Maverick74 and marketsurfer's TopstepTrader Combine (daily trade reports and journal)

[austinp]

Quote from volente_00:

It's not really important if your win rate is 90% or 20% as long as your methodology has a positive expectancy and prints money consistently over the long haul.

it matters because they want a smooth equity curve. managed money does not like fade-add-add-add=massive-loss-puke traders who consistently fight market direction trying to pick highs and lows. Their equity cure history resembles a world-class coaster ride... not conducive to managed funds.

 

[Maverick74]

Quote from londonkid:

strong words but....

some people will never be profitable traders because they poison themselves from the start by not having the ability to FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS AND IGNORING WHAT DOESN'T MATTER. If left unchecked the human mind will wander around continually looking for 'answers' raising more questions and noise.

For people on this thread to even spend 1 millisecond of time discussing whether legal action is possible to get through the combine on a technicality is beyond a joke. for christ's sake who cares. if you cant work out that that doesn't matter then just give up, seriously just go an get a 9-5 where you can bitch and moan during your coffee break.

Personally I think the combine is a fantastic concept, it's not for everyone, I wont be doing it but it gives people a track to run on. It gives structure to the average joe sat at home on their own trying to learn how to trade.

New traders who have no structure left unchecked will most likely fail, giving them a set of rules to follow to see if they can follow them is a test in itself. Of course we know the average Joe will not read the rules properly and just plough on regardless then likely bitch and moan when they fail. Then it will be 'the rules need changing' lol. give me a frickin break.

People these days are more lazy than ever, I tell you there is a lot of dumb money in the market and if people were just disciplined and focused they can extract money from the market every day.

If I started my own combine and said GOAL is: all you have to do is 10 trades, enter at random and you can only take a 2 tick loser or a 3 tick winner, no other result. I guarantee most people would not be able to do that, they would let one of the losing trades run, let one of the winners run. It's all a game about controlling yourself that's what people dont get. Of the few people who can actually do that initial goal then just add in some rules for getting a 'low risk' entry and a directional bias and that's it you are now profitable. (make sure you trade an instrument where you can get your round turn cost to <15% of the tick size)

I cant remember if it was on this thread or somewhere else but someone was talking about obese people. It was a great analogy. It's like everyone knows they are supposed to have 2500 calories per day and do light exercise 3 times a week, how damn simple can it be, yet 30%+ people are the size of a frickin house and cant control themselves. put the cake down !!!!!!!!!!! oh wait it's not your fault, some people will go and sue the cake company 'they made me eat it', sue the government 'they didn't tell me I should only eat 2500 calories at school so therefore they are to blame'. I am suing you because I ate 2499 calories for a week and put on weight, you gave me wrong advice, now I cant fit out my front door and they have to cut off the side of the house to get me out. give me a fkin break

Then we get the shower of people saying 'the only winner is TST', since when is making money in this world a crime? get over it. if you dont like it start your own business, make some money for yourself.

Rant over, I feel much better now.

carry on as you were lol

+1

Spot on Kid. I used the obese example. I also used the "getting a job at Goldman" example. What? Goldman wants me to have an MBA from a top 10 school? That's BS. I'm suing. Or I'll trick Goldman into thinking I have an MBA when in fact I'm just a high school graduate. Or, Goldman knows they will never hire me, they will just make billions without me. I think people in life generally have a victim mentality. That's their default position. And only through hard work and persistence do they break that.

 

[marketsurfer]

Quote from austinp:

it matters because they want a smooth equity curve. managed money does not like fade-add-add-add=massive-loss-puke traders who consistently fight market direction trying to pick highs and lows. Their equity cure history resembles a world-class coaster ride... not conducive to managed funds.

Huh? how do you explain the 40% plus drawdowns of the huge trend funds like Dunn ? I think you are talking about institutional money, not managed money. surf

 

[marketsurfer]

Quote from volente_00:

why does it matter ?


Why does it matter if he makes 7000 on one day and scratches or loses less than 200 on the other 9 ?


In the real world what matters is if you are profitable over the long haul.

It's not really important if your win rate is 90% or 20% as long as your methodology has a positive expectancy and prints money consistently over the long haul.


There are many different ways to be successful at trading.

There is no black and white one size fits everybody criteria

That is what makes trading hard because often people will try to emulate a style that works for someone else but at the same time that style does not mesh with their personality and causes them to fail

Yes, in the real world, that's the way it works. Awhile ago, we placed money with 5 hedge funds. 2 lost a little bit, 1 made a teeny tiny amount, and 1 had a hefty lost but one made 75% on the year. Think the investors were happy? It was their best year ever-- despite the losses--- they could care less due to the one big win in 1 out 5 allocations. surf

 

[SWScapital]

Quote from londonkid:



People these days are more lazy than ever, I tell you there is a lot of dumb money in the market and if people were just disciplined and focused they can extract money from the market every day.

If I started my own combine and said GOAL is: all you have to do is 10 trades, enter at random and you can only take a 2 tick loser or a 3 tick winner, no other result. I guarantee most people would not be able to do that, they would let one of the losing trades run, let one of the winners run. It's all a game about controlling yourself that's what people dont get. Of the few people who can actually do that initial goal then just add in some rules for getting a 'low risk' entry and a directional bias and that's it you are now profitable. (make sure you trade an instrument where you can get your round turn cost to <15% of the tick size)

The entire post was good.

But this portion above is gold.

Look in the mirror people, the enemy is looking back at you.

 

[londonkid]

Quote from marketsurfer:

Yes, in the real world, that's the way it works. Awhile ago, we placed money with 5 hedge funds. 2 lost a little bit, 1 made a teeny tiny amount, and 1 had a hefty lost but one made 75% on the year. Think the investors were happy? It was their best year ever-- despite the losses--- they could care less due to the one big win in 1 out 5 allocations. surf

you are diversifying over several instrument there. If you are backing a handful of futures traders you do not want to see large drawdowns ever. Backing traders is a risky business and can easily blow up in your face. If you cant see why a backer wants to back a smooth equity curve over someone who continually swings for the fence then it's probably time to move on.

Of course none of this matters anyway, you do realise that. All that matters is that you make money and if you cant all that matters is getting into an 'environment' where you can make money. everything else is a sideshow, a distraction from the job in hand. I could tell you what i had for lunch and it would be equally as useful.

good luck to you.

 

[ammo]

Quote from austinp:

what they offer in return is an opportunity to meet their position interview requirements. that's all.

if you don't want to interview for the position and all of it's prestated conditions, keep your paltry fee.

if you want to enter and participate within the prestated guidelines, pay up and play.

how simple is that to grasp for everyone?

when i was a kid they had a contraption guaranteed to killl flies, it was $2,it was 2 pieces of wood, instructions, place 1st board on table, place fly on board,place 2nd board atop first...it worked, so it mustn't be a scam, that is the point here ,we have to split hairs to determine whether tst is a scam... if it was legit,there wouldn't be 3 threads and several arguments,.....in the above example ,because it works,it's technically not a scam......if it looks like ,smells like ,tastes like,it must be,,,,?

 

[londonkid]

Quote from SWScapital:

The entire post was good.

But this portion above is gold.

Look in the mirror people, the enemy is looking back at you.

don't tell me it's gold that will just make my head swell bigger. lol

the sooner people understand that trading is just a game where some people win and some people lose the better. For anyone struggling all you have to do is work out why most people lose, then don't do that. If you dont do those things you will greatly increase your odds.

everyone in the trading business is out for your dollar and expecting anything else is foolhardy. everyone. demand value in everything you do or walk away. If I had a chunk of change and wanted to learn to trade I would certainly try the combine simulator, 90% better than most propositions out there imo.

what's great about this business is the amount of dumb money in the markets, it's frikkin great. all these people trading with no plan , no discipline, when they mess up they blame someone else. I shouldn't write this stuff as I want more dumb money in the market but people being people just wont get it anyway.

I could give 100 new traders EXACT instructions on how to profit from the market and only 1 or 2 would make it. The reason for this is most people wouldnt even read the instruction properly, then a chunk would not follow the instructions. Then another chunk would give up because their expectations are not met. another chunk would bitch and moan and say the rules are wrong. just the nature of humans.

and it's getting better, people nowadays want everything now, for no effort, they want in on 0% interest, they want an app for it, there has never been so much dumb money sloshing around.

 

[SWScapital]

Quote from londonkid:

don't tell me it's gold that will just make my head swell bigger. lol

Well to be fair you did not invent the concept I highlighted. But saying it warranted the kudos. (just keeping that head small for you)

 

[CoolTraderDude]

Quote from marketsurfer:

Yes, in the real world, that's the way it works. Awhile ago, we placed money with 5 hedge funds. 2 lost a little bit, 1 made a teeny tiny amount, and 1 had a hefty lost but one made 75% on the year. Think the investors were happy? It was their best year ever-- despite the losses--- they could care less due to the one big win in 1 out 5 allocations. surf

Nobody likes the real world or reality marketsurfer...!