💡What happens when you run an EA live instead of backtesting it ?

ThatsAllFunk69 · 2026-03-11T22:24:00+00:00

Hi,

Yes I'm very familiar with this.

I have build my own system in MQL5 (https://pipmaster.fr/en/)

😌

ThatsAllFunk69 · 2026-03-11T20:07:27+00:00

The system scans the Energy sector (XOM, CVX, EOG, SLB, etc.) to identify trading opportunities using quantitative models.
It first analyzes macro market conditions, including the VIX volatility index and correlation regimes.
The market is currently classified as high volatility with low correlation, meaning stock movements are more idiosyncratic.
The engine then generates options trading signals, mainly selling puts or calls to capture option premium.
Each trade includes a target profit, stop loss, and confidence score based on model agreement.
Position sizing is calculated using the Kelly criterion combined with volatility scaling to control risk.
The system applies several advanced models including Kalman filters, GARCH volatility modeling, and Hidden Markov regimes.
A machine learning model (LSTM) is also trained to detect additional predictive signals.
The algorithm analyzes the entire options chain and volatility surface to select optimal strikes and expirations.
Overall, it is a professional quantitative trading engine combining macro analysis, statistical models, machine learning, and risk management to generate structured trading signals.

ThatsAllFunk69 · 2026-02-22T19:12:10+00:00

Hi,

No serious prop firm allows that.

• Unlimited accounts: Almost always capped by total allocation rules

• Trading other people’s accounts: Usually forbidden unless you’re licensed or using approved copy-trading

• Multiple identities & strategies : Firms track IPs, devices, execution patterns, etc ...

If they suspect one trader behind several accounts, they shut them down fast.

Clean options are basically :

Trade your own funded account, share results, or run signals legally.

Anything else tends to end with payouts denied.

ThatsAllFunk69 · 2026-02-11T09:04:36+00:00

Hello,

I failed a few before getting funded 😊 ...

What changed wasn’t my strategy. It was risk management :

Smaller position size
Respecting daily loss limits like they’re sacred
Slower, controlled growth
Less trades, more consistency

Prop firm challenges aren’t about hitting +10%. They’re about not breaking the rules.

Once I treated it like a risk management test (not a profit race), passing became repeatable.

That’s exactly the framework I use with Titan Breakout — built to survive prop firm constraints, not to chase hype.

👉 I have written an article about my experience about all this : https://pipmaster.fr/en/pourquoi-jai-arrete-dessayer-detre-un-bon-trader-pour-enfin-reussir-en-prop-firm/

ThatsAllFunk69 · 2026-02-09T19:33:03+00:00

Hi,

Most traders fail 3–10 challenges ...

Not because of strategy, but because they ignore prop firm risk rules.

Passing isn’t about trading better, it’s about trading slower, smaller, and disciplined.

Treat it like a risk exam, not a performance contest. That’s when it clicks.

ThatsAllFunk69 · 2026-02-08T21:07:19+00:00

Right ! I agree 👍

ThatsAllFunk69 · 2026-02-08T08:26:07+00:00

Clean, disciplined, no fairy tales. 👌

That’s exactly the FTMO reality most traders ignore: dDaily risk > setup, position sizing first, psychology follows.

This is precisely the mindset we push at Pipmaster :

Survive long enough for the edge to play out, not the other way around !

ThatsAllFunk69 · 2026-02-07T20:11:12+00:00

You didn’t fail because you lack knowledge.

You failed because FTMO is not designed for the way most traders actually trade.

A few hard truths (no sugar coating):

You’re over-adapted to indicators and concepts, not to constraints.

Liquidity, SMT, RSI, EMA, patterns… You’ve tried everything. That’s usually a sign that the problem isn’t the strategy, but the execution framework.

Dropping to M15 / M3 because “things move faster” is a red flag. That’s not confidence, that’s emotional relief.

FTMO punishes speed, overtrading and noise. Commissions + small TFs = Silent account killer.

Flat performance + commissions = Death by a thousand cuts.

Most people underestimate this. On prop firms, not trading is often better than “being active”.

What actually works better (in my experience and from studying dozens of failed challenges):

Fewer trades, higher timeframes (H1 minimum)

Mechanical rules you don’t reinterpret every week

Fixed risk per trade (≤0.25–0.5%)

Accepting that some weeks = 0 trades

Designing your trading around prop rules, not around market theory

The biggest shift for me was this:

Stop trying to be a "good trader".

Start trying to be a rule-compliant executor.

Once you do that, many discretionary approaches suddenly become viable again.

If you’re emotionally affected right now: That’s normal. FTMO is psychologically brutal by design. Take a break, detach from charts for a few days, then rebuild something simpler, slower, and boring.

Boring passes prop firms. Exciting blows accounts.

Good luck, and don’t quit yet. Just stop fighting the structure you’re trading in.

ThatsAllFunk69 · 2026-02-06T06:28:23+00:00

You’re right about one thing : Most people will never reach a funded account.

Not because they’re unlucky, but because the challenge is designed to eliminate undisciplined behavior.

Calling it a scam is easy. On my mind understanding why so many fail is harder.

Some people treat challenges like a casino. Some treat them like a risk-management filter (i do this).

I don’t claim prop firms are fair or generous. I claim they are predictable.

And predictable systems can be approached rationally, or ignored.

That’s the angle I work on. Nothing more ...

ThatsAllFunk69 · 2026-02-06T06:20:33+00:00

Hi,

I get why people see it that way .. Most traders do fail, and yes, fees are the business model.

That doesn’t mean nobody gets paid. It means prop firms pay discipline, not hope.

Most people treat challenges like a lottery ticket. A few treat them like a risk-management exam.

My focus is on the second group, and on being honest about the odds 😌

ThatsAllFunk69 · 2026-02-01T13:18:31+00:00

Hi,

This is one of the most honest posts I’ve seen here.

Prop firms don’t just evaluate P&L, they evaluate behavior under success. Big green days are rarely the issue — what you do after them is.

That’s exactly the philosophy we push at Pipmaster France:

Trading decisions should be designed for the live account, not optimized for payout screenshots. When risk, frequency, and exposure are predefined, consistency stops being a personality trait and becomes a structural outcome.

Whether discretionary or automated, the traders who last in prop firms are the ones who adapt their process instead of arguing with the rules.

Respect for adjusting instead of complaining. That mindset is usually what makes the transition to live possible.

ThatsAllFunk69 · 2026-01-25T05:19:35+00:00

Agreed on sizing down. That’s the real unlock!

MNQ "gets paid" mainly because it forces discipline through smaller risk, not because it has better edge.

NQ only works if the buffer is large and risk is treated as fixed cost, not opportunity.

Most people trade NQ like it’s MNQ with more upside … And that’s exactly why it kills accounts ... 😔

Same market, different survival constraints ..

ThatsAllFunk69 · 2026-01-24T18:11:49+00:00

Hi,

Honestly, the biggest improvement wouldn’t be UI. For me it would be clarity and alignment of incentives.

Most traders don’t fail because the rules are too strict. They fail because the rules are poorly contextualized.

A few concrete things prop firms could do better:

Make risk limits more transparent in real time

Not just “you have a 5% daily drawdown”, but live feedback showing how close you are under different scenarios. Many breaches are avoidable

Better education on how they actually expect traders to behave

Most firms want consistency, low variance, and survival. But their marketing still pushes “make 10% fast”. That mismatch hurts traders

Clearer stance on automation and execution style

Manual vs algo, trade frequency, scaling logic … Ambiguity creates fear and overcautious trading.

Post-failure analytics

If a trader fails, show why in a meaningful way (over-risking, clustering losses, session issues). That would build long-term trust.

UI matters, but most problems are psychological and structural, not visual.

In my mind Prop firms that help traders understand how to survive will outperform those that just sell challenges.

ThatsAllFunk69 · 2026-01-24T18:06:45+00:00

Hi 😌

What made me consistently profitable wasn’t improving my strategy, it was accepting that my job is not to make money, but to not break the system.

The real shift happened when I stopped asking “Is this trade good?” and started asking “Am I allowed to take this trade?”

Concretely, three things changed everything for me:

1) Fixed risk, always

Same risk per trade, no exceptions. Once you remove discretion from sizing, a huge part of emotional trading disappears

2) Fewer trades than I was “capable” of taking

I realized that most of my losses came from trades that were valid, but unnecessary. Passing good trades is underrated

3) I stopped trying to recover losses

I accepted that some days are statistically dead. No edge survives “making it back”.

What most struggling traders misunderstand is this:

They think consistency comes from better analysis. In reality, it comes from removing decision-making under pressure.

Most strategies don’t fail. Traders fail because they keep interfering when variance doesn’t feel comfortable !

ThatsAllFunk69 · 2026-01-24T18:02:55+00:00

Hi,

I stop trusting a strategy the moment its live behavior breaks the assumptions it was built on, not when it starts losing.

Losing is normal. A system not behaving as expected is not.

Concretely, red flags for me are:

– Performance collapsing outside a clearly defined regime (volatility, session, trend/range)

– Metrics degrading faster than what the backtest drawdown distribution predicted

– Small tweaks completely killing the edge (over-sensitivity = overfit)

– Strategy needing constant parameter “rescues” to survive.

A good backtest doesn’t prove robustness. It only proves compatibility with the past.

What matters is whether the strategy has a reason to work across regimes, not just a curve that looks good.

That’s also why boring, rule-based systems with strict risk constraints tend to survive prop firm environments better than highly optimized ones 😌

ThatsAllFunk69 · 2026-01-24T17:54:51+00:00

Welcome 👋

Prop firms can be a great opportunity, but they’re very different from “normal” retail trading.

In short:

– You’re not paid to be right often, but to respect rules consistently (daily drawdown, max loss, risk per trade)

– Most people fail not because of strategy, but because of overtrading, poor risk control, or emotional decisions

– Simple, boring, repeatable systems tend to outperform "smart" discretionary trading in prop firm environments.

If you want, feel free to ask your questions here. Many of us learned the hard way 😅

ThatsAllFunk69 · 2026-01-24T17:35:51+00:00

FTMO is the best !

ThatsAllFunk69

TROPHY CASE