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AttitudeTrader's TopstepTrader Combine Journey


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AttitudeTrader's TopstepTrader Combine Journey

  #1 (permalink)
 
AttitudeTrader's Avatar
 AttitudeTrader 
Dallas, TX, USA
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NinjaTrader, T4
Broker: IQFeed
Trading: 6E
Posts: 358 since Oct 2009
Thanks Given: 6,868
Thanks Received: 869

I know that there are a lot of traders here on Big Mike’s that have either been in a TopstepTrader Combine, are currently in a Combine, or are thinking about starting one.

Because I’ve been through a few now, I thought I’d share some of my results.

I journal daily on my blog, so my posts in this thread will be summaries and occasional updates.

I’ll place links in the Quick Summary section of this thread so you can access my daily journal posts on my blog if you’re interested.

I wish the best of luck to everyone involved in Combines, and I'm hoping there might be something in this thread that will be helpful.




"Is it hard? Not if you have the right attitude. It's having the right attitude that's hard." - Robert Pirsig
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  #3 (permalink)
 
Daytrader999's Avatar
 Daytrader999 
Ilsede, Germany
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AttitudeTrader View Post
I know that there are a lot of traders here on Big Mike’s that have either been in a TopstepTrader Combine, are currently in a Combine, or are thinking about starting one.

Because I’ve been through a few now, I thought I’d share some of my results.

I wish the best of luck to everyone involved in Combines, and I'm hoping there might be something in this thread that will be helpful.

I wish you best of luck for your new Combine as well, hope you'll finally make it !

"If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much." - Jim Rohn
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  #4 (permalink)
 
AttitudeTrader's Avatar
 AttitudeTrader 
Dallas, TX, USA
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NinjaTrader, T4
Broker: IQFeed
Trading: 6E
Posts: 358 since Oct 2009
Thanks Given: 6,868
Thanks Received: 869


Daytrader999 View Post
I wish you best of luck for your new Combine as well, hope you'll finally make it !

Appreciate it! However, my definition of "making it" has changed as I've gone through this process, as have my goals for each Combine. I talk about this on my blog, but I'm sure it'll come up in the discussion at some point in this thread too.

"Is it hard? Not if you have the right attitude. It's having the right attitude that's hard." - Robert Pirsig
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  #5 (permalink)
 msull35706 
Saratoga, NY USA
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NinjaTrader
Trading: CL, GC
Posts: 377 since Aug 2010
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Greetings AT + DT

I've been thru 12 combines thus far over a 2 year span...
Still trying!!!

Top Step is legit for sure...

Just need to develop a consistent edge and not have large drawdowns along the way...

I will subscribe to your thread and see your progress and share some trade battling stories

Mike S.

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  #6 (permalink)
 
AttitudeTrader's Avatar
 AttitudeTrader 
Dallas, TX, USA
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NinjaTrader, T4
Broker: IQFeed
Trading: 6E
Posts: 358 since Oct 2009
Thanks Given: 6,868
Thanks Received: 869

TopstepTrader Combine #1

I started my first TopstepTrader Combine on September 23rd, 2013 for a number of personal reasons, and it turned out to be quite a disappointment.

Going into this first Combine I thought I had a plan that was “good enough,” but I soon found out how many holes there were in it.

At the beginning of this Combine I was on fire. My first 6 days were all winners and I was up quite a bit. However, the remaining 14 days were a horror show and I finished the Combine down as much as I had been up at my equity high.

Although I didn’t blow out the Combine, I still failed it badly. This was very depressing for me because it showed me that I was much farther away from becoming a consistently profitable trader than I had been willing to admit to myself.

Despite my poor results (or maybe because of them), it was a very eye-opening experience. It showed me how powerful the Combines can be as a tool for more accurately revealing one’s current state of development, provided the Combine is taken seriously.

I'll provide a link to the posts on my blog relevant to Combine #1 in the Quick Summary section of this thread for anyone interested in the daily details.

Edit - I forgot to mention something else about this Combine:

Once my equity curve had been going downhill for a while I stopped all trading (on day 15) in order to try to figure out what I could do to improve things. I didn't trade again for nearly a month, and finally, when there were only 5 trading days left to complete the Combine, I started trading again. I still hadn't been able to improve on my approach, but I wanted to follow through and complete it.


Here is my final trade report for Combine #1:


"Is it hard? Not if you have the right attitude. It's having the right attitude that's hard." - Robert Pirsig
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  #7 (permalink)
 
bobwest's Avatar
 bobwest 
Western Florida
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AttitudeTrader View Post
I know that there are a lot of traders here on Big Mike’s that have either been in a TopstepTrader Combine, are currently in a Combine, or are thinking about starting one.

Because I’ve been through a few now, I thought I’d share some of my results.


AttitudeTrader View Post

Despite my poor results (or maybe because of them), it was a very eye-opening experience. It showed me how powerful the Combines can be as a tool for more accurately revealing one’s current state of development, provided the Combine is taken seriously.

Good to see you giving the Combine another shot.

You're absolutely right about it being an eye-opener. You find out where you really are very quickly.

I'll be very interested in following your progress in this one.

Good luck with it.

Bob.

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  #8 (permalink)
 
tturner86's Avatar
 tturner86 
Portland, Oregon
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: F-16CM-40
Trading: GBU-39
Posts: 6,191 since Sep 2013
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I will be following. I am looking at doing a combine in July, so it is nice to see others experiences.

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  #9 (permalink)
 
Mtype's Avatar
 Mtype 
Hungary
 
Experience: None
Posts: 1,323 since Oct 2012
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I've been following your blog for the last few combines or so.

I have to say you are building an awesome base for development in my opinion an your attitude is sound

I would like to ask you about two things though:

When you were posting your T4 fills I noticed that your entries are mostly in the first 15 minutes of the open (if you are in CDT) now i gotta be honest with my question here. Do you prefer that or do you feel a little impatient to wait until the pictures clears a little?

How come your average winning day and largest winning day is smaller than your average losing day and largest losing day? Are you becoming more risk seeking when you are down?

I hope you don't mind that my post isn't all sunshine and rainbows but I wouldn't write to someone whose progress i don't care about and I'm also going through similar challanges.

Best of luck!

“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” Δ

“There is no path, but only a fool wouldn’t follow it.”
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  #10 (permalink)
 
AttitudeTrader's Avatar
 AttitudeTrader 
Dallas, TX, USA
 
Experience: Intermediate
Platform: NinjaTrader, T4
Broker: IQFeed
Trading: 6E
Posts: 358 since Oct 2009
Thanks Given: 6,868
Thanks Received: 869



Mtype View Post
I've been following your blog for the last few combines or so.

I have to say you are building an awesome base for development in my opinion an your attitude is sound

Thanks.

Mtype View Post
I would like to ask you about two things though:

When you were posting your T4 fills I noticed that your entries are mostly in the first 15 minutes of the open (if you are in CDT) now i gotta be honest with my question here. Do you prefer that or do you feel a little impatient to wait until the pictures clears a little?

For me, "impatience" would denote difficulty in waiting for a solid setup. While I do become impatient at times, taking most of my trades in the first 15 to 45 minutes of the session is simply a result of setups occurring in that time frame. If I have a setup, I try to take it.

Mtype View Post
How come your average winning day and largest winning day is smaller than your average losing day and largest losing day? Are you becoming more risk seeking when you are down?

This is due to the simple fact that when I have a winning trade, I usually quit for the day, and when I have a losing trade I tend to take another trade to try to recover some or all of the loss from the first trade.

My approach is definitely a work in progress and this way of going about things is probably not the most efficient. I'm already aware of this and I'm working to deal with it as I get more experience and data.

Mtype View Post
I hope you don't mind that my post isn't all sunshine and rainbows but I wouldn't write to someone whose progress i don't care about and I'm also going through similar challanges.

Best of luck!

No problem. Today my trading day was definitely not sunshine and rainbows and consisted of the very things you've pointed out above. They're issues that I'll have to work on as I go forward.

Hope this answers your questions. Good luck to you too.

"Is it hard? Not if you have the right attitude. It's having the right attitude that's hard." - Robert Pirsig
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