Time restriction is a major setup for failure. Your forced to trade when your gut doesn't scream out the setup. To get around this train your brain to follow other markets. So more setups appear. It's harder than it sounds. It takes a lot just to follow the nuances of one market. I'm up throughout the night monitoring prices and markets.
Topsteptrader
- Thread starter deaddog
- Start date
Time restriction is a major setup for failure. Your forced to trade when your gut doesn't scream out the setup. To get around this train your brain to follow other markets. So more setups appear. It's harder than it sounds. It takes a lot just to follow the nuances of one market. I'm up throughout the night monitoring prices and markets.
What if you were to trade the LTP and Funded account like the Combine? The same enthusiasm, concentration and determination among other things. Things that can affect you with real trading: the thought of you worrying about what your peers and family would think of you if you fail or start making the big bucks, wanting to make money asap, focus on other traders numbers, detailed info on every single tick once you are in the trade. What I have learned is that every single trade is a new beginning, a journey to hopefully get to your profit target. Many times I would evade from my system because "I know it all", get penalized for it and eventually sitting on the sidelines because my daily loss limit is at 95...% only to see that "hey that's my setup, that's another setup and the risk reward was a 7:1 ratio! Shit like that makes you follow your system even though you have thrown discipline out the door
.Let's not forget that as a member of the exchange, he traded RT for pennies, unlike the retail trader paying $3-4 RT. He could scalp all day for one tick and mint money with any luck at all.
Just to be clear .. one doesn't have to trade 10 "straight" days ..
What if you were to trade the LTP and Funded account like the Combine? The same enthusiasm, concentration and determination among other things. Things that can affect you with real trading: the thought of you worrying about what your peers and family would think of you if you fail or start making the big bucks, wanting to make money asap, focus on other traders numbers, detailed info on every single tick once you are in the trade. What I have learned is that every single trade is a new beginning, a journey to hopefully get to your profit target. Many times I would evade from my system because "I know it all", get penalized for it and eventually sitting on the sidelines because my daily loss limit is at 95...% only to see that "hey that's my setup, that's another setup and the risk reward was a 7:1 ratio! Shit like that makes you follow your system even though you have thrown discipline out the door
Good point .. there is no reason why I couldn't trade the funded account like I would the other two - especially when they look exactly the same - .. most likely the mental baggage of focusing too much on building the cushion as much and as fast as possible ..
I know a handful of guys who made millions and now broke/nearly broke when they started trading in 2007/2008 cause they took a course in spreading, but it is one thing to find a niche in extreme volatility and another to learn how to trade. And none of them learned how to chart. There is always going to be some ways to do well for brief periods, but if traders are unable to adapt for every changing environment, they will drain away what they made and why Topsteptrader is strong on drawdowns. Many don't believe in 2% rule on losses, but longer you trade, it actually goes smaller if you want to become a bit more conservative.
"...especially when they look exactly the same."
They're not the same. The combine rules are different than the FTP/live account rules. You can always trade the combine AS IF it was a live account, and use the live account rules.
I posted in what seems like 100 pages ago regarding the cushion. It's the biggest hurdle of the live account. However if you can get past that level with enough equity and start to build size, then the TST opportunity offers great value for their live traders.
Pekelo,
For whatever reason, some traders are incessantly fascinated by the number of funded traders (which TST defines as those who have passed a simulator), rather than measuring the probability of building equity in the live account.
Yes, opportunity cost is the only accurate way to measure if it's worth pursuing a business. The questions to ask haven't changed, and are as follows:
1. Can I pass the combine(s)?
2. Can I generate enough equity in the live account within the first 10 days and keep it active enough to take a check?