6 months TopStep 50K Net Profits

[henryk]

... Had ... To ... Do ... A ... Re ... Set
Asian open. Went short. Stubbornly held into it.
Then instead of getting out I've mistakenly added to the losing position.

Stupid me.
Anyway..

Today, 1Min(Upside)=2Max(Downside)
Wasn't a day to be short. But I still shorted.

Especially @ 2620.

Step 2(4), 1st/10day, PnL: 2693, Balance: 2693/9000$

View attachment 224189

I have been in the same situation- fighting the trend and adding to a losing position. This does not work !!! You might "escape" 10-20 times but in the end you will lose big if you do this. You have a 4500 drawdown. Pros obviously have a much bigger bank roll and don't risk more than 2% of it on any trade. Even with the current volatility you should not be risking more than 500 per trade. It might take you longer to get funded but you will survive.
A great trader ( Paul Tudor Jones) stated that "losers add to losers". Investors sometimes can average down but traders should generally just take the loss and wait for the next profitable trade.

 

[Sekiyo]

I have been in the same situation- fighting the trend and adding to a losing position. This does not work !!! You might "escape" 10-20 times but in the end you will lose big if you do this. You have a 4500 drawdown. Pros obviously have a much bigger bank roll and don't risk more than 2% of it on any trade. Even with the current volatility you should not be risking more than 500 per trade. It might take you longer to get funded but you will survive.
A great trader ( Paul Tudor Jones) stated that "losers add to losers". Investors sometimes can average down but traders should generally just take the loss and wait for the next profitable trade.

Yes. When it works it feels like magic.
But when it doesn't work it's just catastrophic.

Agree.
I take way too much risk.
That's why I'd be glad to trade MES.
500$ is 10 ES points. Well ... It's doable.

At worst take the loss,
Breath in and out. Reassess the market.
And skip to the next trade, opportunity. That's it.

Averaging down isn't a problem if it's to build the position up.
But to do it while risking to lose your account isn't the way.

 

[FTDK]

Yes. When it works it feels like magic.
But when it doesn't work it's just catastrophic.

Agree.
I take way too much risk.
That's why I'd be glad to trade MES.
500$ is 10 ES points. Well ... It's doable.

At worst take the loss,
Breath in and out. Reassess the market.
And skip to the next trade, opportunity. That's it.

Averaging down isn't a problem if it's to build the position up.
But to do it while risking to lose your account isn't the way.

Maybe its a good idea to never risk more then $450 on a trade, that way you have to have 10 losers in a row to blow out. With a 1:1,5 risk reward you only need 7 winning trades (assuming no losses) or around 18 trades with an 80% win rate and you make $10K.

If $450 isn't enough for you strategy you can maybe increase it a bit but make sure you have to have a few losing trades in a row before you can blow out and use a positive risk to reward. You can combine ES with MES depending on the stop size, for example $500 loss limit with a 10 point stop would equal buy/sell 1 ES contract, $500 loss limit with a 20 point stop would equal buy/sell 5 MES contracts.

This way you can not blow out on one or two trades if you stick to the system. Since it happened a few times before, maybe it is a good idea to change things up instead of making the same mistake again and try using hard stops? Without changing your strategy this isn't going to change either.

Your entry picking skills are good but if a trade goes against you you are done, if you can find a way to avoid that you can start printing money.

 

[Sekiyo]

Maybe its a good idea to never risk more then $450 on a trade, that way you have to have 10 losers in a row to blow out. With a 1:1,5 risk reward you only need 7 winning trades (assuming no losses) or around 18 trades with an 80% win rate and you make $10K.

If $450 isn't enough for you strategy you can maybe increase it a bit but make sure you have to have a few losing trades in a row before you can blow out and use a positive risk to reward. You can combine ES with MES depending on the stop size, for example $500 loss limit with a 10 point stop would equal buy/sell 1 ES contract, $500 loss limit with a 20 point stop would equal buy/sell 5 MES contracts.

This way you can not blow out on one or two trades if you stick to the system. Since it happened a few times before, maybe it is a good idea to change things up instead of making the same mistake again and try using hard stops? Without changing your strategy this isn't going to change either.

Your entry picking skills are good but if a trade goes against you you are done, if you can find a way to avoid that you can start printing money.

Not sure to follow but ...
500*0.8-500*0.2 is about 300 per trade.
So to make 10K (10,000/300) one need to make around 34 trades.

Seen like this it does sound sexy.

Unfortunately I can't trade MES with TST ...
But if I had my own account then I would definitely trade it.
One can trade 1 ES + 3 MES for example to smooth out the fractional betting.

Yes I definitely need to use hard stop.
I do use them sometimes.

Thanks for your feedback !

I definitely need to break down the bankroll,
Use hard stops and not smoke 3K in one trade !

 

[Sekiyo]

Went Long then Short @ 2642 for the market to jump 13 points.
Flipped Long (2651) at the top, worst entry possible.

But you better get the worst entry on the right side,
Than the best entry on the wrong side ...

 

[FTDK]

Not sure to follow but ...
500*0.8-500*0.2 is about 300 per trade.
So to make 10K (10,000/300) one need to make around 34 trades.

Seen like this it does sound sexy.

Unfortunately I can't trade MES with TST ...
But if I had my own account then I would definitely trade it.
One can trade 1 ES + 3 MES for example to smooth out the fractional betting.

Yes I definitely need to use hard stop.
I do use them sometimes.

Thanks for your feedback !

I definitely need to break down the bankroll,
Use hard stops and not smoke 3K in one trade !

You forgot the positive risk to reward.

The potential is huge once you start to trade size, the question is will you be able to keep your win rate above 80% once you use a hard stop? Even with a 60% win rate you can make very nice money as long you don't let that one big loser ruin you.

 

[Sekiyo]

Hi guys,

I’ve basically lost my Mojo
Currently done with this journal and TST.

FAIL

Wonder if I can learn something from it.
I am a little bit lost currently.

I’ve basically traded different systems,
Had different approaches.

Got lost into wider time frames.
Got lost into patterns caught on the fly.
Got lost into letting my loss too big to fail.

It’s easy to lose oneself.
Got to cut through the noise.

Get out of my head, fuzziness !
That’s the beauty of the speculation ...
Schizophrenia. From euphoria to depression.

I believe the great trader is ahead of this.
Rationality. He’s not into this crazy roller caster.

Got to step back.
Break down into the rational.
Please DO NOT overthink neither.

Insignificant apophenia.
Just trying to build the skills.
Sharpen the craft for survival and profit.

Profitability and risk.
Took excess risk for sure.
Now I can’t tell if I can be profitable.

Had a chart, positive one, with all the outcomes.
200ish trades and a PnL of 30ish thousands.
But I don’t even know how I came here.

It’s week end time.
Got to take a little break.

See you later.

And ...

Next step is real money into my AMP account.

ps: Thanks for all the support.

 

[deltaf0rce]

Hi guys,

I’ve basically lost my Mojo
Currently done with this journal and TST.

FAIL

Wonder if I can learn something from it.
I am a little bit lost currently.

I’ve basically traded different systems,
Had different approaches.

Got lost into wider time frames.
Got lost into patterns caught on the fly.
Got lost into letting my loss too big to fail.

It’s easy to lose oneself.
Got to cut through the noise.

Get out of my head, fuzziness !
That’s the beauty of the speculation ...
Schizophrenia. From euphoria to depression.

I believe the great trader is ahead of this.
Rationality. He’s not into this crazy roller caster.

Got to step back.
Break down into the rational.
Please DO NOT overthink neither.

Insignificant apophenia.
Just trying to build the skills.
Sharpen the craft for survival and profit.

Profitability and risk.
Took excess risk for sure.
Now I can’t tell if I can be profitable.

Had a chart, positive one, with all the outcomes.
200ish trades and a PnL of 30ish thousands.
But I don’t even know how I came here.

It’s week end time.
Got to take a little break.

See you later.

And ...

Next step is real money into my AMP account.

ps: Thanks for all the support.

Hang in there my dude. Experience is the best teacher to settle nerves. It’s almost impossible to trade successfully without the real experience of PnL, and recurring results in your personal style. For me personally, adrenaline is also my worst enemy.

 

[Evgeniy]

You have a lot of very beautiful deals. It was very interesting to watch.

I believe that in every strategy there is a core consisting of several components. Each component is not only sharpened for profit, but also has a hidden shadow of risk. This risk is realized when certain external circumstances arise (price chart, plans for the profit of the day, plans for exit points, the current mental state of the trader, etc.). The stricter the external conditions and framework for our options for action, the less flexible we are in dealing with risk. There is a separate risk of the system and the risk of system execution. It is always important to understand where the torpedo exploded from. What was it - an accident of a combination of circumstances or a logical regularity of the system? If this risk is systemic and is an integral part of making a profit, you must either revise the system or completely abandon this trading style. Or change external circumstances, freeing themselves from the shackles of conventions and gaining greater freedom for their flexibility.

I wish you success in trading!

 

[Sekiyo]

One important lesson to learn is about

Overtrading

1. You need to be present
Get in shape, sleep and eat well.
Don’t trade while sleepy, sick or weakened.

2. Learn to size the opportunity.
Sit tight, stay focus and alert as a predator.
80% of the time this is simply noise and gambles.

3. Trade the right markets.
The action isn’t always in the ES.
Opportunities may arise in other areas.

Be prepared, on time and at the right place.

No need to fight a worthless battle.
No sizable opportunity. No trade.

I had to make money.
I had to get some action.
I had to be into the market.

Wrong !

If the conditions aren’t juicy,
Do not seat at the table.
Move forwards.

Next !

Patience, Prudence & Courage.