FTMO Challenge Overview
FTMO (Forex Trend Micro Objectives) is the world's largest prop firm. Their challenge involves hitting a 10% profit target while staying within daily loss limits and total drawdown limits. The challenge is designed to test your consistency and risk management discipline.
FTMO Challenge Rules
- Profit Target: 10% gain on account size
- Daily Loss Limit: 5% of account
- Total Drawdown: 10% of starting balance
- Challenge Duration: No time limit (trade at your pace)
- Minimum Volume: Must trade at least 10 days within 90 days
Common FTMO Challenge Mistakes
Mistake 1: Trading Too Large - Many traders risk too much per trade chasing the 10% target. This triggers daily loss limits early. Solution: Risk 0.5-1% per trade maximum.
Mistake 2: Ignoring Daily Loss Limits - After losing 3-4% of your daily limit, continue trading thinking one big win will recover. This often leads to hitting the limit. Solution: Stop trading at 50% of daily limit.
Mistake 3: Holding Losing Trades - Hoping losers turn around. FTMO rewards disciplined stop losses. Solution: Exit at predetermined stop levels every time.
Mistake 4: Scalping News Events - FTMO prohibits trading during high-impact news. Many traders break this rule. Solution: Set alarms for news times and avoid trading then.
Strategies to Pass FTMO Successfully
Strategy 1: Conservative Sizing
- Risk maximum 0.5% per trade
- This allows 10 consecutive losses before hitting daily limit
- Slow but consistent progress toward 10% target
Strategy 2: Partial Profit Locking
- Take partial profits at 1:1 risk-reward
- Move stop to breakeven on remainder
- This locks profit while letting winners run
Strategy 3: Trade Only Your Best Setups
- Don't trade every signal – wait for confluent setups
- Fewer but higher-probability trades reduce daily loss limit hits
- Quality over quantity in FTMO
Strategy 4: Daily Win Targets
- Set daily profit target ($500-1000 for $100k account)
- Once achieved, stop trading
- This creates discipline and prevents overleveraging
Real-World FTMO Challenge Example
$100,000 FTMO Challenge: - Daily limit: $5,000 - Total drawdown limit: $10,000 - Target profit: $10,000 - Your approach: Risk 0.5% per trade = $500 max loss per trade - Daily target: $1,000 profit - Strategy: Trade 5-10 setups daily, take partial profits at 1:1, let winners run Month 1: Make $1,000/day average = $20,000 profit in 20 trading days Challenge passed in 3 weeks with room to spare!
FTMO Verification Stage
After passing the challenge, you enter the verification stage (account 2):
- Same rules and targets as challenge
- Must reach 5% profit target again
- Validates your challenge wasn't luck
- Duration: No time limit
- Once passed: Get funded account
FAQ
A: Yes, but the challenge doesn't pause. You have 90 days to trade at least 10 days. You can take breaks between trading days.
A: Your challenge is terminated. You'd need to purchase another $200 challenge to try again.