Why Plan Your 15-Day Earn2Trade Challenge?

When traders sign up for the Earn2Trade Gauntlet Mini, one of the most appealing aspects is the ability to complete the challenge in as little as 15 trading days. This accelerated timeline is ideal for traders eager to get funded quickly. However, a fast timeline doesn’t mean it’s easier—passing in 15 days requires a precise, well-executed plan with no room for errors. In this guide, we’ll walk through how to strategize your 15-day challenge step-by-step to increase your odds of success while staying compliant with Earn2Trade’s strict rules.

Understand the Evaluation Parameters

Before you begin mapping out your trading days, you need to understand the basic requirements of the Gauntlet Mini. These include:

• Minimum 15 active trading days
• Profit target based on account size (e.g., $3,000 on a $50K account)
• Trailing drawdown limits
• Daily loss limits
• No rule violations (e.g., holding trades past allowed hours)

Your 15-day plan must factor in every one of these metrics. A common mistake is focusing only on profit while ignoring the drawdown rules that could disqualify you, even on the final day.

Set Your Daily Profit Target

Divide the total profit target by 15 days to get your average daily goal. For a $50K account with a $3,000 profit target, that’s $200/day. However, you shouldn’t treat this as a hard requirement for each day. Realistically, some days will outperform while others may fall flat.

Instead, aim to front-load the challenge. If you can earn $300–$400 on the first few days, you’ll create a cushion to offset inevitable red or flat days. The key is to stay consistent without chasing oversized wins that risk breaching drawdowns.

Choose a Simple Strategy That Scales

Your strategy for a 15-day challenge should not be experimental or overly complex. The most successful traders use a repeatable setup that performs well in different market conditions. This might include:

• Breakout or breakdown patterns on high-volume futures contracts
• Opening range breakouts within the first hour of the trading day
• Fading extremes during low volatility sessions

Whatever you use, make sure it’s already tested in a simulated environment. Trying to develop or tweak a strategy while inside a live challenge is a recipe for inconsistency.

Map Your Trading Calendar

Remember, Earn2Trade only counts market-open trading days. Weekends and holidays don’t apply. Create a 3-week calendar with room for:

• 15 primary trading days
• 2–3 buffer days in case of no trades or rule violations
• 1–2 optional rest days to reset mentally

Scheduling ahead lets you pace yourself. You’ll be less likely to overtrade if you already know you have extra days in the calendar to catch up.

Time of Day: When Should You Trade?

Most futures traders find success during the U.S. session, especially between 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM EST. Volume is high, spreads are tighter, and volatility is cleaner. Choosing a consistent window allows you to focus, avoid fatigue, and journal more effectively.

Don’t trade all day just because you’re in a challenge. Identify one or two high-probability setups within your time window, take the trades, and walk away.

Risk Per Trade: Staying Within Limits

With tight trailing drawdowns, your daily and per-trade risk must be conservative. Most traders in a 15-day challenge use:

• 0.25%–0.5% risk per trade
• 1–3 trades per day max
• Fixed stop-loss on every position

Calculate your total trailing drawdown buffer before day 1, and use that as a “stop-loss for the challenge.” For example, if your trailing drawdown is $2,000, you might set a personal buffer at $1,800. This helps you stay disciplined if things go wrong.

Use Journaling for Tactical Feedback

Journaling isn’t just for self-reflection—it’s a tactical tool in a time-sensitive challenge. Use it to track:

• Daily profit/loss
• Trade setups taken
• Entry and exit times
• Emotional state during trades
• Rule compliance

You can download the Prop Firm Journal Sheets to help structure this feedback. Reviewing your data daily helps you identify problems before they sabotage your challenge.

Build an Evaluation Routine

Repetition is your friend. Traders who create a 15-day routine with fixed wake-up times, pre-market prep, and trade review sessions perform far better. Your evaluation days should mimic what you’d do as a funded trader—because that’s what Earn2Trade is looking for.

A sample day might look like:

• 6:30 AM – Wake up, check news and economic calendar
• 8:00 AM – Review journal and levels
• 9:30–11:00 AM – Active trading window
• 11:30 AM – Log trades, track metrics
• 4:00 PM – Review market structure and setups for next day

Handle Losing Days Like a Pro

No trader goes 15-for-15 with green days. You must plan for 2–3 losing days and know how to stop when things go wrong. Set a max daily loss that keeps you well under the allowed threshold. If that limit is hit, shut it down immediately and review the mistakes.

Emotion-driven trading is the number one cause of failed challenges. If you treat every loss as a learning opportunity, you’ll maintain the long-term mindset that funded traders use to stay profitable beyond the evaluation.

Don’t Try to “Win Early”

A common pitfall is trying to complete the challenge in 5 or 6 days by going all-in early. This introduces excessive risk and emotional volatility. Even if you hit the target early, you still have to trade the remaining minimum 15 days. That means you now have to protect profits while staying active, which is a difficult psychological task.

A steady climb with proper drawdown control will serve you far better than a quick spike followed by fear-driven trading.

Track Rule Compliance Daily

Earn2Trade has a strict set of challenge rules, including limits on:

• Max contracts
• Holding during news events
• Overnight positions
• Hitting drawdown thresholds

Even one violation resets your challenge. Make a habit of checking rules before and after each session. You can also use the dashboard inside your Earn2Trade portal to monitor compliance metrics in real time.

Use Your Weekly Metrics to Adjust

After the first week, you should evaluate:

• Average daily profit
• Drawdown history
• Setup accuracy
• Time spent trading

If you’re ahead of schedule, reduce risk slightly and go into capital preservation mode. If you’re behind, increase focus—not size. Too many traders respond to underperformance by swinging for home runs, which usually backfires.

Passing Is Just the Start

Finally, understand that the goal isn’t just to pass—it’s to develop a system and discipline that keeps you profitable after you’re funded. Many traders who rush through their challenge burn their funded account in the first few weeks. Your 15-day plan should resemble your post-funding routine so you’re fully prepared to manage real capital when the time comes.

The funded journey starts with the evaluation—but it doesn’t end there. Plan your days with intention, journal with honesty, and trade with discipline. The reward is more than just funding—it’s long-term trading consistency.