Failing an evaluation by trading too fast, the minimum days rule that caught me

[Fairman]

Failing an evaluation by trading too fast, the minimum days rule that caught me

here's a boring failure mode. I'd hit the profit target in a few sessions and then found out I couldn't pass because there was a minimum number of trading days. So I was stuck holding a result I had to protect while forcing myself to place more trades just to tick days off.

That's a bad position to be in because the temptation is to take trades that don't meet your criteria just to count as a trading day. I did that once, took a low quality trade just to register a day, and lost a chunk of what I'd made.

What I learned is to read the rule before starting and plan around it. If there's a minimum days requirement, I treat it as a pace limit. I aim for a steady amount per day instead of racing to the target. And on days when I have no setup, I take a very small trade that fits my plan, or I just accept that the day doesn't count and move on.

Also check what counts as a trading day, because some firms need a minimum number of trades or a minimum size.

[Fairman]

A few people asked what a very small trade means for me on no setup days. I use the minimum size the firm allows, with a normal stop based on my usual rules, on a pair and time where I would normally trade anyway. The point is to register the day without putting the account at any real risk. If the firm requires a minimum size or number of trades for a day to count, I check that first so I am not wasting the effort.

[Fairman]

Something else that helped was writing out the plan for the whole evaluation before I started. Profit target, minimum days, daily limit, and then a rough number for how much I need per day if I spread it evenly over the minimum period. Seeing that the daily figure was quite small took a lot of pressure off. It also made it obvious that racing to the target in three days had no benefit at all, since I would still have to wait out the rest.