MarthaChiriboga 

Tturner, Since the plebeians have spoken and have wrongly accused me of spamming, I think I've been reported as a " vendor"

Just to clarify my thoughts since I am one of the Plebeians in your mind (funny, I have never been called lower-class before) - perhaps I came on too strong in my original posting and I apologize for that but I was disturbed that you were posting affiliate links and Mike had to warn you a couple of times. The posting of affiliate links seemed counter to the experience of being a member of nexusfi.com (formerly BMT). That's all. Other than that, I enjoy your enthusiasm.

Hi, BeachTrader!

I wasn't talking about you, since you're an elite member of this futures.io (formerly BMT) community.

Next time that you're perturbed by anything I do, kindly send me a PM and I'll rectify it, ASAP.

I do value open communication. It helps with our throat chakras.

Love,
Martha

BeachTrader 

Other than that, I enjoy your enthusiasm.

BeachTrader,

You're one of many who enjoys my enthusiasm.

Please stroke my ego and tell me what you mean.

I would appreciate that.

MC

MarthaChiriboga 

Thanks for the clarification, but I removed my affiliate links as duly noted by everyone or I risked getting my membership revoked for a second time and I definitely didn't want that to happen. So, now, I'm addled. PandaWarrior, a market wizard, who is seeking to do consulting work. I recently became an elite member, in order to redeem the generous discount for my combine. There is a huge difference. I trade using what I've learned from my Guru and I've shared the results, here - good or bad. Big Mike, if it's easier for you to delete this entire thread, so be it. I don't want to be accused of breaking the TOS as that would be cited as "double jeopardy".

I notified @Big Mike well in advance I was considering becoming a vendor after having been a member here for 4 years. I publicly noted I was considering doing this....all was above board and all rules were properly adhered to....I've subsequently decided not really pursue the whole vendor thing and have taken my website down and Mike has notified me I can journal again but have elected not to in order to make sure there is no appearance of promotion of any kind.

On the other hand, you joined and immediately began promoting your stuff.....I think everyone here is fine with someone being a vendor, but shameless self promotion isn't cool. I'm surprised your journal is still open.

I like your attitude about the rest though....I am following with a measure of interest......I hope you pass your combine.....

Take care.

Yes, PandaWarrior!

Indeed, I was guilty of shamelessly plugging my affiliate link, before I even read the fine print or became familiar with the culture in this community; however, I never requested to become a vendor.

I think BigMike might've changed my user-title for the sake of transparency. Perchance?

It depletes my energy to have to defend myself, over and over again. NOW I KNOW HOW BigMike FELT when he had to tell me a gazzillion TIMES to STOP the self-promotion. It must've been a PIA.

My professional apologies to the community and to BigMike. I doubly appreciate his patience with me. I love you, BigMike.

Thanks for your well wishes, PandaWarrior, and for subscribing to this thread.

MarthaChiriboga 

Yes, PandaWarrior! Indeed, I was guilty of shamelessly plugging my affiliate link, before I even read the fine print or became familiar with the culture in this community; however, I never requested to become a vendor. I think BigMike might've changed my user-title for the sake of transparency. Perchance? It depletes my energy to have to defend myself, over and over again. NOW I KNOW HOW BigMike FELT when he had to tell me a gazzillion TIMES to STOP the self-promotion. It must've been a PIA. My professional apologies to the community and to BigMike. I doubly appreciate his patience with me. I love you, BigMike. Thanks for your well wishes, PandaWarrior, and for subscribing to this thread.

To clarify things a little, futures.io (formerly BMT) is extremely popular, and so we see hundreds of system vendors trying to pitch their stuff to naive newcomers, who have money to spend but aren't sure how to trade and who are vulnerable to being exploited.

Generally speaking, @Big Mike kicks them off in a hurry. futures.io (formerly BMT) is a place where people can get advice and help, and is meant to be safe, not a place where they are preyed upon because they don't know any better.

Whether you knew it or not, when you were plugging one guy's system at every chance you got, you did fit the profile of a predator looking for business. That's basically the reason you have met with so much skepticism about your motives. Maybe you actually weren't meaning to do that. No problem, then. But we see it almost every day from someone.

If in fact you want to participate in this forum in a helpful way, and to improve your own trading, you will be welcome and everyone will be pulling for your success. If you want to represent some particular method, and do so in an ethical way, within the rules, that will be cool, too. But the rules are there for a good reason and should not be messed with.

I don't mean to say that I think you are trying to do anything you shouldn't; I don't know, and am willing to assume the best. But I thought it might be helpful to clearly point out the reason for some of the skepticism you have met.

I do hope you do quite well, and pass this Combine and go on to further success.

Bob.

PS, you may not know this yet, but when you mention someone else, if you put an "@" sign in front of their user name, with no space, and spell their name exactly as they do, with the same capitalization, or not, and with the same spaces or not, then they will get an email telling them that you have mentioned them. Like this: @MarthaChiriboga . You should have gotten an email, and your name should be underlined and bold in this post. (If it doesn't show like that, you got the name wrong.)

Just a tip.

Good luck.

I will post it for her from Facebook, because some people here like closures, and we as traders have to take the good with the bad and the ugly:

"I did it. I reached my stop loss for the day. Combine #1 done. My next one starts, next month. I'll continue to practice, though."

As much as your enthusiasm was entertaining Martha, the lack of logical approach (completely overpaid Combine, non-existing system) resulted in a non-surprising end. Also FOMC...

Final advice: next time try the cheapest Combine...

Honestly, I hate to say it, but who among us did not see that one coming?

She had replied to a poster a few pages back and wondered "Just out-of-curiousity[sic], @mfbreakout, how did you discern my level of enthusiasm on this thread? That's interesting to me, because it belies in the ether."

I almost chirped in and mentioned that it was pretty clear to me what would happen to her in the Combine, but I hate being the "rain on your parade" guy, so I kept quiet.


But, let's turn this failure into something positive! To wit:

@MarthaChiriboga - before you try another Combine, I recommend passing at least 10 "fake" Combines. Trade to the Combine rules, but do it on a free simulator/emulator. Then maybe you can give a real Combine a try. And if your current "guru" can't help you pass, find a different guru, or a different method.

Passing the Combine is hard. Getting funded, and staying funded, is even harder. Think about it: if you were TST's equity partner, would you want a trader using your money who just started futures 9 months ago? I know I wouldn't.

Good Luck, and I hope you continue this trading journey.




Full Disclosure: I attempted 2 Combines, escaped with a rollover both times. Never passed, but never failed either.

kevinkdog 

@MarthaChiriboga - before you try another Combine, I recommend passing at least 10 "fake" Combines. Trade to the Combine rules, but do it on a free simulator/emulator. Then maybe you can give a real Combine a try. And if your current "guru" can't help you pass, find a different guru, or a different method.

I have to agree with @kevindog... Pass a couple of "fake" combines and then you may be ready. Your guru should be more than willing to help since you are giving his method free promotion.

I too was hoping you would pass this on the first attempt . Your enthusiam and attitude was admirable , but the trading highway is littered with dead bodies from overly ambitious people with minimum experience. This is one of the few arenas you can play with the pros on day 1 and no one ever asks for your background , qualifications, experience, or skills.

Look at it this way.. you are only out $800.. Small price to pay to know you need more practice and improved skills.

Best to you as you move forward.


Wolf

Pedro40,

I'm flattered that you sought me out on FB. Thank you! Please hit the "Like" button, next time.

Went over my max daily limit and lost Combine #1 down in flames.

Today was a pervasively, stressful day!

When I put on 20-30 contracts, today, it reeked mental havoc on me and that's not acceptable. I actually felt a very, real feeling of fear – even when the trade was going in my favor! Ironic, isn't it? After I acknowledged the fear, I had to sit back and look at myself as a third person. I saw myself, my clothes, my surroundings, akin to having an out-of-body experience. That's the only thing that got me out of that gripping fear.

As I looked at myself, sitting on my desk looking at the computer....my emotions became neutralized. I got that tip from Dr. Tharp, a trading psychologist. That exercise helped me slow my heartbeat and forced me to take in deep inhalations; thereby, bringing more oxygen to my brain cells instead of my legs and hamstrings.

So, the first thing I will do from now on is trade a minimum of 15 contracts and then ratchet up. I WANT to acclimate to that position size, because I can do it. It's a mental game!

Thank you TsT for creating this combine exercise. It's worth every penny. As such, I've already pre-paid for my next combine ($850.00 USD) and it starts on Monday; 20 October, 2014.

I love having a risk manager in place, because I have a voracious appetite for danger. For example, I purchased this specific Groupon, because I LOVE jumping out of planes and dancing with the clouds like a Blue Butterfly.

I've decided to use the rest of the time practicing on the defunct combine account, even though, it's not eligible for funding. My intention is to see my equity curve rise. If my equity curve doesn't get a better K-ratio, then I'll postpone Combine #2, by another four weeks. I'm in no rush to loose $6K on a LIVE account. Thankfully I've got time on my side.

On other news....

Does everyone know that TopStepTrader is having another trading challenge using FOREX pairs, with a $3K prize pool? The first prize is $1,500!!!! The entry fee is $50.00 and here is the sign-up form.

Why settle for less? I've already paid $200 to possibly win 2,900 nachos, the top four prizes. Here is my email confirmation:



Of course, I've never, EVER *personally* traded Forex pairs, but I will partake in this contest, nonetheless.

Well, I did answer an ad, one day, and allowed a stranger to trade a Forex account for me. He lost 50% of my money. It was not the brightest thing to let happen, but I was smitten by his ad copy. The good news is that lesson only cost me $1K.

With this Forex challenge, there is no daily max loss limit, that means that I have a good chance of winning. On the last @TopstepTrader trading challenge, I did place ninth place out of 177 entries, on the penultimate day. I trust that price action will guide me as it interacts with supply and demand zones. Please join me in this trading challenge, traders! It's gonna be a lot of FUN!

“You think that the goal is to be over there, and we say the goal is the journey over there; the goal is the fun you have along the way on your way to over there.” ~ Abraham Hicks.