There were not many success stories on TST. Maybe 1 success every month. Some months were bare. Bare in mind some funded traders were returned to the combine after failing in live training. But TST really helps one in testing his ideas and improving. Try your ideas in combine. If they work you can self fund. Simulated trading is easier than combine trading which is easier than live trading.
1) You might be able to trade the Russell in a customized combine. :eek: 2) Would you expect stock indicies to be "dull" during the Summer months?
As a former institutional currency dealer, employed by one of the more prestigious investment banks, I can only empathize with TST. Excellence in every facet of trading is a prerequisite to attaining the golden key of wealth and fortune. A Phd is certainly not required, a phenomenal market sense is biological and not academic. Within this type of environment the excuses come thick and fast along with usual slander and green eyed scoffing. And so the bar is set high.
well, it's their bar to set anywhere they see fit. We've all established that fact. If the VIX were at 30s or 40s or 80s like it has been in the past, you'd see people passing combines left & right. But with VIX laying face down on the basement floor these past couple of years, not gonna happen. Too many no-range chop days in between normal range sessions... of any market or symbol, zero exceptions. so a high bar set during trough volatility periods = low levels of successful recruitment. My point from the first post in here.
This guy still is not getting it. TST is a mirror. It's simply reflecting your ability to perform under a given set of circumstances. All TST is doing is holding the mirror for you. They are not teaching you "their" system so there is nothing to measure in terms of "their" program. Yes, I'm aware they offer coaching and all that self help feel good crap. But they are not teaching you an edge nor are they implying that. The only person that needs to stand up to scrutiny is you. If you fail, you need to look at the guy in the mirror and look for answers. I understand it's common tradition for most traders to blame everyone else but themselves. It's hard to be self critical. It hurts ones ego. One could put it this way, their model, they are charging you a fee to tell you the truth about yourself. Unfortunately most traders don't want to hear the truth.
The lesson to learn is for the retailers who can trade profitably in a consistent manner : keep your head high, you have indeed very rare skills. Never sell those at a cheap price.
I have been live for one full year as of yesterday. No. But this does not discourage me. The fact of the matter is I never set out on this journey with any expectations at all. Zero. Let me elaborate a bit. I found TST through a friend who was/is still live with them. Him and I would talk strategy almost daily about the financial markets. He knew that I did not day trade. I would applaud his ability to scrape Dollars out of the mkt intraday. One day he basically challenged me. Dared me if you will, to take the combine. "Worst case you write off the "education" cost and learn something about yourself. Best case you find that you are good at this". Thought to myself, the combine fee is less than one swing trade loser that I currently take, why not. I bit. I bought in. I passed. I got funded. And I am still alive. The fact that one year later I have not blown myself up. That I have maintained this tight handed discipline gives me hope that someday I will be able to break through the barrier to big money. I recently went through all my full year of stats(126 active days of trading) and discovered that according to my hit rate, avg win, avg loss, MAE, MFE that I can tighten stops and widen my targets and still maintain a solid hit rate. I can go from 1/2 RR to 1/4RR and only lose 1-2% of my effective hit rate. This information could be a game changer for me going forward... All in all I still have no expectations really. I just want to follow the rules and sleep well at night. These days the only thing about trading that troubles me is taking profits early. And that is happening less frequently as the months roll by. 100% truth to be told is my only demon is taking profits too fast. I am slowly coming to learn that by sitting on my hands I am allowing the market to pay me for all losers. And my time and trouble. And I would hope that if I can stay the course it will ultimately pay off.
1) Good going. 2) Are you willing to reveal details of any legal documents you had to sign before obtaining your funding that might keep you "captive" to TopStep for any duration?
Nice job Crispy! I don't think the detractors wanted to hear that. Can you please change your answer to "it's a scam!"