Hi traders

I'm currently doing a trading combine and just trying to come to terms with the trailing drawdown.

For those who have done this the drawdown trails your profit, but what I did not know i s that your unrealized paper profits are also included.

For example if I take a trade it goes 7 ticks and misses my tp with one tick and reverses and hit my sl, the trailing drawdown still goes up 7 ticks?

Not sure why it's designed like this as it doesn't promote good trading.

Any advice on how to overcome this?

That would be correct. No problems with them, excellent support and price on combines.

Just thinking using unrealized profits is a bit "counter productive"

that sounds like a terrible rule. it discourages those who deal with bigger intraday swings, and uses little logic in determining a viable trader. perhaps whatever firm you are with are seeking to gain traders who will generate a lot of commissions through a partner.

which firm are you trading with?

My thought is the rule seems to promote a small target scalp style of trading. Say trading momentum breaks and getting out as soon as the momentum stops, or targeting very small fixed targets.
An intraday swing style where you want to sit in a trade and hold it through some natural ebbs and flows of the market would be hard to do on any size as you have found, once the trade has got in to profit, as you would never be able to sit through any meaningful pullback while price moved towards your profit target.

My thought is the rule seems to promote a small target scalp style of trading. Say trading momentum breaks and getting out as soon as the momentum stops, or targeting very small fixed targets.
An intraday swing style where you want to sit in a trade and hold it through some natural ebbs and flows of the market would be hard to do on any size as you have found, once the trade has got in to profit, as you would never be able to sit through any meaningful pullback while price moved towards your profit target.

I think there is a crucially important point being made here about any and all of the funding tryout companies: once you fully understand all their rules (many traders seem not to bother reading them ), then you should ask yourself whether your preferred style of trading fits in well with them. Very often it does not, which is no one's fault, but it does mean that you shouldn't play with them. Find one where they will let you play your game. If you can't find one, look for another way to be funded.

If the way you trade clearly won't match the way they have the rules set up, there's no point in trading against such a strong headwind. Whether they are being unfair or whether your trading just won't succeed well within their framework, you should just walk away. And it doesn't matter which one it is. If you know your own trading, you will be able to figure out whether you belong there or not, and act accordingly.

Bob.