Tradeify Crypto, a 10% Gold Day & the Trader Who Lost £150K of Life Savings | Ep. 16

Tradeify Crypto, a 10% Gold Day & the Trader Who Lost £150K of Life Savings | Ep. 16

In Episode 16 of the Pipped Off Podcast, Alex is back from the Tradify retreat in Mexico — jet-lagged, slightly tequila'd, and with a big announcement: he's now working with Tradify Crypto. Mike meanwhile has had one of his best trading days in over 18 months, moved his entire home office on a whim, and is preparing to cash out his Polish apartment and reinvest the equity. Oh, and there's a possible London move on the cards for both of them. They also get into the Jane Street manipulation scandal, what it means for crypto's legitimacy, and whether retail traders are just plankton swimming between the whales. This episode's anonymous confessions include: 🔴 Hitting a 10K month then immediately losing 3K to a crypto scam — and not being able to mentally move on 🔴 Barely leaving his room for four years to trade — profitable, but no friends and can't talk to girls 🔴 Blowing £150K of life savings on ES and NQ in three months with no job — and feeling like ending it all 🔴 Getting a 6K prop firm payout entirely by asking AI what trades to take 🔴 Making 250K a month trading but quietly investing it all in dividends, water, oil and munitions stocks 🔴 A 15-year profitable trader who lost 70% of his capital and now can't get a job after a decade and a half out of work 🔴 A college student with a 70-80% win rate and zero capital — wondering what to do next They also get into why you should never trade the late New York session, why Discord trading communities burn people out, and the Warren Buffett move Mike is quietly planning with his property cash-out. 👉 Share your own anonymous trading confession: pippedoff.com Disclaimer: The Pipped Off Podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice. Nothing in this podcast should be considered a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any financial product or strategy. Trading and investing involve significant risk, including the risk of losing all capital, and are not suitable for every person. Always do your own research and, where appropriate, consult a licensed financial professional before making any financial decisions.

Swing Trading vs Day Trading, Full‑Time Trader Dreams & When to Cash Out Property Gains | Ep. 15

In this episode of the Pipped Off trading podcast, Alex and Mike talk about the crossroads between trading, career, and real life money decisions. From shifting away from lower‑timeframe day trading into more realistic swing trading, to selling an apartment after a 400% gain, they dig into what “being a trader” actually looks like when you have a job, a family, and bills. Alex opens up about feeling like a cockney Brummie with an identity crisis – growing up between the Midlands and the Middle East – before admitting he is also at a major turning point in his trading. A new, demanding role means he can no longer stare at charts all day, so he is debating moving his gold trading to 1‑hour and 4‑hour swing setups, using limit orders and strict risk, or stepping away from active trading altogether. They discuss:🔴 Why certain jobs and trading styles are simply incompatible (you can’t be on the 1‑minute chart if your role needs 110% focus). 🔴 How to adapt from scalping to swing trading using zones, higher timeframes and smaller size instead of “fatty positions”. 🔴 The reality that even with a passed prop firm account, you may still need a primary career and can’t rely solely on trading income. The conversation widens into the full‑time trader dream vs real financial buffers. Mike explains why going full‑time when you are not yet consistently profitable is a huge risk without a sizeable cash cushion, and why so many traders end up in education/influencer roles to smooth income while they still improve their edge. Alex agrees that having all your eggs in the “trading only” basket creates unnecessary stress and can quickly lead to not being able to pay your bills after a bad run. Later, they dive into investing, liquidity and diversification:🔴 Alex has shifted from throwing all spare cash into trading to “heavily investing” instead – but now worries about being too illiquid if he lost his job. 🔴 They talk about needing some cashflow, some longer‑term investments, and not being too deep on any single side (trading, crypto, property, or markets). Mike then shares a big move on his side: actually selling his apartment. He bought it pre‑development at a very low price over a decade ago, has roughly quadrupled his investment, and now wants to lock in that 400% gain by liquidating instead of sitting on unrealised equity while the global economic outlook feels “wobbly”. He explains why he and his wife plan to sit on the cash for a while, wait to see what happens with markets, and only then decide where and what to buy next. They tie it back to trading logic: until you close the position, the profit isn’t real, and you don’t want to be forced to exit an investment just because you suddenly need cash. Alex mentions riding his crypto up 5x multiple times and back down again, and why a more holistic money strategy – cash buffer, investments, and measured risk – is essential for traders who want to survive the next crisis as well as the next bull run. If you’re a retail forex or prop firm trader juggling a career, family, and the dream of going full‑time, this episode will hit close to home. It is packed with honest discussion about swing vs day trading, funding accounts, diversification, property, crypto and long‑term financial safety – not just chart patterns. 👉 Share your own anonymous trading confession: pippedoff.com Disclaimer: The Pipped Off Podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice. Nothing in this podcast should be considered a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any financial product or strategy. Trading and investing involve significant risk, including the risk of losing all capital, and are not suitable for every person. Always do your own research and, where appropriate, consult a licensed financial professional before making any financial decisions.

Gold Scalping on 30‑Second Charts, Prop Firm Spreads & Degenerate Leverage | Ep. 14

Gold is going wild and prop firms are feeling it. In this episode of the Pipped Off trading podcast, Alex and Mike break down insane gold trading volatility, ultra‑tight prop firm spreads, and why scalping 30‑second charts with high leverage can rinse both traders and firms. They also talk about selling Mike’s apartment, trying to get a better return from property than from degenerate day trading, and how being self‑employed complicates mortgages. In this episode:👉 Property, mortgages & being a self‑employed trader – Why Mike is trying (again) to sell his apartment, equity vs renovation, and whether property is a better bet than trading. 👉 Gold leverage, blown accounts & “I’m done with trading” moments – Alex’s emotional swing from wanting to quit after a brutal gold move to being back in the markets on Monday. 👉 FTSE and gold setups: intuition vs discipline – How a 1% Asian session drop set up a clear FTSE long and why pattern recognition can make trades feel “too easy”.👉 Dopamine, addiction & lower‑timeframe trading psychology – How big wins and big losses trigger similar biological responses and keep traders stuck in a loop of “one more trade”. 👉30‑second charts on gold & blowing an account in 15 minutes – Mike’s full‑leverage experiment on a 30‑second chart, ultra‑tight spreads, and how fast things can go wrong. 👉 Prop firm risk, unrealistic spreads & metals restrictions – Why some futures props (Topstep, Apex) have limited or paused metals, and why firms must mirror real market conditions to survive. 👉 Funding Rock conditions, simulated evaluations & real execution – Alex explains why non‑existent spreads on gold are dangerous for firms and traders, and what realistic conditions should look like. If you’re a retail forex or prop firm trader who trades gold (XAUUSD), scalps lower timeframes, or is tempted by super‑tight spreads and big leverage, this episode will feel uncomfortably familiar. You’ll hear honest stories about blown funded accounts, risk management mistakes, trading psychology, and prop firm edge cases that almost no one talks about publicly. 👉 For real traders dealing with:Gold scalping and volatile metals marketsProp firm evaluations, funded accounts and payout riskDopamine, tilt and “degenerate” day trading behaviourBalancing trading with real‑life decisions like mortgages and property…this is your weekly dose of real traders, real losses, real laughs. 👉 Share your own anonymous trading confession: pippedoff.com Disclaimer: The Pipped Off Podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice. Nothing in this podcast should be considered a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any financial product or strategy. Trading and investing involve significant risk, including the risk of losing all capital, and are not suitable for every person. Always do your own research and, where appropriate, consult a licensed financial professional before making any financial decisions.

Gold Meltdown, Life Decisions & Belief Systems in Trading | Ep. 13

In Episode 13 of the Pipped Off Podcast, Alex and Mike hit record while gold and silver are in full meltdown mode – with silver down almost 16% and gold dumping 5–6% in a single brutal session. They talk through the carnage live: liquidated longs, shorts banking profits, and why this kind of volatility is both a day trader’s dream and a fast track to blowing an account if you mistime the move. Alex shares how he flipped from longs to shorts on gold, woke up to a personal-account position down $300 on a tiny 0.01 lot, and why he still thinks the whole move could retrace. Mike, looking at his beloved 11‑hour chart, sees a heavy bearish structure and calls out a key area where he expects price to retest for sells, as they debate whether this is just a pullback or the start of a bigger continuation. They break down why gold right now is a day trader’s dream:🔴Huge volatility, clean highs and lows, and reaction levels that can give 30–40 points in minutes. 🔴The temptation to scalp everything vs simply holding one well-timed position. 🔴How a single wild week can make a trading journal look horrific even if your plan is solid. The episode then shifts into something deeper: Mike’s big life decisions around trading, content, and focus. After a conversation with their friend Rich, he narrows his entire 2026 goal down to one thing – getting a prop firm payout – and ruthlessly audits everything in his life that helps or hinders that objective. That means:🔴Parking his “Mental Wealth Trader” content project for now, despite wanting to help traders with mindset and mental health. 🔴Admitting that recording self-facing content feels unnatural and drains more energy than it gives back. 🔴Deleting Twitter and all Instagram accounts from his phone except Pipped Off to avoid doom scrolling, AI FOMO, and shiny-object syndrome. Alex pushes him on why the payout matters so much, and Mike opens up about identity, imposter syndrome, and belief systems. He reflects on walking away from the corporate ladder to learn trading from scratch, the life it has already created for him even without being consistently profitable, and why he now feels compelled to prove to himself that he can make real money from the markets. They reference Tom Hougaard’s Best Loser Wins and the idea that your conscious belief (“I can be profitable”) must align with your subconscious belief (“I am a loser in the market” vs “I am a winner”). Mike talks about printing out his best and worst trades into a book, using it as daily prep to reinforce what “good” looks like, and cutting the noise so his mindset and actions finally match the trader he wants to become. If you:🔴Are watching gold or silver move 5–15% in a session and trying not to FOMO in🔴Feel pulled in 10 directions by content, social media, AI, or side projects🔴Struggle with the gap between your trading goals and your belief in yourself…this episode will feel uncomfortably relatable – and might be the nudge you need to simplify and focus. 👉 Share your own anonymous trading confession: pippedoff.comDisclaimer: The Pipped Off Podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice. Nothing in this podcast should be considered a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any financial product or strategy. Trading and investing involve significant risk, including the risk of losing all capital, and are not suitable for every person. Always do your own research and, where appropriate, consult a licensed financial professional before making any financial decisions.

Risking 5% a Trade, 12 Lots on Gold & a 40% Overnight Drawdown | Ep. 12

In Episode 12 of the Pipped Off Podcast, Alex and Mike dive straight into burnout, men’s health, and what happens when trading pressure collides with a tired body and brain. Between lethargy, caffeine, and a very honest chat about being 29 vs 41, they set the tone for a conversation about risk, discipline, and how far is too far in the prop world. Alex pulls back the curtain on a prop trader running a 100k account who is risking his entire 5% daily loss per trade, compounding aggressively and pushing 12 lots on gold – up over 70% at one point, now sitting around 55%. They break down why this kind of “all‑in” style feels incredible when you are running hot, but almost always ends with someone crying when the inevitable full daily loss finally hits. The guys then get into gold trading and trade management:🔴 Why gold can be life‑changing if you time it right – and brutal if you trade it in dead consolidations. 🔴 How Mike changed his trade management after being $200 (0.2%) away from passing a 100k challenge, only to watch a winner come all the way back.🔴 The importance of banking partials, building buffers, and not giving back entire days because of greed. Later in the episode, there is a more personal turn into neurodiversity and communication: Alex talks about being diagnosed with dyspraxia and dyslexia, how it shows up in his day‑to‑day life, and why long, rambling messages and voice notes drive him mad. Mike compares it to his own experiences at home and in trading, showing how personality and wiring affect how traders process information, risk, and community chats. Finally, they dive into another wild trader confession: an algorithm that took years to build, produced 30–40% annual returns for three years, grew to 2.5 million AUM… and then lost 40% in one night when it went haywire. Alex and Mike unpack what that means for risk management, investor responsibility, and why “set and forget” algos still need human oversight. If you have ever:🔴Risked way too much on a “perfect” setup🔴Let a near‑miss on a challenge push you into bad management🔴Tried to trade gold through consolidation🔴Or trusted an algo a bit more than you should have…this episode will feel painfully familiar and weirdly reassuring at the same time. 👉 Share your own anonymous trading confession: pippedoff.com