How do you know they don't have that? And for the record, TST is not claiming to "teach" anyone how to trade. They are supplying the field. You are the one that has to come and play. If they claimed they could turn you into a superstar trader then by all means, ask them for a track record.
I assume you got a free ride because of the journaling PR, but just in case somebody newbie is reading this, you can actually dip below the max. DD and as long as you close above it, you are good keep going. You won't be passing the Combine, but if you can bring the account back into the green eventually, you can qualify for a redo or reimbursement. So for anyone getting close to the max. DD, the obvious strategy is not to panic, but close the day a few bucks above it, and the next day one can try to get away from it keeping in mind that the world and the combine doesn't end if you go below the max. DD. On the other hand if you hit the daily loss limit the show is over. P.S.: If you ( or anyone) keep paying for the Combine, you should sign up right away, because the rules are changing from next Monday effectively doubling the daily average profit target.
Dear Recruit, Exciting news! We are changing our Combine structure so that moving forward, the profit target and deposit requirement for each account size will be the same, whether you are in a 10 or 20 day Combine. And, the 10 day Combine will now allow 30 calendar days to trade only 10 days. After the tenth trading day, the Combine will end and eligible Combines will be reviewed. The same format will be in place for the 20 day Combine to trade only 20 days within 60 calendar days. This change will only apply to Combines started on or after Monday, July 15, 2013. The deposit structure and profit targets have been adjusted as follows: Account Size Duration Profit Target Deposit Requirement $30,000 10 or 20 Days $1,500 $175 $50,000 10 or 20 Days $3,500 $190 $100,000 10 or 20 Days $8,500 $350 $150,000 10 or 20 Days $12,000 $400 This Combine structure should encourage you to be patient, and help you choose trading days when you are focused, and avoid days where risk outweighs reward. To quote our IDT creator, Ray Burchett, "the less you lose, the more you will make," it sounds obvious but bears repeating. Trading is a difficult but gratifying vocation for those who put in the work and withstand the rigors of becoming an elite performer. We think you'll find this Combine structure beneficial in the long run. Consistency doesn't come easy, but nothing worthwhile ever does. As renowned trading psychologist Dr. Brett Steenbarger is quoted, "Evolution occurs when we are so taxed that we must make fresh adaptive efforts. The expert is one who continually adapts to extraordinary performance demands." Trade well, The TopstepTrader team ---------------------------------------------------- So the 10 days minimum Combine changes to max. 10 days in a 30 days period. The current rules helped recruits to pass the Combines in record numbers (26 in 3 months), but apparently TST doesn't need too many funded traders, so they went back to the older and harder rules...
Yes, on your behalf. Since I love to help the challenged, I will break it down to you: 1. Current combine you can trade as many as 22 trading days in the minimum 10 days combine to achieve the profit goal. 2. New Combine you can only trade max. 10 days. As long as the profit targets are the same, the current combine has less than half of the average profit of the new combine. The math gets more complicated for the 20 days combines to compare, but take my word, the daily average is still less now then after Monday.
Actually, it looks to me like they "lowered" the profit target from 5000 to 3500. So in other words, where as before you had 3500 and 5000 for the 10 and 20 day respectively, you now have 3500 for both. The trade as many days as you want was only available through the "custom" combine, not the standard. I assume until Michael says otherwise that one can still request the custom combine where you can trade all 30 days.
Oh what the hell, I will throw in the math for the 20 days combine comparisons: "Current 30k 20 day minimum combine to be completed in 2 months: In two months there are an average of 42 trading days. The profit target is currently $2000. Therefore an average of 2000 / 42 = $47.62 per day is required New 30k 20 day limit combine to be completed in 2 months (BUT: when you reach 20 traded days the combine ends). The new profit target is $1500 Therefore an average of 1500 / 20 = $75 per day is required" Now 75 is not double of 47, but close enough. I worked for Arthur Andersen.... Let's see Mav's numbers: Sure they lowered the profit targets by 30%, but they lowered the available trading days by 55%, thus the average daily profit still went up, you figure it out by how much... Bottomline is, one should sign up right away, or take the 20 days to have a better chance...