Topstep trader combine as a newb.

Can we assume, you had multiple trades, against the trend, which all get Stopped out and sadly you just haven't taken the right trade to get the profit your after ??

Trying to pick a bottom, tight SL, repeat ??


Still on the Combine or over the trailing account low ??
 
Out of the combine, I was picking lows. Was fighting a trend when I believed it was on the verge of changing. I need to rework my methods.
 
I still struggle with this, trend means new lows expected, but every low pauses and looks like a bottom, to sucker in retail like us.

What you want to do is join the downtrend at a lower high, but be warned lower highs dont give as long to get in as the lows, there is a quick spike up, that attracts impatient Ive missed it, break out buyers, which then ofcourse get SLd in 9seconds.

Down move is generally fast aswell, to fast for anyone to get out and the SLs being hit, and move it fast enough you can add some slippage to the SL aswell for greater than expected losses.

Its all designed to take the new fresh money, being retail.
 
I'm just trading like a fool. Buying support in a down trend, instead of selling resistance. I do this a lot at extremes, which I've had large gains from. However, a very poor approach in the middle of a range while down trending.
 
SP500's been okay for the last hour, other than 1 blip for range trading, Downtrend from the US open was what you was after though, short under the 2040 level.

Obviously easier after the fact !!


Lazy day for me, 2 trades +$125, see if I fancy anything or have to rescue useless daughter arrgghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
 
Well, I said I wouldn't but I did take another combine and passed. I'm actually on day 9 of the funded trader prep. I've been trading horribly again in the passed combine and funded trader prep. I find myself not taking the trades I usually do, and I end up taking worse ones instead. On Day 8 of the funded trader prep, I really was in the hole. I was probably $100 from blowing the $1500 max drawdown. Luckily I got an a little bit of a tear and came back quite a good bit from those levels. Hit a string of some huge trades, trades that typically I try and capitalize on. Felt more like myself on that run. The losers don't bug me, it's this weird fear that keeps me from taking better setups. I can count 5 in the last two weeks alone that were huge that I avoided, and chopped myself to death instead.

My numbers probably look something like 4:1 profit at 27ish%. If I can get that win rate up to 35% and hopefully 5:1 I'd be putting up some fantastic (in my opinion) numbers. I've also taken way too many trades, over trading has been a huge problem for me during this Topstep experience. Moving more toward a day trading mindset from swing may just take time for me to adjust to. Making 88 trades in 19 days is insane to me. Most of them have been single lots, and a large number were, well, horrible.

Anyway, Monday will likely be my last day of funded trader prep. I'd need a $350 day to pass at this point. Looking back over these numbers and my regular accounts, overall I'm happy with my 9 month progress. I'm up a little under $1k in 7 weeks in all the combines combined, even with all the dumb mistakes. I'll keep plugging away and slowly improving.
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Jjs said:
Out of the combine, I was picking lows. Was fighting a trend when I believed it was on the verge of changing. I need to rework my methods.
More...

It's very easy and comfortable to take action when we believe in something, even if there's no statistical evidence backing what we believe in.

I've seen so many traders with statistically sound methods waste time "reworking" their methods in the hopes they'll find some comfortable high odds/low risk method they can believe in.

In fact, you'll be wildly successful if you simply take your method (trying to pick a top or bottom in a trend) and do the opposite of what you believe.

Example:

Your Method: In a strong down-trending move price just broke through the previous low, stalls for a moment and starts running up. This is the reversal, just look at price running up! Wow, price just broke through the previous bar's high, damn, you're going to miss out on getting in at a good price, it's getting riskier by the second to wait ---- Click! you're long!

Oh crap, it's dropping again, dropping, dropping, here's the low, you better move your stop a little lower so you don't get faked out...blip, you're out of the long with a bigger loss than originally planned, plus slippage.

Opposite of: In a strong down-trending move price just broke through the previous low, stalls for a moment and starts running up. You look at the previous bar's high think of all the bottom pickers who think a break through that high means a confirmed trend reversal and you place a limit order to sell short just above it. Blip, you're short and price runs a few extra ticks and before you know you're in the green and here comes the low of the day. You watch joyfully as all those stops below the LOD get triggered and the bids get pulled causing a strong drop to a new low.

:cool:
 
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