We’re looking for consistent traders, not gamblers
Although trading is often about luck, at Fintokei we are looking for traders who do not fully rely on luck. That's why we're introducing new "anti-gambling rules". Even though they won't affect 99% of honest traders, it’s still good to know them, so we'll describe them in today's article.
The most important thing we look for in traders is consistency. A consistent trader can keep making profits and manage losses within a reasonable range. Consistency is what sets professional traders apart—they know that successful trading isn’t about taking risky, gambling-like bets. These are the kinds of traders we want as our clients, and we’re ready to offer them the chance for professional collaboration.
We get that becoming a pro trader doesn’t happen overnight. That’s why we’re here to support you and our other clients with everything you need to get there. All you need is the willingness to work on your skills and trade honestly and responsibly. We’ll take care of the rest, from education to capital.
Why are we introducing anti-gambling rules?
The main reason we’re bringing in anti-gambling rules is that modern prop trading often attracts people who treat it like gambling or a lottery. They rely on luck and see our programs as a quick way to get rich. These traders will often “bet” a huge chunk of their capital on one big trade, hoping it pays off. If it does, they cash in; if not, they just try again.
To protect ourselves and our clients from this kind of risky behavior, we’ve set up what we call anti-gambling rules.
The second reason is that we have much bigger plans for our traders than just giving them a virtual capital account to trade with and maybe paying them out once or twice. We want to monetize the trading data of those who succeed, either within our own corporate prop trading or by working with third parties. Eventually, we’ll offer the best traders professional opportunities with our Portfolio Management company, allowing them to trade with real investor capital. But gamblers can’t consistently repeat their successes, so there’s no room for them in our long-term vision.
What are the anti-gambling rules?
These rules are designed to let disciplined traders trade pretty much without restriction. However, they also give us the ability to step in and restrict any behavior or activities that don’t align with what we’re looking for in Fintokei.
Among practices we perceive as gambling are these:
Excessive and unsystematic use of leverage This means opening too many highly leveraged positions without a clear strategy, hoping to score big on at least one trade. It’s more like gambling than trading with a defined plan. Generally, it’s recommended to trade between 1-3 instruments and not risk more than 1% of the account on any single trade.
Unilateral “betting” The term “betting” itself indicates we’re not talking about real trading. This technique is used by those who treat trading like roulette, ignoring market analysis and key indicators. They open the largest possible short or long positions during volatile market situations – like betting on black or white in roulette. This is far from what we consider real trading at Fintokei.
Account rolling Some traders buy multiple trading challenges, hoping to succeed in at least one. They trade aggressively, and if the account burns out, they just move on to the next one. This approach is more like hitting buttons on a slot machine than actual trading.
Completing the evaluation program with one trade (or several identical trades in one day) This often happens alongside the other undesirable practices. Some clients meet the profit target of their evaluation accounts with a single aggressive trade. Then, they make a couple more trades over the next two days with minimal volume just to meet the minimum trading day requirement. This isn’t the kind of behavior or strategy we’re looking for at Fintokei.
Read about these practices in detail in the FAQ
Even though none of the techniques mentioned above slow down our servers or affect other traders, like the banned trading techniques we recently wrote about, they still go against our trading values. We have big plans for our traders. We want to give them the chance to gradually scale their accounts, earn higher rewards, and potentially work professionally with one of our affiliated portfolio management firms. But to make this happen, they need to be able to repeat their gains and manage risks effectively.
We don’t ban gamblers’ accounts – instead, we teach them how to trade correctly, thanks to our Consistency Rules
At Fintokei, we closely monitor and evaluate each customer’s behavior and their accounts individually. We believe this personalized approach is the fairest. That’s why Fintokei still allows practices like news trading and the use of automated trading systems, which are often banned or restricted at other companies.
We also don’t believe in draconian measures like blanket bans or immediate account closures. So, if we notice repeated gambling behavior from a client, they’ll only face restrictions related to our consistency rules.
Consistency rules restrictions may include:
- requiring the mandatory use of stop loss and limiting the maximum level of risk per trade, account or day
- limiting the maximum daily profit
- limiting the maximum daily loss
- reduction of leverage
- setting a maximum daily exposure in lots
- limiting trading during news
Gambling traders will continue to be able to trade and collect profits via payouts, but under conditions that no longer allow them to trade in a risky and inconsistent manner.
Essentially, this means that we will only set these traders up in an account mode that asks them to trade the way professional traders around the world do – systematically, with clear goals and a focus on risk management and mastering the psychological side of trading.
These changes won’t affect 99% of traders
Consistency rules are becoming more common at many reputable prop trading firms. These rules help firms, including Fintokei, protect themselves from people trying to game the system. Plus, they’re designed not to affect 99% of traders at all. The prop trading industry is always evolving, and these rules are a part of that progress.
So, if you trade using a standard strategy and know terms like stop-loss, take-profit, and risk-reward ratio, you don’t have to worry about us at Fintokei putting any restrictions on you.
