Trader interview. Jake's results and account history are self-reported from a 24 December 2025 Alpha Group Podcast episode. Related reading: how prop firms work, what is a prop firm, gold (XAUUSD) guide, news and overnight rules, Alpha Capital rules, Sully's trading story, Saad on systematic index trading.
Quick answer: Jake trades gold and NASDAQ on Alpha Capital. He reads the daily and 4-hour charts, then looks for entries on the 5-minute and 15-minute. He says a blown 50K account, the day before a performance fee, is what nearly made him quit. Those accounts use simulated funds. The figures below are his, not a typical result.
TL;DR: Jake is 22, from Rugby in the Midlands, and he says he trades full time. Around May 2024 he passed a 50K evaluation, ran it to about $11,000, and lost the account the day before he could request a performance fee. He says that was the moment he knew he could do it, and also the moment he nearly stopped. Since the end of July he puts his Alpha Capital performance fees at about $13,000. The host calls that roughly three months. He now trades gold and NASDAQ, with the daily and 4-hour charts setting the bias. The numbers are his and the host's. They are not typical and they are not guaranteed.
This page summarises What Years of Losing Taught This Profitable Prop Trader, a 23-minute 34-second Alpha Group Podcast interview uploaded on 24 December 2025. The video is embedded above. Figures below are what he and the host report, not an audited record.
Jake trader profile
| Detail | What the 24 December 2025 interview reports |
|---|---|
| Name | Jake |
| Age at interview | 22 |
| Based | Rugby, Midlands |
| Schedule | Full time. He says he is often on the charts from late morning |
| Started | Crypto, including bitcoin perpetual futures, with a mentor |
| Then | Gold, forex and NASDAQ for about two to three years |
| Now | Gold first, NASDAQ when gold is choppy |
| Time frames | Daily and 4-hour for bias. 5-minute to 15-minute for entries |
| Risk | He says his usual maximum is 1% |
| Example | A 100K account trade he walks through at about 2R |
| Hard lesson | Passed a 50K evaluation around May 2024, ran it to about $11,000, lost it the day before a performance fee |
| Alpha Capital figure | About $13,000 in performance fees since the end of July, in his words. Host says roughly three months |
| Allocation | He says he is at maximum allocation, and that $400,000 of a $1 million account-size goal is already in place |
| Next hope | Alpha Prime. He says "hopefully" |
Alpha Capital Evaluations and Qualified Accounts use simulated funds. Performance fees are based on eligible simulated results and are not guaranteed. Jake's numbers are interview claims.
Who is Jake?
Jake is a trader interviewed on the Alpha Group Podcast. The host introduces him as Jake from Rugby, 22, already trading full time.
He says the work started in crypto. A mentor never moved him into CFDs or forex. He put his own money into crypto, including bitcoin perpetual futures, and lost it. His line on that mistake is simple: a beginner should learn how markets behave before putting their own money in. One winning trade convinced him it was easy. Then the losses stacked up.
After crypto he spent about two to three years on gold, forex and NASDAQ. He bought a lot of prop firm evaluations and failed a lot of them. He says it finally clicked after he kept going.
Before that he did sixth form, then college around the COVID period, when teaching was thin and he had time to learn a skill. He is self-taught from that point, with the early crypto mentor as the exception. How prop firms work is the evaluation path he later describes, on simulated funds rather than a personal crypto account.
The account he lost the day before
He places this around May 2024. He passed a 50K evaluation, ran the profit to about $11,000, and lost the account one day before he could request a performance fee.
He describes it as one of the biggest moments in his trading. He knew the pass was real. He also thought about stopping, because a larger account would hurt more if the same thing happened. He says he stayed with it. Later in the episode he says he is at maximum allocation with Alpha Capital.
The host's cold open puts his Alpha Capital performance fees at about $13,000 in roughly three months. Jake says he has just hit $13,000 with Alpha Capital since the end of July. Treat both lines as interview claims. They are not an audited total, and they are not a typical result.
He also states a plan: $1 million in account size within a year, with $400,000 of that already in place. That is his goal, not a result Alpha Capital promises. Passing an evaluation does not guarantee income. A performance fee is paid on eligible simulated results, and only after the request rules are met.
He mentions Alpha Prime as a next hope, and he says "hopefully". That programme is a separate review after a Qualified Account. Read how Alpha Prime works before treating his line as a place he has already reached.
How he trades gold and NASDAQ
Asked what he trades now, he says gold and NASDAQ, and that gold is the main market. If gold looks choppy, he switches to NASDAQ, and the other way around. On the platform, NASDAQ is often listed as NAS100.
The process is price action. He takes a small amount of fundamentals, then does the work on the chart. Bias comes from the daily and the 4-hour. Entries are a break of structure, or what he calls a sentiment change, on the 5-minute to 15-minute.
He used to run a lot of indicators. His first mentor paired trend lines with RSI divergence, and he says that did not give him much. Dropping that for market structure made the chart readable. He says keeping it simple is what made execution easier.
On a 100K account he walks through a gold trade. He got on late morning, saw a spike from the London session, then a market that could not break the highs and was not showing much strength. He looks between about 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., the window he ties to the New York open. The example ran to about 2R. He mentions price reaching about 3,718.
If gold is the market you actually trade, read the gold (XAUUSD) guide before you copy his session. Saad's interview is a different index process: a backtested 5-minute system, not Jake's higher-time-frame bias.
Risk, and what he does in a drawdown
Asked if he risks 1% or 2%, he says his usual maximum is 1%. He does not give a fixed rule for moving the stop.
If the week has already started with losses and he is about 2% down, he is more likely to protect an open trade once it goes green. If the account is in profit, he gives the trade more room. The decision follows the account, not a slogan.
He tries to stay out of news. A trade opened earlier in the day can still be open when CPI hits, and he uses 1:30 as the example. Holding through it can give back the day's profit and can also break a rule, which puts the performance fee at risk. He says you still have to read what the market is doing.
The rule set he is talking about is here: Alpha Capital news and overnight rules and the evaluation rules explainer. His 1% cap is his own limit, not an Alpha Capital rule.
What a day looks like
He trades full time, so the day is loose on purpose. He says he often gets up around 10:00 a.m., eats, then opens the charts. If a setup is there, he takes it. If it is not, he leaves the platform and does something else. He talks about that as the freedom he wanted from trading.
He does not describe a journal in this episode. The filter he does describe is the higher-time-frame bias, the 1% cap, and the choice to skip the session. Sully's interview is the opposite emphasis: long manual backtests before he trusted a session. Jake's version in this episode is simpler, and it still came after years of failed evaluations.
What to copy, and what not to
Copy the sequence.
- Daily and 4-hour bias before a 5-minute entry
- One or two markets, gold or NASDAQ, not a new chart every hour
- A written maximum risk. His is 1%
- A tighter stop decision when the week is already red
- News left alone when a rule or an open profit is on the line
Do not copy $13,000, maximum allocation, or a $1 million account target. Those are his words and the host's. Alpha Capital accounts use simulated funds. Performance fees are performance-based.
Compare the evaluations here: Alpha Capital plans.
More first-hand interviews: Alpha Capital trader interviews.
FAQs
Who is Jake?
Jake is a 22-year-old trader from Rugby, interviewed on the Alpha Group Podcast. He says he trades full time, mainly gold and NASDAQ, with Alpha Capital.
Did Jake lose an account the day before a performance fee?
He says yes. Around May 2024 he passed a 50K evaluation, ran it to about $11,000 in profit, and lost the account the day before he could request a performance fee.
How much has Jake taken in Alpha Capital performance fees?
He says about $13,000 since the end of July. The host says roughly three months. That is an interview claim, not an audited figure.
What time frames does he use?
The daily and 4-hour charts set the bias. Entries are on the 5-minute to 15-minute, off a break of structure or a change in sentiment.
How much does he risk?
He says his usual maximum is 1%. On the 100K example in the episode, the trade was about 2R.
Does he trade news?
He tries not to. He uses CPI at 1:30 as the case where an open trade can clash with both the profit and the rules.
Should you leave a job because he trades full time?
No. He built the full-time day after years of failed evaluations. This interview is one trader's account, not a case for quitting work.
Watch more trader interviews
Browse the Alpha Capital interview library. Related episodes: Sully on supply and demand and 200K followers, Saad on systematic index trading and backtesting, and KayzFX on leaving one-minute charts.
Explore Alpha Capital Evaluation programmes. Evaluations and Qualified Accounts use simulated funds in a simulated trading environment. Compare objectives, drawdown limits, and market access before you buy.
Author: Alpha Capital Research Team · Reviewed by: Content and Compliance · Article published: 30 September 2026 · Interview published: 24 December 2025 on the Alpha Group Podcast · Related: Gold (XAUUSD) · Trader interviews · Evaluations
This article summarises a public interview. Jake's history and the host's performance-fee figure are self-reported. They are not typical or guaranteed. Alpha Capital Evaluations and Qualified Accounts use simulated funds. Performance fees are based on eligible simulated results. Simulated results do not reflect live trading outcomes. This is general information, not investment advice.
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Evaluations and Qualified Accounts use simulated funds. Performance fees depend on eligible simulated results and are not guaranteed.
