7 rules compiled from traders who have been funded — and the mistakes that cause most people to fail. Updated May 2026.
The most common FTMO failure: risking 2-3% per trade, hitting three losers, and suddenly facing the drawdown limit. At 0.5% per trade you can lose 10 consecutive trades and still be within the rules. There's no time limit on the FTMO Challenge — trade small, stay in the game, let your edge play out.
The daily loss limit is calculated on your initial balance — not current. On a $100K account, $5,000 daily loss ends your trading day. Most platforms don't auto-stop you. Write the number before every session. When you hit 3% daily drawdown, seriously consider stopping for the day.
There's no bonus for passing quickly. Traders who try to hit 10% in a week with outsized risk are those who fail. Trade your normal strategy at normal size and hit the target over 2-6 weeks. Timeline doesn't matter — only not breaking the rules does.
FTMO allows news trading but that doesn't mean you should. The 5% daily limit can be blown in minutes during NFP. Unless your strategy is built for news, flat before major releases is the safest FTMO approach.
FTMO offers a free demo evaluation with identical rules. Use it to get familiar with the platform and drawdown tracking — not to practice trading, you should already have a proven edge. Find process issues on the free trial, not the paid one.
Review every trade during evaluation: entry reason, risk, outcome. If you notice revenge trading patterns or trades outside your strategy, catch it early. Traders who journal consistently pass second attempts far more often.
Three losses in a row: cut position size in half. Two more losses: halve it again. This prevents a bad week turning into a catastrophic daily drawdown breach. Slow recovery beats restarting an evaluation.
Apply these 7 rules and track your progress with our free prop firm tracker.
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