New FTMO Traders are here and ready to share their journey
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!
Trader Brady – “A failed Challenge is an opportunity to learn from.”
Has your psychology ever affected your trading plan?
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’s nessacary to close a trade early.
What was more difficult than expected during your FTMO Challenge or Verification?
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.
What do you think is the most important characteristic/attribute to become a profitable trader?
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
How did you eliminate the factor of luck in your trading?
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
How would you rate your experience with FTMO?
FTMO has been great so far. The website and performance data is easy to read and understand.
What would you like to say to other traders that are attempting the Challenge?
One thing I would say is don’t 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.
Trader Afloeg – “Be patient and stick to your strategy without faltering.”
What inspires you to pursue trading?
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.
Has your psychology ever affected your trading plan?
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.
How did Maximum loss limits affect your trading style?
I believe that Maximum loss limits are essential for maintaining appropriate risk management.
How did you manage your emotions when you were in a losing trade?
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’m also optimistic that the trade/trades will turn in my favour.
What was the most difficult during your Challenge or Verification and how did you overcome it?
The verification was more difficult I think because I’d already passed the challenge and maybe had a fear of having to start again. I overcame this by reducing my risk.
One piece of advice for people starting the FTMO Challenge now.
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.
Trader Michael – “Trading is a multi-skill profession.”
What do you think is the key to long term success in trading?
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.
What was the most difficult during your FTMO Challenge or Verification and how did you overcome it?
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.
How did you eliminate the factor of luck in your trading?
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.
How does your risk management plan look like?
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.
Where have you learnt about FTMO?
Everywhere: Other traders, YouTube, online articles.
One piece of advice for people starting the FTMO Challenge now.
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.
Trader Christian – “DO NOT OVER-LEVERAGE!”
What was easier than expected during the FTMO Challenge or Verification?
Actually completing the profit target in the time allotted! FTMO gives you an ample amount of time to complete both phases, especially the verification phase.
How did Maximum loss limits affect your trading style?
I was comfortable with how much FTMO permitted traders to lose because as long as you use proper risk management, you will have an ample amount of chances to make that up. Cut losses short and hold profits was the name of the game!
What inspires you to pursue trading?
I just have a great passion for it ever since I was introduced to the Forex Market. I do not think of it as a job and find it relaxing to simply analyze markets. I feel as though it gives me a sense of control and it feels good! Plus, it is something I can do in the comfort of my own home office. It is life-changing!
What do you think is the key to long term success in trading?
Proper risk management along with keeping your trading plan as simplistic as possible. Personally, too many technical indicators can just seem a bit counterproductive because there is so much going on. To me, having way too many indicators just adds noise to a market that is already not guaranteed to go your way. Patience and letting the market come to you instead of the other way around is essential as well!
What was the hardest obstacle on your trading journey?
There are a couple! One is owning up to the psychological aspect of it. Sometimes, a losing streak that does not seem to ever end can affect the psyche of traders. Another one is revenge trading and fear of missing out on trades.
One piece of advice for people starting the FTMO Challenge now.
DO NOT OVER-LEVERAGE! It’ll be the difference between taking losses that you can recover from and losses that you simply cannot! Be confident and make sure to place SL and TP that you are comfortable with and planned for before executing the trade.
