Sim accounts have no emotions. And I NEVER believe a trader that tells me trades the same way with a sim account as with real money. It just doesn't happen and the 50 or so odd TST journals on ET testify to that.
Topsteptrader
- Thread starter deaddog
- Start date
Sim accounts have no emotions. And I NEVER believe a trader that tells me trades the same way with a sim account as with real money. It just doesn't happen and the 50 or so odd TST journals on ET testify to that.
That's what I thought for a very long time and never used sim. But I have changed my mind recently. I tried to trade as CLOSELY as possible to real account on sim. I mean I don't take crazy risks and load up 200 lots or whatever, because my real account would never be able to support that.
And I would exit where I would normally exit. As to emotions, I feel the same swings. Maybe not to the same magnitude. I try to be honest. I know it's not perfect, but for testing purposes not bad.
Obviously, sim is NOT my real vehicle. It's mostly for testing purposes. I have a real account that I trade side by side. I just realize for stuff I'm not so sure about it's better to put on sim to see how it plays out than risk real capital. For my bread and butter setups, I just trade on the real account.
TST is not exactly simulator. It costs money and at least for me it was and is important place where I want to get funded and move forward.
I had traded live for some 3 years before joining TST Combines, so as I stated before it has been the most psychologically difficult trading period for me at least.
TST rules pretty much became automatic for me and my personal rules are even tougher than those of TST.
I always knew subconsciously that it is stopping trading on bad days that was preventing me from becoming profitable. This is the critical part. the most important thing for any trader outside of getting the edge.
I had traded live for some 3 years before joining TST Combines, so as I stated before it has been the most psychologically difficult trading period for me at least.
TST rules pretty much became automatic for me and my personal rules are even tougher than those of TST.
I always knew subconsciously that it is stopping trading on bad days that was preventing me from becoming profitable. This is the critical part. the most important thing for any trader outside of getting the edge.
That's a good strategy, but FIRST you have to get to Jr Trader, which means you have to pass the 150k combine, which DOES have a time limit.
And for that, you have to make $900/day net of fees and drawdowns over 10 trading days, or $450/day net of fees and drawdowns over 20 trading days.
Also, you have to do it within the risk parameters of the combine metrics.
Since the maximum allowable draw is $4,500, you'd have to develop a plan to make the $9k profit over the combine period without losing the cumulative max draw on a series of down days. In other words, if you're in the 10 day combine, your RISK cannot be more than $1,125/day, since you can't lose more than 4 max days, and if they occur in sequence, you'd hit the max allowable trailing draw. So you have to start the combine with the $1,125 risk level in mind, and at the same time aim for AT LEAST twice that for the reward/upside days. So that's a 1 by 2 risk to reward game plan, and with a 60% winning day ratio.
If you can make $2,250 on your winning days without losing more than $1,125 on your losing days, and if you can trade the optimal 10 days in a month where you win on at least 6 of those days without losing on more than 4 of those days, then yes, you'll pass the 150k combine and make Jr Trader. Then you can just scale down size since there is no time limit, and trade conservatively until you reach Sr Trader.
Of course, trading the 150k combine over 20 days cuts the numbers in half, so at least that way you have more days to find the optimum trades where you can scale up size. On the 20 day combine, you have to win 11 days minimum without losing more than 9 days, to meet the 55% winning day ratio, and of course still trade within the same risk parameters of the combine rules.
I'm not sure how fast they will let you "scale BIG fast." Remember, you'd first have to pass the 150k combine before you even get the funded account, and you've already figured out by making the following statement, "it seems way tighter than I had thought."
But let's say you did pass the 150k combine, and now you're trading the Jr Trader funded account. The rules for senior trader regarding scaling up aren't really disclosed anywhere on the site, other than the phrase, "the further away you get from your initial balance, the greater negotiating powers you will have for increasing Max Position size and Daily Loss Limit."
It's doubtful you can start with 15 lots as Jr Trader, since you have zero cushion built up, and there's no reason for any backer to let anyone take that kind of risk to start. When you make Sr Trader, it means you've built up the $4,500 profit objective.
As Ace posted, you can scale down size in order to make Sr Trader, since it doesn't have a time limit, then at least you'll already have the 150k account which allows for up to 15 lots, the rest being negotiable.
It's a given that you can't start flipping 15 lots once you're funded. However, I think your question, which is quite valid, is how many lots can you start trading once you've built the $4,500 cushion as Sr Trader.
Wait a minute. The WHOLE point of winning the $150K is so you can swing up to 15 lots. Not necessarily every time. But the capacity is there.
If you pass the 150K Combine and they don't let you trade like you did when you were doing the Combine, which could include swinging up to 15 lots then WHAT'S the POINT?!! That's how you were able to make the $9K in the Combine in the first place. Not by pushing 1 or 2 lots over 10 day period.
With 15 lots you can build up that $4500 cushion faster. If you limited to less than what you did in the Combine then it's very fishy...
Yes, that's why there is a disconnect between the rules of the combine vs. funded account with the larger combines.
When you trade sim, nobody takes any risk. Of course, once you trade live, the backer has the initial risk, so that's why they won't let you swing size, regardless of what you did in the combine. That's why I keep saying that passing the combine is IRRELEVANT.
From an education/learning/testing/psychological perspective, it's a great training tool. However, it's not the main hurdle, the Jr Trader account is what you have to focus on, since that's the ONLY way to get to Sr Trader if you want to start building size and taking checks.
And remember, the rules CHANGE once you're Jr Trader, since they add the weekly loss limit plus the additional rules. So although it's good for us to fantasize how much we're going to make swinging 20-100 lots, it's not reality until you get to Sr Trader and build some type of a cushion where you and the backer can accept the level of risk while trading size.
Neo asked "What is the Matrix?" Sr Traders should ask "What is the Cushion?"
So I learned something new to day.
I was always under the impression that return on invested capital was the important number.
That has always been the draw for the futures market; You can control a huge amount of capital with a small account size.
At the end of the day, if successful, the trader with the smaller account would seem to me to have a better return. On the other hand, leverage being a double edged sword, the unsuccessful trader is wiped out with a few trades that go against him. Iâve never heard any one claim that they had lost all their capital but only taken a 5% loss.
It is a reserves. Third line of Roman legion. To be used wisely.
It is marathon, no sprint so cushion should be managed accordingly, grown and position sizes should move along with cushion up and down.
It is marathon, no sprint so cushion should be managed accordingly, grown and position sizes should move along with cushion up and down.
Well, just to follow up, if YOU were the backer, would you allow a guy to swing 15 lots from day one, just by seeing his 10 day P&L in a sim account?
Take a look at what one of the other firm's backing structure looks like:
http://www.surcaptrading.com/mt4programme/
Even if you passed their "highest combine" the notional value is 200k to start, which is 2 lots of crude or ES.
The firm claims that "Most of our traders reach $500,000 "nominal" worth of backing within 6 months." As stated earlier, that's 5 lots max of crude or ES, after starting out with TWO lots.
So it's not realistic for any backer to let you trade 15 lots to start. Forget what you can do in the combine, since that's not reality.