Track Prop Firm Rules in Your Journal

You passed the FTMO challenge. Your profit target was hit. You’ve got the funded account. Now what?

Now the real challenge starts: NOT blowing it.

Prop firm challenges have rules. Lots of rules. Daily loss limits. Profit targets. Drawdown limits. Max consecutive losses. You break one rule, and the entire account is gone.

Most traders who get funded blow up within 3-6 months. Not because they can’t trade. Because they lose track of the rules.

Your journal is your dashboard. It keeps you inside the lines.

The Core Prop Firm Rules (And How to Track Them)

Daily Loss Limit

Most prop firms: You can’t lose more than X% in a day.

Example: FTMO has a daily loss limit of 5% on the balance. On a $100,000 account, you can’t lose more than $5,000 in a single day.

How to track:

• Daily balance: Log account balance at start of day
• Daily loss limit: $5,000
• Trades today: Log each trade with profit/loss
• Running total: -$1,200, -$3,400, -$4,800…
• Status: “3 losses, down $4,800, still $200 away from daily limit”

When you see “down $4,800” at the end of trading, you know you’re one bad trade away from breaking the limit. This is when you STOP TRADING.

Weekly/Monthly Loss Limit (Drawdown)

Max drawdown: You can’t be down more than X% from your starting balance.

Example: FTMO max drawdown is 10%. On a $100,000 account, you can’t go below $90,000 at any point.

How to track:

• Starting balance: $100,000
• Max allowed drawdown: $10,000
• Current balance: $95,200
• Current drawdown: $4,800
• Drawdown remaining: $5,200

This is cumulative. Even if you make the $4,800 back tomorrow, if you ever dipped to $89,500, you broke the rule today.

Profit Target

You must make X% profit to complete the challenge and get funded.

Example: FTMO phase 1 requires 10% profit. On $100,000, you need to make $10,000.

How to track:

• Target profit: $10,000
• Current profit: $4,200
• Remaining: $5,800
• Progress: 42% toward target

This is your forward-looking metric. As you profit, you see progress.

Maximum Consecutive Losses

Some firms: You can’t lose more than 5 trades in a row (or similar).

How to track:

• Last 10 trades: Win, Win, Loss, Loss, Loss, Loss, Loss, Win, Win, Loss
• Current losing streak: 1
• Max allowed streak: 5
• Status: Safe

Once you hit 5 consecutive losses, STOP TRADING that day or week (depending on the rule). Your next trade is crucial.

Position Size / Leverage Limits

Some firms cap how big your position can be.

Example: “No single trade can exceed 5% of account balance in risk.”

How to track:

• Account balance: $100,000
• Max risk per trade: $5,000
• Planned stop loss: 50 pips on EUR/USD
• Position size: $5,000 / 50 pips = 1 lot (calculated above)
• Actual risk: $5,000 (at max limit)

Some traders violate this limit by accident. They size a position, then move the stop wider than planned. Now they’re risking 6% instead of 5%. This is when things fall apart.

Tracking Template for Prop Firm Challenges

Here’s what to log daily:

Date: 2026-03-19
Firm: FTMO
Account Balance (start): $100,000
Daily Loss Limit: $5,000
Max Drawdown: $10,000 (from $100,000)
Profit Target: $10,000

Trades Today:
1. EUR/USD, +45 pips, +$450
2. GBP/USD, -30 pips, -$300
3. USD/JPY, +50 pips, +$500

Daily P&L: +$650
Account Balance (end): $100,650

Drawdown Status: Currently $100,650 (no drawdown yet)
Profit Progress: $650 of $10,000 needed (6.5%)
Daily Loss Status: +$650 (safe, nowhere near $5,000 limit)

Notes: All trades following rules, on pace.

The Critical Days: When You’re Near a Limit

Suppose it’s day 45 of an FTMO challenge. You’re profitable, but you just took 3 losses in a row. Your trades:

• Loss 1: -$1,200
• Loss 2: -$800
• Loss 3: -$600
• Running total for day: -$2,600

You still have $2,400 of daily loss limit left. You also have your 5-loss limit with 2 more losses allowed.

Your next trade is critical. This is when your journal’s tracking saves you.

Scenario A (bad): You don’t track. You take another trade hoping to “get even.” You lose. Down $3,400. You take another. Lose again. Down $4,200. One more loss and you break the daily limit. You panic, take a desperate trade. Lose. You broke the daily loss limit. Account liquidated.

Scenario B (good): You see in your journal: “Down $2,600 today, $2,400 left before daily limit hits. And that’s my 4th loss, 1 away from rule limit. I’m taking too much risk. I’m closing for the day and reviewing tomorrow.”

You protect the account. Same setup might come again tomorrow when you’re not emotional.

Tracking Cumulative Progress

Beyond daily tracking, log your cumulative progress:

Week	Starting Balance	Ending Balance	Weekly P&L	Drawdown Low	Status
1	$100,000	$101,400	+$1,400	$99,200	Safe
2	$101,400	$105,200	+$3,800	$100,100	Safe
3	$105,200	$102,600	-$2,600	$102,600	Safe
4	$102,600	$108,400	+$5,800	$102,200	Safe

At the end of week 4, you’ve made $8,400 total. You’re 84% to the $10,000 target. Never went below $100,100, so you’re safe on drawdown.

This view tells you: You’re on track. Don’t get desperate. Keep doing what you’re doing.

The Emotional Edge of Tracking

Most traders who blow up funded accounts get emotionally desperate. They’re close to the profit target, then they have a bad day and get scared.

Tracking gives you data that contradicts the fear:

Fear: “I’m going to blow this account. I’m down $2,000 this week.” Data: “But last week I made $3,800. I’m still up $1,800 overall. The rules are fine. Keep going.”

Data beats emotion.

Common Mistakes With Prop Firm Tracking

Mistake 1: Not checking your rules Different firms have different rules. FTMO is different from Funded Next is different from MyFundedFX. Log which firm and double-check the rules. Don’t assume.

Mistake 2: Losing track of drawdown Drawdown is cumulative from your highest point. If you go $100k → $95k → $98k, your drawdown isn’t $2k. It’s $2k from the $100k high, not the low.

Mistake 3: Not stopping at the limit You hit your daily loss limit. You should stop. But you think “one more small trade to get even.” That’s the rule-breaker. When the limit hits, you’re done for the day.

Mistake 4: Not planning for volatility days Some days are brutal. News events. Market gaps. Volatility spikes. On those days, tighten your stops and reduce position size. Don’t trade the same size you do on normal days.

How to Protect Your Funded Account

1. Track daily: Every morning, know your limits. Every trade, update your status.
2. Review weekly: Are you on pace? Are you hitting profit targets? Any patterns in your losses?
3. Plan for bad days: Know exactly how you’ll trade if you have a 3-loss day. (Usually: stop trading, review, come back tomorrow.)
4. Never chase: When you’re near a limit, smaller trades or no trades. Don’t get desperate.

Getting funded is the easy part. Keeping a funded account requires discipline and systems. Log your prop firm challenges in PipJournal and track all rules in one place, so you never accidentally break them.

---

Related Resources

• How to Pass FTMO Challenge – Strategy for passing the challenge
• Prop Firm Consistency Rule – Understanding consistency requirements
• Prop Firm vs Own Capital – Funded vs. personal account comparison
• Forex Money Management Rules – Critical for keeping funded accounts
• How to Keep a Trading Journal – Foundational journaling guide