I Failed 3 Prop Firm Challenges Before Passing - Here's What I Learned

The Dream vs. Reality of Prop Firms

Trading with someone else's money sounds amazing, right? That's what I thought when I discovered prop firms. Get funded, trade their capital, keep 80% of the profits. What could go wrong?

Well, let me tell you about my three failed attempts before I finally passed a challenge. These lessons cost me about $1,200 in evaluation fees, but they were worth it.

Challenge #1: Apex Trader Funding - Failed Day 4

What Happened: I blew the max daily loss limit on day 4. Hit my profit target for the day, got cocky, took "one more trade" and it went against me hard. Kept averaging down (stupid, I know) and hit the daily loss limit.

Evaluation Cost: $147 for the 50K account

Lessons Learned:

• The daily loss limit is there for a reason - respect it
• "One more trade" is a trap 90% of the time
• Being up on the day doesn't mean you're invincible
• Averaging down in a prop firm challenge is basically suicide

Challenge #2: TopStep - Failed Day 12

What Happened: I was actually doing well - up about $1,800 of the $3,000 target. Then I had a string of 5 losing trades in one morning. Each loss was small, but together they added up. Hit the trailing max drawdown.

Evaluation Cost: $165 for the 50K account

Lessons Learned:

• Understand the difference between static and trailing drawdown (this is huge)
• After 2-3 losses in a row, STOP for the day
• Position sizing matters even more in evaluations
• The mental pressure of being close to passing can make you trade poorly

The worst part about this one was that I was so close. I still think about those 5 trades sometimes.

Challenge #3: Earn2Trade - Failed Day 9

What Happened: News event. I knew there was a Fed announcement, thought I'd be smart and trade it. Volatility went crazy, stop loss got blown through, hit max daily loss.

Evaluation Cost: $360 for the 100K account (yeah, I went bigger... mistake)

Lessons Learned:

• Don't trade major news events during evaluations
• Just because you can trade a bigger account doesn't mean you should
• Stick to your normal trading hours and setups
• Being "smart" often backfires in prop challenges

This one hurt the most because I paid more and made the dumbest mistake.

Challenge #4: TopStep (Again) - PASSED (30 days)

What Changed: Everything. My whole approach.

Instead of trying to pass quickly, I focused on trading properly:

• 1-2 trades per day max, sometimes zero
• Only took my absolute best setups
• Stopped trading completely at 11:30am ET (news time)
• Position size was smaller than the max allowed
• Kept a detailed journal of every trade during the evaluation

Evaluation Cost: $165

Time to Pass: 30 days (could've done it faster but I wasn't rushing)

Key Differences Between Failed and Passed Attempts

Failed Attempts:

• Tried to pass as fast as possible
• Took trades outside my strategy because I "needed" to hit targets
• Increased risk after losses (revenge trading)
• Traded during news events
• Focused on the money, not the process

Successful Attempt:

• Focused on trading well, not passing fast
• Only took trades that fit my exact criteria
• Decreased risk after losses
• Avoided all major news
• Focused on the process, not the outcome

Prop Firm Rules That Catch Most People

1. Trailing vs. Static Drawdown
This confuses everyone at first. Trailing drawdown moves up with your high water mark. If you're up $2,000, then lose $1,000, you might violate a trailing max loss even though you're still profitable overall. Read the rules carefully.

2. Daily Loss Limits
Some firms calculate this from your starting balance each day, others from your previous day's close. Know which one you're dealing with.

3. Minimum Trading Days
Can't just smash the profit target in 3 days and call it done. Most firms require 5-10 minimum days. This is actually good - it forces consistency.

Is It Worth It?

After spending $1,200+ on failed attempts and finally passing, here's my honest take:

Worth it if:

• You're already consistently profitable with your own money
• You have solid risk management
• You can handle the psychological pressure
• You're willing to learn from failures

Not worth it if:

• You're still learning to trade (practice with your own money first)
• You struggle with discipline
• You can't afford the evaluation fees
• You're looking for a "get rich quick" solution

My Biggest Advice

Treat the evaluation like it's your own money, but trade even more conservatively. The goal isn't to pass fast - it's to demonstrate consistent, disciplined trading.

I spent $1,200 learning this lesson. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes and save yourself some money.

And seriously, don't trade news events during evaluations. Just don't.