Do you have a trading plan in place, and do you follow it strictly?

Yes, I do have a trading plan in place, I have spent too much time working on my strategy not to follow it strictly. It has worked very well for me so far, so I have learned to trust and stick to my trading plan. Of course, I have let myself trade outside of it in the past but found that it was almost always negative in result. Discipline is the only way for my strategy to work as it should. One day I plan on trying to automate it but that will need a lot of testing before I can try it out.

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

When you find a good trading plan that seems to be making you money, don't jump to a different one at the first sign of loses or a losing streak. There might be something wrong with it but keep working on it, there are always methods to improve your strategy and the improvements never stop. Just don't tweak something that already works for no reason.