doing my due diligence before signing up for a challenge. payout reliability is my main thing, had a bad experience with another firm earlier this year that dragged it out for 2 weeks
seen some people mention Meridian Funded as a solid option, curious if anyone here has actually withdrawn and how long it took. EA trading and news allowed is a big plus for me too if anyone can confirm
**I’m using a strategy for XAU/USD and XAG/USD that has been giving me good results in the forex market I’m planning to buy a funded trading account Do you think I should go ahead with it If yes then which prop firm would you recommend Is Funding Pips a good choice**
Hey everyone, I just saw someone posting here about their terrible experience with Hantec Trader, and I honestly felt sick to my stomach because the exact same thing just happened to me. I need to back up what they said and show everyone how predatory these guys actually are. I am bringing screenshots as undeniable proof of how they manipulate their own system to rob you the second you make real money.
I spent my own cash on 7 evaluation accounts with them. Everything was completely fine until I finally went to request my first payout. Out of nowhere, they arbitrarily deducted $2,718 from my balance, claiming I did "news trading" (which is complete BS).
But here is the real trap: because they stole that $2,718 from my account, my metrics changed and they claimed I suddenly failed their "consistency rule." They literally locked my withdrawal and told me that if I ever wanted to see my remaining balance, I had to go back to the markets and keep trading to generate more profits and fix the consistency ratio. Think about how insane that is. It was a blatant setup—they fully expected me to get frustrated, mess up, and blow the account so they wouldn't have to pay me a single dime.
Well, I took the challenge. I went back in, traded perfectly during normal hours, made even more profit, and successfully fixed the consistency rule.
And you know what my reward was for proving I’m a profitable trader? They sent me an email saying they would allow the remaining withdrawal, but that my account is now permanently closed due to "prohibited strategies." They flat out refuse to tell me what strategy or rule I supposedly broke.
Their logic makes absolutely zero sense. If my strategy was actually "prohibited," why didn't they just ban me on day one? Why force me to keep trading and risking capital to fix their consistency rule first?
The answer is simple: they panicked because their trap failed and I didn't lose the account as they hoped. They love collecting challenge fees for 7 accounts, but the second you show you actually know how to trade, they will manipulate the rules and invent any vague excuse to ban you.
Hey guys,
I’m looking for a solid platform where I can paper trade and test out a strategy before I actually risk any real cash. I'm planning to dive into the Forex market, specifically trading the EUR/USD pair.
I’ve got about $10k saved up that I’m thinking of putting into the market, but honestly, I'm terrified of losing it right out of the gate. I already have a specific strategy in mind, I’ve got the patience for it, and I’m disciplined with my emergency exits/stop losses.
I just really need a place to backtest everything and get some practice on a demo account first. Are there any reliable platforms out there that offer this option completely for free? Appreciate any recommendations!
I'm talking about forex, crypto, metals, indices, and anything else prop firms offer.
I've mostly focused on crypto, but I'm interested to hear from people who have tried multiple markets.
Which one did you enjoy the most, and which one has made you the most money? Do you still trade it today?
I have been profitable on paper for well over 9 months. I genuinely feel ready and have been studying for 4 years plus without ever putting a dollar in. I know that’s a wholeeeee new game so I’m getting ready for it. But I’ve heard a lot of bad opinions regarding trading through prop firms. Please please you guys give me your advice and let’s get into convo about it. Thanks!
I personally found mine after watching hundred of YouTube videos and read tens of articles.
What about you ? How did you find yours?
How do you manage your position sizes? Manual calculations, calculator, spreadsheet?
I'm not a guru or a mentor but I'm a growing trader trading for around 1.5 years. According to my personal experience and that of different traders I have seen, here are some advices to reduce the risk of receiving a payout denial mail from prop firms.
Only trade with reputable prop firms
Do not only rely on one firm. Split your capital across 2+ firms
Make sure to read the complete rules of each firm not just the one you see on the advertising post.
Avoid large payout on a single accounts. i.e place a mental profit cap and only trade after withdrawing that profit.
This advice won't reduce the risk to zero but at least will help you stay under their radar.
Wish you good luck.
Hello, I need honest advice, not sugarcoating.
I've been prop trading futures (mainly NQ/ES) on Lucid for a while now. I do have a defined strategy, I understand market structure, and I've actually hit some payouts — so I know the edge is there.
But I've blown 68 accounts. That number hurts to type.
Here's what keeps killing me:
Revenge trading** – I take a loss, I know I should stop, and I immediately re-enter trying to "get it back." Every. Single. Time.
Hyperconfidence** – After a good run I feel untouchable. I size up, I skip confirmations, I treat the market like it owes me something.
The payout trap** – This is the big one. I lose accounts most often when I'm *right on the edge of a payout*. I get tight, I start protecting instead of executing, or I flip the other way and rush to lock it in. Either way, I sabotage myself.
For anyone who's been through this — how did you actually fix it? Not "just follow your rules" advice. Real stuff. Did you journal? Did you reduce size after every loss? Did you literally close the platform and walk away?
How do you trade the same way whether you're up 5% or one trade away from a payout?
Any advice appreciated.
Hey everyone,
I’m an IT engineer and I recently built my own MT5 Expert Advisor for XAUUSD H1, mainly because I got tired of emotional manual trading and wanted something more rule-based for my own FTMO challenge.
It is designed around prop-firm style risk control, not account flipping.
Core logic:
- 9 independent breakout engines
- Pending orders only
- No martingale
- No grid
- No recovery lot escalation
- TP based around daily pivot levels
- Break-even and trailing stop logic
- Spread filter
- Friday close
- Hard daily/total drawdown circuit breaker
The part I focused on most is risk control. Conservative mode sets a hard TP at the next pivot level, while Aggressive mode allows more room for winners to run.
To be clear: I only started live testing it recently, so I’m not claiming long-term live proof yet. I’m using it on my own challenge and will keep collecting forward data.
It’s listed on MQL5 as Apex Gold Pro, but I’m mainly posting here to discuss the idea, get feedback, and answer questions from people who trade prop firm accounts or XAUUSD.
I’m looking for serious testers who are willing to test it properly and give honest feedback. No fake reviews, no paid reviews — I want real criticism because I’m still improving it.
Happy to answer questions publicly about the logic, limitations, testing, or risk settings.
🚨🚨 LONG POST ALERT 🚨 🚨
THIS IS A 4 MONTH EXPERIENCE SO BUCKLE UP!!!!!
This is not a post from someone who failed an evaluation.
This is a post from someone who passed evaluations, generated substantial profits, qualified for payouts, followed the rules, and then watched the entire situation change once the numbers became significant.
Let’s Start With One Fact
Halcyon did not give me anything.
I earned everything.
Every payout.
Every dollar of profit.
Every buffer.
Every milestone.
I spent months trading day after day, following the rules and building my account.
By the time all was said and done, I had generated approximately $97,680 in simulated profits, nearly $100,000.
That wasn’t luck.
That wasn’t a giveaway.
That was earned.
The Payout Process
I successfully received:
I then qualified for my third payout of:
Instead of receiving that payout, something unexpected happened.
The $2,500 payout I had earned was used to transition me into a live account.
In other words, rather than paying the reward that had already been earned, I was moved into a new account structure.
That immediately raised questions for me.
If I earned a payout, why wasn’t it paid?
Why was it converted into something else?
Why was that decision made right when my profits were approaching six figures?
The $100,000 Question
The company’s materials discuss traders eventually transitioning to live accounts and reference carryover opportunities up to $60,000.
My question is simple:
If I generated nearly $100,000 in simulated profits, where did those profits go?
None of that profit transferred.
None of that buffer transferred.
None of that cushion transferred.
Nothing.
I built nearly a $100,000 buffer through trading and entered the live account with effectively none of it.
Think about that for a second.
Months of profitability.
Nearly $100,000 generated.
Zero transferred.
The Drawdown Issue
This is where things became even more confusing.
Throughout my journey, my account drawdown was approximately $4,500.
When I was transitioned to the live account, I discovered the account was being started at approximately $2,250.
Half.
Not $4,500.
Not anywhere near the profit cushion I had built.
Half.
I had to dispute that decision just to get the drawdown adjusted to approximately $4,500.
Even after fighting for that correction, I was still left asking:
Why would a trader who has demonstrated months of profitability and nearly $100,000 in profits be moved into a live account with less protection than the account they already proved themselves in?
A person can purchase a brand-new evaluation account for a small fee and receive a similar drawdown structure.
So why would a trader who already generated nearly $100,000 be placed in a weaker position?
That made absolutely no sense to me.
The Platform Problems
Then came the platform issues.
For approximately three months, I traded successfully using Volumetrica.
I knew the software.
I knew the workflow.
I knew the execution.
I specifically requested to continue using Volumetrica.
Instead, I was pushed toward DeepCharts.
Anyone who has used both knows they are completely different platforms.
DeepCharts is significantly more advanced and requires training to use efficiently.
What training was provided?
None.
What onboarding was provided?
None.
What tutorials were provided?
None.
What live support was provided?
Virtually none.
I was simply given login credentials and expected to figure everything out myself.
Market Data and Connection Problems
The problems didn’t stop there.
I submitted support tickets documenting issues that included:
At one point I was connected to Rithmic but receiving absolutely no CME data.
No ES data.
No market depth.
No bid/ask.
No usable chart information.
I specifically requested immediate assistance because I was effectively unable to trade.
A trader should never be placed in a live environment while simultaneously dealing with platform access problems and missing market data.
The “Overtrading” Explanation
Eventually, concerns were raised about my trading activity.
The issue?
“Overtrading.”
Here’s my problem with that explanation.
I could not find a specific rule, policy, metric, threshold, maximum trade count, or objective standard that defined what overtrading actually meant.
There was no clear policy stating:
Instead, it appeared to be based on a subjective determination.
If a company is going to penalize traders for something, there should be a clearly defined standard that traders can review beforehand.
Otherwise, how can anyone know whether they are compliant?
The Timeline That Doesn’t Sit Right
Everything seemed fine when:
The problems appeared when:
That’s when:
Everyone can draw their own conclusions from that timeline.
What Bothers Me Most
The biggest issue isn’t losing a trade.
Traders lose trades every day.
The biggest issue is transparency.
If a company advertises a path toward live funding, carryovers, and trader rewards, those expectations should be clearly defined from the beginning.
A trader should not spend months building profitability only to discover:
after they have already done the work.
I Have Receipts
I documented everything.
I have:
Everything.
This post is simply my experience and the timeline as I lived it.
Based on my experience, I would not recommend Halcyon Trading Fund to any trader at all.
Once again here is why:
I generated approximately $97,680 in simulated profits through my own trading.
When I was transitioned to a live account:
● None of those profits transferred
● None of that buffer transferred
● None of that cushion transferred
● None of the nearly $100,000 I generated was reflected in my live account
I successfully received:
● $1,500 payout
● $2,000 payout
After qualifying for my third payout of $2,500, I was not paid that reward.
Instead, that payout was used to move me into a live account.
I earned that payout through trading and expected it to be paid according to the program structure.
Despite trading accounts that had approximately a $4,500 drawdown structure, my live account was initially set up around $2,250.
I had to dispute this and fight to get it adjusted closer to $4,500.
Even after generating nearly $100,000 in profits, I was being placed into a more restrictive environment than accounts available to new traders.
I documented issues involving:
● Missing CME market data
● Blank charts
● Volumetrica login failures
● Rithmic connection issues
● Order execution concerns
● Platform access problems
I submitted support tickets showing that I was connected but receiving no market data and could not properly trade.
I spent months trading on Volumetrica.
Then I was pushed to DeepCharts.
I received:
● No onboarding
● No training
● No tutorials
● No walkthroughs
● No meaningful support
I was simply expected to figure it out.
I was eventually told overtrading was a concern.
However, I could not locate a specific policy that defined:
● Maximum trades per day
● Maximum executions
● Maximum contracts traded
● Any objective metric for overtrading
Without a published standard, enforcement appears subjective.
After:
● Passing evaluations
● Following rules
● Receiving payouts
● Building nearly $100,000 in simulated profits
● Raising questions about payouts, transfers, and account structure
My account was revoked.
My Proof
I have retained:
● Screenshots
● Support tickets
● Emails
● Payout records
● Trading statements
● P&L records
● Platform screenshots
● Account history
● Screen recordings
Including documentation showing:
● Missing CME market data
● Volumetrica login failures
● DeepCharts migration issues
● Account balance discrepancies
● Drawdown concerns
● Profit history approaching $100,000
Everyone can review the facts and reach their own conclusions.
As for me, based on my experience, I would strongly advise traders to think carefully before committing their time, money, and effort to this firm.
Hi Traders,
I have just cleared my QT funding 1step account phase 1 and now i need to pay master account activation fees as it has split payment option.
but as i see a lot of negetive review regarding the master account breach or payout denial or payout stuck for like a month. i am little worried if i should proceed furture with the master account activation. i have paid like 7$ for the challenge... took 1 month to clear phase one. plz comment you view or share your recent experience with QT. Thanks
I’m about done with legacy firms. I traded the London open breakout this morning, caught a beautiful chunk of volatility, and my account was flagged because it executed within a 2-minute window of macroeconomic data release. It’s an absolute joke that platforms claim to back professional traders but then force you to turn off your terminals whenever the market actually starts moving.
Who are you guys using right now that doesn't put training wheels on your account during high-impact news? I need raw execution and zero trading restrictions.
