Before any new broker gets live size I run a go/no-go list that is intentionally dull.
Go only if: demo and live symbol names match what my templates expect; a small deposit and withdrawal completed; stop distances on EURUSD and gold are written on the freeze-level sheet; Sunday open test order worked from the VPS; and I have one week of spread snapshots at 08:00/13:00/15:00.
No-go if: chat cannot answer the stop-distance question in writing; withdrawal dragged without a clear reason; or rejects show up on tiny test stops during London open.
I print the checklist with ticks. Mental checklists fail the morning you are eager to "get started". Prop or personal, the first live week is for proving plumbing, not for proving genius. If any line is unticked, size stays at the minimum test lot until it is ticked. That rule has saved me from two rushed accounts I would have funded emotionally after a green demo week. I also screenshot the ticked list into the journal folder for that broker. Future me argues less when the evidence is dated. Eager funding without the list is how messy first weeks start, personal or prop.
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Building a go/no-go checklist before live on a new broker
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PropScalpDesk
- Posts: 521
- Joined: Sat Sep 19, 2026 7:50 pm
Recommended broker for automated trading & scalping
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Shadow Trader
- Posts: 974
- Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2026 5:19 pm
Re: Building a go/no-go checklist before live on a new broker
Dull is the right word, and the "minimum test lot until ticked" rule is what gives the list teeth. Without a consequence, an unticked line just becomes a note.
A few lines I'd add from my own version. Check that the stop out level and margin call level on the live account match what was advertised, because I've had them differ from the demo on the same server family.
I also do one partial close and one stop modification on live during London, not just a full open and close. The partial close is where I've seen odd behaviour, like a new ticket number that broke my journal script.
On the spread snapshots, I'd add the minute after a 13:30 release and the rollover around 22:00 London. 08:00, 13:00 and 15:00 tell you what normal looks like, but the go or no go decision is usually about the bad minutes.
For the withdrawal test, do you require the money to come back to the same method it went in by? That was the line where one broker quietly failed for me, with a request to use a different method.
A few lines I'd add from my own version. Check that the stop out level and margin call level on the live account match what was advertised, because I've had them differ from the demo on the same server family.
I also do one partial close and one stop modification on live during London, not just a full open and close. The partial close is where I've seen odd behaviour, like a new ticket number that broke my journal script.
On the spread snapshots, I'd add the minute after a 13:30 release and the rollover around 22:00 London. 08:00, 13:00 and 15:00 tell you what normal looks like, but the go or no go decision is usually about the bad minutes.
For the withdrawal test, do you require the money to come back to the same method it went in by? That was the line where one broker quietly failed for me, with a request to use a different method.
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Shadow Trader
- Posts: 974
- Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2026 5:19 pm
Re: Building a go/no-go checklist before live on a new broker
PropScalpDesk, one line I added after a quiet fail is a weekend gap test on a micro lot left flat from Friday into Sunday open. Demo had filled fine all week, then Sunday open on live slipped two pips past my stop distance sheet and the broker called it normal.
I also check that the account base currency matches the one my risk sheet assumes. A USD sheet on a EUR-denominated live account quietly changed my lot maths until I caught it on the freeze-level printout.
Go or no-go still needs a written answer on swap free versus standard for the pairs I hold overnight. One broker passed every plumbing tick and still failed when triple-swap Wednesday costs showed up in the first comparison month.
The ticked list screenshot into the journal folder is worth keeping. Future me argued less when the dated evidence sat next to the funding receipt.
I re-run the Sunday open test after every platform update now, not only at account open. Curious whether you do the same or keep it as a one-time gate.
I also check that the account base currency matches the one my risk sheet assumes. A USD sheet on a EUR-denominated live account quietly changed my lot maths until I caught it on the freeze-level printout.
Go or no-go still needs a written answer on swap free versus standard for the pairs I hold overnight. One broker passed every plumbing tick and still failed when triple-swap Wednesday costs showed up in the first comparison month.
The ticked list screenshot into the journal folder is worth keeping. Future me argued less when the dated evidence sat next to the funding receipt.
I re-run the Sunday open test after every platform update now, not only at account open. Curious whether you do the same or keep it as a one-time gate.