After analyzing thousands of trading sessions in evaluations from FTMO, MyForexFunds, The Funded Trader, and others, these are the 5 mistakes that destroy the most accounts:

1. Trading double after a loss

The classic revenge trade. You lost $200, your brain says "I need to recover it now." So you open a position twice as large. And if that one goes against you too... well, you know how it ends.

Solution: If you've lost more than 1% in a session, close the platform. Literally. No trade justifies the emotional risk.

2. Not respecting your daily trade limit

Prop firms give you drawdown rules, but you also need your own rules. If your plan says "max 3 trades per day" and you're on trade 7... you're not following any plan.

Solution: Set a maximum number BEFORE opening the platform. Write it on a piece of paper next to your monitor.

3. Trading during garbage hours

The first 5 minutes after a macro news release are a casino. The last 30 minutes before close, too. If you're trading during those times, you're not trading — you're gambling.

Solution: Identify your 2-3 best time windows based on your history. Only trade during those windows.

4. Changing strategy every week

A profitable strategy needs at least 50-100 trades to be statistically validated. If you switch every 10 trades because "it's not working," you'll never know if it actually worked.

Solution: Pick ONE strategy. Trade it for 30 days without changing anything. Then analyze.

5. Not tracking your behavior (only your results)

You check your P&L every day but don't know how many trades per day you average, how long you hold positions, or what time of day you lose the most.

Solution: Use a tool that analyzes your behavior, not just your profits.

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If you identified with at least 3 of these, you're not a bad trader — you just need a system that protects you from yourself.

I've spent years analyzing data from traders in prop firm evaluations. The pattern is always the same:

The problem isn't strategy. It's behavior.

The data is brutal:

• The average trader places 3x more trades after a big loss

• 67% of those who fail evaluations don't violate strategy rules — they violate risk rules

• Revenge trading is responsible for 40% of blown accounts during evaluations

The most frustrating part is that most of these traders know they're doing something wrong in the moment. But the brain in "recover the loss" mode doesn't respond to logic.

The Solution Isn't More Mental Discipline

It's having a system that acts before you do. Something that detects the revenge trading pattern before you hit "buy" and tells you: "stop — you've already traded too much today."

That's exactly what we built with TradeGuard — a discipline copilot that connects to your account and automatically limits your risk.

If you're in a prop firm evaluation and want to stop being your own worst enemy, this is for you.