Prop Firm Challenge Guide
An educational guide to reviewing proprietary trading firm evaluation structures with Hanzo AI. It summarizes selected rule examples and explains how to configure Phantom Desk simulations before considering any paid third-party evaluation.
What this page covers
- The exact rules and parameters of FTMO, MyForexFunds, E8 Funding, and The Funded Trader
- How to configure Phantom Desk to simulate prop firm challenge conditions
- A 30-day paper-study schedule for reviewing evaluation-rule examples
- The biggest mistakes that cause challenge failures — and how to avoid them
What Is a Prop Firm Challenge?
A proprietary trading firm (prop firm) publishes an evaluation structure with account assumptions, simulated rules, and possible profit or drawdown fields. Terms, funding, and eligibility vary by provider and may change; review the provider's current official documents.
Phantom Desk Prop Firm Challenge Mode provides a paper simulation of selected rule fields. It does not represent a funded account, guarantee a pass, or establish that a particular target or limit is appropriate.
Major Prop Firm Rules Comparison
| Firm | Profit target (Phase 1) | Daily loss limit | Overall drawdown | Min. trading days | Max account size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTMO | 10% | 5% (daily equity) | 10% (trailing) | 10 days | $200,000 |
| MyForexFunds | 8% | 5% (daily equity) | 12% (static) | 5 days | $200,000 |
| E8 Funding | 8% | 5% (daily equity) | 8% (static) | None | $250,000 |
| The Funded Trader (Standard) | 10% | 5% (daily balance) | 10% (trailing) | None | $400,000 |
| The Funded Trader (Royal) | 8% | 4% (daily equity) | 8% (trailing) | None | $400,000 |
Setting Up Phantom Desk for Prop Firm Mode
- Open Phantom Desk and select Prop Firm Challenge Mode
Navigate to Phantom Desk → Challenge Mode and choose an available profile for paper study. Provider availability and names can change.
- Configure the account field
Enter a hypothetical account value for the simulation. The displayed calculations depend on this assumption and do not represent funded capital.
- Verify the current rules
Compare pre-loaded fields with the provider's current official documents. Do not assume an older profile is exact or current.
- Set study parameters
Enter user-defined simulation parameters and labels without treating any percentage, trade count, or session filter as a recommendation.
- Connect to AI Pre-Trade Validator rules
The validator compares hypothetical submissions with the selected simulation fields and displays rule context. It can be wrong and does not approve a real submission.
- Run a paper simulation before any paid evaluation
Use a retrospective or hypothetical study to compare rule structures and document violations. A simulation cannot guarantee eligibility, a pass, or avoided fees.
Risk Strategy for Prop Challenges
A prop-firm simulation should be distinguished from a personal account because its configured rules and provider terms may differ. Use the table to compare fields retrospectively, not to optimize for a pass or prescribe exposure.
| Parameter | Illustrative personal account field | Illustrative evaluation field |
|---|---|---|
| Exposure per scenario | User-defined | Provider-dependent |
| Submissions per day | User-defined | Provider-dependent |
| Study selection | Documented examples | Documented examples |
| Study windows | User-defined | Provider-dependent |
| Consecutive loss field | Optional | Provider-dependent |
| Session result field | Historical record | Provider-dependent |
30-Day Hanzo Challenge Workflow
Most Common Challenge Failures
- Revenge trading after a loss — one bad trade leads to 3 more impulsive trades that blow the daily limit
- Trading outside kill zones — lower-quality setups during low-liquidity sessions produce inconsistent results
- Overtrading a winning streak — taking 6 trades on a good day when 3 would have achieved the same result with less drawdown risk
- Ignoring the daily loss limit approach — the firm's daily limit is 5%, and you're already down 3% at 14:00 — the right move is to stop, not to try to 'make it back'
- Position sizing errors — forgetting to recalculate lot size as account equity changes (Phantom Desk handles this automatically)
- Trading news events without a plan — major news releases (NFP, FOMC, CPI) create volatility spikes that can hit stops even on winning setups
Frequently asked questions
Does Hanzo AI have rules pre-loaded for all prop firms?
Hanzo's Phantom Desk includes pre-configured rules for FTMO, MyForexFunds, E8 Funding, and The Funded Trader (Standard and Royal models). For other firms or custom challenge rules, you can manually configure all parameters: profit target %, daily loss limit %, overall drawdown %, and minimum trading days. Custom configurations can be saved as named profiles.
What is the difference between trailing and static drawdown?
Static drawdown means the maximum loss is calculated from your starting balance — always the same floor. Under a provider-rule example with a 10% trailing drawdown, a $100K start has an initial $90K floor; if equity reaches $108K, the floor becomes $108K × 0.90 = $97,200. That floor has risen by $7,200 from the initial floor, leaving $10,800 of room below the peak. Actual provider formulas vary and must be verified; Phantom Desk can compare the configured rules.
How does Hanzo's Kill Zone filter support prop firm simulations?
The Kill Zone filter can restrict simulated submissions to configured study windows. This supports consistent paper-practice rules without claiming that a particular time window improves live outcomes or satisfies any third-party evaluation.
Can I practice for multiple firms simultaneously?
Yes. Phantom Desk supports multiple saved challenge profiles. You can run parallel simulations — one under FTMO rules, one under E8 — to compare how different rule structures affect your trading style before deciding which firm to purchase a challenge from.