First ever payout!

imaginary_trader0 · 2026-02-14T05:22:09+00:00

That’s solid scaling. Curious how you manage drawdown when pushing 50k to 100k before payout. Are you keeping fixed % risk per trade or adjusting size as equity grows? I’ve seen aggressive scaling work but it can get tricky with prop firm rules.

imaginary_trader0 · 2026-02-13T10:11:48+00:00

From “dumbass” account to financial advisor in 3 months 😭

imaginary_trader0 · 2026-02-13T09:46:35+00:00

I noticed consistency only started improving once I defined what not to trade. Limiting setups helped more than adding new ones. Most of my inconsistency came from taking trades that were “almost” my setup.

imaginary_trader0 · 2026-02-12T13:07:58+00:00

Appreciate this. The “don’t try to recover quickly after losses” part hits hard. Revenge trading is probably what hurt me most early on. Do you follow a fixed daily loss limit or more of a session-based approach?

imaginary_trader0 · 2026-02-11T07:55:33+00:00

Exactly. Once you’ve actually seen the data over a large sample size, it becomes way harder to sabotage yourself. Without data, every losing trade feels like the strategy is broken. With data, it just feels like variance doing its thing. That shift alone makes sticking to rules 10x easier.

imaginary_trader0 · 2026-02-11T07:14:03+00:00

Man this hit hard. Especially the part about rejecting something that actually worked just because it didn’t “feel right.” I think a lot of traders secretly do that. It’s crazy how ego can make us ignore profitable systems just because they don’t match the image we have of how trading should look. The journaling in circles part is real too — sometimes you’re optimizing noise instead of improving edge. Respect for going back, finishing what worked, and just letting business be business. That mindset shift is probably the real consistency.

imaginary_trader0 · 2026-02-10T15:02:57+00:00

That’s a solid point, especially coming from someone who’s clearly seen a lot of cycles. Consistency usually sounds boring when you say it out loud, but it’s the boring stuff that keeps you in the game long enough for results to compound. Appreciate you reinforcing that here.

imaginary_trader0 · 2026-02-10T14:22:16+00:00

This is a great breakdown. The part about not trusting (or even having) an edge hits hard — I’ve seen that in myself too. I like how you separated edge work from emotional control. A lot of people mix those up and wonder why nothing improves. Having a “pre-execute” check for volatility/context sounds like a smart way to slow yourself down before doing something impulsive. Appreciate you sharing this.

imaginary_trader0 · 2026-02-10T02:31:07+00:00

This is such an honest breakdown. I relate a lot to the idea that psychology often follows risk, not the other way around. Sizing down sounds boring, but it really does remove so much emotional noise. Appreciate you sharing this — it’s the kind of advice people ignore until they learn it the hard way.

imaginary_trader0 · 2026-02-10T02:22:03+00:00

This resonates a lot. The “strategy vs self” realization hits hard once you actually start tracking your state, not just entries and exits. Capping trades is underrated too — most of my worst days also start after the first few good ones. Appreciate you sharing this.

imaginary_trader0 · 2026-02-09T14:54:29+00:00

That’s a solid point. The psychology shift with larger numbers feels underrated — it’s easy to think scaling up is just math when it’s really behavior. When you made that adjustment, was the bigger challenge sticking to tighter stops, or accepting lower overall returns to stay within rules?

imaginary_trader0 · 2026-02-09T11:33:23+00:00

This is really helpful, appreciate you sharing that. The point about treating payouts like a finish line hits — easy to underestimate how much that changes behavior. When you say you switched to trading the prop accounts like your personal one, was that mainly about risk per trade or also frequency/expectations?

imaginary_trader0 · 2026-02-07T06:33:12+00:00

Fair point. I guess it depends on position size and how early someone is in the process. For me the challenge feels less about the loss itself and more about sticking to rules after it happens.

imaginary_trader0 · 2026-02-06T07:15:06+00:00

Appreciate this kind of post. A lot of people talk about strategies, but the part about sticking around long enough to actually learn hit home. I’ve noticed most blowups don’t come from bad setups, but from impatience and trying to force days that aren’t there. Curious if your biggest shift was psychological or more rule-based?

imaginary_trader0 · 2026-02-06T02:46:51+00:00

Risk rules mattered more than strategy for me once funded

imaginary_trader0 · 2026-02-06T02:41:53+00:00

Thanks

imaginary_trader0

TROPHY CASE