That’s great to hear. I’m definitely following up this challenge and as well keeping an eye on your coming book.
You’re doing great G!
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27th April 2023
20:50 London
Just closed a GJ long. I closed the trade early because the price was starting to range and I didn’t want to be stuck in the trade overnight, especially with the whole heap of news coming from Europe tomorrow.
The account is now over $800, so we’re getting there. I’m obviously not going to complete the challenge in a dozen trades or less as I originally hoped but I’m ever more confident I will reach the target of $12,500.
Call me optimistic but I’m thinking another month maybe.
Let’s see . . .
28th April 2023
07:25 London
The GJ long I got out of on the small challenge account continued upwards overnight.
Risking up to 30% of my account per trade in the challenge account, I definitely made the right move to get out early. I’m risking huge percentages of the account per trade but I am trying to do that in as safe a way as possible.
This was a good example of why you should normally never risk more than a few percent of your account per trade.
I was in the same trade on another one of my accounts risking only two percent of my account. I left that trade open and this morning woke up having hit my take profit which was set at a nice 1:2 risk to reward.
It’s all about understanding and managing risk. I left that trade open because the set-up was still valid and it would not have been anywhere near as damaging had the trade turned against me.
Anyways, that’s me done for the week.
I’m thinking we’re about to go clear over the next week or two!!!
It seems he’s plundered $500 out of the account and reduced teh balance to around $120 - Maybe he had a bill to pay - or maybe his psychology just wouldn’t allow him to risk that much money ? 
Give me a few moments, I’m writing an update now . . .
7th May 2023
14:30 London
Sorry for the lack of updates guys, I’m going through some health challenges at the moment so it’s been difficult staying on top of everything. It was also recently my wife’s birthday so we decided to spend some time in Lincoln, a beautiful city that we both really love.
So, a quick update: I took the account up to $948 before entering a EURUSD long on Wednesday. The trade was ticking over nicely, hovering around break even. Then some employment news out of the US on Wednesday caused the price to temporarily plunge. I panicked and closed the trade around $86 down. It was a mistake, not only did the price not get anywhere near my stop loss, it actually went on to recover and hit what would have been my take profit. It was the latest in a series of mistakes that I have made in trying to grow this small account fast.
I’m risking around thirty percent of the account on each trade so I have been trying to micro-manage the trades and scarper at the first sign of the trouble. That has undoubtedly helped me escape some unfortunate outcomes but, overall, it’s been a losing play that has cost me more than it has saved me.
Anyways, so I was reflecting on these mistakes and the best way forward.
My entire trading philosophy is based around the preservation of capital so, having identified more than a half-dozen mistakes I have so far made with the small account challenge, I decided to withdraw $500 from the account.
There are several reasons:
Firstly, I am now effectively freerolling, which relieves any psychological pressure that I may have been feeling without even realising it.
Secondly, now $250 in front, even if I lose this challenge my next challenge is already paid for.
Thirdly, I have invested the $500 (plus another $50 I had to add to it) in a $100,000 FTMO Challenge. As you can see from my results over the last month, I would have easily passed the FTMO Challenge. Assuming I have a similarly successful month ahead, I hope to pass the FTMO Challenge and therefore maximise my use of this capital. I start the FTMO Challenge Tuesday morning.
I won’t now be making any more withdrawals until I reach the $12,500 but think about what I have actually done here:
In terms of sheer probability, I’ve just shifted the odds that little bit more in my favour.
- This challenge is now a pure freeroll.
- If I don’t succeed this time around, the next challenge is already paid for.
- I now also have a chance at a $100K FTMO account.
To my mind, this was quite obviously my optimal play here.
Let me know what you all think . . . .
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“plundered”? lol, you make it sound almost like he’s had his fingers in someone else’s till
it’s his money
considering that he opened the account only a few weeks ago, has already withdrawn twice the amount he opened it with, and is still playing on, it doesn’t sound too shabby a performance, to me
good luck with FTMO, @DanLondon
(i’ll be honest and mention that it wouldn’t be my own first choice of funding company, but i know it’s one of the better ones anyway, and someone in my family actually got through their challenge at his first attempt, about 4 months ago, and has been withdrawing some profits steadily ever since)
good luck playing on with this “small account challenge,” too - hope you won’t mind my mentioning that it’s a long way from $120 to $12,500! 
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Thanks and I totally agree that $12,500 seems a long way from $120!
From this point on I will be taking a ‘set and forget’ approach to the small account challenge but I will only be trading my most successful pair: GBP/JPY.
I anticipate GJ to be the most likely pair for me to succeed with. It may take longer to achieve the challenge looking for the particular set-ups I use on this one pair but, based on my results this far, I will likely complete the challenge in fewer trades than with any other pair or combination of pairs.
Thanks for the positive vibes!
1 Like
8th May 2023
02:40 London
As mentioned above, I’m now also doing the $100K FTMO Challenge!
Same strategies with a very different approach to risk management - obviously!!!
I’m not going to link the FTMO Challenge account to myfxbook but I will be posting plenty of screenshots win, lose or draw!
I feel cautiously optimistic but let’s see how it goes . . .
9th May 2023
01:50 London
Just closed my first trade on the $100K FTMO Challenge.
I executed the same trade on both the small account challenge and the FTMO challenge, albeit with very different risk structures of course.
I made a very real $28 on the small account challenge and a purely theoretical $500 on the FTMO Challenge but guess which one I’m most pleased with?
Holy crapola! You have some steel… fill in the blank.
Okay, SL is there. Wanted to make sure. Any tips on setting this? Fixed?
Hi @samewise
I use multiples of the Average True Range to set my stop losses depending on the particular strategy that I am using (my strategies are all either based on moving averages or certain key levels). So I first set my stop loss then work out my take profit levels from there. Typically my minimum take profit will be a 1:1 from where I set my stop loss but I usually aim for a 1:1.5 or a 1:2.
16th May 2023
14:15 London
The last few days have been terrible both on the small account challenge and my $100K FTMO Challenge.
I’m down to $50 in the small account challenge account. To be fair, it’s looking ever more unlikely I’m going to complete the small account challenge this time round.
In the FTMO challenge, I’ve gone from around 3% up and everything ticking over nicely to now a half percent down, though I’m not so concerned about that to be honest.
On a more positive note: I can’t lose with the small account challenge; As mentioned above, I already withdrew $500 for a 100% ROI!
With regard to my FTMO challenge, this is my first prop firm challenge and I’m learning fast. My plan going forward is to risk 3% of my account on my GBP/JPY setups with a 1:2 risk to reward ratio. Do that twice and I will complete the challenge. In the meantime, I’ll take some of my B-setups risking $250 a time just to make sure I meet the minimum trading days criteria.
As always, keeping it real!
Dan
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- "NOBODY EVER WENT BUST TAKING A SMALL PROFIT"
Sorry mate - the moment you showed your true psychology and did that - you lost all your credibility as far as I’m concerned !
The statistics leans towards a favourable outcome given your psychology, confidence, consistency, reward to risk ratio and winrate other things being equal. I am certain of that.
You hit the 100% ROI mark. That in itself is a feat and congrats are in order. Do keep us updated on your progress. All the best!
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No problem, everybody’s entitled to an opinion.
As I explained above, preservation of capital is probably one of the most overlooked components of profitable trading but most people simply don’t understand how or when to preserve capital.
Withdrawing $500 not only preserved my initial capital and gave me a 100% ROI, it also meant that I was freerolling on this first challenge. In a sense, it’s similar to moving my stop loss to take risk off the table. Given the option of flipping these sorts of challenges into freerolls, I’ll do it every time! My decision wasn’t rooted in psychology, it was pure math and rationality.
It’s unlikely I’ll complete the challenge from my new low of $50 perhaps but on the upside I also now have a live $100K FTMO challenge.
Anyways, I’ll keep plugging away at both . . .
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lol - “tough house, tonight” 
i dread to think what you might have said if Dan had opened a tiny account and promptly lost $600+ instead of gaining it, as he did 
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Thanks.
I don’t take anything personally though. Falstaff is entitled to his opinion and it’s not for me to try and convince him or anyone else of the logic of my approach. I’m simply documenting my journey.
Anyways, perhaps he’s right, perhaps it was a mistake, but I don’t much mind making mistakes that don’t actually cost me anything!
Lol!
Dan
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The last part got me 
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