{"id":403615,"date":"2021-05-26T17:34:08","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T15:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ftmo.com\/?p=403615"},"modified":"2021-08-27T11:06:47","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T09:06:47","slug":"new-ftmo-traders-are-here-and-ready-to-share-their-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ftmo.com\/en\/new-ftmo-traders-are-here-and-ready-to-share-their-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"New FTMO Traders are here and ready to share their journey"},"content":{"rendered":"
We have a new edition to our Q&A, with input from some of our new FTMO Traders. They are here to share some useful tips and tricks that helped them pass the FTMO Evaluation process!<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Has your psychology ever affected your trading plan?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, it has. I found that sometimes I had trouble closing a trade early or making the call to exit a trade before it has reached take profit or stop loss levels. In order to solve this I came up with set of rules\/criteria to follow when it\u2019s nessacary to close a trade early.<\/p>\n What was more difficult than expected during your FTMO Challenge or Verification?<\/strong><\/p>\n Sometimes when trading the 4hr timeframe my trades would take a couple of days before hitting stop loss or take profit. I find these require more patience. Also I have had trades get stopped out during the market session change over if the spread gets too large. I try not to hold 1HR timeframe trades over these periods.<\/p>\n What do you think is the most important characteristic\/attribute to become a profitable trader?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think it would be to have strong patience and not never give up. It seems to journey to become a consistent trader is not easy and cant be rushed. Long term experience and practice plays a big role to success<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n How did you eliminate the factor of luck in your trading?<\/strong><\/p>\n I eliminate luck in my trading by using a series of trading indicators to filter out higher probability trading signals. I also pre-define my stop loss and take profits using the specific settings of ATR. I set up all my trades with a 1 to 1.5 risk-reward ratio, with the option to close trades above 1% gain early if the trade meets certain criteria. I have 3 trades open at one time only risking 1.55% per trade. This way I can utilize the majority of coming in under 5% risk of capital at one time<\/p>\n How would you rate your experience with FTMO?<\/strong><\/p>\n FTMO has been great so far. The website and performance data is easy to read and understand.<\/p>\n What would you like to say to other traders that are attempting the Challenge?<\/strong><\/p>\n One thing I would say is don\u2019t take the challenge until you are absolutely sure you are ready. I seem to have failed the challenge quite a few of times before I was able to pass it. Every time I thought I was ready, I was shown otherwise by the challenge results. I would recommend you thoroughly back-test and forward test your trading and have a solid trading plan before purchasing a challenge. If you fail the challenge do not give up. A failed challenge is an opportunity to learn from. Best to practice lots on a demo account as well.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What inspires you to pursue trading?<\/strong><\/p>\n I have always believed that I was capable of achieving more in my life and knowing how difficult it is to become a profitable trader. I relished the challenge and in fact, it is the parameters of working towards a strategy to complete the FTMO challenge that in effect made me become a better trader.<\/p>\n Has your psychology ever affected your trading plan?<\/strong><\/p>\n Before I did the challenge I believe that yes my trading had definitely been affected by my psychology. However, in working towards this goal and specifically in my challenge I trusted my strategy and traded with a mechanical approach that I feel eliminates or at least softens the psychological pressures.<\/p>\n How did Maximum loss limits affect your trading style?<\/strong><\/p>\n I believe that Maximum loss limits are essential for maintaining appropriate risk management.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n How did you manage your emotions when you were in a losing trade?<\/strong><\/p>\n Simply buy not risking the right percentage per trade and knowing and understanding through my backtesting that I would experience more losing trades than winners. I\u2019m also optimistic that the trade\/trades will turn in my favour.<\/p>\n What was the most difficult during your Challenge or Verification and how did you overcome it?<\/strong><\/p>\n The verification was more difficult I think because I\u2019d already passed the challenge and maybe had a fear of having to start again. I overcame this by reducing my risk.<\/p>\n One piece of advice for people starting the FTMO Challenge now.<\/p>\n My only piece of advice would be to be patient and stick to your strategy without faltering. If it has been back-tested properly then there is no reason for it to fail.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What do you think is the key to long term success in trading?<\/strong><\/p>\n Trading is a multi-skill profession. All skills must be acquired to achieve lasting success with the top 3 being technical, mental, and emotional. So you can see the majority of trading success is dependent on psychological factors and this is largely due to trading requiring counter-intuitive thinking which does not come naturally to most humans. It really does need to learn and honed over time.<\/p>\n What was the most difficult during your FTMO Challenge or Verification and how did you overcome it?<\/strong><\/p>\n Timing a winning streak to fall within the 30-day window requirement was the most difficult and frustrating. Trading profits do not come in like a pay check at a day job, they come in runs of wins and losses so it may take you a few tries of the challenge to get this timing of the market returns in the right 30 day time window.<\/p>\n How did you eliminate the factor of luck in your trading?<\/strong><\/p>\n Have a standard operating procedure (SOP) like any business is parament, even more so for a trading business. This allows processes to be monitored and measured to allow for continual improvement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How does your risk management plan look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n Maximum of 1% risk per trade idea. Maximum 4% of total capital at risk at any one time (portfolio heat). Trailing stop used to lock in profit as a trade progresses in the profitable direction.<\/p>\n Where have you learnt about FTMO?<\/strong><\/p>\n Everywhere: Other traders, YouTube, online articles.<\/p>\n One piece of advice for people starting the FTMO Challenge now.<\/strong><\/p>\n Prepare! Have a plan of how you will operate and manage the objectives during the challenge. Consider a risk ladder eg. Start with 0.7% risk until you are in some profit then go to full 1% or whatever full risk is for you. This helps hugely with the emotional aspect of trading under pressure.<\/p>\nTrader Brady \u2013\u00a0\u201cA failed Challenge is an opportunity to learn from.\u201d<\/em><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
Trader Afloeg \u2013\u00a0\u201cBe patient and stick to your strategy without faltering.\u201d<\/em><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
Trader Michael \u2013\u00a0\u201cTrading is a multi-skill profession.\u201d<\/em><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
Trader Christian \u2013\u00a0\u201cDO NOT OVER-LEVERAGE!\u201d<\/em><\/h3>\n