FINALLY passed TopstepTrader's Combine!

[tlatoani]

For all who are interested, here's my update on my personal journey with TST.

In short, the journey with them stops here. I'm currently at day 7 in the "funded" account and down $541. As many have alluded to, if you can't perform consistently well enough to pass FTP/have enough profits after 10 days to be able to satisfy their "10 Day rule", you have no business entering the Combine in the first place if your goal is to actually get funded and stay funded.

But I still don't regret getting involved with TST...despite feeling as if I've been left empty-handed at the end of it (<- ALL my own doing). The proverbial carrot of a "funded" account (complete nonsense as they take the draw-down away from you after 10 trading days) was what I needed to harness the discipline to eventually pass the Combine. This proved to me the LONG-TERM viability of my edge and meant that I didn't have to win in the short-term to prevail over time. TST helped me become confident in my abilities as a trader and I am grateful for that opportunity even if I think it was a side-effect of them doing good business under the guise of "helping traders get funded".

Some will say, "why didn't you prove that to yourself in SIM and put that Combine money into an account instead?". I've asked myself that question- I would never have had the long-term conviction to prove the plan to myself without that end goal.

Trying to make enough to continue trading off of profits alone after 10 days is the worst thing that I could have done for my personal discipline and, as such, I'm not even going to attempt to finish the 10 Day period, nor will I take them up on their "redevelopment opportunity". I will go back to basics in my own personal account and build from there.

OK! I'm ready for all of you I-told-you-so'ers and naysayers!!!!

Oh boy--- You are the poster child for the fact that the market holds the strongest attraction for those least suited for it.

Thanks for the lesson and verification of the rule.

 

[volente_00]

Well done - looking forward very much to hearing that you've withdrawn your first $5,000 profit (like so many others).

(Don't expect it to quieten down the critics, though: they look only at what suits their own perspectives.

)

Actually we look at FACTS.
I don't want to hear about how many passed sim or how many passed live trader prep.
After 6.5 years of milking dreamers not one trader has shown anything significant $ wise from this gig.
Where are the traders making 100k?
Hell where are the ones even making 30k?
It's okay to run a business but I still don't like the idea that the target audience continues to get fleeced while the shepard collects the coins.

 

[volente_00]

For all who are interested, here's my update on my personal journey with TST.

In short, the journey with them stops here. I'm currently at day 7 in the "funded" account and down $541. As many have alluded to, if you can't perform consistently well enough to pass FTP/have enough profits after 10 days to be able to satisfy their "10 Day rule", you have no business entering the Combine in the first place if your goal is to actually get funded and stay funded.

But I still don't regret getting involved with TST...despite feeling as if I've been left empty-handed at the end of it (<- ALL my own doing). The proverbial carrot of a "funded" account (complete nonsense as they take the draw-down away from you after 10 trading days) was what I needed to harness the discipline to eventually pass the Combine. This proved to me the LONG-TERM viability of my edge and meant that I didn't have to win in the short-term to prevail over time. TST helped me become confident in my abilities as a trader and I am grateful for that opportunity even if I think it was a side-effect of them doing good business under the guise of "helping traders get funded".

Some will say, "why didn't you prove that to yourself in SIM and put that Combine money into an account instead?". I've asked myself that question- I would never have had the long-term conviction to prove the plan to myself without that end goal.

Trying to make enough to continue trading off of profits alone after 10 days is the worst thing that I could have done for my personal discipline and, as such, I'm not even going to attempt to finish the 10 Day period, nor will I take them up on their "redevelopment opportunity". I will go back to basics in my own personal account and build from there.

OK! I'm ready for all of you I-told-you-so'ers and naysayers!!!!

As long as you learned something from this experience then you have not lost at all. Good luck in your future endeavors.

 

[volente_00]

I did not see a single video on youtube that pertains to a verified and credible proof of someone withdrawing money from TST. Could you please point us to such videos?

But I found this:

Does not sound much in support of TST aside the fact that the guy in the video is a total tool. OMG, if this is representative of the average Joe on this site then this is outright scary, lol.

11:09 on in the video

LOL

 

[Overnight]

What would be good to see here is a TST rep posting in this thread, defending their business model based on JamesEM's progress and final closure, after they added him to their website blog of "live profitable TST traders".

 

[algofy]

"redevelopment opportunity"


OK! I'm ready for all of you I-told-you-so'ers and naysayers!!!!

@TopstepTrader this 10 day rule is complete BS, give traders a chance instead of pulling the rug after 10 days. Very few traders are going to come out of the gate well their first 10 trading days, it takes a bit of time.

@JamesEM you did good, unfortunetely, topstep has a very flawed format and you really need allot of luck to get past their hurdles. I don't believe they are in the business to actually make money off of funded traders but they are in the business of selling the dream and collecting combine fees. Now I'm not saying anything is wrong with that business model but if they really wanted to develop traders, they would remove the ridiculous 10 day rule.


What is the redevelopment opportunity? Not sure I've heard of that one?

 

[smallStops]

few questions:
* during the combine, you were on demo. Now, you are live:
why did you exoect that because you managed the demo, you would automatically manage the live account?

* could the live trading reveal something about your trading, rather than TST?
If so, what does your live trading reveal that you did not get to know on the demo account?

Just wondering.

 

[Zzzz1]

Not in the video I posted. And again I tell you why you don't see traders printing good pnl. Because no successful investor /trader would want to share the fruits of their labor. Anyone who works hard AND shows potential can nowadays easily raise 200k to 500k without paying a single percent in profit split.

The business model of this shop Sucks because it caters to the desperate and it curve fits, the same guys who initially passed will burn through their accounts soon after.

11:09 on in the video

LOL

 

[Zzzz1]

Agree with you on several points but disagree with the conclusion:

This business model sucks, and yes it does because it curve fits. By imposing so unrealistic requirements it only lets those pass who are wild cowboys AND who got lucky. As pointed out soon after those same guys probably burn through their stash.

Re the real intent of this business I also agree with you but I might add that it is NOT OK to run a business pretending the intent is to fund traders when the real goal is to collect fees from dreamers. It is intentionally misleading and fraudulent.

@TopstepTrader this 10 day rule is complete BS, give traders a chance instead of pulling the rug after 10 days. Very few traders are going to come out of the gate well their first 10 trading days, it takes a bit of time.

@JamesEM you did good, unfortunetely, topstep has a very flawed format and you really need allot of luck to get past their hurdles. I don't believe they are in the business to actually make money off of funded traders but they are in the business of selling the dream and collecting combine fees. Now I'm not saying anything is wrong with that business model but if they really wanted to develop traders, they would remove the ridiculous 10 day rule.


What is the redevelopment opportunity? Not sure I've heard of that one?

 

[Overnight]

...And again I tell you why you don't see traders printing good pnl. Because no successful investor /trader would want to share the fruits of their labor. Anyone who works hard AND shows potential can nowadays easily raise 200k to 500k without paying a single percent in profit split...

Why? So if the fruits of that profitable trader get "leaked", and everyone in the world sees it, will the entire world then start using that method, and so that would then nullify the profitable system?

If that is what you believe really happens, then no profitable system in the world can ever be taught, because everyone learning it would negate it's effectiveness. Nobody would ever make any money. Yet people do, over and over in these markets.

And how does a person who "works hard AND shows potential can nowadays easily raise 200K to 500K", if by showing their potential, their system is "compromised" and it then fails based upon your supposition? How would they raise 200K to 500K then?

This is circular logic that doesn't make sense. Like non-sequitur stuff, man.