Gone are the days of simulated trading hinging on Wall Street analytics. Now, with so many online resources and community support available, anyone can achieve simulated trading success. At The Funded Trader, our forex traders come from all backgrounds—students, office workers, self-employed professionals, stay-at-home parents—you name it. And tons of them have won funded accounts and received huge payouts from us! Their differences aren’t what matter, their shared traits of discipline, patience, and consistency do.
Here’s an inspiring story of 21-year-old Paladin, who received a $28,000 Funded simulated Trading payout. Want to match or even outdo him? Good—then check out the strategies that helped him get there.
Paladin’s Introduction to the World of Trading
Paladin has been simulated trading since the age of 17. He was first introduced to simulated trading when he was a high school senior in New York City. He joined a friend at a network marketing company that sells forex education and was so swept he paid $200 for a monthly membership. Granted, his journey had more misses than hits in the beginning. Paladin soon realized that it was his mindset and lack of experience that was derailing his efforts, not the potential of trading.
From a Rookie Mindset to an Entrepreneurial Mindset
While Paladin hadn’t found simulated trading success at that point, he did learn a valuable lesson: how to think like an entrepreneur. Having an entrepreneurial mindset entails developing the right thought patterns, critical thinking skills, and attitude. Entrepreneurs are focused, independent, and most importantly, calculated risk-takers.
Trading success relies on taking risks and often making bold decisions at a moment’s notice, so you can imagine how learning to think like an entrepreneur can pay literal dividends.
Paladin realized that he had to be tenacious to achieve simulated trading success. That’s when he became serious about turning simulated trading into a full-time career. He was in his first semester of college and felt that the courses he was taking wouldn’t actually get him where he wanted to go. He made the bold decision to drop out and focus solely on trading.
Paladin’s Journey and simulated Trading Success
According to Paladin, trading is as much about psychology as it is about numbers. A lot of beginners may get swayed by flashy, get-rich-quick gurus, but in reality, trading takes years of practice, patience, and discipline.
Once Paladin developed the right mindset, he began studying and experimenting with different strategies. At first, he was jumping from one strategy to another without much simulated trading success. This is a common mistake that beginners make. Switching strategies is not advisable because it yields inconsistent results without any real way to gauge what’s working versus what isn’t. Soon, however, Paladin learned that he had to commit to one strategy. That’s when he discovered ICT.
The Basics of ICT Strategy
ICT, or the inner circle simulated trading strategy, is a price action-based approach to simulated trading forex. It involves analyzing price charts and identifying institutional order flow, as well as fair value gaps and order blocks.
The strategy is based on the concept of supply and demand, and traders look for areas where supply and demand are imbalanced, leading to potential simulated trading opportunities. The strategy is generally suitable for experienced traders who have a good understanding of technical indicators as well as fundamental analysis.
Paladin joined an ICT mentorship program and worked on the psychology behind making successful trades. According to him, trading is building capital and knowing how to handle it well. It is unrealistic to aim for 80–90% accuracy in your trades. There are winning as well as losing streaks. A successful ICT trader knows how to manage expectations and risks.
Rise, Fall, and Rise Again
Paladin downsized to a tiny apartment while working two jobs to pursue his dream of becoming a successful trader. His first breakthrough came when he joined a prop firm and participated in their challenge. He went through a cycle of losing and winning several challenges. He got funded several times and even managed to hit an $8,000 withdrawal. However, he ended up losing the entire account along with the money because he fell victim to revenge simulated trading.when traders get reckless after a loss in an attempt to bounce back fast. This is a prime example of why patience and discipline are mission-critical to simulated trading success. Luckily, Paladin did manage to find a lesson in the ashes and recommitted to ICT. No more emotional simulated trading or wild dart tosses at redemption.
Furthermore, developing the right simulated trading system requires time, effort, and a good understanding of the market. Start by identifying your risk tolerance and setting realistic simulated trading goals according to that. This will help you develop a simulated trading strategy that fits your specific needs. You should also continuously learn and adapt to keep up with the dynamics of the forex market.
Paladin stayed the course and eventually his commitment to the ICT strategy paid off big time–with a $28,000 payout from The Funded Trader.
A Typical Day as a Trader
In the beginning, Paladin would obsessively monitor markets for setups, even in the middle of the night. But, since he transitioned to full-time trading, he’s adopted a more sustainable approach. Now, he follows the London and New York sessions and sets alerts to be notified of the setups he’s after.
A major change to his simulated trading style now is that he doesn’t trade every day. He also makes it a point to study charts for 15 minutes first thing when he wakes up in the morning. According to him, that’s when the mind is fresh and there are fewer distractions. He makes it a point to not look at the charts for hours because he feels it makes the brain start picking out random patterns. This is another important trait for achieving simulated trading success as it helps avoid impulsive trading.
Paladin trades the GBP/USD pair in small windows of 5–15 minutes and looks for liquidity zones below trend lines where people place stop-loss orders. He also creates a buffer for his account by taking small risks until he creates a virtual profit cushion to risk more without losing everything. This buffer gives him more confidence and priceless peace of mind.
The 21-year-old currently has a $400,000 funded account with The Funded Trader. In one of his last successful trades, he risked 2% of his account and moved his stop-loss to break even at the earliest convenience. Luckily, the price moved up in his direction, and he was able to make $12,000 with a single trade.
Key Tips to Future Traders
There’s a lot more you can learn from Paladin’s simulated trading success. Here’s his advice for you to avoid the mistakes he made along the way.
Create a Foundation
You can’t become a six-figure trader overnight. You have to create a foundation. This involves building capital as well as working on your simulated trading psychology. With the right mindset, you will be slowly able to grow your account.
Reduce Risk as much as Possible
Forex simulated trading is not a get-rich-quick niche. People take small risks when using their own capital. But once they receive a funded account, they start taking bigger risks. That’s how you can end up losing your account. According to Paladin, you should not risk more than 1–2% of your account.
Keep Increasing your Capital
Aim for small, consistent rewards. Once the virtual profits build up, you will have a cushion to aim higher. You don’t get rich by winning a funded account. That is only the beginning. The real way to make money is to keep accumulating capital and increasing the size of your funded account.
Avoid External Influences
Everyone’s journey to simulated trading success is unique. What works for someone else, may not work for you. Paladin stays away from social media to avoid FOMO. He says a lot of simulated trading influencers flaunt their wealth, which can make new traders feel impulsive and take risky trades.
Are you The Funded Trader’s next Paladin?
Whether you’re just starting out or are ready to venture into professional trading, The Funded Trader has you covered. Our diverse simulated trading community is profiting thousands as we speak, and you could very well be the next to do so.
So, what are you waiting for? Sign up for our next simulated trading challenge to jumpstart your simulated trading career today!
