EventHorizon

@DixonCapital @Topstep Next time I hope it only takes 10 seconds!

Requested my @Topstep payout and in 30 mins its in the bank! Love to see it!

Yes please read the rules carefully. Note that the MLL (max loss limit) balance for Topstep does indeed trail profits up from its starting value but stops at the account's initial value. For example, a 50k Combine (eval) has an MLL at 48,000 which trails profits up until it hits 50,000 where it will remain. A 50k XFA (funded) has an MLL of -$2,000 to start and trails profits up until it reaches $0 at which point it also stops. Should also point out that the new (limited availability for now) 25k Combine at Topstep has an MLL of 24,000 and it is indeed static: it does NOT trail profits up. Finally, for completeness, the DLL (an option at Topstep which yields a discounted Combine price) is fixed and based on EOD. It is not measured from intraday profit highs.

Trailing drawdown rises with your profits and locks in your gains as new loss limits. Static doesn't. Monetro's max drawdown is fixed from initial balance — 10% on Evolution and Endurance, 6% on Velocity. Topstep trails. Read both rulebooks before you pay anyone.

@TheQueenofKa @Alpha_Futures_ The existence of affiliate programs really renders so many prop firm "summaries" or "comparisons" suspect. I'm a proponent for Topstep, primarily because of its Live program and no-nonsense payout history (99.26% approved this year). It does NOT have an affiliate program.

Going to make it my life's mission to call people out every single time they promote or affiliate with a scam firm, starting with @Alpha_Futures_ If you stay affiliated with these people after this, there is no hope for you. You are actual dog shit.

@aw_trades_ Good luck! Hope to see you on the Octagon soon :)

@EventHorizonTOP woahh that's so cool!! okay i will

so i'm on hiatus at lucid, tradeify and mff and can't buy accounts for a bit lol which firm should i pick up next while i wait? genuinely taking suggestions topstep? tpt? something i haven't tried yet? i was thinking to do topstep, tpt, fundednext and e8

Sadly you are once again misinformed. “A portion goes to live for buffer” — what buffer? The sim funds can’t be withdrawn immediately but to say that means they are “no longer yours” is very misleading. Make some profit and they will be yours. At other props they simply vanish, forever and are certainly no longer yours, no longer accessible. Ever. Make $50k in sim. Move to Live, start with $10k (the minimum at Topstep) and every week unlock another $10k. Before that happens suppose you have five days of $150+ and now have $12k. You can take out $6k - no buffer. If you make $3k each week you’ll unlock the remainder of the initial $50k in $10k chunks. After four weeks you could have a total of $62k (or more) and take out $31k (or more). To imply, as you seem to insist on doing, that sim profits are lost forever simply because you get moved to Live before getting a payout is very misleading especially when compared to other firms and is why I keep correcting you. I suppose anyone reading this by now has a clear picture and I can move on. Recall this all started when you cast Topstep along with other props as a firm that “forfeits sim profits” when being moved to Live. Blatantly wrong.

@EventHorizonTOP @Logan_Angelo @isoarnud @JeredKing @TradingLucid Upon transitioning to live can the entirety of available sim funds be withdrawn? Yes or no? No they can not. A portion goes to live for buffer. The remainder goes to an escrow acct. Again, Your once available sim funds can not be withdrawn. They are no longer yours.

1/🧵 I audited the fine print of @TradingLucid prop firm, and what I found is terrifying Too many firms are designed to legally forfeit your hard-earned profits back to the house

Your original post said sim profits are forfeited at Topstep which is absolutely incorrect and the misrepresentation I sought to correct. In fact, you start with a minimum of $10k in Live at Topstep. You can call continuing to be profitable "jumping through hoops" if you like but that's not how I see it. There really isn't any splitting hairs because at other props sim profits are indeed forfeited as in gone forever. They are erased. Not at Topstep. My goal is simply to clarify factual information for the readers of these posts. If they think Topstep is like other props and when you are moved to Live you lose all your simulated profits - thanks to posts such as yours that claim this - I want to make sure it is clear that is NOT the case.

@EventHorizonTOP @Logan_Angelo @isoarnud @JeredKing @TradingLucid I think we're beginning to split hairs here. If I expect to withdraw today but now can't because of live transition, I would consider that at minimum, ineligible. I'll meet you in the middle and change forfeited to "ineligible until I jump through hoops." Can we meet there?

Yes, you can be sent to Live after any number of payouts including none. But those simulated monies, as I pointed out, are NOT LOST as you implied in your initial post. You keep them -- all of them, up to $150,000. This can also be discovered by very simple search of the Topstep website. This is in contrast to most props where you lose all the sim profits and start Live with $0 or a small amount. In fact, someone posted recently that she had around $150,000 in sim monies over 20 accounts at a prop and was being moved to their version of Live with just $3k. In her case, she actually did lose all those monies. Not sure what you are referencing with the rather odd "sorry that hurt your feelings"

@EventHorizonTOP @Logan_Angelo @isoarnud @JeredKing @TradingLucid That's just not true. A very, and I mean VERY simple search will show numerous traders being sent to live BEFORE payout, prior to going live. Payouts forfeited under the guise of going live. Sorry that hurt your feelings man.

Topstep does NOT forfeit sim profits. In fact, you can move as much as $150k in sim profits to Live at Topstep. True you only "unlock" 20% of this amount to start but in a few weeks the remainder can be unlocked as you make profits. Also, the minimum starting balance for a Live account at Topstep is $10k (even if this is greater than 20% of your total sim balance).

@Logan_Angelo @isoarnud @JeredKing @TradingLucid They all do it. TPT just has the best set up because the sim profits aren't forfeited. Apex, lucid, topstep, mff, they all forfeit sim profits.

@DylanWinkler789 @TheOneLanceB That's exactly right. Yes, there are some hurdles but in the long-term, the sky is the limit for Topstep Live traders.

@EventHorizonTOP @TheOneLanceB And I do appreciate the reply as I didn’t understand that about topstep’s live program, at least entirely. I’d be grateful for the call up but still, that’s tough. But If u were a consistent and profitable trader then pushing through the live goal marks doesn’t sound too bad🤷‍♂️2/2

Real questions seeking real answers: My timeline is full of funded traders complaining that they are going live. -Why is it that funded traders don’t want to be brought live? -Why is it that the funded trader companies do want you live? -Are the strategies not replicable bc of fake fills? or data delays? or is it the leverage structure that is what gets gamed? -Has any funded trader produced 7-figure per yr verified results when live trading? If so, who and where? A rant for another day - but I’d argue that affiliate link incentives from funded trader programs are a big part of what broke the online trading industry regarding frauds and no transparency ala Patrick Wieland and Matt Coward. From afar, it seems like many of these funded trader cos are just cannibalizing each other at this point with discounts and race to the bottom. Zero loyalty from traders or affiliates. It’s just whoever has the cheapest loss-leading discount.

@LethalityTrader Curious as to what data set led you to believe "the number of traders consistently making payouts is growing at an incredible rate". I have yet to see such evidence.

Eventually, something will happen with futures prop firms because the number of traders consistently making payouts is growing at an incredible rate. The business is getting out of their hands. Once it reaches a point where it’s no longer profitable, prop firms will either start shutting down or tighten their rules, making the evaluation process and/or payouts much harder.

@cantucapital Depends on which market you are talking about. In any case, you can decide how much you want to risk - say $150/trade - and then based on recent (past hour or two) volatility choose a size so that a 2-sigma move against you hits the $150.

What’s the ideal position size to make meaningful progress on 50k eval/funded accounts? 1 micro feels ultra safe, but super slow. 2 micros feels alright. 3+ micros can feel risky to me. Curious how y’all determine sizing?

You actually DO still get the simulated money. Unlike many props that start you in Live with $0 or a very small amount, at Topstep you move the entire balance of your funded accounts to Live. You can move as much as $150,000 from your Funded accounts to the Live account. Yes, you would only access 20% of that amount to start, but the rest gets unlocked as you make profits (as often as weekly, in $30k chunks). In a few weeks you could have the full $150,000 you earned in your Express Funded Accounts (“XFAs”) - plus any profits you made as you unlocked this full amount - in your Topstep Live account And after five days of $150+ in profit you can withdraw 50% of the balance with no cap. After thirty days of $150+ you can take daily payouts of any size.

@TheOneLanceB Saw one guy get moved live today 13 minutes before being eligible for a large payout across accounts on topstep. That’s just scummy like you hit all the goals, complete the days, and then oops! Ur not getting the money u worked for actually… ur going LIVE!🤩💫

@Ckhangg_7 @Topstep Well done. In the long-term this is what works. Project these steady profits out 30 or 40 days and you'll see great payout opportunities. Keep at it! When you get moved to Live, too.

I love trading smaller. It feels boring. It feels slow. It even feels like I’m underperforming. But consistency isn’t built by excitement. Consistency creates freedom. 444 shows me the way. 🍀

@TheSwoleNegus7 @Topstep CME velocity event. SLs are market orders - if no market, no fill. Unfortunate reality of how the velocity event mechanism works.

@Topstep what was that ??? My trailing stop was set in profit!!! Why did it make my trade negative? Nah yall need to fix that.

As part of your decision making process you should consider the Live accounts. I’ve seen (posted on X) someone with over $150k (? Can’t recall) in sim profits across 20 accounts moved to a single Apex Live account starting with $3k. At Topstep, you can move as much as $150,000 from your Funded accounts to the Live account. Yes, you would only access 20% of that amount to start, but the rest gets unlocked as you make profits (as often as weekly, in $30k chunks). In a few weeks you could have the full $150,000 you earned in your Express Funded Accounts (“XFAs”) - plus any profits you made as you unlocked this full amount - in your Topstep Live account.

Is Apex better or Topstep? Looking to buy some accounts with activation fees but not sure. Topstep has 50k for $49 bucks with $150 activation but Apex has it for $45 with $99 fee

@aw_trades_ As I've commented before when you've mentioned tilting, you are only (but a very talented) human! Sharing this undoubtedly helps many traders who are beating themselves up for doing the same. It happens, and you can move on from it.

market got the better of me today and i tilted pretty hard lost my tradeify live accounts and not in the way i was expecting i had a plan, traded it and lost and then let my ego and greed get the better of me and didn’t want to post a loss on my page since i’ve been doing so well well, this is what happens when you trade for pnl and social media take this as a lesson that nothing else matters other than your plan and discipline it’s been a while since i’ve had a bad tilt but this market really got the better of me today head is still up high and we continue on!! my personal live account is untouched i didn’t let my frustration leak into my personal live account thankfully

You are not alone in feeling the risk tools on these platforms are game changers - can't tell you how many traders have echoed that sentiment. Decide - and lock for the day - the SL/PT for each trade, the DLL and PT for the day, the max number of trades you can take, which futures you can trade, etc. Set them and stick to them is what countless traders that succeed have told me.

I want to emphasize again how important risk mgmt is. From one who struggled with it for a LONG time, do not make the same mistake I did. @Topstep and @TopstepBroker risk tools have been a game changer for me. Respect the game. "live to play another day" @MikeBellafiore

@tradewiththesky @Topstep Sorry to hear it. I can assure you, however, you are not alone in falling into these psychological traps. Tomorrow is a new day, learn from your mistakes.

Blew my @Topstep 50K account today. Hard pill to swallow, but I have to be 100% transparent. 📉 What happened: Over-traded and fell heavily into the revenge trading trap. Tried to fight the market at the same key resistance level on #NQ and completely lost my discipline.

@FredM274 @fundedshif @MichaelPatak @AskTopstep @Topstep The 99.26% are the approval rate for payout request. If your account was put on hold close to a payout, perhaps you are doing very well and are now being moved to Live. If so, congratulations. Well done.

@EventHorizonTOP @fundedshif @MichaelPatak @AskTopstep @Topstep Oh about that 99.26% of approved payouts. Does this percentage take in consideration eligible accounts for payout? Because I never requested it, as they put me on hold the day I was eligible, very convenient I'd say. I believe that the number will change a lot if you count that.

Live to trade another day aka always trade for tomorrow. … both sayings serious traders live by.