One Prop Trader a Day - Marco Narciso: I Trade the Night, Not the Noise

Quick intro – who are you, and what do you trade?

Hi, I am Marco. I am 32 years old, from Lisbon, Portugal. Most of the time I focus on trading XAU/USD (Gold) and BTC/USD.

When did you become a funded trader? What changed for you at that point?

I became a funded trader in 2025. The biggest shift was a change in my targets and my overall sense of responsibility. Managing that capital forced me to look at the market with a completely different level of seriousness.

What is the first thing you bought with trading money that felt like proof it was working?

The first thing I paid off with my profits was the money I had spent on my own education and previous trading investments over the years. Paying myself back for that initial “tuition” was an incredible feeling.

How many times did you fail before getting funded? What kept you going?

I failed many, many times. Interestingly, my issue was not an inability to make profits; I could make money right from the beginning. My failure was not making withdrawals at the right time. I kept trying to make more and more, failing to realize that what I was already doing was really good. My risk management suffered because greed would take over, and I would start giving the profits back.

What is the single most expensive lesson you have paid for?

Aside from the financial losses, the most expensive thing I lost was relationships with friends around me, for a lot of different reasons. The exact money figure is hard to pinpoint, but the emotional and social cost was definitely the highest price I paid.

What was your lowest point in trading? Did you ever consider quitting?

My lowest point came in 2025. Right after passing my first funded account, I blew it almost immediately. I seriously considered quitting. Looking back, I had sacrificed so much for this: sleepless nights, missed time with family, hours of studying, and hard-earned money. Fortunately, the people closest to me gave me the strength and support I needed to keep going.

Did trading ever affect you mentally or emotionally?

Yes, heavily. Because of the emotional toll, I started studying psychology, nutrition, and how the brain processes emotions. I even went to a doctor to explain my struggles with focus and discipline and find ways to be more consistent. It forced me to completely revamp my physical and mental well-being just to handle the screens.

What does your trading style look like today?

I primarily trade XAU/USD using VWAP, price action, and occasionally Fibonacci retracements. I use higher timeframes to determine the overall market direction, then scale down to lower timeframes to pinpoint my exact entries.

What is a typical trading day for you?

I do not have a typical trading day; it is more of a typical trading night. I usually start analyzing the markets right around the daily open at 23:00. Sometimes a valid setup appears immediately after the open, and other times I wait patiently for two to three hours. I actually prefer the Asian session; it is less volatile, but my backtesting shows it offers the cleanest entries when a market is looking to change direction. I then look to scalp during the other sessions.

Walk us through your most recent losing trade.

To be honest, I am still refining how I handle a trade going against me. Sometimes I do it well by walking away and waiting for the next day. Other times I give in to overtrading, chasing the market to recover losses with trades that make no sense. It is an emotional trap I am still actively working to overcome.

What is a popular trading rule you completely ignore, and why?

I ignore the idea that you have to trade the most volatile sessions, like London or New York, to be successful. The quieter Asian session gives me the control and structural changes I need, even if it defies the standard advice of chasing high-volume hours.

Do people around you understand what you do? How do they react?

Most people around me have no idea what I do. I actively avoid answering questions about it to shield myself from bad vibes or unsolicited advice. Trading is a risky game, and if you talk about it too much, everyone tries to give you their opinion. I prefer to keep my head down.

How has trading impacted your lifestyle?

It completely changed how I look at life, money, and the world, because of how much I have had to study outside of just charts. On the flip side, it has heavily impacted my time and my personal relationships, due to the unconventional hours and dedication required.

What separates you from someone who washed out at their third evaluation?

Nothing separates us inherently. It is all a process. You will continue to fail, but the goal is to slowly reduce the frequency of those failures. My advice to anyone struggling is: do not judge yourself. Stay calm, and remember that a 1% gain is always better than nothing. Treat your account like a real business; most real companies do not make more than a 15% profit margin a year.

What advice would you give yourself one year ago?

Go slower. Be consistent, be patient, and respect the process. The results will come naturally if you stop rushing.

If prop firms disappeared tomorrow, would you still be trading? Doing what?

Yes, absolutely. I would open a personal live account, like I have done in the past, and continue navigating the markets on my own capital.

If I gave you a $1,000,000 funded account today, what would you do in the first 7 days?

I would do exactly what I am trying to do now: risk a strict 0.5% per trade, hunt for high risk-to-reward setups, and focus entirely on keeping my emotions consistent and steady.