My Prop Challenge Adventure

[StebaTrade]

My last trade of last week was not a good one. Not just because it was a loss: mainly, because I took it while feeling the pressure to trade to cover my recent losses. And, of course, I made my loss worse.
I took a long position in EUR/USD while it was in a bearish trend. I was aware that the support level was a weak one and could have generated only a small reaction. That's why I used narrow stop and take profit levels. Yet, I took the trade in a situation where I should have selected only the best possible setups.

On Thursday, 14th May:
EUR/USD
Entry long @1.1670
S/L @1.1660, 10 pips
Target @1.1682, 12 pips, RRR 1.2
Stopped out @1.1660 for a 10 pip loss

 

[StebaTrade]

Wrap up of the week ending on 15.5.2026

The screenshot shows the entity of the loss incurred during the week. It does hurt, and it brings the balance to -1.8% since the beginning of the challenge. I had to reflect on the reasons that brought me to this point:

1. My trading strategy works relatively well in choppy/range-bound markets, and poorly in trends. That's my deliberate choice of strategy, and I took it knowing that markets are in a range for more time than in a trend. However, when a market starts trending, I should simply sit out and wait.
2. After my initial losses, I felt pressured to recoup them and took trades when I should have just waited.

That's a lesson learned the hard way.

I need to mention that on 20th April, I started an additional challenge with a futures prop firm. On this account, I trade the EUR/USD currency (the 6E contract) exclusively. So far, that challenge is going well, but I now realise that it has taken away focus and attention from my main FTMO FX challenge, and this might have contributed to the poor results of the last two weeks.

For this week, I am sitting out of the challenge. I plan to resume next week, after a much needed break.

 

[StebaTrade]

Time to resume this journal after a week-long break and a week trading again in the challenge.
Before logging my week's trades, I need to make a brief digression to explain the changes that I've applied to my trading plan and why.
As I mentioned in my last post, by the end of April, I opened a parallel challenge, this time trading futures with Tradeify.

I intended to translate the strategies I was using for Forex to the futures domain. To do so, I applied some changes:

• I restricted my trading to EUR/USD only (the 6E and M6E contacts).
• I had to aim at closing the trades by the end of the day.
• I had to take only trades that had a maximum 16-pip stop, using 10 pip most of the time.

In addition, I tested additional strategies based on VWAP - futures have an actual volume that allows for computing this indicator more accurately.

Quite interestingly, while my FTMO challenge account was slipping into a drawdown, my futures challenge was registering positive results.
The conclusion to take was obvious: I had to trade my FTMO account with the same approach I used on futures.

 

[StebaTrade]

Continuing on my digression, I want to add a few details on the strategy I used for the whole week.

• This has been tested only on the 6E futures contract. For the FX trade, I translate the entry price into its spot equivalent.
• The blue dotted line in the picture is the day's VWAP, starting when the FX market reopens (11 pm UK time).
• During the day, between 6am and 6pm, I look for price departures from the VWAP line. Those departures must start with a candle taller than the previous ones, and there must be a candle that leaves a gap between its low (or high) and the VWAP.
• If the price is above the VWAP, I buy at the first touch (or lower if I can monitor the price). Stop loss is 10 pips, target 20 pips.
• I take one or two trades max per day. If the first one is a loss, the second tends to be a win.

The aspect that I like most about this simple strategy is that it has a 2:1 RRR (1.85:1 once commissions are factored in). This makes me confident to trade even if the win/loss rate is not exceptionally high (60% on backtest). I used this strategy exclusively for the rest of the week, and I will keep using it at least until I am out of the drawdown.

There are two entries in this picture (trades of Thursday, 28th May). The first short is a loss, the second (long) a win.

 

[StebaTrade]

Wrap-up of the week ending 29.05.2026

• Monday, 25th May.
  This was Memorial Day in the US and a bank holiday in the UK. I should have expected a thin and illiquid market. I took my trade anyway, which resulted in a loss. On such a day, I should have better kept away from the market. Instead, I was lured by a visible gap below the opening price that could be filled during the day. I must admit this was a case of FOMO.
  Result: 1 loss (-10 pips)
• Tuesday, 26th May
  Again, a day with limited liquidity. I took two trades: after the first loss, I took the signal in the opposite direction, according to my plan. That was a loss too. At this stage, my drawdown went deeper. Yet, I felt comforted by the validity of my plan and knew that by sticking to it I would get results.
  Result: 2 losses (-20 pips)
• Wednesday, 27 May
  One trade taken according to plan.
  Result: 1 win (+20 pips)
• Thursday, 28th May
  Two trades taken. After the first loss, I took the reversal signal.
  Result: 1 loss and 1 win (+10 pips)
• Friday, 29th of May
  One trade taken according to plan.
  Result: 1 win (+20 pips)

To sum up, this was not an easy week. Holidays in different countries limited the liquidity on the first two days. Anyway, sticking to my plan allowed me to end with a positive result, as in the table below. Hopefully, this will help me to get out of the drawdown soon.

 

[StebaTrade]

Wrap-up of the week ending 5.6.2026

• Monday, 1st June
  As it turned out, this day was low-volatility, and my trade did not work.
  Result: 1 loss (-10 pips)
• Tuesday, 2nd June
  Once in position, the price reversed. Interestingly, my method generated a short signal while I was still in my long position, not yet stopped out. Just taking note: it could be an idea for improving my system.
  Result: 1 loss (-10 pips)
• Wednesday, 3rd June
  This day generated two signals.
  Result: 2 wins (+40 pips)
• Thursday, 4th June
  Result: 1 win (+20 pips)
• Friday, 5th June
  Friday's trade reached its target quite early, so I did not need to close manually before the NFP release.
  Result: 1 win (+20 pips)

This week included a four-win streak and has been my best week so far. I need to remind myself to keep grounded and not get overexcited: there will always be difficult weeks and drawdowns ahead, and navigating through them with discipline is key to reaping the benefits of the most favourable trading periods.

This result helped me not only to recover my drawdown but also to register a new HWM. Focusing on one strategy on one pair definitely helped in this case:

The discipline score is looking good. And I'm up 2.5%. I need 10% to pass the evaluation stage, but if I trade as in the last couple of weeks, it shouldn't take long to get there:

 

[StebaTrade]

Wrap-up of the week ending 12.6.2026

This was a challenging week that ended with net losses.

• Monday, 8th June
  Two signals were taken, both resulting in a loss.
  Result: 2 losses (-20 pips)
• Tuesday, 9th June
  One trade, a win.
  Result: 1 win (+20 pips)
• Wednesday, 10th June
  My order did not get filled during the morning. Since a sensitive news release (US CPI) was expected in the afternoon, I just cancelled my orders and kept out of the market.
• Thursday, 11th June
  An interest announcement from the ECB was due in the afternoon. I took a trade early in the morning, planning to close a couple of hours before the announcement. The price started moving in my favour, then a sudden move stopped me out, resulting in a loss (probably caused by unexpected news). After the announcement and the usual erratic price movement caused by the release, there was a reversal signal that would have been a winner, but I didn't take it because I couldn't tell whether the post-release volatility had subsided.
  Result: 1 loss (-10 pips)
• Friday, 12th June
  The first trade in the morning started moving in my favour towards the target, then it reversed suddenly on news related to the crisis in the Middle East. There was a reversal signal later, but that also resulted in a loss.
  Result: 2 losses (-20 pips)

It's always hard to accept a losing week, but I need to see it in perspective: the loss amounts to a losing streak of three, and I have been there before.
The week included a very important interest rate announcement and had several unexpected news items related to the ongoing international crisis.
The FOMC meeting happens this coming week, and I will need to trade cautiously approaching Wednesday.

 

[StebaTrade]

I have not updated this journal for a while. Time to catch up and backfill the comments for the past two weeks.

Wrap-up of the week ending 19.6.2026

• Monday, 15th June
  A long trade that resulted in a loss after initially moving in my favour.
  Result: 1 loss (-10 pips)
• Tuesday and Wednesday
  I didn't trade on either day. I was afraid that the FOMC rate decision due on Thursday evening could affect the way my system works on the market. I was wrong: my method would have produced four (theoretical) trades, one loss and three wins.
• Thursday, 18th June
  Two trades taken, one win and one loss. I was very hesitant to take the second trade after the initial loss, having never felt so afraid to enter a position in my recent trading experience. Perhaps it's another sign that I am not trading confidently recently.
  Result: 1 win and 1 loss (+10 pips)
• Friday, 19th June
  One trade taken, a straight loss.
  Result: 1 loss (-10 pips)

The total result of the week was moderately negative, equivalent to one loss. This time I cannot blame the market conditions or adverse news for the negative result: I could have achieved a profit if I had not been so hesitant and had traded all of my signals.

 

[StebaTrade]

Wrap-up of the week ending 26.6.2026

• Monday, 22nd June
  One short trade that worked well.
  Result: 1 win (+20 pips)
• Tuesday, 23rd June
  The first trade, a short, was stopped out by a sharp, spiky move against my position. My next move was where I did wrong. According to my own rules, in this kind of situation I should wait to let the dust settle until the chart produces a clear signal. Instead, I rushed into a reverse position, using my system incorrectly. This is the closest thing to a revenge trade that I've taken since starting this challenge. Of course, this resulted in a loss. In addition, I missed reentering a short position that would have resulted in a win.
  Result: 2 losses (-20 pips)
• Wednesday, 24th June
  I took two trades based on my system. The first was a win; the second turned into a loss after initially moving towards my target.
  Result: 1 win and 1 loss (+10 pips)
• Thursday, 25th June
  Two trades taken, both resulting in a loss. The market action of this day was difficult to interpret, and my system simply failed to work.
  Result: 2 losses (-20 pips)
• Friday, 26th June
  I took only one trade, which resulted in a loss.
  Result: 1 loss (-10 pips)

This week I traded more than usual. Perhaps I felt like I needed to chase results. This includes at least one bad, undisciplined trade that did not follow my rules correctly.
As an additional note, it appears that several of my losing trades were actually moving in my favour but failed to hit my target and reversed. Based on this, I need to work on revising the target and exit part of my strategy.

 

[StebaTrade]

Wrap-up of the week ending 3.7.2026


This week I introduced some changes to my trading method. I still use VWAP, volume clusters (also called High Volume Nodes) and POC from Volume Profile as support and resistance levels for where to place my entries. Now, instead of using plain limit orders, I rely on a tick chart (specifically, 750 ticks on the 6E futures contract) to fine-tune my entries. I look for some basic patterns (pin bar, engulfing) around the price levels I'm interested in. This allows me to filter out some bad entries (e.g. when the price slices through the price level without looking back) and to reduce the stop level, allowing for a high RRR even when the daily range is narrow.

Since my risk in terms of pips can vary and I adjust the size to risk a fixed amount, I will report the results as multiples of R, with R being one risk unit.
The trade history for the week shows the results in ££ anyway.

• Monday, 29th June
  One trade based on my old rules based on session VWAP, a win.
  Result: 1 win, +2R
• Tuesday, 30th June
  Three trades. I exited the first early based on a reversal signal on my tick chart, applying this rule for the first time: +0.5R.
  The remaining two trades were exited at +1R respectively.
  Result: 3 wins, +2.5R
• Wednesday, 1st July
  Two trades, both wins, with +1.66R and +2R respectively.
  Result: 2 wins, +3.66R
• Thursday, 2nd July
  This was my worst trading day for the week. Not because of the losing trades, rather because at least two of them were based on poor discipline and I should not have taken them in those market conditions.
  The first trade, taken in the morning, was a loss at -1R.
  The other two (both losses) were taken after the NFP news release. The market was moving very fast, making my charting methods less reliable and making it more difficult to place orders accurately. Still, I felt I needed to trade to recover from the morning's loss: a revenge trade at work. Note to self: do not trade again in fast market conditions: just wait for things to calm down.
  Result: 3 losses, -3R
• Friday, 3rd July
  One trade taken according to my plan, a win.
  Result: 1 win, +1R

This is where I stand now with my FTMO challenge account. I cleared the drawdown of the last three weeks and even reached a new HWM, although some profits were lost with Thursday's losing trades: