I finished day 3 of my topstep trader combine +$1700. I had placed 3 trades, 1 loser, and 2 winners. I caught a nice piece of both legs up and decided to call it a day and get ready for my other job. My last trade of the day I decided to trade a 2 lot only because I was already up $1000 and wanted to protect my profits in the combine. I posted a chart this time to show my entries and exits along with the t4 trading report. I plan on posting my Topstep Trader website report sometime later today or tomorrow. Have a nice weekend!
Toad79's TopstepTrader Combine Journal
- Thread starter TraderToad
- Start date
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well done. 
Here is a screenshot of my summary so far in my 20 day combine. Have a great weekend!
So far, so good!
Rooting for you!
Rooting for you!
Quote from Laissez Faire:
So far, so good!
Rooting for you!
Thanks for the kind words of encouragement.
Bad Day
Today did not go as planned for many different reasons. I went into to today with a very nice account buffer and decided to get a little more aggressive so I could put myself ahead comfortably. Unfortunately, this did not happen and I gave back a good chunk of my buffer.
What Went Wrong?
My charting software that I usually use(ninja) was not working correctly and I was forced to use the T4 (charts). There is absolutely nothing wrong with the T4 charts, I am just not used to looking at them and do not have them set up the same way as I have my other charts. I actually like the T4 charts, I am just not used to them. However, charts are charts and ultimately, this probably had very little to do with my lack of performance today.
I was too involved in the TST chat room and not paying attention to my trades like I should. I do like the chat room because it is a great place to socialize with other traders. However, for me, it is just too much of a distraction and I will not be in the chat room again if I am actually trading.
I made a few mistakes actually placing and removing orders. This is the first time this has happened in the combine, but it happens to everyone from time to time. I just need to be more methodical about my order entry.
I was way too aggressive today with placing and managing my trades. At one, point earlier on in the session, I had added to a position and was up nicely, but watched my gains erode quickly into nothing. I just wanted one more push on the position that never materialized to put me up massively for the day and in my account. I then went from up small, to down, down large, and trying to dig myself out like I usually do. Unfortunately, I was unable to dig myself out and had a very large loss today of -$2970. This nearly disqualified me from the combine and was very careless.
The fact that I had a nice account buffer going into the session this early in the combine, enticed me in to operating more aggressively than normal. I fudged on a few of my rules today and my account suffered from these mistakes. Granted, my really good days can be larger than the loss I incurred today, but I need to make sure that this does not happen again.
If I want to be a successful trader, I have to ALWAYS follow my rules, not just the Topstep traders rules. This is going to be may major focus from this point on.
Today did not go as planned for many different reasons. I went into to today with a very nice account buffer and decided to get a little more aggressive so I could put myself ahead comfortably. Unfortunately, this did not happen and I gave back a good chunk of my buffer.
What Went Wrong?
My charting software that I usually use(ninja) was not working correctly and I was forced to use the T4 (charts). There is absolutely nothing wrong with the T4 charts, I am just not used to looking at them and do not have them set up the same way as I have my other charts. I actually like the T4 charts, I am just not used to them. However, charts are charts and ultimately, this probably had very little to do with my lack of performance today.
I was too involved in the TST chat room and not paying attention to my trades like I should. I do like the chat room because it is a great place to socialize with other traders. However, for me, it is just too much of a distraction and I will not be in the chat room again if I am actually trading.
I made a few mistakes actually placing and removing orders. This is the first time this has happened in the combine, but it happens to everyone from time to time. I just need to be more methodical about my order entry.
I was way too aggressive today with placing and managing my trades. At one, point earlier on in the session, I had added to a position and was up nicely, but watched my gains erode quickly into nothing. I just wanted one more push on the position that never materialized to put me up massively for the day and in my account. I then went from up small, to down, down large, and trying to dig myself out like I usually do. Unfortunately, I was unable to dig myself out and had a very large loss today of -$2970. This nearly disqualified me from the combine and was very careless.
The fact that I had a nice account buffer going into the session this early in the combine, enticed me in to operating more aggressively than normal. I fudged on a few of my rules today and my account suffered from these mistakes. Granted, my really good days can be larger than the loss I incurred today, but I need to make sure that this does not happen again.
If I want to be a successful trader, I have to ALWAYS follow my rules, not just the Topstep traders rules. This is going to be may major focus from this point on.
Day 5
Today I had my highest daily profit in the combine so far +$3885. I had a really nice trade at the end of the day that brought me from slightly down to extremely up for the day. Unfortunately, I had a couple sizable home runs turn into singles earlier in the day that made my day much longer than it needed to be. I was looking for the grand slam that didn't quite materialize as early as I thought it would. Regardless, I did catch the grand slam at the end of the day and that erased yesterday's losses and put a little extra in my account.
I need to start trailing my stop a little more aggressively than I am to lock in more profits. A big part of my strategy is letting my winners run. However, crude can turn a nice winner into a loser in the blink of an eye.
On a side note, I am really impressed with Topstep Trader's trading platform. I have had no connectivity issues to speak of, my orders get sent and filled with ease, and there are many other perks that I am beginning to notice that I really like.
Tomorrow's results will probably be posted later that night or on Saturday since I have to work tomorrow night
Today I had my highest daily profit in the combine so far +$3885. I had a really nice trade at the end of the day that brought me from slightly down to extremely up for the day. Unfortunately, I had a couple sizable home runs turn into singles earlier in the day that made my day much longer than it needed to be. I was looking for the grand slam that didn't quite materialize as early as I thought it would. Regardless, I did catch the grand slam at the end of the day and that erased yesterday's losses and put a little extra in my account.
I need to start trailing my stop a little more aggressively than I am to lock in more profits. A big part of my strategy is letting my winners run. However, crude can turn a nice winner into a loser in the blink of an eye.
On a side note, I am really impressed with Topstep Trader's trading platform. I have had no connectivity issues to speak of, my orders get sent and filled with ease, and there are many other perks that I am beginning to notice that I really like.
Tomorrow's results will probably be posted later that night or on Saturday since I have to work tomorrow night
Great job thus far. Nice on the recovery today and getting your head back in the game. It would be great if you could post a chart of entries (if you don't mind) and also lot sizing. I noticed that at the beginning you were trading 3 lots but today looks to be quite a bit more. Really enjoying your progress, thanks for sharing. You are doing (and showing) what most people cannot do...holding winners. I understand you have another job so if its too much I understand.
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