FTMO is the most popular prop firm with 200K+ funded traders. Here's a systematic approach to passing their evaluation based on math, not hope.
| Rule | Phase 1 | Phase 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Profit Target | 8% | 5% |
| Daily Drawdown | 5% | 5% |
| Max Drawdown | 10% | 10% |
| Minimum Days | 4 | 4 |
| Time Limit | None | None |
This is where most traders fail. On a $100K FTMO account with 5% daily DD ($5,000 limit), never risk more than 1% per trade ($1,000). This gives you 5 consecutive losing trades before breaching daily limits.
Use the FTMO $100K Position Size Calculator to get exact lot sizes for every pair.
FTMO restricts news trading. Focus on kill zones outside of news events: London open (07:00-10:00 UTC) and New York open (12:00-15:00 UTC). These windows have the highest probability setups.
Don't chase 1:3+ RR — it lowers your win rate. A 55% win rate with 1:1.5 RR is sustainable and reaches 8% profit target in approximately 15-20 trades.
Before starting the challenge, use the Risk of Ruin Calculator to verify your probability of blowing the account is below 10%.
Two losses in a row = stop trading for the day. This prevents revenge trading, which is the #1 challenge killer. The math: after 2 losses at 1%, you're down 2%. One revenge trade at 3x size that loses = 5% total = daily limit breached.
• Risking 2-3% per trade (too high for 5% daily DD)
• Overtrading — taking 10+ trades per day
• Trading during news events (restricted by FTMO)
• Not having a written plan before starting
• Starting the challenge during low-volume periods
Use the Challenge Cost Calculator to estimate your total expected spending. At a 15% pass rate with FTMO's $540 fee ($100K account), expect ~$3,600 total before passing.