I understand and I agree. But a guy who made 5-5 pts for 4 days and lost 1-1 pt for 6 days is still showing very good consistency, passed the profit goal of 10 ES per car but still failed the win%.... I assume a trader like that is automaticly rejected, but he should be looked at and considered. It is just a different style, but that doesn't mean it is inferior.... Now if you guys reject a guy with 1-2 big wins and the rest is loss, that is understandable. (although that still could be a profitable strategy) My point is, there should be less strict rules and the rest would be just guidelines or preferences, but not something that causes an automatic rejection. It looks like there are so may rules that the trader can't even concentrate on his own trading, just trying to fit the rules... When is the announcement about the ET Combine coming?
We are working on this as we speak. We have had the minimum request proposed many time. This is more something they are working out with the back-end management. I will definitively keep you posted. We meet about the progress later today. mp
Pekelo, why do you keep asking this? You can customize anything you want. Here is what I suggest to any trader attempting to do this. Sign up for the free 2 week trial. Trade your strategy just as you would normally as if it were your own account, not by any of "their" rules. When the two weeks is up, go through and take notes on your metrics to see what kind of a trader you are. For example, all your winners came on one day or all your losers are short duration trades. Or your winning % is low but your avg winner is high. Compile all these states. Then sign up for a custom combine with metrics that match what you actually did on your free 2 week trial. This is not rocket science. It's really pretty simple. If you are trend trader, customize your combine so it reflects that. If you are a mega scalper looking for 4 ticks per trade, customize your combine to reflect that. Doesn't this make sense to you?
Maverick that is all we ask. Communicate with us on what you want to do and we will look to get it approved. Once approved trade as advertised and we are in business. We should be able to put a rest to questions on this topic. Having the Custom Combine Objective opens ourselves up to different styles and personalities outside of our standard evaluation criteria. mp
If you listen to his online interview http://consult-fx.com/top-day-trader-marty-schwartz-interviewed you will hear him say that out of 250 trading days per year, he made his $ on 50 of them and (more or less) broke even the other 200 days: 1/5 and 4/5 ratio. You will need Realplayer to hear the interview. Can download it for free. Really good interview. The guy is a legend.
This may be putting the cart before the horse, but I had questions about commissions and platform fees for the funded trader. The info on the website wasn't clear: 1. I assume that you can't get member rates and have to pay the $1.25 per side (plus fees), with no volume discounts. (EDIT: I saw where you get member rates after a $30K profit cushion) 2. CTS T4 has platform fees for a retail trader. I know that most brokers will spread it out by charging, say, $0.50 per side for the first 400 sides or something like that. Does TST charge platform fees ON TOP OF the (above market) commissions, or are they built into the current structure? Actually, the relatively high commissions are pretty competitive if TST doesn't charge the T4 platform fee. Volume breakpoints would be even better...hint, hint.
It was stated on other threads that once you're a funded trader using the T4, there is zero fixed cost to trade the account. There is a cost for T4 only if you want their charts. From their FAQ on the site: [+] Do funded traders have to pay for the trading platform? Funded traders who use T4 do not have to pay any fees for the trading platform. If they wish to use the T4 charting software, the cost is $25/month and it is debited from the funded account. Funded traders who choose to use NinjaTrader are responsible for maintaining their live license key.
We do not charge platform fees on top of the commission for T4. You are responsible for your Ninja license if you are going live at a NT user. mp
FYI... https://twitter.com/TopstepTrader/status/269151567121371137 The profit targets for the 10 & 20 Day $30K Combine account have been cut in HALF!