John's Trading Journey
From Losses to $480K Funded Trader : Real Success Story
Trader Snapshot
Current Account Size | $480,000 USD |
Trading Strategy | Contrarian, aggressive; focuses on volume and institutional sentiment |
Preferred Currency Pairs | GBP/USD, EUR/USD |
Risk Management | Uses mental stop losses and manual management based on support/resistance levels rather than automatic stop losses |
Trading Psychology | Disciplined; leverages background in NLP and military experience to manage emotions |
Progression Timeframe | Reached maximum account size in 14 months with AudaCity Capital |
Core Advice | Prioritize screen time to recognize market patterns and understand pullbacks |
John's Trading Journey
Summary
John Paulette, an experienced trader featured on Audacity Capital's YouTube channel, has recently achieved the significant milestone of reaching the 10% profit target, allowing him to manage a funded account of $480,000. Despite only seriously committing to trading within the last two years, Johnâs journey highlights a rapid progression through the companyâs account scaling program, demonstrating both skill and discipline.
Background and Trading Journey
- John initially started trading around 2016 but experienced multiple account blowouts.
- He took a break from trading until early 2022, when he re-committed with focused study and joined Audacity Capitalâs funded trader program 14 months ago.
- His background includes electrical engineering and sales, alongside expertise as a master practitioner of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), hypnosis, and timeline therapy.
- John credits his goal-oriented mindset and mental discipline, honed through NLP and military experience, as key factors in his trading success.
Trading Strategy and Approach
- Johnâs current strategy is primarily contrarian, focusing on market sentiment and volume data sourced from IG via DailyFX.
- He concentrates mainly on major US Dollar currency pairs (e.g., GBP/USD and EUR/USD).
- He monitors the ratio of long vs. short positions, often shorting when a large majority (around 80%) are long, anticipating an institutional reversal.
- His trade entries typically involve confirmation across multiple timeframes (weekly, daily, 4-hour) trending downward, followed by a pullback on the 15-minute chart to support levels.
- John rarely trades long, preferring short positions due to perceived faster and more aggressive price moves.
- He does not use traditional stop losses but instead manages risk by manually exiting trades when price breaches key resistance or support levels.
- He consistently applies take profit orders to lock in gains and avoid whipsaw losses.
Risk Management and Psychology
- John practices strict mental discipline and self-accountability, avoiding overtrading and emotional decisions.
- He emphasizes the importance of stepping away from the screens when frustrated or after mistakes, reinforcing a healthy psychological approach.
- His experience with NLP and military discipline aids in managing the psychological pressures of trading larger accounts.
- Johnâs trading style favors quick entries and exits rather than prolonged market exposure, aligning with his preference for capturing moves efficiently.
Notable Trading Experiences
- He recounted a significant loss of approximately $17,000 on a funded account due to a sudden market event (UK mini-budget announcement) while trading remotely on holiday. Despite this, he views such events as rare "one-in-a-million" occurrences.
- The loss did not alter his strategy regarding stop losses, as subsequent price action allowed recovery and profits through take profits.
- He stressed that the market always offers new opportunities, encouraging patience and discipline over forcing trades.
Program Experience and Challenges
- John praised the Audacity Capital program for its realistic challenges, especially the 10% profit target in 30 days, which he finds stressful for many traders and prone to causing overtrading.
- He values the programâs live account environment from day one, emphasizing the importance of trading real conditions rather than demo accounts.
- John highlighted the frustration of being shut down on Fridays due to risk management policies limiting weekend exposure but understands the rationale behind them to protect overall company capital.
- He appreciates the flexibility of the program allowing weekend requests to maintain positions but acknowledges the limitations are necessary.
Start Your Funded Trading Journey
Funded Trader ProgramAdvice for Traders
- Screen time and market observation are crucial for developing pattern recognition and understanding market behavior.
- Beginners and struggling traders should avoid rushing into trades and instead focus on learning market dynamics, especially identifying pullbacks and trend changes.
- John advocates trading after news events to benefit from volatility but recognizes the risks involved.
- He stresses the value of patience, discipline, and not chasing losses or trades outside of one's strategy or comfort zone.
Key Quantitative Data
Metric | Value |
|---|---|
Current funded account size | $480,000 |
Profit target | 10% in 30 days |
Average daily profit on $480k | ~$1,600 |
Trading experience (focused) | ~2 years |
Time on Audacity Capital program | 14 months |
Biggest recent loss (funded) | ~$17,000 |
Join the Free Prop Firm Trading Competition
Join the CompetitionKey Insights
- Rapid advancement in funded account levels is possible with discipline, proper strategy, and psychological resilience.
- Contrarian sentiment trading combined with multi-timeframe analysis can be effective in currency markets.
- Avoiding stop losses can work if coupled with manual risk management and strict mental stops.
- Trading psychology and the ability to step away from the market are critical for long-term success.
- Overly aggressive profit targets in short timeframes can lead to overtrading and stress; a balanced approach is preferable.
- Real funded account trading provides necessary experience different from demo environments.
John Pauletteâs story serves as a valuable example of how commitment, structured learning, and psychological discipline can enable traders to successfully scale up to managing significant capital within a relatively short timeframe.
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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