Ben's Trading Journey
From Struggles to $30K Funded Account: Benâs Prop Trading Journey at Audacity Capital
Trader Snapshot
Trading Experience | 8 years |
Current Prop Firm | Audacity Capital |
Current Funding Level | $30,000Â account |
Previous Funding Levels | $7.5K, $15K |
Trading Style | Intraday |
Main Strategy | Wave Trading / Trend Following |
Timeframes Used | 4H (Analysis), 1H, 15M (Entry) |
Risk per Trade | Maximum 1% |
Daily Risk Limit | 1% |
Main Occupation | IT Specialist for an Internet Service Provider |
Long-Term Goal | Achieve Maximum Capital Allocation |
Ben's Trading Journey
Introduction & Background
- The video begins with a greeting and congratulations to Ben for hitting two targets on his Funded Trader Program account.
- Ben introduces himself as a trader with eight years of experience in the trading industry.
- He shares that his journey has been challenging with multiple struggles and setbacks.
Early Trading Experiences and Challenges
- Initially, Ben traded his own account with brokers but did not find success.
- In 2021, he joined a proprietary trading firm (prop firm) where he was paid but the firm later closed, causing mental stress.
- He then passed a challenge with another prop firm and made profits on a $1,000 account, but the firm refused to pay him, causing further frustration.
- In 2023, he stopped using prop firms and returned to trading personal small accounts, finding it difficult.
- Looking for a reputable and long-standing prop firm, Ben tried an older version of the funded trading program (called Ability One), where the targets were 10% for each stage.
- He passed the first target easily but failed the second verification stage.
- After this, he switched to the current Funded Trader Program (FTP), which took him about a year to commit to and restart slowly.
Progress with the Funded Trader Program
- Ben started with a $7,500 account, then graduated to $15,000, and now trades a $30,000 funded account.
- He emphasizes that his success is due to redefining his goals, focusing on patience rather than expecting quick profits to live a luxurious lifestyle.
- He is comfortable progressing slowly, even if it takes one or two months to reach targets.
- The gradual approach has helped him maintain mental balance and reduce pressure.
Are You Looking For Instant Funding Trading Programs?
Funded Trader ProgramInsights on Trading Psychology and Discipline
- The interviewer highlights a common issue among traders: the false expectation of getting rich quickly through trading, often fueled by social media portrayals.
- Ben acknowledges that while a single profitable trade can bring significant gains, the real challenge lies in consistency.
- Losses are an inherent part of trading, and discipline in waiting for the right setup instead of chasing the market is critical.
- Trading is not about placing trades daily but about analyzing patiently and waiting for the market to come to your setup.
- Ben relates personally, sharing how working in IT means he is often in front of the computer, which can lead to impulsive mistakes.
- Both agree that discipline is the hardest part of trading, especially when one knows where the market might go but must wait for confirmation.
Strategy Evolution and Current Trading Approach
- Ben shares that his original strategy was based on the Ichimoku bands, which worked for others but not for him.
- He spent considerable money on various courses and followed many market gurus on YouTube but struggled to find a system that helped him consistently make money.
- In 2021, he found a teacher offering a lifetime course costing $25,000, which he describes as the best teacher he has had.
- Before that, he tried Elliott Wave theory, but it did not fit his style.
- The teacherâs method, called Wave Trading, focuses on identifying market corrections (not strictly the five-wave Elliott pattern) and trading the next move after corrections.
- This method requires mastery of identifying corrections across multiple timeframes (from 4-hour to 15-minute charts) to enter trades effectively.
Wave Trading Strategy Details
- Ben uses a top-down analysis starting with the 4-hour chart, then moving to 1-hour and 15-minute charts for trade execution.
- He emphasizes the importance of cutting losses early, not waiting for full stop-loss triggers if the price moves against him.
- His stop loss is generally limited to 1% of the account per trade, which helps maintain peace of mind and risk management.
- Trades are generally intraday, with positions closed before the end of the day, aligning with the funded program rules that discourage overnight holding.
Asset Preferences and Differences Between Accounts
- Ben mostly trades major currency pairs, some yen pairs, and euro pairs on the funded program account.
- He sometimes trades gold and other assets on his personal account but adheres strictly to the funded programâs risk rules on the funded account.
- His personal account allows him to take more aggressive risks, sometimes losing up to 5% a day, whereas in the funded account he stops trading after a 1% daily loss.
- He recognizes the importance of preserving the funded account, prioritizing steady growth and risk control over quick profits.
Performance Comparison and Scalability
- Ben admits his personal account performance is less consistent, with occasional 10% losses that require recovery.
- The funded program offers scalability: for example, a 10% gain on a $7.5k funded account doubles the account size, which is a significant advantage over smaller personal accounts.
- This scalability and structured risk management are the main reasons he prefers the funded trader program for serious growth.
- He plans to increase his personal account size to $20k next year and hopes to apply similar risk discipline there.
Long-Term Plans and Full-Time Trading Ambition
- Ben currently works full-time as an IT specialist and trades on the side.
- His long-term goal is to reach the maximum allocation in the funded trader program, which he hopes to achieve by December.
- Once he attains maximum funded capital, he plans to transition to full-time trading, leaving his IT job.
- He is motivated by the dashboard that tracks tradersâ progress and wants to be the top trader with maximum allocation.
Advice for Aspiring Traders
- Ben shares valuable advice based on his eight years of experience:
- Trading takes time; it is not a quick way to make easy money.
- Patience is essentialâsuccess will not come in one month, six months, or even one year; it may take several years.
- Invest heavily in knowledge and education; quality training is crucial.
- Before trading funded accounts, start with a small real-money account (e.g., $50) rather than demo, to develop the discipline of protecting actual capital.
- The key is to avoid losing money initially; if you can keep your capital, you are on the right path to growth.
- Be patient and persistent; over time, results will come.
Closing Remarks
- The interviewer thanks Ben for sharing his journey and looks forward to a follow-up interview when Ben reaches six figures or the maximum allocation.
- Ben confirms a plan to reconnect in December when he expects to have the maximum funded allocation.
- The video ends with well wishes and encouragement for Benâs ongoing trading success.
Audacity's Prop Firm Challenge
Free Prop Firm ChallengeSummary Table: Benâs Trading Journey and Key Milestones
Year | Event/Experience | Outcome / Insight |
Pre-2021 | Trading personal accounts | Struggled with consistency and profitability |
2021 | Joined first prop firm (paid but closed) | Mental setback due to firm closure |
Post-2021 | Passed challenge at second firm ($1,000 acct) | Profitable but refused payment |
2023 | Returned to personal small accounts | Difficult, slow progress |
Early 2023 | Tried older funded program (Ability One) | Passed first target, failed verification |
2023 | Joined Funded Trader Program (FTP) | Started $7.5k, progressed to $15k and $30k accounts |
Present | Uses Wave Trading strategy | Focus on corrections, strict risk management |
Future Goal | Max allocation in funded program by December | Plan to become full-time trader and top program trader |
Key Insights and Conclusions
- Patience and discipline are fundamental for trading success, more than quick profits or high-risk strategies.
- Risk management, particularly limiting losses to 1% per trade and daily loss limits, is key to sustainability.
- The Wave Trading strategy, focusing on market corrections and top-down time frame analysis, suits Benâs trading style well and promotes consistency.
- Funded trading programs offer scalability and structure that personal accounts may lack, providing motivation and a clear growth path.
- Transitioning from personal accounts to funded accounts requires adapting risk approaches to maintain steady growth.
- Trading is a long-term journey involving ongoing education, practice, and psychological resilience.
- Real-money trading, even with a small amount, is a better training ground than demo accounts for building discipline.
Certification
Choose The Best Plan
Designed to reduce stress by removing deadlines đ Unlimited trading period for Challenge, Verification and Live stages.
1st and 2nd Steps:
You only need to trade on 4 different days. A trading day is defined as a day when at least one position is opened.
Live account:
No minimum trading days
The Daily Drawdown resets every day at midnight (MT5 server time â GMT+2 / GMT+3 depending on Daylight Saving Time).
It is calculated as 7.5% (5% for Verification and live stage) of the accountâs balance or equity at rollover, whichever is higher.
Your equity cannot fall by more than 7.5% (5% for the 2nd step and live stage) in a single trading day. Once the day resets, a new limit is set based on your updated balance or equity, following a static-based model.
Example:
Account balance at rollover: $120,000
Daily Drawdown (7.5%) â $9,000 â Equity must not fall below $111,000 that day.
If equity or the balance rises to $130,000 by the next rollover, the new daily drawdown will be $9,750 (7.5% of 130,000).
The Absolute Drawdown (Maximum Drawdown) is 15% (or 10% for the 2nd step and live stage) of the initial account balance and remains fixed throughout the challenge.
If either the daily or absolute drawdown is breached, the account will be terminated.
Example: Account balance: $120,000
Absolute Drawdown (15%) â $18,000 â The account will be closed if equity drops below $102,000.
The profit target is 10% on the Challenge stage and 5% on the Verification stage. Achieving these targets while following the rules will qualify you for a Live account
Profit sharing starts at 75%, you can reach up to 90% with consistent performances in line with our scaling plan.
Once on Live stage, traders can request withdrawals biweekly (every 14 days). After the request is approved, traders will receive the profit share in their wallet on the same day.
Once traders earn a payout, they'll be eligible for a Reward Bonus equal to the initial registration fee. This will be included with the first payout from the Ability Live.
Not anymore
You may hold trades over the weekend and trade during news events. Simply avoid opening, closing or adding to positions within 3 minutes before or after any high impact news release or speech, as that can be identified as excessive risk.
EAs are allowed if they follow our prohibited-strategy rules and are not sourced from third-party signals. Please see our prohibited trading practices here.
Copy trading is allowed between your own accounts within Audacity Capital. Copying from an external account is allowed only if the account belongs to you. Third-party copying is not permitted.
Select Program:
Select Account Size
phase 1
Max Drawdown
$750
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 15%
Daily loss: 7.5%
Profit Target
$500
Based on Balance
Target : 10%
phase 2
Max Drawdown
$500
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 10%
Daily loss: 5%
Profit Target
$250
Based on Balance
Target : 5%
live
Max Drawdown
$500
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 10%
Daily loss: 5%
Profit Target
More than 10%
Less than 10%
Challenge
Designed to reduce stress by removing deadlines đ Unlimited trading period for Challenge, Verification and Live stages.
1st and 2nd Steps:
You only need to trade on 4 different days. A trading day is defined as a day when at least one position is opened.
Live account:
No minimum trading days
The Daily Drawdown resets every day at midnight (MT5 server time â GMT+2 / GMT+3 depending on Daylight Saving Time).
It is calculated as 7.5% (5% for Verification and live stage) of the accountâs balance or equity at rollover, whichever is higher.
Your equity cannot fall by more than 7.5% (5% for the 2nd step and live stage) in a single trading day. Once the day resets, a new limit is set based on your updated balance or equity, following a static-based model.
Example:
Account balance at rollover: $120,000
Daily Drawdown (7.5%) â $9,000 â Equity must not fall below $111,000 that day.
If equity or the balance rises to $130,000 by the next rollover, the new daily drawdown will be $9,750 (7.5% of 130,000).
The Absolute Drawdown (Maximum Drawdown) is 15% (or 10% for the 2nd step and live stage) of the initial account balance and remains fixed throughout the challenge.
If either the daily or absolute drawdown is breached, the account will be terminated.
Example: Account balance: $120,000
Absolute Drawdown (15%) â $18,000 â The account will be closed if equity drops below $102,000.
The profit target is 10% on the Challenge stage and 5% on the Verification stage. Achieving these targets while following the rules will qualify you for a Live account
Profit sharing starts at 75%, you can reach up to 90% with consistent performances in line with our scaling plan.
Once on Live stage, traders can request withdrawals biweekly (every 14 days). After the request is approved, traders will receive the profit share in their wallet on the same day.
Once traders earn a payout, they'll be eligible for a Reward Bonus equal to the initial registration fee. This will be included with the first payout from the Ability Live.
Not anymore
You may hold trades over the weekend and trade during news events. Simply avoid opening, closing or adding to positions within 3 minutes before or after any high impact news release or speech, as that can be identified as excessive risk.
EAs are allowed if they follow our prohibited-strategy rules and are not sourced from third-party signals. Please see our prohibited trading practices here.
Copy trading is allowed between your own accounts within Audacity Capital. Copying from an external account is allowed only if the account belongs to you. Third-party copying is not permitted.
Select Program:
Select Account Size
phase 1
Max Drawdown
$750
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 15%
Daily loss: 7.5%
Profit Target
$500
Based on Balance
Target : 10%
phase 2
Max Drawdown
$500
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 10%
Daily loss: 5%
Profit Target
$250
Based on Balance
Target : 5%
live
Max Drawdown
$500
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 10%
Daily loss: 5%
Profit Target
More than 10%
Less than 10%
Designed to reduce stress by removing deadlines đ Unlimited trading period for Challenge, Verification and Live stages.
1st and 2nd Steps:
You only need to trade on 4 different days. A trading day is defined as a day when at least one position is opened.
Live account:
No minimum trading days
The Daily Drawdown resets every day at midnight (MT5 server time â GMT+2 / GMT+3 depending on Daylight Saving Time).
It is calculated as 7.5% (5% for Verification and live stage) of the accountâs balance or equity at rollover, whichever is higher.
Your equity cannot fall by more than 7.5% (5% for the 2nd step and live stage) in a single trading day. Once the day resets, a new limit is set based on your updated balance or equity, following a static-based model.
Example:
Account balance at rollover: $120,000
Daily Drawdown (7.5%) â $9,000 â Equity must not fall below $111,000 that day.
If equity or the balance rises to $130,000 by the next rollover, the new daily drawdown will be $9,750 (7.5% of 130,000).
The Absolute Drawdown (Maximum Drawdown) is 15% (or 10% for the 2nd step and live stage) of the initial account balance and remains fixed throughout the challenge.
If either the daily or absolute drawdown is breached, the account will be terminated.
Example: Account balance: $120,000
Absolute Drawdown (15%) â $18,000 â The account will be closed if equity drops below $102,000.
The profit target is 10% on the Challenge stage and 5% on the Verification stage. Achieving these targets while following the rules will qualify you for a Live account
Profit sharing starts at 75%, you can reach up to 90% with consistent performances in line with our scaling plan.
Once on Live stage, traders can request withdrawals biweekly (every 14 days). After the request is approved, traders will receive the profit share in their wallet on the same day.
Once traders earn a payout, they'll be eligible for a Reward Bonus equal to the initial registration fee. This will be included with the first payout from the Ability Live.
Not anymore
You may hold trades over the weekend and trade during news events. Simply avoid opening, closing or adding to positions within 3 minutes before or after any high impact news release or speech, as that can be identified as excessive risk.
EAs are allowed if they follow our prohibited-strategy rules and are not sourced from third-party signals. Please see our prohibited trading practices here.
Copy trading is allowed between your own accounts within Audacity Capital. Copying from an external account is allowed only if the account belongs to you. Third-party copying is not permitted.
Select Program:
Select Account Size
phase 1
Max Drawdown
$750
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 15%
Daily loss: 7.5%
Profit Target
$500
Based on Balance
Target : 10%
phase 2
Max Drawdown
$500
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 10%
Daily loss: 5%
Profit Target
$250
Based on Balance
Target : 5%
live
Max Drawdown
$500
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 10%
Daily loss: 5%
Profit Target
More than 10%
Less than 10%
Designed to reduce stress by removing deadlines đ Unlimited trading period for Challenge, Verification and Live stages.
1st and 2nd Steps:
You only need to trade on 4 different days. A trading day is defined as a day when at least one position is opened.
Live account:
No minimum trading days
The Daily Drawdown resets every day at midnight (MT5 server time â GMT+2 / GMT+3 depending on Daylight Saving Time).
It is calculated as 7.5% (5% for Verification and live stage) of the accountâs balance or equity at rollover, whichever is higher.
Your equity cannot fall by more than 7.5% (5% for the 2nd step and live stage) in a single trading day. Once the day resets, a new limit is set based on your updated balance or equity, following a static-based model.
Example:
Account balance at rollover: $120,000
Daily Drawdown (7.5%) â $9,000 â Equity must not fall below $111,000 that day.
If equity or the balance rises to $130,000 by the next rollover, the new daily drawdown will be $9,750 (7.5% of 130,000).
The Absolute Drawdown (Maximum Drawdown) is 15% (or 10% for the 2nd step and live stage) of the initial account balance and remains fixed throughout the challenge.
If either the daily or absolute drawdown is breached, the account will be terminated.
Example: Account balance: $120,000
Absolute Drawdown (15%) â $18,000 â The account will be closed if equity drops below $102,000.
The profit target is 10% on the Challenge stage and 5% on the Verification stage. Achieving these targets while following the rules will qualify you for a Live account
Profit sharing starts at 75%, you can reach up to 90% with consistent performances in line with our scaling plan.
Once on Live stage, traders can request withdrawals biweekly (every 14 days). After the request is approved, traders will receive the profit share in their wallet on the same day.
Once traders earn a payout, they'll be eligible for a Reward Bonus equal to the initial registration fee. This will be included with the first payout from the Ability Live.
Not anymore
You may hold trades over the weekend and trade during news events. Simply avoid opening, closing or adding to positions within 3 minutes before or after any high impact news release or speech, as that can be identified as excessive risk.
EAs are allowed if they follow our prohibited-strategy rules and are not sourced from third-party signals. Please see our prohibited trading practices here.
Copy trading is allowed between your own accounts within Audacity Capital. Copying from an external account is allowed only if the account belongs to you. Third-party copying is not permitted.
Select Program:
Select Account Size
phase 1
Max Drawdown
$750
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 15%
Daily loss: 7.5%
Profit Target
$500
Based on Balance
Target : 10%
phase 2
Max Drawdown
$500
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 10%
Daily loss: 5%
Profit Target
$250
Based on Balance
Target : 5%
live
Max Drawdown
$500
Based on Initial Balance
Total Loss 10%
Daily loss: 5%
Profit Target
More than 10%
Less than 10%
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