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On this episode of the Words of Rizdom podcast, host Riz sits down with Rahat—an unapologetically straight-shooting prop-firm trader who clawed his way from countless blown accounts to consistent payouts. He trades GBP pairs around the London open, keeps risk simple, and treats prop challenges like an ROI machine rather than a trophy case. If you’ve ever wrestled with over-trading, revenge clicks, or the hype cycles around SMC and micro stops, Rahat’s story will feel uncomfortably familiar—and very useful.
In this breakdown, you’ll learn exactly how he structures one-to-two trades a day, why he favors 1R–2R targets over lottery-ticket R: R, and how “get the refund first” turns funded accounts into a numbers game. We’ll unpack his London session timing, static RR rules, journaling habits, drawdown recovery mindset, and the way he scales aggression only after stacking payouts. If you’re a beginner or a stuck intermediate, you’ll walk away with clear, repeatable mechanics you can test tomorrow—minus the fluff and guru theatrics.
Rahat Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Core Thesis: Simple Mechanics, Not Market Prophecy
Here’s the spine of Rahat’s approach: keep mechanics fixed and repeatable so you don’t burn decision-making energy guessing the future. He hunts for a small, high-quality set of conditions and executes them the same way every day. The goal is a process that survives mood swings, prop-firm rules, and market noise.
- Trade a maximum of 1–2 quality setups per session.
- Use a prewritten checklist; if any item fails, the trade is skipped—no debate.
- Define RR (risk: reward) in advance (most days 1R–2R) and never “let it ride.”
- Accept small winners and small losers as the cost of consistency.
Market & Session: GBP Focus Around London Open
Rahat concentrates where liquidity is cleanest for him—GBP pairs around the London session—because that’s when moves are most reliable. This time-boxing reduces FOMO and limits random midday churn. If you can’t be consistently present at this window, you don’t take the system live.
- Primary watchlist: GBPUSD and GBPAUD; secondary only if spread/vol is acceptable.
- Active window: 07:00–10:30 London time; no new entries after the window.
- If ADR is already > 90% by your start time, halve size or skip trend-continuation plays.
- Spread cap: do not enter if spread > 20% of stop size.
Set up Structure: One Look, Same Every Day
He uses a top-down quick scan to align bias, then a single execution timeframe to act. The big picture keeps you from trading into obvious traffic; the execution chart keeps you fast. No indicator soup—just price, session levels, and one or two context tools.
- HTF bias: 4H swing direction + nearest HTF zone identified pre-session.
- Mark session levels: prior day high/low, Asia high/low, London open.
- Only trade with HTF bias OR a clean reversal at a marked HTF level—never mid-range.
- One execution TF (e.g., M5 or M15). Switching TFs mid-setup is a no-trade.
Triggers: Let Price Confirm, Then Commit
Entries rely on price committing through a line in the sand—not on pre-emptive guessing. The idea is to replace “feel” with simple confirmations you can screenshot and journal.
- Break-and-retest or sweep-and-reclaim of a pre-marked level; no blind limit orders.
- Candle close confirmation; wicks alone don’t count.
- If the trigger bar is > 1.5× your planned stop, skip—structure is too stretched.
- Only one re-entry attempt per idea per session.
Risk Per Trade: Keep It Boring
He sizes risk so one or two losses don’t wreck the day or the challenge. That means fixed % risk and pre-defined daily stops. If the plan says “done,” you’re done.
- Default risk: 0.25%–0.5% per trade on funded capital; 0.5%–1.0% on small personal.
- Daily loss limit: 1R–1.5R; hit it and stop trading for the day.
- If the first trade hits full TP, reduce the risk on any second trade to half.
- No widening stops—ever. If the structure is invalid, exit.
Stop & Target Placement: Static First, Trail Later
Targets are modest and consistent, which keeps payout curves smooth and drawdowns shallow. The edge is frequency and repeatability, not outsized R multipliers.
- Initial stop goes beyond the invalidation level (last swing + buffer of spread).
- Default TP at 1R; stretch to 1.5R–2R only if HTF is trending and ADR not extended.
- Move to breakeven only after a clean structure shift in your favor (e.g., HH/HL or LL/LH).
- No partials before 0.8R; partials kill expectancy if taken too early.
News & Volatility Filters: Respect the Calendar
He doesn’t try to “game” red-folder events; he avoids getting chopped by spreads or slippage. Knowing when not to trade is part of the edge.
- No fresh entries within 15 minutes before/after tier-1 news (CPI, NFP, rate decisions).
- If an open trade exists pre-news and hasn’t cleared 0.8R, close it; protect capital.
- Post-news, wait for one full candle to settle on the execution timeframe before re-assessing.
- If VIX (or FX vol proxy) is abnormally high, cut size by 50%.
Prop-Firm Operating Rules: Refund First, Then Scale
Rahat treats challenges and funded accounts like a numbers game. The first mission is to secure the fee refund and create house money; only then does he press size responsibly.
- Challenge phase: cap daily DD to 0.6–0.8% to avoid rule violations.
- Withdraw first payout quickly; label it “refund” in your ledger and reset risk.
- No compounding until two consecutive payouts; then increase risk by 25% only.
- During the funded phase, stop trading for the day after the first payout-sized winner.
Trade Management: Minimal Interference
Once in, he lets the plan work. Constant tinkering usually converts good ideas into average outcomes. Keep your hands off unless predefined conditions fire.
- No micro-managing before price reaches 0.8R.
- Trail only via structure (swing-by-swing) in trending days; otherwise, keep static TP.
- If price stalls at a pre-marked HTF level for two full execution candles, exit market.
- If price snaps back to entry after reaching 1R without a structure shift, take half off.
Psychology & Process: Reduce Decisions, Reduce Errors
Discipline is easier when decisions are removed in advance. Scripts, checklists, and time-boxing are how he keeps emotions out of the driver’s seat.
- Pre-session checklist read aloud; if you can’t recite it, you can’t trade.
- Fixed start/stop times; no “one more look” after the session end.
- After any rule break, the next session runs at 50% risk until five clean sessions.
- “No trade” is logged as a win if the rule saved you from a loss.
Journaling: Evidence Over Ego
Rahat journals like a technician: screenshots, numbers, and short notes—no novels. The goal is to find what’s repeatable and cut the rest.
- Save four images per trade: HTF bias, pre-entry, entry candle close, and exit.
- Tag each trade: trend-continuation (TC) or reversal (RV); session; news proximity.
- Track expectancy separately for TC vs. RV; drop the weaker class for a month if < 0.2R.
- Weekly review: identify the single biggest rule you broke and write a one-line fix.
Scaling Plan: Earn the Right to Press
Size increases are scheduled, not emotional. He grows risk only after proof of consistency and within strict drawdown guardrails.
- Requirement to scale: 6–8% net over 30 calendar days with a max 3% peak-to-trough DD.
- When requirements hit, raise risk by 0.1–0.25% per trade, never more.
- If equity drops 3R from the high-water mark, revert to prior size immediately.
- Add a second pair (e.g., EURGBP) only after three months of stable outcomes on the primary.
Your One-Page Daily Plan (Print This)
This is the boiled-down routine Rahat would run on autopilot. Follow it line by line and ignore everything else.
- 30 minutes pre-session: mark prior H/L, Asia H/L, HTF level, and London open.
- Choose bias (with trend or HTF reversal). If unclear, you don’t trade.
- Set alert at trigger level; entry only on candle close confirmation.
- Risk set, stop placed, TP placed before clicking buy/sell.
- Manage per rules: no adjustments until 0.8R; structure-based trail only.
- End of window: flat or leave only if already > 1R and trailed; otherwise, close.
- Journal screenshots and tags; write one sentence on what to repeat tomorrow.
Common Mistakes to Avoid (He Learned These the Hard Way)
These are the traps he cut to turn a choppy equity curve into steady payouts. Skip them and you skip months of pain.
- Trading outside the session window “because the chart looks good.”
- Taking counter-trend stabs in the middle of the range.
- Moving stops to “avoid getting wicked” instead of accepting planned risk.
- Chasing higher R multiples on slow days; stick to 1R–2R unless trend is clean.
Implementation Checklist for Tomorrow
If you want this to stick, turn it into a repeatable ritual before the bell. Keep it physical—paper or a simple template—so it’s hard to ignore.
- Pre-print the daily checklist and tick it with a pen before each trade.
- Pre-load your levels and alerts; no drawing lines during the heat of the moment.
- Cap yourself to two tickets per day; log any extra clicks as rule breaks.
- Weekly: remove the lowest-performing setup or pair and double down on the top one.
Size Risk First: Fixed Percent, Daily Max, No Exceptions
Rahat starts every session by locking in risk before he even thinks about entries. He uses a fixed percentage per trade so that a losing streak can’t snowball into account damage. The daily max drawdown is treated like a hard circuit breaker—hit it, and the platform gets closed. This keeps Rahat consistent on choppy days when “just one more” would normally wreck discipline.
He also predefines what happens after a win or a loss, removing mid-trade emotion. If the first trade hits the target, he halves the risk on any second attempt to protect the day. If volatility spikes or spreads widen, Rahat automatically cuts size rather than chasing the same R with bigger stops. No averaging down, no moving stops farther—risk is set once, and the only override is to flatten, not to hope.
Trade the Volatility You’re Paid For, Not the Drama
Rahat filters pairs and setups by realized volatility, not by how “exciting” the chart looks. He compares the current ATR/ADR to his stop distance so each trade has a fair chance to breathe. If the day’s range is already spent, he either halves the size or passes entirely. This keeps him aligned with moves that can actually pay his 1R–2R target.
He also adapts risk within a narrow band based on volatility regimes rather than gut feel. On quiet days, Rahat keeps stops tight and accepts smaller targets; on explosive days, he widens stops slightly but never chases outsized R multiples. Spread-to-stop ratio must be favorable, or the trade is dead on arrival. The result is fewer impulse trades and more positions taken only when volatility can realistically carry the idea.
Diversify by Underlying, Strategy, and Duration to Smooth Equity
Rahat doesn’t rely on a single flavor of trade to carry the month. He mixes underlyings (GBPUSD primary, a rotational secondary), combines continuation and reversal plays, and varies hold time between quick session takes and occasional structure trails. This blend reduces the chance that one market quirk or regime shift nukes the whole week. When one bucket cools off, another usually pays the bills.
He also sizes each bucket so no single idea dominates the variance. If continuation setups are firing, Rahat still caps their allocation and keeps a small slot for clean reversals at HTF levels. Duration is treated the same way: most wins are quick 1R–2R, but he leaves room for a rare trend day with a structure-based trail. The point isn’t to trade more—it’s to let multiple, uncorrelated edges share the workload.
Mechanics Over Predictions: One Setup, One Trigger, Same Execution
Rahat doesn’t try to outsmart the market with big calls—he out-processes it. He runs the same setup every day, marks the same levels before the bell, and waits for the same confirmation. If his trigger doesn’t print, Rahat logs a no-trade and keeps his powder dry. Consistency in the prep makes the execution almost automatic.
When the signal hits, he executes without tweaking rules mid-flight. One entry, one stop, one target—no adding, no “gut” overrides, no time-frame hopping to justify a late click. If structure changes, Rahat exits and records exactly which checklist item failed. The edge isn’t prediction; it’s repeating a clean mechanical routine until the probabilities pay out.
Choose Defined or Undefined Risk, Then Enforce Process Discipline
Rahat decides the risk style before the session starts—defined or undefined—and then sticks to the rules that come with that choice. If he’s running defined risk, everything is pre-set: fixed stop, fixed take-profit, and no management until price reaches a structure milestone. If he’s running undefined risk (rare for him), the plan requires strict structure-based exits and smaller initial size, because “hope management” is not a strategy. The point is clarity: one rule-set per day, so there’s zero wiggle room mid-trade.
He also pairs the risk style with a matching behavior checklist. Defined risk days mean no widening stops, no scaling in, and no target changes after entry. Undefined risk days require immediate exit on structure break, mandatory reduction after any add, and a hard session cutoff to avoid drift. Rahat’s name is attached to the result, so he refuses to let a “maybe” turn into a rule break—process first, outcomes second.
Rahat’s playbook is proof that consistency beats cleverness. He sizes risk first, caps the daily damage, and only takes trades when price action meets his prewritten rules. London session, GBP focus, clean levels—he keeps the playground small so decisions are simple. Targets are modest (1R–2R), stops are final, and he never widens risk to save a bad idea. Volatility is a filter, not a thrill ride: if ADR is spent or spreads are bloated, he passes without regret.
He treats prop challenges like a math problem—refund first, then scale—while journaling every step with screenshots and tags to make improvements obvious. Mechanics over forecasts, one trigger per setup, no mid-flight tinkering; if structure changes, he’s out and onto the next day. Diversification is practical, not sprawling: a couple of GBP pairs, continuation and reversal buckets, and the occasional structure trail when conditions justify it. News gets respect, psychology gets scripts and checklists, and scaling only happens after a month of clean stats. Put simply: Rahat shows that a tight routine, enforced by rules you actually follow, is the edge most traders are missing.
