Stop trading immediately if daily P&L approaches 80% of daily loss limit — buffer for slippage on final trade
Stop trading immediately if total drawdown reaches 75% of the max allowed — do not risk a failed challenge in one session
Stop after 3 consecutive losing trades in one day — mental state degrades, edge disappears
Do not trade during NFP, CPI, FOMC, or BoE announcements unless your strategy specifically requires it
Do not increase position size to "catch up" if behind on profit target — this is how challenges fail in the final days
If you have already passed the profit target: stop and submit for review. Do not give profits back being "greedy".
Strategy Reminder — Challenge Pacing
FTMO Phase 1 example: 10% target over 30 days = 0.33% per day required. With 1% risk per trade and 50% win rate at 1.5:1 R:R, you need roughly 3–5 trades per day to hit this pace — but most successful challenge passes happen with 1–3 trades per day, high selectivity, over the full 30 days.
The trap: trying to hit 10% in 5 days by overtrading. This is why 95%+ of challenges fail — not bad strategy, but bad pacing and risk management. Your backtesting edge should already show a profit factor above 1.5 before attempting a paid challenge.