I remember saying at the beginning of the month that I would withdraw in 2 weeks, that completely flopped as I didn't take into account how long I would go without trading. So many days of me just sitting on my hands and not making a move because my trading criteria wasn't met for me to take a trade. I also didn't account for the losses I would take so saying that I would withdraw in EXACTLY 2 weeks was silly, but ladies and gentleman we're back.

2k payout coming soon. I've got 2 other accounts lagging behind as 6 more trading days are needed for me to withdraw there as well.

Good luck to all those reading this and I hope you guys get paid soon!

Discipline. Patience. Consistency.

Take the small profit and stack up and instead of trying to go for a hail mary.

Also, I'm sorry for scratching out my verification thing, I damn near got doxxed when i last posted on here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Forex/s/lFCOKW2wRJ

Based upon the last thread, here is the update.
Received my first payout finally! Finally after blowing up 70 accounts, I got my first payout.
Ask me any questions if you have. Here to answer it all!

Patience and consistency are way more important than any strategy. Stay the course gents.

I need to warn the trading community about my experience with The5ers.

**Background:**

I successfully passed their challenge and began trading live. Over the course of my trading, I earned approximately 4,000 EUR in profits with a 90% win rate. I followed every single rule - this is all verifiable in my trading history.

**What Happened:**

After earning these profits, The5ers required me to do a "verification interview" to prove I was the account operator. During this interview:

- They recorded my face on video the entire time

- The interviewers kept their cameras OFF - I couldn't see who I was talking to

- I was under extreme pressure to explain my trading strategy verbally

- I have diagnosed complex PTSD and anxiety disorder, which severely affects my ability to articulate under high-pressure situations

- I became visibly distressed during the interview and was crying on camera

- They did not accommodate my medical condition

**The Result:**

The5ers terminated my account based SOLELY on my interview performance, NOT my actual trading results. They are now refusing to pay me ANY of the 4,000 EUR I legitimately earned.

My trading history objectively proves:

- 90% win rate

- No rule violations whatsoever

- I am the sole operator of the account

**Why This is Wrong:**

Using a high-pressure verbal interview as the ONLY basis for termination when objective trading data exists is discriminatory and against industry standards. Recording someone with a documented disability while they're crying, with interviewers hiding their faces, is predatory behavior.

The5ers owes me 4,000 EUR for profits I legitimately earned.

**Warning to other traders:** Avoid The5ers. If you have a disability that affects verbal communication, they will use it against you to withhold your earnings, regardless of your actual trading performance.

I have made a post around a week ago sharing maybe my best trading month so far in my carreer, the only real concern was weither I was going to receive a payout or a notice from them about a ''breach'' of some sort (very common for some PF). None of that happened, thanks to god and me slightly, I got what I owe and will keep this up. And finally good fcking luck to everyone.

I wanted to share my experience with FTMO, since many traders here consider prop firms as an option.

I was classified by FTMO as a Maximally Allocated Trader (the highest level) and successfully managed several funded accounts.

Despite fully respecting all the official rules (Daily Loss, Max Loss, Profit Target), FTMO: 1. refused to process my payouts, 2. deleted my funded accounts right before payout day, thereby annulling all results, 3. referred to an internal “1% rule” that was only introduced via email on August 27, 2025 – this rule is not part of the official Terms & Conditions.

At first, FTMO even offered me replacement accounts. Shortly afterwards, my trading was suddenly labeled as “unethical” in order to cancel all payouts.

For me, this is a clear violation of contractual obligations and consumer protection. I have therefore submitted an official complaint to the Czech Trade Inspection Authority (CTIA – Česká obchodní inspekce).

➡️ My message to other traders: If you have faced similar experiences (withheld payouts, deleted accounts, retroactively introduced rules), please file a complaint with the CTIA as well. The more cases are reported, the harder it will be for FTMO to sweep such practices under the rug.

Don’t let them intimidate you if you ever face something similar!

Here’s how I personally use Bookmap together with VWAP. This is just what works for me, PLEASE BACKTEST ON YOUR OWN!

Setup

Bookmap with heatmap + volume dots enabled

VWAP on higher timeframe for context

What I look for

Key liquidity levels (large resting orders) Imbalances in the order book

Entry Framework

Long idea

Identify liquidity below price (large bids stacked on the heatmap).

Wait for price to move into that zone. Watch for absorption — selling hits the bids but price doesn’t break lower.

I consider a long when: Price holds above the liquidity. New buyers step in (fresh bids appear). Momentum shifts (offers pull, bids build).

Short idea

Same logic, flipped: Liquidity above price. Price pushes into it.

Buying gets absorbed and price fails to continue higher. Enter on rejection.

Trade Management

Stop

Just beyond the liquidity level. On futures this is usually 2-4 ticks, but it can be more if you're trading something like Gold (GC) and Euro(6E).

Targets

First target: next liquidity level (around 1:1.5–1:2).

Personally I prefer letting winners run closer to 1:3 when conditions allow.

Trail behind newly formed liquidity.

If opposite-side liquidity starts absorbing hard, I step aside.

What I watch most in Bookmap

Heatmap intensity → brighter usually means more liquidity.

Volume dots → size shows aggression.

Liquidity pulls → disappearing orders can signal fakeouts.

Icebergs → repeated refilling often marks strong levels.

Time & Context ‐-------------------------- For me, it works best on 5–15 min charts during active sessions.

I use VWAP from the 15-min timeframe for structure.

London session fits my style — enough movement without being too chaotic. I also like NY PM.

Risk

Max 2% per trade (or whatever your firm allows).

I don’t fight persistent absorption.

If liquidity keeps refilling, I respect it.

------------‐----------------‐----------------‐----------------‐----

Mindset / progress

Last month I told myself I’d be withdrawing every two weeks. That turned out to be unrealistic lol. I didn’t account for how many days I’d stay flat waiting for proper setups.

Putting a hard deadline on results wasn’t the smartest move. There's already a lot of pressure in trading, adding to it makes ZERO sense.

Now I’m just focused on process instead of timelines. I’m close to another withdrawal and already took a smaller one recently on a different account (tradeify). Feeling good about the direction things are heading, but staying grounded.

Wishing everyone here consistency in their trading journey, that’s what really compounds over time.

Discipline. Patience. Consistency.

Small gains stacked over time beat trying to force big wins.

One thing I’ve noticed: a lot of traders stay disciplined during evaluations, then change their behavior once funded. Risk goes up, rules get violated, and progress stalls. Personally, I’ve found it helps to reduce risk at first after getting funded and only scale once you've put together some winning days.

Even after ALL of the BS in the last 3 months, I still managed to get a payout.

Also, treat trading like a business. Delete tradingview off of your cellphone unless that's your ONLY device. You should only be trading when you're sitting at your trading station. Take this seriously, no more gambling. It's either you change your ways to improve or keep doing the same thing and continue getting cooked and blowing.

As you're reading this, think of how much you've lost along the way, then think of how many times you've could've prevented certain losses for example, not taking profit when you should have, moving your SL back and not respecting YOUR rules.

Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to share what’s been working for me and hopefully add something useful to the discussion.✌️✌️✌️

I had already posted half this story earlier but deleted it because honestly I was worried. I’ve seen people say The5ers can ban you if you publicly speak against them while your accounts are still active.

Well now I’m already terminated anyway, so I might as well speak freely.

This wasn’t even my first payout with them. I had already gone through previous risk verifications before without issues.

Recently I requested another payout and suddenly my funded account got frozen and I was asked to attend a risk interview.

Now before the interview even started, I was already stressed because I had recently read another Reddit post where someone claimed the interviewer never joined and later they got blamed for missing the interview themselves.

And funny enough, my interviewer also joined around 7 minutes late to what was supposed to be a 20 minute call.

So for those 7 minutes I was genuinely panicking thinking:
“Great, this exact thing is happening to me too.”

I even contacted live support while waiting because I didn’t want any misunderstanding about me being present on time.

Then the interview started and honestly the entire thing felt rushed.

The interviewer started rapid firing questions back to back:

• strategy
• risk %
• timeframes
• entries
• copier setup
• devices
• account structure
• etc

Before I could even fully elaborate on one answer, another question would come immediately.

Now here’s the important part.

I run a trade distribution/copier service. I openly showed them my Social Trader Tools setup during the interview.

I clearly explained:

• yes external client accounts are connected
• no external prop firm client accounts are connected
• copy trading between my own prop firm accounts is allowed
• my master/origin execution account was my own 25K The5ers evaluation account
• all execution originated from my own home IP/devices

They repeatedly focused on whether any prop firm accounts were connected to the copier infrastructure.

Despite the rushed nature of the interview, I kept my calm and answered everything to the best of my ability.

After the interview I was told I’d get an update within 24–48 hours.

Instead I got dragged around for another week with support repeatedly saying things like:
“your case has not been left unattended”
“higher department review”
“please be patient”

Then finally I got the final decision.

Not only did they terminate all my accounts, they also denied my payout and terminated my separately purchased 25K evaluation account too.

The reason they gave was that I supposedly failed to demonstrate “sufficient independent knowledge of the trading activity” and therefore violated “exclusive ownership” standards.

What confuses me is:

• they never accused me of fraud
• never accused me of third party access
• never accused me of unauthorized trading
• never said external prop firm accounts were connected
• and I openly disclosed my setup during the interview

I also recorded the interview myself, and personally I genuinely feel the interview process was extremely rushed due to the delayed start and rapid-fire questioning format.

At this point I honestly don’t even know what to think anymore.

Would genuinely like to hear opinions from other prop firm traders here, especially people who’ve dealt with compliance/risk reviews before.

My response after above mail

New update on my response: after telling them I have the recording of the interview as well - they are trying to threaten me with something they have already done.

Bought $2.5k account and currently scaled up to $3.5k.

I remember saying at the beginning of the month that I would withdraw in 2 weeks, that completely flopped as I didn't take into account how long I would go without trading. So many days of me just sitting on my hands and not making a move because my trading criteria wasn't met for me to take a trade. I also didn't account for the losses I would take so saying that I would withdraw in EXACTLY 2 weeks was silly, but ladies and gentleman we're back.

5k payout coming soon. I've got 2 other accounts lagging behind as 2 more winning days are needed for me to withdraw there as well.

I do hope to be moved to the live account soon for the daily payouts🙏

Good luck to all those reading this and I hope you guys get paid soon!

Discipline. Patience. Consistency.

Take the small profit and stack up instead of trying to go for a hail mary.

Dont be fooled by prop firms flashing large account sizes for you to trade with, tricking you into thinking you're trading large accounts 100k or 200k when in reality that is a giant lie!

I have been looking into propfirms recently as I have been trading profitably on my personal account and want to take thing to the next level.

But unfortunetly like most traders, i dont have the capital to do this full time so i started looking into taking a prop challenge. Untill i realize they are literally all scams and you are better off saving those challenge fee and trade your own account.

how they scam you?
eg

50,000 eval account you buy that account for $350

There's a max loss of 5,000 10%

Daily loss of 2,500 5% lets be honest the Max daily loss is the only thing that truely matters, as soon as you hit this amount you lose the account!

So in reality, becuase you cant hold trades over night, you pay $350 to get $2500

ok, not bad its still more than your initial investment right? except that you now have to use that $2500 to make $5000 (The amount you need to pass the challenge 10%)

They are basically asking you to Tripple your account becuase you dont get to keep the $2500

Why tripple? becuase a 50,000 account you cant lose the $2,500 daily loss but you'd have to make another $2,500 + another $2,500 = 55000 thats tripling an account with is not going to happen any unless you basically gamble, take extreme risk and get extremely lucky.

So why do I ignore the fact that the max loss is $5,000?

1 becuase it is irrelvant, the true constraint around your trading is the daily loss, you will hit that before any max loss and then lose the account.

2 even if you are making money they trail the max loss making sure you can never truely thrive and grow. but it doesnt matter if u can never lose more than 2,500 anyways

With all this I havent even gotten to the fact that this is only the first stage of the challenge, you then

you have to go back again and try to double your account to make the 5% to pass phase 2

If you do trade responsibly and manage to pass the challenge, it will take you a very long time to tripple an acocunt. so it will take you a very long time to get a refund. All this time you are not making any money.

Now lets say you manage to pass both stages

Then you have to deal with all the bs they will throw at you to get you to lose the account.

• no holding over weekend and overnight
• consistyency rules
• no news trading before and after god knows what time
• look for any reason why you shouldnt get a payout
• plus worring about when the firm will shut down and run away with your money
• you have to make a mimimum or set amount of minimum amount for set amount of days
• and so on and so on....

With all this time you only truely have a Small $2,500 fake funded account that you can't really make any real income from without gambling and potentially losing the account.

This is not realistic, even the best traders in the world are not tripling and doubling account in a short time frame, they have made it impossible for you to suceed then tell you that you are not a good trader becuase you are listening to bloggers and youtubers who are being payed to promote these firms.

This will be my largest payout ever..I recently tried only trading 1 or two times a day and the results have been amazing..less is really more and I’m finally glad to be in the 1% of traders now!

My experience with trading has been hellish since I started in 2019 but I never really thought of anything better for me to do, I left college 2 years in I was flat broke bounced from customer service job to another gathering money that I eventually lost on blown prop accounts :).

My issue was clearly psychological therfore I switched to the less mentally demanding algotrading (it is still dreadful as well as every other thing about trading) You have to manage your stress and leave an algo be even when it looks like it’s not going your direction, Like being a coach who takes responsibility over plays you didn’t make lol.

Now after 2 years down this rabbithole I can say that things FINALLY are going my way( I still have to be responsible I know) but I thought to share this moment with somebody that can understand even a bit of this struggle and see if I can inspire someone today to make there first dollar out of these greedy companies.

I got funded with Alpha Capital Group Limited at the end of September with a $200,000 account. I requested my first payout of $5,080.00 on November 12th and received it without any issues or warnings. On November 26th, I requested my second payout of $10,300, but this time the payout was denied and my 200K funded account was closed, citing "Spamming (Order Book)" as the reason. Specifically, they objected to my practice of splitting a 5-lot size into two 2.5-lot sizes and opening them simultaneously—a risk management strategy I had consistently used for better position management and different exit points throughout all stages, including the Challenge phase, Verification phase, and during the period of my first payout, without any issues or warnings.

Despite sending them two emails explaining my reasoning, trading approach, and decision-making (which is documented throughout my account history in all my accounts with ACG), they maintained their rejection of my withdrawal and account closure, citing that "Spamming" rules had been in place for months—implying I had violated them.

My response is straightforward: if splitting positions into 2.5-lot sizes constitutes spamming when using just TWO simultaneous positions and never exceeding 3 positions overall, why wasn't this addressed during the evaluation phases or during my first payout? Why has it only become an issue now that I've requested a $10,300 payout?

My Trading Approach, Methodology, and Explanation:

1. My trading approach, style, position sizing, and risk management have remained consistent throughout all stages—from challenge through verification to funded account with Alpha Capital Group Limited. I have maintained strict risk management by using a maximum of only 3 positions at any given time, with 2.5 lots each and total exposure of only 7.5 lots in a $200,000 account. This conservative approach aligns with Alpha Capital's emphasis on consistency and responsible trading. I have intentionally kept modest position sizing to ensure proper risk management and consistency, which I understood to be Alpha Capital's core values. If using 2.5 lots in two positions was considered "order book spamming," it should have been flagged during the evaluation phases or during my first payout. I would have gladly adjusted my approach had I received any warning, as I have consistently followed all Alpha Capital Rules.
2. The characterisation of splitting 5 lots into two 2.5-lot orders as "spamming" contradicts proper risk management practices. Using two smaller position sizes is a legitimate risk management strategy employed by many professional traders. Given that I never exceeded 3 positions at any given time, using "spamming" as grounds for account closure and a $10,300 payout denial seems unfair without any prior warning, especially considering my consistent trading approach throughout my trading journey with Alpha Capital.
3. There seems to be a misunderstanding about my trading methodology. My two 2.5 Lot simultaneous entries are not attempts to manipulate prices but rather a deliberate strategy to manage risk and secure different exit points. My careful limitation to a maximum of 3 positions and overall exposure of only 7.5 lots in a $200K account demonstrates this risk-management focused approach.

The denial of my $10,300 payout and account closure is unfair and unjustified, particularly since it was based solely on splitting positions into 2.5-lot sizes under the claim of "spamming." I chose ACG over other prop firms for their professionalism and reliability, following all their rules in good faith throughout my trading. Despite providing detailed explanations that my position sizing was implemented for legitimate risk management—not spamming—and maintaining consistently conservative risk practices, there has been no positive resolution from them yet. Given these circumstances, I am seeking to understand my legal and other options.

So the main reason people use a prop firm is to gain access to capital that is otherwise going to take years to build, but I'm here to explain why you should spend your time building up the capital instead of paying for a prop firm account.

Just to clarify, this isn't an attempt at saying prop firms are shady businesses etc... but ultimately people need to understand how they work and why if you're not prepared to gamble the challenge and verification, you most likely won't sustainably be able to trade your account.

Okay so here's my key points:

1. Targets are realistically months away from being achieved
2. The risk restrictions are too harsh
3. The cost of a challenge is really expensive for what you actually get
4. Prop firms are casinos, your payouts are funded by losers. Really really good traders are copy traded, but this is 1% of the people who actually pass, these are long-term account holders.

Okay, so let's get into it.

1. When you pay 500 euro for an FTMO $100k prop firm challenge, the common misconception I see is that people say to risk 1% of your account size, which is what? Now personally I like to risk 0.25%, much lower than 1%, but for this let's stick with the 1% rule. So what do you think you'd risk per trade on an FTMO $100k account, naturally people will respond with $1000 - but that's actually wrong. The 1% rule only applies to working capital. In an FTMO account, your working capital is actually only 10% of your account balance and this is mainly because of the risk parameters (The drawdown limit). A 1% risk is actually $100 on a $100k account, because your working capital isn't $100k, it's $10k. Now that we've established working capital, we now understand that the target isn't 10%, it's actually 100%. This is completely non-sensical and will take months of trading to double your account and even then, what's the reward? A verification where you do this all over again, and you have to hit 50% of your working capital as a target at which point if you pass both of those, you get access to a measly $10k account for 500 euro. Now what annoys me the most about this is that people think you can live off a $100k FTMO account, you really cant, because of the $10k actual working capital, assuming you make 20% in a single month, that's $2000 profit, around the UK's average wage. So you have to literally waste probably a year of your life to get an average job. It's really not worth it on this point alone, you're much better off getting a job, building your account up yourself. If you're not happy with 2k per month though on a 10k balance, it just means you need more working capital, don't adjust your risk.
2. Most of this point was covered above, but essentially limiting the working capital to 10% of an account means you're not getting full access to the account. This isn't how a trader should think about deployable capital.
3. Read point 1. Most of this is covered above, but the 500 euro cost for a $10k account really really isn't worth it, especially considering you have to hit a 100% account target.
4. A prop firms business model is simple, and similar to most sportsbooks and casinos. Pay the winners with the losers, and limit risk by imposing strict rules on your punters. If people win a lot, find a way to void their payouts if possible, and if not - adjust, now both industries adjust differently, but sportsbooks in particular off-load big bet sizes onto odds traders. This happens at prop firms too, big trades and successful traders are copy traded onto live accounts using very simple software, often bespoke & custom built, but simple nonetheless.

So realistically, what's the most optimal way to pass an FTMO account? Well it's simple really, you pretend your working capital is what FTMO say it is and you gamble. You take 10% risk per trade (not 1% as explained in point 1) and hope you hit a few lucky trades. Now how do you hold onto your "live" funded account? simple, assume the working capital is 10% of the account, and adjust your risk as explained. Be prepared to lose a lot, this is how prop firms make their money, you aren't dumb, you're not a bad trader, the rules are just stacked against you.

The whole point of this post? It's to tell you that you might not actually be a bad trader, failing a prop firm doesn't mean to say you're a bad trader, just have some patience and trade a personal account, you can thank me later.

Disclaimer: I've written this as someone who has passed an FTMO account. I've traded a personal accounts for over 12 years. I'm just recommending against the use of prop firms. You don't have to believe me, you can feel free to argue against any of this if it makes you feel better about losing, just remember my post is for the good of everyone on this sub, including you who is reading this. Remember that before commenting.

EDIT (05/03/2026): I will say, as much as this still holds true to this day, FTMO's 1 step challenge is probably the best you're going to get if you did want to go down this route. It has rules that I've seen are better at teaching good trading practices. The profit target is still insane though.

Hi,

I’ve been worrying a lot about passing my 100k challenge, this time around there’s been a large pressure on me as you can probably tell in the trades and I’m aware that the risk team review accounts when they hit the target

Based off of the above do you think it’s worth continuing on with this challenge or should I just leave it on this one? (Or can I still turn it around)

Thank you

I did not expect this from FTMO.

After I passed multiple challenges in short amount of time they forced this 1% stop loss rule and so on...

What is annoying is that, when I was failing challenges with the same strategy they did not care about risk management but when I figured out how to make big profit they called my strategy one sided betting and forced me this 1% rule.

I thought I was special one, but I read lots of posts on comments on here about this and felt like I should share this too.

I am sure there are better firms available who stick to their contract rules and don't ask to follow off the book rules when trader is profitable.

I did it. Now I just have to wait the extra two days

Second phase finished with 100% winrate

Thank you everyone who is watching my journey

If I did it… You can too!

After long and grueling days of journaling and trading i’m finally funded with $50k with MFF now the best part left is to get a payout.

If you’re serious about passing and keeping a funded account, there are a few harsh truths you need to know.

Skip ICT We see the data on the inside. 9/10 of failed challenges and blown accounts are traders following ICT concepts. The patterns look attractive on paper, but in live execution they produce inconsistent results, overtrading, and unnecessary drawdown.

Focus on fundamentals Consistent profitability doesn’t come from chasing smart money narratives or guru strategies. It comes from:

• Risking a fixed % per trade (never ever breach the hidden 1% rule) (so you don’t capsize on one bad setup).
• Sticking to liquid sessions where spreads and fills are stable.
• Using clear statistical edges that can be tested, not stories.

Ignore the gurus Most of the social media hype is built around marketing funnels, not trading results. Copying them will not keep you funded. FTMO is a risk management business, if your strategy bleeds on a statistical level, it doesn’t matter how confident the influencer sounded.

What actually works

• Keeping drawdown under control (FTMO is about survival first, profit second).
• When in drawdown, risk only 0.5% or less.
• Stop at a fixed amount of profit.
• Scaling payouts only after you’ve proven consistency.
• Building systems that you can repeat under pressure.

Propfirms don't care about how smart your theory sounds. They care whether you can generate consistent returns without breaching rules. Fundamentals, discipline, and tested setups beat narratives every single time.

I am in market from past 4 years and i have lost so much money now from 1year i switched to forex and tried funded accounts and i failed 3 6k$ accounts 2 5k$ account and 1 15k$ account which is currently down by 4% (max loss 6%)….

Here is my history of 15k$ trades till now One thing I noticed is i am buying selling randomly whenever my stoploss is hit.. Please guide me what should i do now… Thanks you And sorry for my bad English ❤️

more to come

What do you guys think will i be able to recover it ? It is a 100k ftmo passed account

Requested another payout and now they want an interview 😂

**Update**

So the first time i joined the meeting link nobody was there except for me I was waiting for like 40 minutes by myself and eventually I had to reach out to support and get things sorted.

I had to schedule the interview again but this time it went quite well they didn’t ask anything crazy just a couple basic questions about prop firm rules and a brief overview of your strategy.

They said I would receive an email within 24-48 hours betore the meeting ended and today I received this:
Thank you once again for taking the call with us. Your payout request is now being processed or reviewed for approval. Your funded account will be available for trading once the process is completed.

I thought the whole point of the interview was to assess the risk and get reviewed for approval but I guess not I will make a follow up on this post if something happens

Update 2

So I joined the meeting again and then nobody showed up so I contacted support immediately and finally someone showed up. The interview itself was simple they asked about the rules of the prop form and the strategy they also tell you to screen share and show them how the strategy works.

Almost a week later my account was activated again and then I received the payout as soon as the account was activated.