@Xela & @Cacapital : Fully agree. They can't keep a consistently profitable trader for long, because the payouts will go out of their profits (if they at all payout huge sums).
Why would the payouts come from their profits if the trades are passed through to market?
The combine failures fund the percentage of "consistently profitable trader"
These operations earn 20% of the profits from "consistently profitable trader"
Just to hone trading skills or practice or paper trade, why does one need these outfits? For just about $55 a month you get to paper trade as many contracts as you wish on the same platform and latency that these guys have licensed (unlike 3 for $150 and 10 for $650 and so on). I am sure cheaper realtime paper trading options do exist.
Its a fabulous business model to feed on and rip off aspiring traders in a rather smart way. Awards for that should go to TST. And to the other one obviously one up in credibility provided by options like a 25 contract account. I have heard folks raising regulatory questions but doesn't look like the gulators have that many violations to set right in this model. So I expect sexier versions to be born in the coming time. Until the aspiring to get funded trader begins to stay away. Will that ever happen?