Following a master is a decision made in a minute and lived with for months. Most bad copies are not the result of a bad master; they are the result of a good master and a poor fit — the wrong allocation, the wrong instrument for the copier's temperament, the wrong expectation of what a normal week looks like. These ten questions catch the misfit before the first trade.
About the master
1. Has this record been through a bad month for this instrument?
Every instrument has them: a rising-real-yield episode for gold, a 20% correction for Bitcoin, a central-bank surprise for forex. A record that has not contained one has not been tested. Look at the start date and ask what the market did since. Stop if: the record is shorter than the last bad month.
2. What did the worst week cost, and could I sit through it?
The Max drawdown is the worst week or month in a number. Imagine your allocation falling by that percentage and staying there for a while. Stop if: you would stop the copy at that point — because then you would lock in the loss at the bottom, which is the one outcome worse than the drawdown itself.
3. Are the losses controlled?
In Recent Trades, are the losing trades similar in size and small relative to the account? Stop if: one loss dwarfs the others, or losers are held far longer than winners.
4. Where does the return come from?
A trend, a single instrument, one good quarter? Or steady results across months and conditions? Stop if: more than half the total return came from one month.
5. When does this master trade?
Session hours, weekends, through data or flat before it. This becomes your copy's rhythm. Stop if: the master holds through weekends or data and you know you will be alarmed by Monday-morning jumps.
About you
6. Is this money I could lose entirely without changing my life?
The only honest starting question. Stop if: the answer is anything but a plain yes.
7. Can I leave it alone for a month?
Copies judged daily get stopped on bad days and restarted on good ones — the reverse of what works. Stop if: you know you will check every hour.
8. Have I set the auto-stop, and does the dollar amount feel acceptable?
Auto Stop Drawdown % × Investment = the most you will lose before the platform steps in. Stop if: you have not set it, or the figure makes you wince.
About the fit
9. Is this master different from the ones I already follow?
Different instrument group, different usual direction, different style. Stop if: this would be your second gold master, or your third master who is usually short the dollar.
10. Would I follow this master with the standard 50% share, without a package?
A commitment package's larger share is attractive, and it locks the amount for a term. Stop if: the package is the reason you are following — the master should be the reason, and the package a bonus on a decision you would make anyway.
Two questions people forget
Two further checks are worth adding when you have time. Does the master's Minimum Balance leave room for the ratio? Following at the exact minimum with a master who runs a large account can produce mirrored sizes that round down to nothing on small trades; an allocation at least 2% of the master's account keeps every trade mirrored. And what is the settlement cadence, and do I understand what it means for my wallet? A monthly-settlement master will show a growing unsettled profit for weeks before anything is credited; that is normal, not a delay, and stopping the copy before settlement still settles what is owed — but knowing this in advance saves a support ticket.
Scoring
There is no score. Any single "stop" answer is a reason to pause and either change the allocation or choose a different master. Two "stop" answers on the master questions mean this is not the one. Two on the "about you" questions mean this is not the time.
The eleventh question
After a month: did the copy behave the way the profile said it would? Similar loss sizes, similar rhythm, similar drawdown depth. If yes, the profile was honest and you can consider adding. If no — larger losses, longer holds, a drawdown beyond the history — the master has changed something, and that is the moment to review, calmly, on a day when nothing dramatic happened.
Five questions about the master, three about you, two about the fit. One honest "stop" is enough to pause. The profile answers the first five; only you can answer the rest.
This article is education, not investment advice. Trading and copy trading in leveraged instruments carry a high risk of losing the funds you allocate. Read the Risk Disclosure.