A recurring story on the board: a strategy that works on a personal raw account fails on a prop account. Ten threads look at why, and the reasons split into two groups, the venue and the rules. Here's both.
The venue is different
The prop spreads vs IC raw thread and the FundedNext comparison thread both argue you have to measure the firm's feed at your own pairs and hours, not trust a marketing average. The FundedNext thread logs spread medians by session, reject behaviour on stop entries and how the firm's feed behaves around the open, then builds an allowlist: if EURUSD in London is fine but metals are poor, metals come off the list.
The IC comparison thread also has a technical tangent worth knowing. TradingView charts are usually built from a single feed, often the bid, and Pine Script has no tick-by-tick access to bid and ask together, so it can't properly log the spread the way an MT5 or cTrader script can. If you want to measure a prop feed, do it inside the platform you trade on. The all-in arithmetic reply there is the reminder: 0.0 spread plus $7 round turn is still 0.7 pips.
Gold is its own case
The prop gold threads agree it doesn't transfer cleanly. On a raw account, gold M1 forgives a slightly wider stop and a second attempt after a spread spike. On prop, the daily limit makes those habits expensive. The gold sizing thread lists the breach-causing mistakes: using FX lot sizes on gold, forgetting 1 lot is usually 100 oz so a $1 move is $100 per lot, and ignoring how far spreads widen around US data and rollover.
The rules change the strategy
The "failed two challenges with a strategy that works" thread is the most useful here. The trader blamed the firms first, then realised the problem was risk: four or five losers in a row is normal at 0.5 percent on your own money, and that same streak can sit right on a daily limit on a challenge. The strategy was fine. The sizing wasn't adapted.
The "rules that break your edge" thread and the Apex clash thread list the specific rules that interfere: minimum holding times, flags on very short trades, restricted news events, and minimum trading days that encourage filler trades.
What a prop-safe version looks like
Two threads describe almost the same adjustments:
- Cut max tickets per session by about a third.
- No re-entry within five minutes of a full stop on the same idea.
- Base size set so two full stops can't end the day on their own, and three hit the limit with room left for slippage.
- A hard flatten at the daily limit by platform or script, not willpower.
- Narrower session. One thread only takes continuation trades in London's first hour and needs an A+ setup after 09:30.
The common thread across all ten: the levels and setups can stay. The size, the ticket count and the forgiveness can't.
If you've moved a working personal strategy onto a prop account, what was the single change that made the difference?
Threads this pulls from
- How prop firm spreads differ from IC Markets raw
- FundedNext: comparing firm spreads to IC Markets raw
- Why I failed two challenges with a strategy that works on IC Markets
- Can you scalp gold on prop the same way as on raw IC?
- Trading Gold on a Prop Account: Sizing, Spreads and Common Mistakes
- Drawdown recovery after a bad London open on a challenge
- Building a prop-safe version of your M1 playbook
- Prop-safe adjustments when your edge is EURUSD M1
- Prop rules that break your EURUSD edge?
- Scalping rules that clash with Apex challenge constraints
