TopStep Combine- Starting 10/29

You are really hurting nodoji's business. Just kidding.

I think it probably takes the average person 3 to 5 combines to pass. Don't waste the rest of your days though. Keep trading.

 

Haha far from her fault! Half the issues were order entry errors and half were just poor entries. I had some big swings today, I went from a loss to a nice win back and forth once more and then ended with a loss. Down $580 after the system closed my position. I am thinking if I do this again I am going to need to do the larger account so I can have that $1000 loss limit. Mentally try to keep it at $500, but have the $1000 so if things don't go as expected at least I won't automatically fail the combine.

 

Well, that would also imply, that the average person eventually get funded, but that is clearly not the case. So you are either wrong, or the average person doesn't try 3+ times....

 

Let me edit my original comment. Of those that "do" get funded, I suspect it takes them 3 to 5 combines to pass. I also think that most people probably quit after one or two combine failures unless they are getting the free rollovers. I highly doubt people will keep paying for someone that they can't do. Just my opinion of course.

 

Kid, you did good. You traded better than some people I know.

But that T4 DOM must have been designed by some drunken psycho path on new year's eve! I've been around the block, and have used different DOMs from different vendors, but this one is the most user unfriendly, and the weirdest DOM I've seen to date.

Schaefer

 

Thanks man I appreciate it. I have A LOT to learn then I might give it another shot.

I used the web based platform for all my trades and some free charts I found online. The T4 online was ok but I had several issues with market orders just sitting there and on status it would just say "waiting". Caused several bad fills, and I couldn't even use the DOM. The website would lock up when I would try to switch it from the default of ES to CL. Also I never got OCO orders in there, I had to manually cancel anything if my limit got hit or stopped out. This caused me to get filled by accident a couple times. My fault though for not being fast enough.

Those aren't the reasons I failed by any means! But they were definitely an inconvenience on that platform.

Just in an effort to learn from my mistakes:

Today I didn't trade according to plan. I made trades without proper signals and no confirmation. I also made a revenge trade in there as well. These are the reasons I failed today.

 

Thanks Magna and Mav also

 

FCX went into this combine with everything against him. He had no futures trading experience and although I offered to mentor him back in August, he had no real time to commit (full time job, little baby, college classes, and buying a house), so we had discussed a few basic rules of price action trading (do not trade against a trend without a confirmed signal, avoid trading around a flat 20EMA, be aware of key S/R levels, very general concepts). We had a Skype session to discuss these ideas and I introduced FCX to the concept of with-trend continuation trades and then assigned him a bit of homework regarding it:

1. What is very first price action event that occurs when price turns back in the direction of a trending move?

2. What is the second price action event that occurs?

3. Once the second price action event occurs, what needs to happen next to ensure the trend is intact?

4. What price action event would convince you the chance of a 20-tick profit being reached have diminished to the point it would make more sense to take a small loss than to continue to hold?

The answers to the first two questions give you two methods of with-trend continuation entry using a 1-min chart.

The answers to the last two questions help you develop rules for trade management.

This is the sort of mentoring I was hoping to do with FCX, but he was so busy he never had a chance to delve into things. In fact, less than 6 weeks prior to his sudden surprise entry into the combine, he’d told me he wasn’t ready to trade yet and wouldn’t even be funding a futures account for a couple months.

I understand the enthusiasm of youth, however, and instead of forcing him to go to his room without any supper, I figured the loss of the TST entry fee would be punishment enough (I thought he’d blow up the first day, though I didn’t tell him that).

Also, the experience would provide something no sim account practice will ever provide: Some skin in the game, plus the same real-market environment that will destroy the small trader if s/he cheats, and, finally, the added “ego driven” pressure of public forum scrutiny.

I thought today would be a slam dunk for FCX because he seemed to be naturally trading that with-trend continuation strategy even though we never got around to truly analyzing it together, and better yet, he had immediately grasped a very advanced concept we discussed Wednesday evening, he used it yesterday to avoid getting eaten, and it worked like magic early this morning.

However, when we touched base this morning, I found that he’d missed the first hour and a half of his expected trading time window due to work. Had he been able to trade that time window, he’d have been up at least 60 ticks IF he followed his basic rules.

I had a chance to see his trades today and when he finally had time to trade, he started out of the gate doing the opposite of standard price action trading, and missed out on an additional 40 ticks profit before a more difficult price action environment emerged.

In high pressure environments, once the outcome (such as not hitting max loss while trying to recover from early mistakes) takes precedence over excellence in execution, the game is over before it’s begun.

I would challenge anyone to make it through a single day trading CL for the first time, (live or otherwise), on a platform never seen before and using a free charting program found on line, plus trading while at work, meaning you can’t trade every setup even if you had the best written plan in the world.

I’m sure FCX would agree that the education in psychology alone was worth several times the price of admission. I wish I’d had the opportunity to truly work with him before this, as I believe he would’ve qualified even with the work interruption, unfamiliar platform, and $500 daily loss limit.

FCX has a true gift for price action day trading and I have no doubt that he will some day generate significant wealth if he does his homework, develops a plan, and sticks with it no matter what he “thinks” will happen next.

I'm really looking forward to working with him once he has time to commit to this

 

Nodoji, thank you for the information. However, the best way to demonstrate your skills is by participating in the combine. I am happy to front your fee, if this is an issue. Myself and others here would like to observe "price action" trading rather than simply reading others telling others how to do it. Please be something other than a typical "mentor" and step up to the plate. thank you. surf