Sounds like a clear demonstration of the old advice, trade what you see, not what you think.
Keep at it. This journal is infinite encouragement.
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But there are some reservations to think about:
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There is a fee to pay upfront
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After you have passed an evaluation stage (usually a demo acc) you are given a notional capital sum to trade with. But a more realistic way to think of it is that they simply give you buying power to take positions. And the extent of that buying power depends on the leverage you are allowed which is often lower than that on a personal account.
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In most cases, profits are shared which also effectively diminishes the scale of the capital allowance.
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Most accounts have a drawdown limit which is fairly tight and does not allow much room for large positions. So trading it safely means small positions and slow progress (which should be acceptable, anyway!).
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Even if and when the account is scaled up to larger capital sums, there is a max DD and if that is hit then the account is closed and you start again right from the bottom (at least I think this is the case). So the pressure to say alive can be quite powerful
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a good factor nowadays is that some prop firms no longer apply a time limit for reaching the target. But there may be a min no. of trades per period and that could be a problem for longer term traders. But that can sometimes be fulfilled with some kind of in/out nominal trade with a microlot position, etc.
There is a growing variety of types of accounts and firms so, if you are interested, do your homework. I expect @flamingoproxy would be willing to help you with that.
BUT… the key point is what you mention in your post. A prop account is NOT the place for inconsistent or novice traders. You really do need to have achieved a consistent track record on a live account before taking a prop firm acc otherwise you will most likely fail. Even if you don’t actually hit the DD limit, if you drop to even half way towards the DD you will find it very hard to recover with such a small remaining loss allowance.
You need to start small and carefully build up a buffer on top of the DD limit and then gradually build you risk size after that. If and when you then reach your profit target and increase your account size, you can leave the profits in the account to increase the safety buffer if you wish.
Protecting the account equity is extremely important with a prop firm acc and that is excellent training. When an account is blown it is blown for good and you have to pay and start all over again. I have heard people talk about having had 8-10 failed accounts and still buying in again. I don’t understand that at all.
This relationship with a prop firm is rather similar to an employee/employer relationship where you are trusted to earn a profit by trading the firm’s capital within certain guidelines and constraints. Instead of a salary you earn a share of the profits. Interestingly, if you get far enough this profit share can even be 100%! Sound crazy? Not really, when you are at that level, the prop firm copy trades your trades and earns their share from that.
It is an interesting field - but it is not “retail trading”. It is different. You are not your own boss any more. But your trading scope is not overly limited either and there is plenty of rope there to… 
But, but, but. Find your consistency on a live account first!!!
I am not any kind of expert on prop firms in general and I might be off-base with some of the above. But I do have one account that I run alongside my personal account, just out of an insatiable curiosity for all things trading
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Some good points to think about.
There are some significant drawbacks to prop firms.
Hmm, I think I would call them attributes or features rather than drawbacks. For example, a kind of ‘enforced discipline’ is actually appreciated by some traders’ in their comments.
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I’ve been getting burnt out from looking at charts the past few weeks. I really don’t feel like doing it.
The thing that’s missing isn’t necessarily in the charts. It’s about me. I have to figure out something about my thinking process. I wanna say my problem is either fear or impatience, but I’m sure it’s both.
Something’s going on in my head that makes me take trades that I shouldn’t. I took a look at my errors.
Out of 20 errors:
10 denial
6 fear
4 not paying attention, didn’t notice that S/R that developed
When I say denial, I mean I was in disbelief that it was a sign to trade. I’ve said so many times that the signs are so so clear. I look at charts and it looks so easy, that there shouldn’t even be any thinking involved. It should be a 15 second decision at most.
Do I just stay out of the market and wait for such obvious signs? Should I stay out until it looks obvious just like all the past charts?
I’ve often made trading more complex than necessary. Perhaps I’m doing that now. When I look at past charts, it looks so easy, I seriously can’t understand how it’s possible to get it wrong. Part of that is just because the chart is complete already.
However, it really does look so easy. Looking at the chart, I feel like it’s almost harder to get it wrong than to get it right. The only difference between past charts and live charts is that I can’t see the next candle. I just have to take the trade and wait for the market to prove me wrong or right.
Perhaps I get too too jumpy. I get so scared of missing out that I just jump in on anything resembling a sign…
You know what? I’m caught in a hamster wheel. I’ve talked about so many of the same points again and again. It’s definitely my emotions that are holding me back.
I should be a forex wizard. I should be trading like an air bender.
Maybe that doesn’t work. An element bender manipulates the elements. My analogy is closer to a surfer.
I should be a forex surfer. But I’m way off the mark.
I need to give more attention to patience, and be willing NOT to trade even though I have a hunch that SOMETHING is about to happen.
I had a thought today: how about instead of focusing on trading, I focus on NOT trading?
Perhaps a change in perspective could help me avoid nonstrategic trades.
If I were successful, I don’t see myself creating a course. I can’t imagine it. I know, never say never.
But if I spent years learning to trade and studying charts, I don’t think I’d want MORE charts in my life.
Who knows if I could have a change of mind?
And I’ve learned that just because someone has a trading course, it doesn’t mean he’s selling the course because he’s not really profitable in trading. People do it for different reasons. Who am I to judge?
Some people could do it for fun. Others might do it to diversify from trading. Some people don’t even have a course and just wanna help others by showing their trades.
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Sometimes, I still struggle with reading signs. When there is no sign, my brain tries to read each candle as a sign.
Of course, that’s not strategy, it’s FOMO and desperation. The inner monologue goes like this:
¨Hey look at that weird candle, maybe it’s a sign. Well, I don’t wanna miss out in case it is. I’d better trade it.¨
Focusing on NOT trading has been helpful this past week, even though I took a bad trade on Friday.
There were several times I wanted to trade, but I reminded myself to focus on NOT trading.
The random walk strikes again!
I’m looking at a EUR/CHF chart from 2019. I practiced trading it and traded it ok. But missed out on some parts. And after looking at the bigger picture, I’m understanding why.
The random walk got me.
In particular, I’m talking about a short trade. It bounced resistance, and I was waiting for it to hit support.
It took TWO months to hit support. Not only that, but after a month it pulled back to my original entry before continuing bearish again.
There are two ways to trade this. Batten down the hatch, watch your big profit reduce to $0, and ride the storm HOPING that price continues bearish and you were justified in holding and not taking profits.
Or, you can jump in at out at the appropriate signals. This is more difficult and stressful, but more profitable. Much more profitable.
I just recorded my account balance for my monthly statistics. My account has steadily decreased since the beginning. My balance has never been lower, and yet I’ve never felt more optimistic.
Never giving up is not a logical process. The odds are stacked against you, and success is unlikely. People love an underdog story, but don’t believe in the underdog process when they see it.
Actually, the logical thing is to just give up and choose an easier endeavor. But if you’ve chosen this as your path, then you’ve gotta stick with it no matter what. Even if you’ve blown your account (demo, hopefully), you still have to keep going. If you have to take a step back and read some books, or get some help, then do whatever you have to do.
Even if no one around believes in you. Even if everyone around you says it’s impossible.
This venture can drive you to madness. It will show you who you really are. The market will hold a mirror to you. It will show you your desperation, your recklessness, your greed, your delusion, and your lack of discipline.
Recently, I made a pact with a friend to pursue our endeavors as hard as possible until the end of the year. Well, shortly after that, he quit. That affected me more than I realized. His quitting combined with some trading mistakes I made, for about half a day those dark thoughts returned.
Those thoughts of XX-ing myself. I was feeling hopeless. But I have two rules right now: no XX-ing myself, and no quitting. Simple.
I realized that I just have to keep going. It’s not rocket science. That day, I kept studying and found a moment of clarity in my charts; and that gave me a push to keep going.
It’s quite the paradox. I feel both hopeful and hopeless at the same time. My strategy is clearer than it’s ever been, yet my (demo) account has never been lower. Everyday, I’m learning more and more about how to read the chart and train my mind to adhere to the strategy.
The strategy is fine. My mind is the last piece of the puzzle. Every day I’m getting closer.
Patience and persistence.
The sun was out yesterday, so I took a short walk. I was talking to myself as usual, and I reminded myself that I don’t have to know what a pair is gonna do for the next few months. I just have to trade one signal until the next.
If price bounces support, if it goes to resistance that’ll be great. But what if it decides to turn bearish halfway? I don’t have to wonder what it will do long term. No need to try to read the long-term future.
My trading endeavor is a journey of one signal until the next. I have no idea what it will throw my way, and there’s no need to try to predict that. It’ll come when it comes.
It’s really hot. Really, really hot. I already took a cool shower about an hour or so ago. I started my trading, and I got tired. I jumped in bed to rest. I had to force myself to get up and keep trading.
I’ve missed some very good entries due to doubt.
I’d explain what happened, but it’d be nothing I haven’t said already. It’s frustrating, and discouraging.
But it’s not the end. There are always more trades. Some trends have reversed. I’ve said many times that there are even better trades waiting in the retracements. Well, those are opportunities I can pounce on.
Now, it’s time to wait and get ready…
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I finally took the time to write my strategy’s rules on paper. I tried to keep it simple. I’ll try referring to it whenever I get emotional when trading or start feeling conflicted about a trade.
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Trading is difficult when your emotions get the best of you when things don’t go exactly as planned, I have learn to stop having knee jerk reactions when things don’t go as planned. took a few years for me to conquer.
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What did you experience? For me, I see a candle and I go long. But the conditions say I should go short. I have a knee jerk reaction, like you said.
Basically, my emotions get me flustered and I can’t think clearly. As a matter of fact, it happened just yesterday. That’s what prompted me to finally finish writing my simple rules.
Is it the same thing for you? Your emotions get running, and you can’t think based on your rules?
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There’s a EUR/CAD trade that I have. Recently, there were some contradictory signs, but I read the conditions and decided to hold. Price is still trending–so I made the right decision.
However, there are some trades that I messed up. I have some encouraging trades, but not nearly enough.
Patience, young padawan.
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In 2005, I started trading but did not become successful until 2015. When I started, I did not expect large drawdowns, so I would panic and close trades early at a loss only for them to go in my favor, or I would close trades early when the price was close to my target price. The list goes on, some other emotions were related to the news. Currently, I have no emotions, trading is very boring, and winning trades don’t get me excited like they did before.
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I started meditating about 10 years ago, and it’s one of the best decision I’ve ever made
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I’m looking at some charts, and the price action is rather tempting. I want to jump in, but it doesn’t seem favorable. It would be much more favorable to wait for a retracement.
I’m quite tempted to take some of these trades. But, just because I can, it doesn’t mean I should.
Patience.
