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The $10K Prop Firm Account Experiment
On October 1, I opened a brand-new $10,000 prop firm account.
Most people trade an account like this secretly then they come back months later with a clean equity curve and convenient memory loss about everything that went wrong in between.
I'm not doing that. I'm documenting the whole thing here, trade by trade: the setups I took, the ones I passed on, the wins, the losses, and the moments where I stare at a chart wondering why I chose this for fun.
The goal isn't to turn $10K into a Lamborghini by Friday. It's to see what happens when I trade one account, with one process, and stick to the rules.
Why a Prop Firm Account Is the Secret Weapon
A prop account isn't really $10,000 of freedom. It's $10,000 with rules attached, and breaking them ends the game.
This account cost me $99. That's it. That's my risk.
I'm not wiring $10,000 of my own money into the market and hoping I don't loose my whole savings. I paid a fee to trade the firm's capital, and if I trade well, I keep a majority cut of the profits. For a home trader, that math is hard to beat.
For beginners, it might be even better. The rules make you a better trader. It won't let you revenge trade or double down because you're sure this time. A prop account forces the discipline we need to have as good traders.
And if I blow it? I'm out $99, not my mortgage. I'd rather pay that for an education than learn the same lesson with my savings.
The account cost me: $99. That's really my only risk here.
Here's what I'm working inside of:
Profit target: $1,000
Daily loss limit: -$300
Max drawdown: -$1000
Other rules: Best day rule: 50% Max. Meaning, 2 trades cannot pass the challenge. I must show consistency over a few trading days.
So every trade has two questions on it.
Is this a good setup?
And can the account afford to be wrong here? The second question is the one that actually decides whether you keep the account.
How I'm Trading It
I'm using the Dealer Cycle framework I've been studying and teaching for years. Structure comes first. I don't take entries just because price is moving. I've also added an Apex Nadir techinique which you will come to know in this short series.
Before I take a trade, I want answers to these:
Where are we in the cycle?
Where did price accumulate, and where was the manipulation?
Where are traders likely trapped?
Has price made its pushes?
Are we near a meaningful high or low?
Do timing, EMAs and structure agree?
And the hardest one: can I wait until it actually sets up? Knowing what to do and sitting on your hands until it happens turn out to be two completely different skills. I'm better at the first one. Working on the second.
Why I'm Posting This Publicly
Charts look obvious afterward. "Clearly that was the reversal." Sure, Sherlock.
It's much less obvious in real time, when price is chopping around and your money is attached to the decision. That gap between hindsight and live execution is where most traders get stuck. Honestly, it's where I get stuck too, on some days.
So this series isn't about calling trades. It's about the decision-making behind them: what I saw, what I expected, where I got in, where I was wrong, where I got out, and what I took away from it.
Some trades will work and some won't. What I'm really watching is whether the process gets better.
Starting Point
Account opened: October 1, 2026
Starting balance: $10,000
Account type: Prop firm- Phase 1 / evaluation
Mission: Trade the plan, protect the account, document what actually happens.
No magic. No "I turned $10K into $847,000 from my phone while smoking a J." I do reserve the right to smoke that J though.
I take trades anywhere from 3pm-9pm Hawaiian time. (9PM–3AM EST, 5PM–11PM PST.) I trade between 1% and 1.5% of the account balance and taking no payouts for now, instead compounding the earnings.
Last night, I took Trade #1.
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