You’re prepared to take on a prop company challenge and demonstrate your ability to handle significant cash. Doesn’t that seem exciting? These evaluations aren’t meant to be simple so let’s face it. Before giving you a funded account, the firms want to make sure you have patience, risk management skills, and a strategy that works.
Additionally, MetaTrader 5 (MT5) gives you access to a strong platform. However, having a fantastic platform by itself won’t help you overcome the challenge; you also need a well-thought-out strategy and a few creative tricks.
In order to pass your prop company evaluation without blowing up your account, let’s look at some useful MT5 trading tips.
Get Your Trading Plan Dialed In (and Stick to It!)
When you see a setup that looks like the one, it’s tempting to just jump in and go for it. But that’s exactly how traders fail these challenges. Prop firms aren’t looking for a gambler; they want a trader who follows a plan and respects risk.
Before you even open MT5, you should know:
Your trading strategy: Are you scalping, day trading, or swing trading? Stick to what you know best.
Your risk per trade: Most prop firms allow a daily drawdown of around 5%, so risking 1% or less per trade is smart.
Your max drawdown limit: Stay well below this—once you breach it, you’re done.
Your entry and exit rules: Define these before taking a trade, not in the heat of the moment.
A good plan eliminates impulsive trading and helps you stay disciplined—two key things prop firms prefer to see.
Master MT5’s Built-In Risk Management Tools
MT5 trading platform isn’t just a charting platform but it’s packed with risk management tools that can save your account if used properly. Here are a few features you need to be using:
Stop Loss and Take Profit Orders
Never trade without them. Seriously. Set your stop loss based on market structure, not emotions. Place your take profit at realistic levels based on past price action, support/resistance, or ATR (Average True Range).
Trailing Stops
An excellent method of locking in earnings while allowing your transaction to grow. Once your trade is profitable, set a trailing stop so you may follow the trend without having to manually alter it.
Position Sizing Calculator
Although MT5 lacks a built-in position sizing tool, you can use free indicators and scripts to determine your lot size based on risk percentage. Use a calculator instead of speculating; knowing how much you’re risking on each trade helps you avoid that dreaded maximum drawdown.
Trade Like a Sniper, Not a Machine Gunner
One of the biggest reasons traders fail prop firm evaluations? Overtrading.
I get it—once you hit a loss, you want to make it back. But revenge trading is a one-way ticket to blowing your challenge.
Instead, think like a sniper:
Wait for high-probability setups. Just because you’re at your screen doesn’t mean you have to trade.
Stick to 2–3 solid trades per day. Quality over quantity.
Follow your plan, even after a loss. A single loss doesn’t define your evaluation. Poor decisions do.
MT5 has a handy alert system—set price alerts on key levels so you don’t sit there staring at charts, waiting for trades that might never come.
Use the Right Timeframes (Hint: Higher is Better for Prop Firms)
Scalping might be fun but for passing a prop firm challenge, it’s often a risky choice. You have limited time to prove profitability and a single spread spike or slippage could wreck a tight stop loss.
Instead, consider trading higher timeframes (M15, H1, or H4).
Why?
Less noise. Higher timeframes smooth out market randomness.
Better risk-reward setups. Swing and intraday trades often have clearer trends.
Less stress. No need to stare at the screen all day.
Of course, this depends on your trading style, but lower timeframes means more trades and more risk. And with strict prop firm rules, that’s not always a good thing.
Don’t Ignore News—MT5’s Economic Calendar Can Save You.
Nothing ruins a perfectly good trade like a surprise FOMC statement or a Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) spike.
MT5 has an economic calendar built right into the platform. Use it! Before entering a trade, check if any major news events are coming up that could cause wild price swings.
Pro tip: Some prop firms ban trading during high-impact news events. Know the rules before you place a trade.
Use MT5’s Strategy Tester to Fine-Tune Your Edge
Ever wondered if your strategy is actually profitable over time? MT5’s Strategy Tester lets you backtest your approach with historical data.
You can:
- See how your strategy performs across different market conditions Â
- Analyze win rate, drawdowns, and risk-reward ratios
- Spot weaknesses in your approach before risking real money Â
- It’s like practicing before game day. If your strategy doesn’t hold up in backtests, it won’t survive a prop firm evaluation either.
