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In this interview, I’m sitting down with Boris Schlossberg—BK Forex co-founder, YouTube live-trading fixture, and full-time futures scalper—to unpack how he trades prop firm capital (think Apex Trader Funding) and why he’s so effective on the shortest timeframes. Recorded on the Desire To Trade podcast, this chat matters because Boris actually trades live, daily, under real conditions; he’s one of the rare traders who shows the process, the mistakes, and the fixes in real time—gold for beginners and veterans alike.
You’ll learn a practical scalper’s playbook: why “size beats strategy,” how to quit and retreat fast after a stop, and how to use multiple (separate) accounts to reset your head and protect capital. Boris breaks down the prop progression—from evaluations to funded accounts—and explains why prop is the “true demo” with real stakes (and real learning), why dopamine control matters for scalpers, and how tight sessions (e.g., 9–11 am ET) keep you from over-trading. If you want a simple, durable edge you can start applying today, this piece distills Boris’s approach into clear rules you can actually follow.
Boris Schlossberg Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Session & Environment
Boris trades like a professional athlete—short, intense sessions with a hard stop when the edge decays. The goal is to show up sharp, extract clean opportunities, and leave before overtrading kicks in.
- Trade a fixed window (e.g., 9:00–11:00 a.m. ET); no new trades after the session ends.
- Pre-session checklist: platform connection, DOM/ladder working, news calendar checked, and daily levels marked.
- If you wake up tired or distracted, reduce the size by 50% or skip the first 30 minutes.
- One “bio break” rule: if you feel FOMO rising, step away for 3 minutes before the next decision.
- End the day immediately after two consecutive losing trades or after reaching the daily target.
Instruments & Market Selection
He focuses on instruments with tight spreads, clean order flow, and enough velocity to make scalps meaningful without massive size. Pick one or two products and know them intimately.
- Primary choices: a single FX major (e.g., EURUSD) or a liquid index future (e.g., MNQ/NQ) — not both on the same day.
- Trade only during each product’s most liquid hours; avoid dead zones.
- If the spread widens or slippage spikes, cut size in half or stand down until it normalizes.
- No “tourist trades”: never jump to a new instrument mid-session because it’s “moving.”
Risk First, Always
Boris treats risk as a fixed operating cost, not a variable suggestion. Define it, pre-commit to it, and let the P&L follow—not the other way around.
- Hard daily max loss: 1–2x your average winning day; platform-enforce it.
- Fixed dollar risk per trade (e.g., $50–$150 on micros; $150–$300 on minis); never widen a stop.
- If the first trade is a loss, reduce the size by 50% for the next two trades.
- “Red line” trigger: two losers in a row → step away for 10 minutes; three losers → stop trading for the day.
- Never add to losers—ever. Scaling happens only after partial profit, not before.
Entry Triggers (Simple, Repeatable)
He uses simple, repeatable triggers built around liquidity grabs and micro trend structure. The aim is to be early but not reckless.
- Trade only with a clear micro bias: higher highs/higher lows for longs; lower lows/lower highs for shorts.
- Entry on pullback into structure: prior VWAP band, session level, or micro support/resistance.
- Confirmation = one of: failed break (wick back inside), delta flip/absorption on the tape, or quick reclaim of VWAP.
- Don’t chase; if price runs, let it go. Next setup or nothing.
- Skip the first candle after major news; trade the second or third if the structure is clean.
Stop Placement & Sizing
Stops are mechanical and location-based, never “feel-based.” The stop defines your size, not the other way around.
- Hard stop just beyond invalidation: 0.5–0.8x the recent swing range for scalps.
- Size = fixed dollar risk ÷ stop distance; round down to the nearest lot/contract.
- Move to break-even only after the first partial at 1R; never before.
- If price pauses and prints two opposing wicks at your level, tighten by one tick/0.1 pip.
Trade Management & Exits
Management is where most scalpers bleed. Boris keeps it binary: partial, protect, and let momentum do the rest—or just get out.
- First target at +1R for 50–70% of size; stop to break-even on the remainder.
- Second target at the session level/VWAP band or the next liquidity pocket (imbalance fill).
- Time stop: if price hasn’t moved 0.5R in 3 minutes (futures) or 10 minutes (FX), scratch it.
- If the ladder/tape shows repeated absorption against you for 3 prints in a row, exit early.
- One trade, one idea: if it hits stop, do not re-enter unless structure rebuilds (new HH/HL or LL/LH).
Prop-Firm Discipline (If Applicable)
Boris treats prop accounts as “structured training with consequences.” The rules keep you alive long enough to learn.
- Trade only one evaluation at a time; park the others until you’re in rhythm.
- Daily drawdown buffer: stop at 70–80% of the firm’s limit, not the posted max.
- Phase 1 = micro contracts/mini lots only; scale after two green weeks, not after one good day.
- Never carry trades past session end; prop penalties for overnight risk aren’t worth it.
- If you hit the daily target, shut it down—consistency trumps hero days.
Psychology & Dopamine Control
His edge is 50% mechanics, 50% chemistry. The fastest way to blow up is to let dopamine run the session.
- First trade must be “small and clean”—treat it as calibration, not P&L.
- After a large win, a mandatory 5-minute reset to prevent euphoria entries.
- Use a physical ritual to break tilt: stand up, water sip, breathe 4-4-8, then reassess.
- Ban the P&L column during the trade; show only position size, stop, and targets.
- If you catch yourself narrating the market, you’re emotional—pause until the internal chatter quiets.
Tools, Charts & Levels
Keep the stack minimal; complexity kills speed. One screen is enough if your rules are crisp.
- Core chart: 1–5 minute plus DOM/tape (for futures) or Level 2/ticks (for FX).
- Anchored VWAP(s) from session open and key highs/lows; mark prior day high/low and overnight midpoint.
- Pre-draw liquidity zones where price moved quickly before; those are your targets.
- Alerts at levels so you’re not glued to the screen; react, don’t chase.
- Keep templates locked; no adding indicators mid-session.
Playbook Setup Examples (Plug-and-Trade)
He leans on a few “same-but-different” patterns, so decision time is near zero. Name them, tag them, repeat them.
- VWAP Reclaim Long: bias up, pullback into VWAP band, failed break low (wick), market order on reclaim, 1R partial, trail below last micro higher low.
- Liquidity Sweep Short: bias down, spike above prior high, immediate rejection on tape, stop 1–2 ticks above wick, target the previous micro low.
- First Pullback After Impulse: breakout candle with range > 1.5x average of last 10 bars, wait for inside bar, enter on break of inside bar in trend direction.
- Range Fade to Level: at session extremes, two rejections at the same price, enter with a tight stop beyond the wick; scratch fast if range breaks.
- News Fade (advanced): only after the spike stabilizes and VWAP is reclaimed/lost; same risk rules, half size.
Journaling & Metrics
What gets measured gets improved. Boris keeps the stats boring and brutal, so the decisions get easier.
- Tag every trade by setup name, direction, session minute, and risk multiple.
- Track hit rate and average R by setup; cut or refactor any tag with <0.2R expectancy after 50 samples.
- Weekly review: identify your “anger minutes” and “euphoria minutes”; avoid trading during those windows next week.
- Pre-market plan written in two minutes, post-market debrief in five—no exceptions.
- One improvement rule per week only; lock it in before adding another.
Size Small, Trade Often: Risk Controls That Keep You in Business
Boris Schlossberg drills one message home: tiny size preserves clarity. When your position is light, your brain stays calm enough to obey the plan, not the P&L. He’d rather take multiple clean shots with fixed risk than swing once and pray. Small size turns every trade into a routine decision, not a do-or-die moment.
Keeping the size small also lets you trade through randomness instead of getting steamrolled by it. If you start red, you simply reduce further and keep execution sharp until the read improves. Fixed dollar risk per trade, a non-negotiable daily max loss, and an immediate step-back after two losers create a runway for consistency. The paradox Boris lives by is simple: shrinking size expands longevity—and longevity is the only path to real edge.
Let Volatility Pick Your Size: Scale Down When Markets Get Wild
Boris Schlossberg treats volatility like a volume knob for risk—when the market gets louder, he turns his size down. If the average bar range doubles, he halves his contracts, so a normal stop still fits the chart. That way, he stays in the game without widening stops to fantasy levels. The market’s mood sets the throttle; Boris just follows it.
He does a quick pre-session read: if the tape is jumpy and spreads slip, he cuts size first, not after a loss. Bigger candles mean bigger stop distances, which automatically means a smaller size if you keep risk per trade fixed. On quiet days, he scales back up, but never beyond the plan. For Boris, volatility isn’t a reason to gamble—it’s the signal to respect risk and let survival compound.
Diversify by Instrument, Strategy, and Session—Not Ten Indicators
Boris Schlossberg spreads his edge across what actually matters: different instruments, different tactics, and different time windows. He’ll pair a fast index future session with a calmer FX pair later, or rotate from breakout pulls to mean-revert fades when conditions flip. The point isn’t more charts—it’s more independent repetitions, so one bad regime doesn’t nuke the week. Boris keeps indicators minimal; his “diversification” is in behavior and timing, not overlay clutter.
He also diversifies by session energy: open volatility for momentum, midday compression for fades, late-session cleanup for level-to-level scalps. If one lane goes cold, he shifts lanes rather than forcing trades where the tape is dead. Each lane gets its own rules, targets, and max-loss, so damage is ring-fenced. That’s how Boris Schlossberg stays consistent: diversify your how and when, not your indicator stack.
Mechanics Over Predictions: Simple Triggers, VWAP Reclaims, Quick Exits
Boris Schlossberg doesn’t guess; he executes. His edge is mechanical: identify a clean micro-trend, wait for a pullback to structure, and strike only when price reclaims the level. A VWAP reclaim or failed break is the green light; no reclaim, no trade. If the trigger appears late or sloppy, he passes—because missing a setup is cheaper than forcing one.
Once in, Boris manages like a surgeon: partial at +1R, stops to break even, and gets out fast if momentum stalls. No averaging down, no “it’ll come back,” just predefined exits. If three minutes pass without 0.5R progress (futures), he scratches; the market already voted. Mechanics first, predictions never—that’s how Boris Schlossberg keeps the account intact and the process repeatable.
Prop Discipline Playbook: Daily Loss Caps, Two-Loser Rule, Hard Stops
Boris Schlossberg treats prop trading like a pilot’s checklist—no improvisation once the session starts. He sets a daily loss cap well below the platform’s limit and stops trading the instant it’s hit. Two consecutive losers trigger a mandatory timeout to reset; three, and he’s done for the day, no exceptions.
Every trade has a hard stop placed at entry and never widened, which keeps him from negotiating with the market. Size is precomputed from fixed dollar risk, so emotion can’t sneak into the order ticket. If he nails the daily target early, Boris shuts it down to protect consistency over ego. The result is a rule-set that survives evaluation phases, preserves funded accounts, and keeps Boris Schlossberg focused on execution—not hope.
Boris Schlossberg’s lessons boil down to disciplined repetition: trade short, defined sessions when liquidity and continuity are highest, execute a simple playbook, and shut it down before tilt creeps in. He lives and trades most days around 9–11 a.m. New York leans into major events like CPI/NFP when they matter, and keeps the entire process public and accountable—streaming on BK Forex and social channels so the mechanics stay honest and repeatable. He’s migrated toward futures (especially with the rise of micros), not because of hype but because micro sizing makes risk modular; combine that with fixed-dollar risk and hard daily loss caps, and you get a framework that survives real markets, not just demos.
The prop-firm path is his proving ground and teaching lab: evaluations, funded accounts, and consistent withdrawals force respect for rules, not predictions. He describes prop as a genuine accelerator for retail traders precisely because consequences replace paper comfort—passing tests, protecting buffers, and treating each day like a checklist-driven flight. Add the psychology piece and it clicks: go “cold turkey” on your worst habit for a day, break the dopamine loop, and you’ll find your size decisions and exits clean up fast. That behavioral reset—plus small size, time-boxed sessions, and mechanical triggers—creates the sustainable edge behind his scalps and his coaching wins.
