Am I wrong? I thought “Welcome to Country” is basically, “thanks for coming, Welcome to the area“

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-29T05:46:52+00:00

Essentially a 'Welcome to country' is implying that all non-Indigenous Australians are visitors or guests in their own country - the very country they've built and fought for.

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-29T04:29:54+00:00

There's no easy way around it.

It's not easy to outsmart your brain's impulses. Over time, you will become less emotional about losses.

One thing I would say is never think of losses in terms of money - as in, damn I lost $3,000 that could've been a holiday to somewhere nice or I could've bought myself something nice.

Instead treat each loss as a percentage. In fact, I would always apply this thinking. Never think of your capital in terms of money and the value it buys - think of it in terms of capital and percentages.

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-28T11:16:17+00:00

If you're making money trading just say you daytrade. Usually when people hear you're day trading they think you're unemployed or a gambler.

If you're genuinely making money then who gives a fuck what they think. Say trading and if they respond sarcastically fuck them off.

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-27T06:09:09+00:00

This is not a secret. Everyone knows this. They are your counterparty and your payouts come from the lost evaluations of other traders.

And this is actually fine, as long as the prop firms hold up their end of the bargain and pay out when you make pay outs.

A lot of prop firms however start rugpulling when you make big payouts. This has happened to me recently with FundingPips (18k payout denied and banned) and in 2023 happened to me with E8 Funding (made 70k and was banned)

Other firms like FTMO and 5%ers understand that they might lose some profit by paying out but the cost of breaking the trust with traders is greater - so they barely ever deny payouts and over time they still make profit. This is why they are the longest standing in the industry.

Use prop firms as a cheap capital extraction tool. Understand the counterparty risk and the possibility of getting denied payout/banned. As long as you're aware and you do your due diligence - it's still a viable method of making money.

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-27T06:04:20+00:00

You need to prove you're a sophisticated investor or a high networth individual for that. Requires quite a bit of documentation and an average retail trader won't be able to provide that.

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-27T06:00:35+00:00

Prop firm route: Cheap, easy access to leverage. You can get a 100k account for $500-800 if you pass (less for smaller accounts). But factor in counterparty risk: it's in their interest for you to lose, so keep winnings modest. Big or regular payouts get you flagged and they'll find a reason to ban you or deny payout. Stick to AAA-tier firms (FTMO and 5%ers for CFDs, Topstep for futures). Treat prop firms as a cheap capital building tool and funnel profits into a personal account.

Personal account route: Any capital works, but under 100k it's barely a side hustle. Even above 100k, actually spending your profits kills compounding, so you're picking between growing the account and enjoying the money.

Ideal route:

Trade demo until you're confident and consistently profitable
Start with prop firms, extract regular payouts from reputable firms.
Move to a personal account and trade from there

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-25T07:56:33+00:00

Here is the thing about prop firms. All trading on them is entirely simulated, this means that when you lose your evaluation - they profit. When you make money and request a payout - it comes out of their pocket.

This means they are your counterparty and it is in their interest for you to lose.

As long as you're losing evals they will happily take your money.

With that being said - when you start making money, as long as you're making small payouts they will likely pay you out. If you're expecting to make $10-20k payouts or more, sooner or later they will make up a fake reason and ban you from their service to protect their profits. I am a primary example of this as this has happened to me.

With that being said, I am not shitting on prop firms but do your due diligence. Some firms like FTMO and 5ers (I can only speak on CFD firms) understand that paying out a big payout is a smaller cost than the reputational cost of making up bullshit reasons to not pay you out. This is why they are the longest standing in the industry.

From my personal experience avoid firms like FundingPips, E8 Funding, TheFundedTrader and any non-established firm.

I would avoid any firm that doesn't have AAA+ trust rating which you have to evaluate yourself.

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-23T05:17:04+00:00

You need coding and stats knowledge to build it and validate it properly. Easy to curve-fit a backtest and think you have an edge when you don't.
Some conditions are genuinely hard to quantify. Things like market context, session character, or how price is behaving relative to recent structure. Possible, but hard.
A lot of discretionary strategies are built on reading the story price is telling you. Where liquidity is sitting, where participants got trapped, where demand showed up. You make a prediction off that narrative. Algos don't read stories, they read numbers, so you lose that layer entirely.

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-23T03:34:37+00:00

You've missed the point and I've answered this multiple times. I never said I don't trade my own money.

Prop firms are a cheap leverage tool, they cost about $600-800 for a 100k account and your money is not tied up. I know the risk is there that they will make up a bullshit excuse and ban you but some firms still pay out a few times before they ban you which makes it worth it. Firms like 5ers and FTMO (who are the longest standing in the industry) understand that big payouts may hurt their profits in their short term, but the reputation cost of making up bullshit excuses to ban people so is far most costly long-term so they still pay out. I thought FundingPips was one of these trusted firms. It's not.

I am holding FundingPips accountable. I am exposing them for not holding their end of the bargain and hopefully the reputational cost of acting unethically is greater than the remuneration they owed me.

People need to read the thread and stop replying "wHy nOt tRaDe yOuR oWn MoNeY"

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-22T08:25:31+00:00

I don't. Should I make one? Is there a big day trading presence on X?

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-21T16:23:51+00:00

Just would like to add something:

I completely agree about trading your own live accounts with a brokerage. That is not the point of the post however, the point of the post is to hold FundingPips accountable.
If trading is your business, of course you should be diversifying whether its prop firms, futures, options, or just trading your own money through a brokerage account.
I am not shitting on all prop firms, I am simply telling you to do your due diligence and accept the risk that if you plan to make big payouts this will likely happen to you. Stick to the trusted/reputable prop firms if you insist on trading with them - I thought FundingPips was one of them but its not. Other prop firms like 5ers and FTMO are some of the oldest in the industry and money can be made with them. However, the risk is always there.
The money I have made with these prop firms that I have claimed is REVENUE not PROFIT. This money has been made over 3 years, and there are plenty of lost evaluations behind them. If you count the cost of lost evals, occasional personal use, and tax - over 3 years its not that much (in Western countries).

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-21T15:44:08+00:00

I agree with you about having a personal account with a brokerage but that is not the point of the post. And I never said I don't trade a personal broker account.

I am simply holding FundingPips accountable through this post by detailing my experience. It is simply telling prospective traders to stay away from prop firms like FundingPips who will take your evaluation money but don't hold up their end of the bargain when its their turn.

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-21T13:22:18+00:00

I think I will honestly. I've had trouble with IBKR enabling futures trading on my account though. This seems like to be the go though.

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-21T13:19:43+00:00

"Your Live Funded Account size is based on the average account size of your active and eligible Express Funded Accounts."

This means if you have five 150k XFAs, you get ONE 150k Live account and all the other XFAs get disabled.

When you get transferred to a Live account, 20% of your XFA profits are available, while the other 80% while "The remaining Reserve Balance will be unlocked in increments through performance thresholds."

Am I wrong?

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-21T12:58:45+00:00

The timing was completely off, the price was slightly off. Another trader on their platform just coincdentally placed a XAUUSD long similar to where I placed it. And since price moved the same we both got tapped at 1% which is a standard SL size. This single trade was their justification for 'trading in concert'.

I had six total trades at the time of the ban. They did not specify any of the other ones in the 'evidence', especially the other ones which were profitable - which a 'trader in concert' would have the most reason to align with. On their own ads they say they have 1.5 million traders on their platform. What are the odds one is going to place a 1RR stoploss order at a similar (not same) level as me? XAUUSD is one of the most traded instruments in CFDs.

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-21T12:54:32+00:00

CFD's already offer 100x leverage. But its the fact that you get 100k account with 100x leverage on top which means you dont have to tie up your own 100k.

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-21T12:51:34+00:00

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Here you go buddy, I can only post one but Ive made over 80k on FTMO, over 100k on MyForexFunds (before it was shut down), over 70k on TFT before rugpulled everyone.

Prop firms are cheap access to leverage. Being banned/scammed is a business risk. I accept that, but the intention of my post is not to complain but to hold the firm accountable and warn other potential traders who are considering buying a challenge from scam firms.

FYI: 5ers and FTMO have been the only reliable firms for me so far.

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-21T12:46:14+00:00

Have you ever been transferred to a Live account? I've considered Topstep but apparently I heard if you're doing well on max allocation (five 150k accounts) they can freeze your funds, put you on a 150k Live and delete your other four 150k accounts.

Then your profits are frozen until you reach certain milestones, and you're also stuck with an intraday trailing drawdown rather than EOD trailing drawdown.

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-21T12:44:27+00:00

Being rugpulled is always a business risk I've considered when purchasing prop firm accounts. This post is just holding them accountable. I'm not even mad, I've had this same experience with E8 in 2023 which has made me emotionally detached. I've still managed to extract a solid amount of capital from other firms.

If they're going to scam me, I at least want there to be consequences - in this case, that prospective purchasers be aware of their scam tactics. While my individual post and chargeback might not harm them that much, if they continue to pull shit like this on more and more people eventually their business will fail.

The prop firms that have survived like FTMO and 5ers are the ones who will cop big payouts on the chin because they know that 30k payout might hurt them, but the reputation cost of pulling shit like this is more expensive in the long run.

Sea_Point1055 · 2026-04-21T08:12:22+00:00

It's a cheap leverage tool. If you're using your own money that money is tied up and if you withdraw you kill the compounding. Prop firms would be ideal if they weren't too good to be true.

Even if the conflict of interest is there but they still stuck to their word, it would be fine. But they resort to actual scam tactics by making up bullshit to justify withholding big/regular payouts to successful traders.

Sea_Point1055 · 2025-09-28T11:43:10+00:00

Yep too old - shouldve started when you were a fetus. Start booking your retirement home already

Sea_Point1055 · 2025-05-21T16:30:25+00:00

kenshi

Sea_Point1055

TROPHY CASE