Playlist
1. Introduction to My Trading Process
I like to teach both sides of the coin—the good days and the not-so-good ones. It’s important to understand that not every trade is a success, and not every day, week, or month will always be profitable. However, with the proper tools and execution, profits do come in over time. The key is consistency, learning from both wins and losses, and developing discipline in your trading routine.
2. Practice & Evaluation Accounts
The practice account was opened on Friday with $150,000. As of today, it stands at $170,000. In contrast, my evaluation account hit a loss and is blocked from trading for the day. Many traders tend to focus on the negatives, such as the blocked account, rather than the $20,000 profit from the practice account. This highlights the psychology of trading—new traders often rush to conclude that a system doesn’t work based on isolated losses without seeing the bigger picture. What really matters is persistence and the ability to restart after a bad day.
3. Dealing with Market Fluctuations
The practice account started on Friday, and the new account today. The market didn’t cooperate today for the new account, and that’s okay. Trading is about understanding that not every day will go as planned. If the market doesn’t work in your favor on a given day, start again with a fresh mindset. The key is to stay the course.
4. Managing Risk in Prop Firm Trading
When trading with a prop firm like TopStep on a $150,000 account, there are strict daily loss limits. If you hit the max loss of $3,000 for the day, you’re done for that session. After that, you have $1,500 of drawdown available for the next session. If you hit that, you’ll need to reset the account, which costs $150. Learning to manage your risk is key to long-term success, especially in the trading combine.
5. Managing Opening Volatility
Improperly managing the opening volatility can ruin your day’s drawdown. How do you manage it? Consider turning off the algo during the most volatile periods, such as market opens, and wait for a fresh setup. This can help prevent unnecessary losses in chaotic conditions.
6. Trading Squeeze Strategy
When trading a squeeze, always be proactive in taking profits at extreme levels. Don’t wait for the market to reverse dramatically—take advantage of opportunities as they arise.
7. Swingarm Trading Sequence
Swingarms move in a sequence—1 minute, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, and so on. If the 15-minute swingarm breaks, the next target zone will typically be the 30-minute swingarm, and so on, until a counter-sequence from higher timeframes is encountered. It’s essential to understand how these timeframes interact to predict price movement accurately.
8. Breaking Smaller Swingarms
Note that the smallest swingarm timeframe is the most likely to break during a backtest, as it is the smallest internal swingarm. The target zone in these situations is usually above, which could also be broken.
9. AlgoPro and the Evaluation Process
I see many new traders focusing too much on settings rather than mastering the basics. The AlgoPro system doesn’t need to be perfect 100% of the time to help you meet your trading goals. It works well enough to get you funded and stay funded with prop firms like TopStep. You just need to put in the work to understand it fully. Don’t expect shortcuts to success—mastery requires dedication and hands-on learning.
10. Daily Practice and Automation
I started a practice/demo trial to test how well AlgoPro performs and to see if I could hit TopStep’s $9,000 goal in two trading days. By the end of Friday, my P/L was $7,255, and today it closed at $5,555. The lesson here? Once you hit the target, you should stop trading, as continuing can increase your target goal and expose you to unnecessary risk.
11. The Role of Tools in Trading
The swingarm indicator helps me visualize key areas of interest ahead of time. While AlgoPro provides support and resistance zones in real-time, the swingarm zones allow me to see where price may respond with potential counter-energy. These zones helped me manage my trades today, including setting manual stops and closing half my positions to lock in profits before a major price drop.
12. AlgoPro’s Power and Automation
The goal with AlgoPro is to have a powerful system that handles the heavy lifting. I’m using TopStep for funding, Tradovate as the broker, and TraderPost for automation. This setup provides a seamless trading environment where the algo takes care of the technical work, allowing me to focus on managing risk and maximizing profits. The system has allowed me to reach my goals without risking personal funds, which is the ultimate objective for any serious trader.