Cooltraderdude's TopstepTrader Combine (daily trade report and journal)

Quote from Maverick74:

Meant to say total loss. Look man, I don't want to keep arguing this with you. You said you were going to quit trading and look for a job. Sounds like a good plan for you. I've been trading for over a decade and thankfully, still profitable. You can keep making excuses. The bottom line is, you went about this entirely wrong and I think it explains why your better days are behind you. You have a gamblers mentality. Gamblers NEVER win over the long run in trading. The best thing for you at this point is to get a job. Nothing wrong with that. I'm only making these comments for the other readers of this thread so they know what NOT to do. I've said this for years as I use to run a prop office and mentor traders, this business is not about making money. It's about perfecting a process and being consistent. If you do that, making money is a byproduct of that. Going for the kill, doubling down, averaging into losers and taking shots should be left for Vegas. At least you can have some drinks, get a few girls and have some money and write it off as an expense. This is a business. And it has to be treated like one. It doesn't matter if you are doing a combine, work at a prop firm or trading a retail account. I have been preaching this for over a decade and I'll preach it for another decade. Stop trying to rationalize your failure. To your credit, you stopped bad mouthing TST and gave a fair review. So your obligation to this is over. Time to move on to better things in your life.

Mav,

Last 2 posts I have read from you have more wisdom than the rest of this thread combined. I could not agree with you more.

Wolf
 
Quote from ammo:

every game has it's rules , trading within topsteps rules is where you have to adjust,the loss limit is a tight leash and as a funding company to the unknown,passing this test reduces their odds of funding a losing trader,adhering to these rules until they get to know you is a beginners step to a future,they don't make it easy and they are looking for a low risk trader,that's not to say your viewpoint is wrong, it just needs to adapt to theirs if you want to pass the combine,if that's anyone's wish,practice under those rules until you have it down. then join the combine

3500/50000= 7% ROI in 10 days... Surely most sought after fund managers could pass this without gambling... Because most return that in like a year... :D

Quote from wolfpacker:

+1,000,0000

Wolf
No the goal is to get funded... You guys have more problems than I do if you don't get that. BUT don't worry about me I'm going to be OK!

The point to trading is to make money so you can make a living at it... the point isn't to be the true believer with $3 up in his account glad to be doing the journey...

Like I said... You guys don't get it...

Quote from Soon2Bgreat:

Each strategy though has a commensurate reward for the risk. You get really good by capturing that premium without the normal downside...and then you become the poster boy for Nike and buy the Bobcats.:p

Two ways you can lose in trading:

1. You can bleed to death from paper cuts (small losses).
2. You can blow your brains out with one big loss.

The risk/reward you set up based on your strategy has nothing to do with the market or your success... How could it...? Market movement decides the payout not you. At least when you go to a bookie and you bet on 3:1 you actually get 3:1 on the payout if you get it right. Not so in trading... you can get everything right and never get the movement.
 
Quote from CoolTraderDude:

3500/50000= 7% ROI in 10 days... Surely most sought after fund managers could pass this without gambling... Because most return that in like a year... :D


I have a problem with this statement. Let's say one decides to trade two lots of CL at 100k a contract. That's 200,000 in notional. That's a 1.75% return capadre. Of course one can trade up to 5 contracts, but I'm trying to keep things within reason. Why bring up notional? Because notional return is the world hedge funds live in. Anyway, good luck in your next endeavor.
 
Quote from Maverick74:

I have a problem with this statement. Let's say one decides to trade two lots of CL at 100k a contract. That's 200,000 in notional. That's a 1.75% return capadre. Of course one can trade up to 5 contracts, but I'm trying to keep things within reason. Why bring up notional? Because notional return is the world hedge funds live in. Anyway, good luck in your next endeavor.

Sorry but you've completely lost me... I was pointing out that you have to take risks... Big risks to make it because the solid players couldn't do it... The ROI would be too difficult for their trusted safe methods. Despite that they still blow up... Go figure...!

I also don't get your 1.75 % return in notional... at 200000k...?:confused:

The way to beat this Combine is to catch some big moves with 1 or 2 contracts in CL which has big volatility.

But can you imagine how bad it's going to look when you hold on the wrong side of that and lose like $ 900 on a single contract...?

Go with a small stop and get stopped on every trade... Go with a big stop and lose big...

That's the problem... CONTRADICTION...! There's no making sense of it because it's not set up to make sense.
 
Quote from CoolTraderDude:

Sorry but you've completely lost me... I was pointing out that you have to take risks... Big risks to make it because the solid players couldn't do it... The ROI would be too difficult for their trusted safe methods. Despite that they still blow up... Go figure...!

I also don't get your 1.75 % return in notional... at 200000k...?:confused:

Let me help you, if you trade 2 lots of CL you are controlling 200k in oil. With me still? So in order to make 3500 in 2 weeks, you need to generate a 1.75% return. If you were trading "50,000" in oil, yes, that return amount would need to be higher. But you are not. You are trading 200,000. That's a lot of oil dude. That's the only way you can do the math. The 50k figure does not exist. It's an arbitrarily number.
 
Quote from Maverick74:

Let me help you, if you trade 2 lots of CL you are controlling 200k in oil. With me still? So in order to make 3500 in 2 weeks, you need to generate a 1.75% return. If you were trading "50,000" in oil, yes, that return amount would need to be higher. But you are not. You are trading 200,000. That's a lot of oil dude. That's the only way you can do the math. The 50k figure does not exist. It's an arbitrarily number.

You can look at it that way... Most people look at it by the $$$ in their account. Nothing arbitrary about that.

When you've leveraged that "50K" to 200K you need a smaller market movement to make $3500 but you still have to return 7% of 50K... with a $1000 stop loss that kills you...

So in reality you need to return $3500 on $1000 risked... That's 350% in 10 days... :cool: No way of doing it without swinging for the fences or catching some serious luck by being on the right side of a volatile move.

BTW...

ROI = gain from investment-cost of investment / cost of investment
 
Quote from CoolTraderDude:

You can look at it that way... Most people look at it by the $$$ in their account. Nothing arbitrary about that.

When you've leveraged that "50K" to 200K you need a smaller market movement to make $3500 but you still have to return 7% of 50K... with a $1000 stop loss that kills you...

So in reality you need to return $3500 on $1000... That's 350% in 10 days... :cool: No way of doing it without swinging for the fences or catching some serious luck by being on the right side of a volatile move.

Alright whatever. You tried, it didn't work out. I'm not wasting anymore time arguing with you. You are starting to come off as a sore loser although I'm sure that is not your intention. Don't you think it's time to search the web for recruiters now? I mean what are you still doing here? Let's shut this thread down and be done with it. Not trying to be a dick. I give you kudos for stepping up and doing the combine and being fair in your evaluation. Don't over reach man. Just walk away.
 
Cool Trader Dude--Mav is right

Basically there is more leverage...most fund managers don't trade solely futures...they might have positions and hedging positions but they generally dont go all out in futures.

the back and forth bickering is funny, but starting to get annoying!

Can't you two just agrree to have different opinions? even though most here know Mav is correct. lol

Trading is a ridiculously hard game..doesnt mean you are a loser..

at least you were honest in combine and opionions of it.

on to the next show
 
Quote from Maverick74:

Don, wasn't trying to bite your head off. Their website is one of the more transparent sites out there. I used the poker analogy just for you Don. I thought it would help. BTW Don, almost all my buddies that go out to Vegas to play poker play the satellites for the exact same reason guys do this combine. A few of my friends got free tickets into the WSOP. Still 10k entry right?

The "Big One for Big Drop" was $1million, but the "Big Game" is still $10,000.

And, just for fun, I really haven't read all the posts here. But back to your analogy to satellite tournaments, poker players are playing to WIN a spot or make money, Not to "hone their poker skill" as you say about the Combine.

I understand that all poker players, as all serious traders, should use their trading/playing as learning exercises as well, but as hitnrun says, the prize of a shared live account is the reason for paying the money and doing all of this. Simple paper trader can accomplish the same thing, or similar, without the monthly fee. But, the fee is paid in hopes of getting some backing.

And, yes, who knows, if I had 100 people willing to pay money to paper trade a demo account, with the winner getting a live account, I might do it too. Seems simple enough after thinking it through, no downside to us.

Not sure about the legalities of it, I may check.

All the best, Mav....

Don
 
Quote from Datradr:

Cool Trader Dude--Mav is right

Basically there is more leverage...most fund managers don't trade solely futures...they might have positions and hedging positions but they generally dont go all out in futures.

the back and forth bickering is funny, but starting to get annoying!

Can't you two just agrree to have different opinions? even though most here know Mav is correct. lol

Trading is a ridiculously hard game..doesnt mean you are a loser..

at least you were honest in combine and opionions of it.

on to the next show

What I'm trying to point out is that you're brainwashed by the industry to think that Mav is correct... You guys don't get it, you really don't.

You repeat the same stuff ad nauseam that doesn't make sense.

If you lose it's because you lack discipline...! On a game that's rigged for you to lose no less...

You think an edge comes from TA or fundamentals...!

You try to do as the winners despite the fact that they had lucky streaks and nothing more...

Big difference between educators, prop firm owners and actual traders.

As an actual trader you have to make your money from trading...!

Let's not kid ourselves... You guys don't do that. Knock a trader who tells it like it is all you want... But you make your money off of us... not the other way around.
 
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