Day 5- minor gain Day 6- exceeded daily loss limit, unattended workstation without a stop in place. Good learning experience. Requires discipline with methods and behaviors in place to adhere to constraints. Chris
If one passes the combine, are they refunded the entry fee or do they also have to pass live trader prep to meet the criteria for a refund ?
Here is a ponderable that keeps me up during stormy nights: Since there are 5 Combine categories, but Live trading starts with 1,2 or 3 contracts max, that means 2 categories are being overpaid for. The question is just, which one is it: 1. 1st and 2nd Combine gets 1 car, 3rd gets 2 cars and the 4th and 5th combines get the 3 cars. 2. The first combine gets 1, 2nd and 3rd gets 2 cars, 4th and 5th gets the 3 cars. 3. The first gets 1 car, 2nd,3rd and 4th gets 2 cars and only the 5th gets 3 cars. So many possibilities... I would probably choose the 2nd (30K) Combine, but start out with 1 contracts and scale in when there is profit for the day. But this combine still have the chance of getting only 1 car in the Live account. I would also like to point out that there is absolutely NO DIFFERENCE between the 10 lot (4th) and the 15 lot (5th) combines (namely the 15 is 1.5 times the 10 in every category) so there is no reason for one of them to exist. Except the extra money grab for TST, since the fees involved are exactly the same. I predict TST will simplify it and go down to 3 types of combines in a year. I even have the names for it: 1. El Chepo 1 contract 2. Sim Sam 3 contracts 3. High roller 5 contracts
I don't think it necessarily "means" that, actually; but I do agree with you that the $100k and $150k Combines appear expensive for what they are. I suspect that TST needs the income derived from those to cover all their administrative and other expenses. That sounds a very good approach to me. Personally, I'd try the $50k one rather than the $30k, and trade a single lot, scaling in to the occasional two-lot and three-lot (maximum) trades when I found it appropriate. I understand your reasoning, though, and I agree with it. The reality is that many people with profitable methods blow themselves out of Combines by trading too many lots for the size of Combine they're trading, when they would have done much better with more patience and time, by exercising their edge in smaller position-size, letting the profit accumulate more slowly. I suspect (but without evidence for it, admittedly) that these aspiring traders perhaps overlap with the group who look at trading as being primarily about profit-maximization rather than risk-management, and that TST is therefore well rid of them at an early stage, before funding them. To start with, yes. And I see that that's a real disadvantage to some people. Some people even have basic methods which require trading a minimum of three lots. And I suppose the answer to that is that they need to do $100k/$150k Combines in the first place - which we've agreed are "expensive". This is perfectly true. The "anomaly" (if it is actually an anomaly) arises a level lower than that, in the difference between the $50k and $100k Combines: between these two levels, the nominal starting-balance, maximum positiion-size, daily loss limit and profit target all correspond perfectly on a 2:1 ratio, while the maximum permitted drawdown doesn't. I've never understood this "anomaly". I certainly won't be surprised at all if you turn out to be right about that, too. I've never quite understood the reason for offering five different sizes of Combine: it does seem something of an "embarass de richesses"?
The strictest combine is probably the best. If you can make 10% on 10k in 10 days adhering to constraints. This combine would demonstrate to anyone funding you that likelihood of scaling up the trader is high. My 6th day wanted to hit a home run. I left to do errands but could see the price pattern was flagging around 1930. I called in to the wife (face timed) to put in a limit order at 1928. Lol.. The price spikes down to 1922 and reverses and proceeds to breakout of the flag to 1968.. Either way my "reckless" approach to it cost me the combine. Trading is a manifestation of your personality. All the faults or lack of discipline show up in your trades. I've developed systems where risk management is automatically put in place in regards to my decisions on entries. I will adapt it to ninjatrader. And implement it on another combine. Chris
The 30k combine gets 2 contracts to start in the live account. Only the 10k has 1 lot max. The 100k/150k combines are the ideal for scaling, even if you start with lower lot sizes, since they give you a much broader draw allowance to work in/out of a trade. Unfortunately they are also the most costly.
Hey guys. There is a lot of negativity towards Topstep on this thread. What exactly is the core reason behind this negativity? I still think Topstep is a great learning tool to build and enforce discipline. They pay out 80% which is a great percentage for a no deposit proposition. The recent rule changes where you no longer have to be profitable across each product only the net total matters are a superb change imo. Yes they make money of combines but they are offering a service. Yes you have to scale up slowly. What is the core reason? Is it that people don't believe it is possible to take a decent cheque from topstep? Is it that people think it's just as easy and preferable to open a $5k futures account and earn money that way. I'll cut to the chase. If people don't think it's possible to take a decent cheque then I will step and share my results here openly. I will only do it if people want to see it done, if not I wont bother. Does anyone want me to do this and share the results here? GL
No rational person, seeing TST's blog and all the funded trader videos on Youtube could seriously imagine that. I think very few people are really that naive? I think there are two primary reasons for the negativity ... 1. Many people have failed TST Combines (the pass-rate was around 20%, the last time it was independently audited, though I'd imagine it's higher now, after some of the rule-changes), and trading is typical of the kind of activity in which continual failure can generate some hostility and resentment at others' success; 2. TST's success has spawned a large number of imitators (one or two, in the past, have even copied wholesale substantial portions of TST's own website) which really are scams of various kinds, and - ironically - TST's existence, more or less creating an mini-industry with their exact type of business model, has helped therefore to create the illusion that "it's a scammy industry"; many people who don't do any due diligence or examine facts objectively have leapt to the mistaken conclusion that "if it's a scammy industry and TST are the most well-known player in it, their business must also be a scam of some kind". I think these two deeply misguided reasons also reinforce one another. I, for one, would be interested; thank you.
I concur with your reasons especially #1. If I do it I will take the largest combine and allow myself 2 resets max although I doubt I will need them. The only other variable would be what do people consider a decent cheque. The last thing I want is for the trolls to say you only banked $10k thats not real money. I would propose $50k is a decent cheque to actually get them to stfu and it be proven that you can bank a decent cheque via topstep. so I would run the account up to the $61250 account needed to bank a $50k cheque on 80% split and 1st $5k 100% split. Its not going to be time intensive for me I will likely take 1 trade per day.