My Real Prop Firm 100K
Challenge Journal

I'm doing a real $100K FundingPips two-step evaluation, trading only XAUUSD Gold, and I'm logging every single trade here, the good ones and the bad ones. No highlight reel, no "look at my wins" nonsense. This is the actual journal: real dates, real entries and exits, real P&L. If you want to see what a real challenge attempt actually looks like (messy, honest, full of both), this is it.

🏆 Update: Phase 1 (8% profit target) is cleared, using only the Box Indicator setup, no other tools. Not typical results, not a guarantee. Full trade log below.

My Strategy: The Box Breakout Setup

Here's the actual setup, no vague hand-waving. The Box Indicator builds a box automatically during the first hour of the session. From there, I only take two kinds of trades:

• If a candle closes above the box, that's my buy signal. Stop-loss goes just below the box.
• If a candle closes below the box, that's my sell signal. Stop-loss goes just above the box.

That's it. No indicators stacked on indicators, no guessing. If price doesn't cleanly close outside the box, I don't trade that day, full stop. This is the exact indicator behind every single trade in the journal below.

See the Setup & Real Weekly P&L 📦

What Is a Prop Firm 100K Challenge?

A prop (proprietary) trading firm lets you trade with their capital instead of your own. You prove you can trade within their risk rules during a paid evaluation, and if you pass, you get access to a real funded account and keep a cut of what you make, no need to personally fund a $100K account to trade one.

FundingPips (and prop firms like it) let you trade a simulated $100,000 account. It's a Two-Step Evaluation: Phase 1 needs an 8% profit target ($8,000), then Phase 2 needs a smaller 5% profit target ($5,000). Clear both without breaking the risk rules, and you move on to a funded account. I'm currently in Phase 1, so that $8K number is just this stage's target, not a separate thing from the $100K challenge.

I only trade XAUUSD (Gold) in this challenge, same as everywhere else on this site. One pair, full focus.

If some of the terms in this journal are new to you, our free Learn To Trade game covers the basics in a 19-lesson curriculum before you ever risk real money.

The Actual Rules I'm Trading Under

These aren't guidelines. Break any of these and the account is over. Here's what I'm actually held to on a FundingPips 2-Step Standard $100K account:

The daily loss limit is the one that actually keeps me disciplined day to day. It resets every day off whichever is higher, my starting balance or equity, so a good day can't be undone by one reckless trade the next. The overall 10% max loss is the hard floor: touch it and the account is done, no second chances. That's why the stop-loss on every single trade in the log below is non-negotiable.

What Happens After I Pass Phase 2?

Clear Phase 2 and FundingPips runs a KYC (identity) check before issuing what they call the Master Account, the real funded account. Before you can trade it, you pick one payout cycle, and that choice is locked in permanently. This is "the split" people mean when they talk about prop firm profit splits:

In plain terms: FundingPips takes a bigger cut the more often you cash out, and you keep more by cashing out less often. Your first reward request opens up 7 days after your first executed trade on the Master Account. There's also a scaling path where the account can grow over time as you post successful payouts, but exact terms shift, so I'd always check FundingPips directly for the current numbers rather than trust a screenshot from months ago.

Where Things Stand Right Now

You can also watch this update live. The homepage has a full calendar with every trade, updated as it happens: see the live 100K Challenge tracker.

The Journal: Day by Day

Every trade so far. XAUUSD, 0.5 lot unless noted, all times Toronto.

Day 14: The One That Stung

Day 14 is worth calling out: a BUY at 4093.88 that ran straight into my stop-loss at 4072.87 for -$1,053.00, my biggest loss of the challenge so far. No excuses: the setup looked fine going in, the market just didn't cooperate. That's trading. What matters is the stop-loss was set before I entered and I didn't move it when the trade went against me. The loss stayed exactly what I planned it to be, not bigger. That discipline is the actual skill here, not avoiding losses altogether. You can't.

What I'm Actually Watching Each Day

Every entry in this journal comes from the same routine: the Box Indicator automatically builds the Box during the first hour and lines up the levels I actually trade off, so I'm not manually redrawing boxes and flipping between charts every day. But the indicator doesn't pick the trades for me. It just gives me the same clean view, every single day, so I can make the call myself. See the exact entry/stop-loss rules and our real weekly P&L from this setup here.

Update: Stuck in KYC (Name/Address Mismatch)

Phase 1 is cleared, but the account isn't through to Phase 2 yet. FundingPips flagged my KYC documents: my government ID doesn't carry a last name, and the given name doesn't match cleanly across my ID and address proof. I've run into this exact issue before with other verifications. I've raised it with FundingPips support, they've escalated it to their KYC team, and I'm told to expect an email within 24 hours. I'll update this post as soon as I hear back.

🎉 Update: KYC is approved! Took a few back-and-forth emails with support and a retry, but it went through. My passport lists a placeholder in place of a last name, which made the automatic match a little messy, I've since emailed FundingPips to get my profile cleaned up. Onward to Phase 2.

🚀 Update: Phase 2 is live. New profit target is 5% ($5,000), fresh drawdown counter, 3 minimum trading days again. Same rules, same Box Indicator setup. New trades start showing up in the table below.

Today's Friday, the last trading day of the week, and I'm skipping it on purpose. I'd already put together 4 straight profitable days heading in, and rather than force a trade on a brand-new Phase 2 account just to "start," I'd rather begin the real Phase 2 tracking clean on Monday. No rule requires this, it's just my own mindset: don't rush a fresh account into a random mid-week start.

First real Phase 2 trade, day 25 overall: a SELL at 4370.28, stopped out at 4390.92 for -$1,034.50. Straight loss, no partial exit, no story to spin. Same rule as day 14: the stop was set before I entered and I let it do its job instead of moving it.

Day 26, and a second straight red one: a BUY at 4420.48, stopped out at 4404.99 for -$777.00. Two losses to open Phase 2, -$1,811.50 combined against the $5,000 target. Not the start I wanted, but the risk on both trades stayed exactly where I planned it, nothing blew past a stop. That's still the only thing I actually control day to day.

Day 27: a SELL at 4330.66, stopped out at 4351.41 for -$1,040.00. Third straight red day.

Day four of Phase 2, and three trades instead of one. The Box setup trade, day 29, was a SELL at 4512.81 closed at 4494.93 for +$891.50, my first win of Phase 2 and exactly what the setup is supposed to give. The other two were mine to own: day 28, a SELL at 4511.52 stopped out for -$104.00, and day 30, a SELL at 4496.05 I triggered by mistake and closed straight away for -$26.00. Net for the day: +$761.50. Good day on the board, but two of those three entries were overtrading, not strategy.

Three days in a row of losses going into this one was genuinely scary, and I was very scared going into today's trade too. I ran the exact same strategy, same format I always use, and it worked, a real win. But I still exited early, straight out of panic from three straight red days, not because the setup told me to. I'm being honest: even after winning, I don't feel good. The win doesn't erase three days of doubt in one trade. I think I'll only really relax once tomorrow, and next week, close in profit too, that's what will actually get my confidence back.

Day five, and I have to be honest about this one. Box gave the correct TP level on that first trade, the indicator worked exactly like it's supposed to. The mistake was mine, not the tool's: after three straight losing days I was trying to force a recovery, and I overtraded, 4 trades in one session instead of sticking to my usual one trade a day. A BUY at 4527.42 for -$725.50, then a BUY at 4513.84 for +$892.00, then a BUY at 4531.95 for -$439.50, then a BUY at 4535.22 for -$89.00. Net for the day: -$362.00. Worth saying plainly: Box gave a real, clean +$892 win right in the middle of that session, the tool kept working the whole time, overtrading was on me, not it. I lost control of the plan for a while there before I stopped myself. This isn't the strategy, this was me trying to dig out of a hole and making it worse. I'm logging all 4 trades exactly as they happened, this is the real record, mistakes and all.

One real takeaway from this stretch: I normally keep a 10-12 point stop-loss. Today it got hit and price went on to reach TP right after, that happens sometimes, it's just the market, not a setup problem. What actually caused the loss was the multiple entries, overtrading on top of a normal stop-out is what did the damage, not the SL distance.

Zooming out: that's the first full week of Phase 2 done, and I'm sitting about $2,452 down. A hard week, no way around it, made harder by day five's overtrading. Still in it, still trying to get back to trading the actual plan, one trade a day.

New week, and a green one to open it. Day 35: a BUY at 4634.77, closed at 4649.70 for +$744.00. One setup, held it 21 minutes, let it run properly instead of grabbing at it, exactly the thing I couldn't do last week. Then a small follow-up, day 36, a BUY at 4652.53 closed at 4653.62 for +$52.00, taken off quickly rather than pushing my luck for a second time in a day. Session total: +$796.00.

That brings Phase 2 back to about -$1,656 against the $5,000 target, six trading days in. Still red overall, and one good day doesn't undo the previous week. But it's the first day in a while where I followed the plan instead of fighting it, and after last week's overtrading that matters more to me right now than the dollar figure.

Day 37, and a second green day back to back: a BUY at 4670.44, closed at 4690.35 for +$993.00, my biggest win of Phase 2 so far. Held it 44 minutes and took it off basically at my target (TP was 4690.88). One trade, then done for the day. No second entry to "make more", which is exactly the habit that cost me last week.

Where that leaves things: Phase 2 is at about -$663 against the $5,000 target after seven trading days. A week ago I was down $2,452. Still in the red and still a long way from the target, so I'm not calling anything yet, but two disciplined days in a row have clawed back most of a very bad week. One trade a day, take the setup the Box gives me, leave the rest alone. That's the whole plan.

Day 38, and a third green day in a row: one SELL on 0.5 lots for +$683.50. That's the trade that pushed the account back over the line, Phase 2 is now +$20.50 overall. Eight trading days ago this was -$2,452. It is barely above break-even and $5,000 is still a long way off, but going from a week that scared me to back in the black without a single forced entry is the part I actually care about.

Thursday and Friday: not trading, on purpose. Last week I overtraded trying to force a recovery and it cost me real money. I have only just clawed that back and got the account green again, and the fastest way to hand it straight back would be to chase two more sessions on momentum. So I am stopping here for the week. I want to sit down, go through my numbers properly and get my calculations right, then start clean on Monday with one setup a day.

Sitting out is a decision too, and it's the one I got wrong last week. Logging these two days in the tracker as a deliberate skip rather than leaving them blank, because choosing not to trade is part of the record.

Monday, and the break paid for itself. First trade back: a SELL at 4425.34, closed at 4404.38 twelve minutes later for +$1,045.50, my biggest win of Phase 2. One setup, one entry, then done for the day. No second trade to "press the advantage", which is exactly the reflex that cost me two weeks ago.

That puts Phase 2 at +$1,066, or 21% of the $5,000 target, across nine trading days. Two weeks ago this account was -$2,452 and I was genuinely rattled. The thing that turned it wasn't a better setup, it was doing less: one trade a day, and stopping when the week got away from me instead of trying to force it back.

Tuesday, day 40: a SELL at 4442.81 held about five hours and closed at 4432.30 for +$523.00. I took it off before my target at 4422 rather than carrying it further, so a smaller win than it could have been, but banked and done. One entry.

Wednesday, day 41: a SELL at 4323.57, closed at 4307.40 in roughly an hour and forty for +$806.00, near enough my TP at 4303.

I want to be careful how I read that. The setup hasn't changed at all, it's the same Box entries I was taking during the bad week. What changed is that I stopped taking the second, third and fourth trade of the day. Three good days doesn't make me right, and I've been up before and given it back. But the discipline is the variable I can actually control, and right now it's the one that's working.

Day 42: The Streak Ends

Thursday broke the run. A SELL at 4382.04, price went straight the other way and took my stop at 4402.45 for -$1,052.00, my biggest single loss of Phase 2. Same setup that won me the previous three days. This time the market didn't agree, and that's the part nobody can coach away.

What matters to me is what I didn't do. I didn't add a second entry to average it. I didn't move the stop when it got close. I didn't open something else afterwards to win it back before the day ended. One trade, took the loss, closed the platform. Two weeks ago an identical red day turned into four trades and a -$2,452 week, so this is the actual test of whether anything changed, and it's the first one I've passed.

Day 43: NFP Went Straight Through My Stop

Friday cost me -$1,996.00, the worst day of the entire challenge, and only about half of it was the trade being wrong.

I had a BUY at 4480.35 carried into Friday morning with the stop set at 4459. Non-Farm Payrolls printed at 8:30am and gold moved fast enough that my stop never got filled at my price. It closed me out at 4440.48 instead, 18.52 points past where the stop was sitting. A normal stop-out at 4459 would have cost roughly $1,070. The slippage on the news took about another $926 on top of that.

That is not a Box problem and it is not really a discipline problem either, it is a liquidity problem. When a release like NFP hits, the price you asked for and the price you get are two different things. The lesson is upstream of the stop: don't hold a position into a first-Friday NFP release, because the risk you think you've capped isn't actually capped.

Day 44: Back to One Clean Trade

Monday: a SELL at 4414.95, closed at 4394.86 nineteen minutes later for +$1,002.00, right on my target of 4394. In and out. No attempt to win Friday back in a single oversized trade, which two weeks ago is exactly what I would have done.

Why I'm Publishing This

Most "look at my trading results" content online is cherry-picked: screenshots of the wins, none of the losses, no real dates you could ever verify. I'd rather show the whole thing, messy parts included. If day 14's -$1,053 makes you trust day 15's +$985.50 a little more, that's the whole point of publishing both.

This post updates as the challenge continues. Check back, or follow along live on the YouTube channel.

FAQ

What is a prop firm 100K challenge?
A prop firm 100K challenge lets you trade a simulated $100,000 account. Hit the profit target without breaking the risk rules, and you move on to a funded account backed by the firm's real capital.

What are the FundingPips 2-Step Standard rules?
Phase 1 needs an 8% profit target ($8,000), Phase 2 needs a 5% profit target ($5,000). Both phases share a 5% max daily loss and a 10% max overall loss, with a minimum of 3 trading days per phase and no time limit.

What's the difference between Phase 1 and Phase 2?
Phase 1's profit target (8%) is higher than Phase 2's (5%), but the daily and overall loss limits are the same in both. Phase 2 also starts with a fresh drawdown counter, Phase 1's doesn't carry over.

What happens if I break the max daily loss rule?
The account fails immediately. That's why the stop-loss on every trade in this journal is set before entry and never moved once the trade is live.

What happens after I pass Phase 2?
FundingPips runs a KYC check and issues a Master (funded) Account. Before trading it, you pick one permanent payout cycle: Weekly (60% split), Bi-Weekly (80%), Monthly (100%), or On-Demand (90%, needs a 35% consistency score and 2% minimum profit). The first reward request opens 7 days after your first trade on the Master Account.

What is my trading strategy?
The Box Indicator automatically builds a box during the first hour of the session. Candle closes above the box = buy signal, stop-loss just below. Candle closes below the box = sell signal, stop-loss just above. If price doesn't cleanly close outside the box, I don't trade that day.

Is this trading journal financial advice?
No. It's a personal, honest record of a real evaluation account for entertainment and educational purposes only, not financial advice, and not representative of typical results.

See you in the next update. 📈🥇