NexusFi: Find Your Edge


Home Menu

 





Kevin's TST Combine Journal


Discussion in Trading Journals

Updated
      Top Posters
    1. looks_one kevinkdog with 237 posts (640 thanks)
    2. looks_two Big Mike with 34 posts (61 thanks)
    3. looks_3 Pedro40 with 27 posts (19 thanks)
    4. looks_4 deaddog with 20 posts (12 thanks)
      Best Posters
    1. looks_one Silver Dragon with 3 thanks per post
    2. looks_two kevinkdog with 2.7 thanks per post
    3. looks_3 Big Mike with 1.8 thanks per post
    4. looks_4 Pedro40 with 0.7 thanks per post
    1. trending_up 102,140 views
    2. thumb_up 886 thanks given
    3. group 60 followers
    1. forum 460 posts
    2. attach_file 138 attachments




 
Search this Thread

Kevin's TST Combine Journal

  #41 (permalink)
 kevinkdog   is a Vendor
 
Posts: 3,647 since Jul 2012
Thanks Given: 1,890
Thanks Received: 7,338

A word of advice to anyone trying the Combine...

Make sure your stop loss is at least 1 or 2 ticks away from your Daily Loss Limit. There is slippage in the Simulator, just like real life.

For example, had I used a 5 tick stop on my second trade today (and incurred any slippage), I would have FAILED the Combine for exceeding the Daily Loss Limit of $500.

As it turned out, I used a 4 tick stop, was slipped 1 tick on the fill, and ended the day down $497.50, after commissions. Pretty close to my $500 daily limit!

Follow me on Twitter Started this thread Reply With Quote
Thanked by:

Can you help answer these questions
from other members on NexusFi?
Build trailing stop for micro index(s)
Psychology and Money Management
The space time continuum and the dynamics of a financial …
Emini and Emicro Index
Deepmoney LLM
Elite Quantitative GenAI/LLM
NexusFi Journal Challenge - April 2024
Feedback and Announcements
Exit Strategy
NinjaTrader
 
Best Threads (Most Thanked)
in the last 7 days on NexusFi
Get funded firms 2023/2024 - Any recommendations or word …
59 thanks
Funded Trader platforms
36 thanks
NexusFi site changelog and issues/problem reporting
25 thanks
GFIs1 1 DAX trade per day journal
19 thanks
The Program
18 thanks
  #42 (permalink)
Pedro40
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
 
Posts: 564 since Jan 2013
Thanks Given: 33
Thanks Received: 379

I just wanted to say, boy, this guy likes to live dangerously!

2 bucks away from the DLL, now that's what I call risk taking! As you mentioned it could be slippage, or forgetting about the commission, and you are out of the game. I personally always stop at least 20 bucks away from the DLL.
There is simply no point in getting very close, chances are the market won't turn back just right at your DLL...

Reply With Quote
Thanked by:
  #43 (permalink)
 kevinkdog   is a Vendor
 
Posts: 3,647 since Jul 2012
Thanks Given: 1,890
Thanks Received: 7,338



Pedro40 View Post
I just wanted to say, boy, this guy likes to live dangerously!

2 bucks away from the DLL, now that's what I call risk taking! As you mentioned it could be slippage, or forgetting about the commission, and you are out of the game. I personally always stop at least 20 bucks away from the DLL.
There is simply no point in getting very close, chances are the market won't turn back just right at your DLL...

Yes, "normal" losing days for me should be $430, assuming one trade. The last trade I took today was around 2:30 PM, and there usually is not much movement (hence the small stop loss), but the liquidity is also a lot less (hence the 1 tick slippage).

Thinking about it now, I probably should have just passed on the last trade, too - given that 2 ticks of slippage in EC is very possible.

I think I got away with some bad judgment today...

Follow me on Twitter Started this thread Reply With Quote
  #44 (permalink)
 
Silver Dragon's Avatar
 Silver Dragon 
Cincinnati Ohio
Legendary Master Data Manipulator
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: TastyWorks / NT
Broker: TastyWorks /NT
Trading: FX, Stocks, Options
Posts: 2,107 since Feb 2011
Thanks Given: 6,422
Thanks Received: 5,238


kevinkdog View Post
A word of advice to anyone trying the Combine...

Make sure your stop loss is at least 1 or 2 ticks away from your Daily Loss Limit. There is slippage in the Simulator, just like real life.

For example, had I used a 5 tick stop on my second trade today (and incurred any slippage), I would have FAILED the Combine for exceeding the Daily Loss Limit of $500.

As it turned out, I used a 4 tick stop, was slipped 1 tick on the fill, and ended the day down $497.50, after commissions. Pretty close to my $500 daily limit!

@kevinkdog

I think if your total losses exceed 500 during a week time period that you will no longer be able to trade the account till the following week. You might want to check to be sure.

Can someone else confirm this is correct?

Robert

nosce te ipsum

You make your own opportunities in life.
Visit my NexusFi Trade Journal Reply With Quote
  #45 (permalink)
 kevinkdog   is a Vendor
 
Posts: 3,647 since Jul 2012
Thanks Given: 1,890
Thanks Received: 7,338


Silver Dragon View Post
@kevinkdog

I think if your total losses exceed 500 during a week time period that you will no longer be able to trade the account till the following week. You might want to check to be sure.

Can someone else confirm this is correct?

Robert

I think that requirement is in step 3, once you pass the combine (which in TST terminology is "step 2.").

You can see the weekly loss limit here: Live Trading Room | Trading Program | Topstep Funded Trader


I noticed the weekly requirement for step 3 after I developed my system, which of course may have bigger losses than that in a week, since the daily loss limit = weekly loss limit.

Follow me on Twitter Started this thread Reply With Quote
Thanked by:
  #46 (permalink)
 
josh's Avatar
 josh 
Georgia, US
Legendary Market Wizard
 
Experience: None
Platform: SC
Broker: Denali+Rithmic
Trading: ES, NQ, YM
Posts: 6,216 since Jan 2011
Thanks Given: 6,752
Thanks Received: 18,136


Silver Dragon View Post
I think if your total losses exceed 500 during a week time period that you will no longer be able to trade the account till the following week. You might want to check to be sure.

Can someone else confirm this is correct?

In the Live Trader Prep, which I assume most traders are having to do after a successful combine, there is a daily and weekly drawdown of the same amount. This is also the case for funded traders. This is quite a tough requirement, because if you have a bad day or two at the beginning of the week, even if you don't approach your daily loss limit, it limits your options for the rest of the week.

However, I think it is a good requirement. It has the purpose of "slowing down" a slide. In the past I have had a blow-up kind of day usually after a down day or two, usually not after a few successful days. So, while it's frustrating to have to sit out days that one would be profitable trading potentially, it kind of serves as a cool down period.

Reply With Quote
  #47 (permalink)
 kevinkdog   is a Vendor
 
Posts: 3,647 since Jul 2012
Thanks Given: 1,890
Thanks Received: 7,338

No trades today...

I thought I'd share with you some info on the strategies I developed for the Combine, along with how I developed them. If you are thinking about the Combine, or thinking of developing a strategy to meet the Combine's very strict rules, maybe this will give you some help.

First, I created a brand new strategy specifically for the Combine. I started from scratch, rather than try to modify a system I already had.

Why?

Mainly, I wanted to make sure I designed the system with the Combine rules in mind. I know a few people who've taken what they normally trade, and tweaked it a bit for the combine. Or worse yet, they were so confident in their strategy, that they did not even bother to check their strategy against the Combine goals. I think both of these approaches are wrong.

So, I started fresh by first reading the Combine rules and requirements. Obviously, you have to meet all the requirements, or you fail.

Some requirements, like the total profit or the max drawdown, are somewhat out of your control once you develop a system. Even a winning system could fail the Combine, if the trades fall the wrong way. Trading is all about probabilities.

Other requirements, such as max loss in a day, always having a stop, using a non-automated platform (like T4) for order entry, or being out by 4:10 PM ET, are COMPLETELY in your control. Well, max loss in a day is mostly in your control, except for excessive slippage - but you should account for it in your calculations. If you can't meet these requirements, there is no way you'll meet the profit and drawdown requirements.

Therefore, I made sure I read through the requirements 4 or 5 times, and asked TST questions when I had them. For example, TST's "max drawdown" is really "max drawdown of initial captital" not the traditional max drawdown based on highest equity point. That is an important difference when you are designing a strategy.


Next no-trade day I'll talk about some of the key points with the development of my strategies.

Follow me on Twitter Started this thread Reply With Quote
  #48 (permalink)
 
omni72's Avatar
 omni72 
Tulsa, OK
 
Posts: 348 since Jan 2012
Thanks Given: 582
Thanks Received: 624

Thanks for sharing your TST experiences, Kevin. I think it really highlights a way of approaching the combines that we don't often get to see. Kudos for the transparency you are providing.

kevinkdog View Post
Other requirements, such as max loss in a day, always having a stop, using a non-automated platform (like T4) for order entry, or being out by 4:10 PM ET, are COMPLETELY in your control. Well, max loss in a day is mostly in your control, except for excessive slippage - but you should account for it in your calculations. If you can't meet these requirements, there is no way you'll meet the profit and drawdown requirements.

It may have already been mentioned, but you can use Sierra Chart for automated trading within the Combines. I am sure you can with NT as well, but I don't have any experiences with it. My guess is it would be a short learning curve for you before you are up and automatically running with SC.

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. ~ Seneca
Reply With Quote
Thanked by:
  #49 (permalink)
 kevinkdog   is a Vendor
 
Posts: 3,647 since Jul 2012
Thanks Given: 1,890
Thanks Received: 7,338


omni72 View Post
Thanks for sharing your TST experiences, Kevin. I think it really highlights a way of approaching the combines that we don't often get to see. Kudos for the transparency you are providing.


It may have already been mentioned, but you can use Sierra Chart for automated trading within the Combines. I am sure you can with NT as well, but I don't have any experiences with it. My guess is it would be a short learning curve for you before you are up and automatically running with SC.


Thanks for the kind words. I really want this journal to be useful, so everyone please feel free to ask questions.

I was going to use Ninja trader for auto trading, but it is not up and running with the Combine. Ninja provides a nice dll that interfaces between Tradestation and Ninja (so I can use Tradestation to generate signals, then send them to Ninja).

If I end up trading this strategy with my own money, I probably will look to have it run automated - I don;t like checking for new orders every hour or so.

Follow me on Twitter Started this thread Reply With Quote
Thanked by:
  #50 (permalink)
 kevinkdog   is a Vendor
 
Posts: 3,647 since Jul 2012
Thanks Given: 1,890
Thanks Received: 7,338


Fairly boring day today. Due to family commitments, I had to exit my short and hour and a half early, and was not able able to take 1 trade, since I was not near my computer. Net impact - saved me 3-4 pips, and kept the day a winning day (maybe it will be important later on, since there is a requirement for percentage of winning days).

Later today I'll update probabilities, as I am now 25% completed with the combine.





Follow me on Twitter Started this thread Reply With Quote
Thanked by:




Last Updated on April 26, 2014


© 2024 NexusFi™, s.a., All Rights Reserved.
Av Ricardo J. Alfaro, Century Tower, Panama City, Panama, Ph: +507 833-9432 (Panama and Intl), +1 888-312-3001 (USA and Canada)
All information is for educational use only and is not investment advice. There is a substantial risk of loss in trading commodity futures, stocks, options and foreign exchange products. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
About Us - Contact Us - Site Rules, Acceptable Use, and Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy - Downloads - Top
no new posts