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Ya, futures are the way to go if you daytrade. Although there's a limited number of products vs. the potentially thousands of stocks, it's simpler to focus on just a few instruments and find the one that fits your style. Also, the move on 1 lot of ES is the equivalent of 500 shares of SPY...

Yes, you need to get people to actually part with their money and trust you with it, and a lot of that is salesmanship. When Fisher Investments founder Ken Fisher admitted he did not see the financial crisis coming, he sent out a DVD to all clients with an apology (I have a relative who was one...

Now some pundits are comparing this bull run to the secular 1982-1999, seventeen year bull run, and suggesting that another "five or more years of gains" are still on the table. When the market is "cheap" on valuation, they will say it's cheap. When the market is at historically high on S&P...

Ok, good to know. Perhaps they still do that for the regular 10 day combines.

This is not surprising. The fed has created "boom" and "bust" cycles ever since the bankers met in Jeckyll Island over a hundred years ago. The recent bull run has created margin debt of unprecedented proportions, over $476 BILLION thus far. Margin loans are "callable" loans and can be...

Since hundreds have passed, it surely doesn't seem "unrealistic" especially with the continuous option with no time limit. If one can't make $3,000 in a sim account over time with the "50k" combine, then it's probably best to find alternatives to making money vs. trying to game futures intraday...

I don't think that's a correct way to interpret it. You only "blow up even faster" if you trade larger lot sizes, which you cannot until you scale up. The account is the same, but the cash outlay is less, since you aren't putting up the cash outlay for the maintenance, TST's backing firm is...

VIX, You're right, he will need LIVE results, not paper, however from my understanding from his recent post, he was going to trade it with a real account (he mentioned he had 23k).

I don't think they do refunds/rollovers anymore, those were the old rules. Just like the Junior/Senior trader levels are now eliminated, plus the annoying 5k and 10k profit cushion you had to maintain before taking a check. Although it's true regarding the "5 profitable days" comment, I guess...

I just read the rules on the 10k combine. If one is a total newbie, this seems like a good option. For $95, you are getting a $2,000, 1 lot live account if you pass on the first attempt. (Using AMP's margins of 1k maintenance plus the 1k max draw allowance for 1 lot).

VPhantom, Some points to consider: Regarding SC vs. TST, why would you pay more for a sim account when the trades don't count? Unless you really like the charts and the ease of connection with your existing broker, I guess it's a matter of preference. And yes, it's not on their site, but you...

I agree with the statement regarding brokers vs. investors. However, if you can show a high net worth accredited investor a 25% return with a 6.25% draw and a two year track record, you can justify the 2% management fee, regardless if you "don't trade often." Cash is always a position. The...

Regarding a simulated account, you can get the TST sim for $35/month with charts before doing a combine, with real time data feed, which seems a lot cheaper than whatever Sierra would charge for the same service. Regarding the drawdown in the live account, I was referencing the first 10 days...

"re: the 150k combine." Personally, I don't think the 150k combine is the best value, UNLESS you are quite confident in your plan and will scale up size to reach the profit targets faster (max lot size is 3 to start in the live account). If it takes you two months (as per your example), then...

If you're going to compare the Top Step program vs. a retail account, then it's only fair to compare the true costs of trading live accounts, which includes not only the total amount of the draw, but also the minimum balance required to trade the account. For example, let's say you want to open...

Agreed, especially on the momentum stocks, since you can have a significant variance from one quarter to the next. Earnings plays are random shots, and hindsight is always 20/20.

LNKD in after hours on an earnings miss. :eek: Fire in the hole!!! 50 pts drop. Just another example of what happens if you take a concentrated bet and held long over earnings on a momo stock.

Look at what happened to TWTR, down almost 20% in after hours, and will open down tomorrow with a huge gap due to earnings. If a fund made a concentrated bet long over the number, then the result will speak for itself at tomorrow's open. This is why taking a large percentage of a portfolio and...

AAPL will continue to be "misunderstood" according to Icahn until he sells his stake, then don't expect to see any further tweets from Icahn, as the stock will be "fully understood."

That's a nice chart, with a good volume spike to justify a buy point. However, it's not the same as AMZN, which you held over an earnings move, and which GAPPED in after hours, which is something not in your control. I actually bought GLD on the prior move off when it retested close to the...