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FTMO Traders Q&A

Tips & Tricks that helped our new FTMO Traders

We express our warm welcome to our new FTMO traders. Take a look into how they managed to score the FTMO Challenge and what methods they used to pass our Evaluation process. This feedback is very valuable to new traders or those seeking some trading motivation.

 

Trader Nabeel putting the emphasis on proper journaling and following a trading plan

 

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

It’s all down to your discipline and risk management strategy.

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

Risk management and control your emotions and greed.

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

Yes, I do, I have my setups ready check my charts and trade consistently.

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

Yes absolutely need to have back up in place.

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

Stay calm wins or losses part of the game.

One piece of advice for people starting the Challenge now.

Take your time and trust the process follow the journal throughout the challenge will help you keep track of your account daily losses and avoid greed.

 

Jeffrey's valuable advice for those who want to take the FTMO Challenge

 

What do you think is the most important characteristic/attribute to become a profitable trader?

I believe that having the discipline to follow your trading plan and risk management rules are paramount in becoming a profitable trader.

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

I never risk enough on a trade that allows my emotions to affect me when I am in drawdown. Win or lose the result is the same to me!

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

Yes absolutely. Without a proper trading plan, it is similar to going to war without a battle plan... it will not end well!

How does passing the Challenge and Verification changed your life?

It will give me the opportunity to potentially earn life-changing income for me and my family.

What inspires you to pursue trading?:

I believe that trading is a never-ending quest for knowledge, and with each passing day, I learn more about the behaviour of the markets and how to effectively trade them better. Not a day goes by that I am not striving to be the best trader that I can be and trying to learn as much as I can to improve my skill set!

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

Do not rush into trading with live funds until you have consistently shown profitability in a demo account for a pre-determined period of time. It could be anywhere from 3-6 months to a year or more, but you absolutely must learn to indoctrinate good trading habits from the beginning AND show consistency in your results before you try to risk real money. The money you save by doing this, in the long run, you can then put into your live trading account when you are ready, and potentially turn that into a much bigger profit!

Why Trader Connor picked FTMO over other Prop Firms?

 

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

I spent countless hours learning one pair, understanding it's nature, how it moves and when it moves. It has taken me a long time to understand it, but it is definitely worth the many late nights and early mornings.

What was easier than expected during the Challenge or Verification?

Actually reaching the targets is the hardest part, but breaking it down to how much you would need to make day by day, makes it much easier. Obviously, with trading, you should focus on the quality of the trade and not the money, but with the Challenge set as it is, breaking it down today by day amount, makes it sound much easier.

How does your risk management plan look like?

If I take a market execution order, I aim to cut off at 0.5%. When taking a market execution order, the trade should move in your direction pretty swiftly, so if it doesn't, then your position may be wrong. When I take a stop/limit order, I will limit my loss to 2% if I cannot watch my position, which is also dependent on the trade itself. Most of the time, however, I will not go more than 1%.

Where have you learnt about FTMO?

I learned about FTMO when searching for prop trading companies. FTMO was the best option. Other firms have monthly fees, profit targets and fees if you do not reach them. I will feel freer under FTMO than I would any other company.

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

Learning to cope with using larger lot sizes. This was not my first challenge, but understanding how to adjust and mentally cope with larger losses was tough at first. However, with this: it made me understand price action much better, and therefore I avoided many losses in the process. By doing so, I may have only take a few pips in some places, but it was much better than losing money.

One piece of advice for people starting the Challenge now.

Drop your ego and stop wanting to be right all the time, sometimes the market will have different ideas to what you had. Believe in yourself. Have confidence. Be rigid with your risk management but flexible with your entry points. Learn one pair inside out - this is the best way to do it in my opinion. Become incredibly good at trading one pair - then, when you are established, feel free to focus on new pairs. Never stop learning!

 

Trader Juan describes his experience with FTMO

 

 

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

One of the most difficult parts of the experience was the Verification Process. I fell down to just about $150 in equity before failing the max loss on the account. Here I was really able to analyze what lead to me to be back down so much. I was able to shift my managing skills and stick to my plan so I could pass the objectives.

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

Before going into a trade I have already calculated what I'm risking on the trade. I have gotten better able handling drawdowns and knowing price will do its thing no matter what. Calculating risk on the trade just helps me know that even if I lose the trade I can analyze what went wrong and learn from the hit. Risk and money management is key here and it helps keep me a clear head.

What inspires you to pursue trading?

The freedom and the compounding effect it can have an account is what inspired me to want to trade. At first, it was just starting as a hobby but now I know the full impact on my life. I have been able to help my parents and myself to put me through school. I love it.

How would you rate your experience with FTMO?

The experience with FTMO has been great. Their account services are great in the way you can see all the data behind how your trading account is doing.

What was the hardest obstacle on your trading journey?

The hardest part of my trading journey has been growing confidence in what I'm doing and that it is not a waste of time. Lots of people have doubted me but just focusing in on yourself and working on being a successful trader for years to come. The other hardest thing was knowing how to keep sticking to my trading plan and risk management.

One piece of advice for people starting the Challenge now.

To the people starting the Challenge, I say take it slow and focus on all the objectives. Stick to your plan and focus on developing your skill.

 

Trader Alex from the UK

 

Where have you learnt about FTMO?

I heard about FTMO when searching online for prop trading firms and found this to be the one that best fit my strategy and trading style.

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

Sticking to your trading plan and letting the probabilities play out. Also, a positive mental attitude when trading, believe you are a consistently profitable Forex Trader and you will be one.

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

Emotions in trading have affected me a lot in the past but I try to not let them get to me now. Losing is a part of this game and we all need to accept it.

Describe your best trade.

None of my trades was anything crazy during my Challenge or Verification. I had a good buy on EURUSD that netted me a solid percentage, it actually took me over the target for Verification so that was extra special.

Has your psychology ever affected your trading plan?

Of course, psychology has affected my trading. That is why it is very important to have a strict trading plan and to try and remove discretion as much as possible from your trading. This way the psychology won't affect you as much when you start trading more and more capital.

One piece of advice for people starting the Challenge now.

Stick to your plan. Even when you are losing, trading is about probabilities and if you have your edge, then you need to allow it time to play out and accept the losing trades as the cost of business. Also, remember that at least if you end up in positive at the end of the month you will get another try for free. So you do not need to be aggressive with your trading.

About FTMO

FTMO developed a 2-step Evaluation Process to find trading talents. Upon successful completion you can get an FTMO Account with a balance of up to $200,000. How does it work?.