I look at market structure, liquidity, imbalances and price zones I want to watch. Timing matters to me, particularly which trading session we are in. When I trade gold, I also look at the US Dollar Index and silver to see what the wider market is doing. I developed IPEM, the Interbank Precision Edge Model, around that approach. As I like to say, “They can manipulate price, but never the time.”

Finding a pattern is the starting point. I test it on historical data, review a sample of trades, look at the risk I took and revisit the results regularly. Market conditions change. I expect my method to evolve with them.

I set my risk for each pot of trading capital. I split the total amount I am prepared to commit into five equal parts. That lets me keep most of the capital away from the broker while I trade one part.

My broader target is to grow a pot to between three and ten times its starting balance. In the cycle I usually aim for at least five times the starting amount, then withdraw profits and start again. I look for trades with a potential risk-to-reward ratio of 1:5 to 1:10 and use leverage of 1:200 to 1:500.

I trade without a conventional stop-loss on each position. In my own planning, I am prepared to lose the entire pot. I count on withdrawals from earlier cycles to cover pots that I lose. If I lose three pots in a row without making a withdrawal, I stop and review what has changed.

It is an aggressive approach, suited to my experience and temperament. I would advise beginners against it.

I trade my own money in personal live accounts and run a trading education project. I have never traded with a prop firm. I understand the appeal of getting access to trading capital. For now, I like being able to set my own rules, choose my leverage and decide when to withdraw. A prop account might be a future step for me.

No. All the live account results I have shared come from trading my own money.

I think independent traders will benefit from critical thinking and specialisation. There is a lot to learn about timing and liquidity even if you follow only one or two instruments.

As AI and automation become widely available, more people will have access to the same analysis. The differences will show up in execution, discipline, a feel for the market and the ability to say, “I’m sitting this one out today.”

I see the most potential in processing information, organising data, researching historical patterns, automating routine work and developing analytical tools. I am particularly cautious about using AI to predict the next price move.

An AI system can give a convincing explanation for a conclusion that is wrong. I want to test a hypothesis against actual market data before acting on it. I think traders who learn to use these tools well will benefit, provided they take responsibility for their own decisions.

I think discretionary trading will survive, although the role will change. Charts, basic technical analysis and automated signals are becoming widely available. That makes an entry and exit price less valuable as a product on its own.

People will still pay for research, a method they understand, guidance on risk and a mentor who can explain why a decision made sense. They will value communities where they can examine actual performance records. For me, the purpose of teaching is to help someone make decisions independently. Trust is what people will ultimately pay for.

I have come to see money as a tool and a way to measure results. I used to assume that putting in more hours would automatically improve the outcome. Trading taught me that sometimes the best decision is to do nothing.

I pay more attention now to patience, the quality of a decision and whether I can repeat the process. I want to build something that can keep working beyond one good trading day. That thinking carries over to my businesses. Alongside Forex.Lab, I am developing Beauty Boost Global, an agency that builds digital infrastructure for beauty businesses. My ambitions are still big, but I am more patient and more aware of the responsibility that comes with them.

The first sign is feeling that I have to open a trade. Sometimes I catch myself looking for evidence to support an opinion I already hold, trying to win back a loss or feeling irritated by what the market is doing.

I pay attention to fatigue, poor sleep, stress and trouble concentrating. I do like a good night’s sleep! It takes discipline to pass on a trade. Sometimes the best trade of the day is the one you leave alone.

I spend the first hour after I wake up walking my dog. I run distances of up to 15 kilometres and train at least three times a week. I also teach, work on my businesses and make time for my family.

My faith in God helps me keep things in perspective. I have things I care about away from the charts. A day’s financial result should have a limited say in how I feel about myself.

It has brought me into contact with people I would otherwise never have met. I get to share what I learn and build professional relationships. Since 2022 I have also developed a public presence through Forex.Lab and forex.portugal.

Once people see you as an expert, you can start feeling pressure to produce a result for them to see. Opening a trade just to have something to post is a dangerous habit. I would like my reputation to reflect the quality of my work and how openly I discuss it over time.

Luxury cars and stacks of cash tell me very little. A promise of guaranteed profit, even €10, is a red flag for me. I am wary of handing money to people who use that kind of material to attract clients.

When I open a profile, I look first at what the person actually posts. Can I follow their market analysis? Do they explain their choice of instruments, their entries and the order in which they make decisions? I pay particular attention to what happens after they enter a position. How do they manage it while it is open? What makes them close it? I can usually get a first impression within a minute.

I like being able to test my skills against other traders. Seeing their results while the clock is running adds pressure that I do not get in quite the same way when I trade alone. I am curious about how I respond to that pressure and whether I can stick to my plan.

Seeing the rankings makes me want to put up a good result. I still want the same risk principles to govern my decisions. My usual approach is already fairly aggressive within a pot of capital I am prepared to lose, so the tournament environment feels familiar to me.

Give everyone the same starting conditions, publish clear rules and make the trading history available for review. I would look at maximum drawdown, risk per trade, consistency, trade count and whether the trader respected the limits.

Someone can make 100% on one very risky trade. To judge their skill, I would want to see how much risk it took to earn that return and whether they can keep making good decisions across a series of trades.

I would put discretionary traders, algorithmic traders and traders using AI in the same market conditions. I want to hear them explain decisions live. Why enter here? Where does the stop go? Why pass on a setup? After each round, I would want them to walk us through their mistakes. As a viewer, that would let me follow the thinking behind the leaderboard.

My limit is fairness. The challenge should test the trader’s discipline and skill. If an artificial obstacle forces someone to break their own system, it starts to feel like a casino to me.

So far in 2026, my result is roughly half my 2025 figure. I have been spending most of my time on Beauty Boost Global. My goal for the next year is to surpass my 2025 result while spending fewer hours trading.