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T4 is ok, get's the job done, fast connection, stable. For point and click traders, scalpers especially, it is a bit of a pain though. It doesn't offer bracket orders so if you are trading with more than one lot you need to do a lot of point and clicking, and the buttons are really tiny and along the top, so, not really user friendly and not very good for moving your position around quickly and efficiently.
Ninjatrader's bracket orders are great but still the T4 dom is better because you can stretch it out and see more prices. Ninjatraders ability to hide entry and exit orders from the hft machines is pretty cool though. X-Trader is the bomb, but it's expensive. At any rate, T4 offers a fast and reliable connection, it's just opens up a lot of room for fat finger error and detracts from focus on the tape when trying to get more complex orders into the dom, so it's not great for scalpers in fast markets if they are doing anything other than a basic oco all in order. The people at T4 have been saying for some months that they will be adding bracket order capability although they have said they cannot give an eta. Would be nice to see some big fat buttons on the side like X trader as well.....
Yeah, it's kinda weird that they use this as their example. After spending 2+ weeks with TST, I can vouch for the fact that they DO NOT encourage this type of trading. I do know they have been overhauling their website, so hopefully they plan on updating that page with something more aligned with the general TST theme: don't trade to trade, wait for your setup. Then again, maybe scalpers help subsidize the program for the rest of us
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. ~ Seneca
Yeah, I'm not trying to disparage T4. Heck, I'm actually hoping the Live setup has the option to add Steidlmayer's Volume Strips. It's just a personal preference thing. In the years trading via OEC's platform, I've never experienced anything but bullet-proof stability. But more importantly to me is that I just prefer to trade straight from my charts. As Lornz mentioned, you can tie in the T4 data feed to SC, but the only way to enter orders is via the actual T4 front end. I can trade all I want via SC and the T4 feed, it's just that my TST account doesn't reflect those trades.
That's all I'll say about the platform. First, I realize the extended conversation has been moved to a T4 thread. Second, as long as I'm with TST it's what I will be using, pure and simple. And thirdly, I just noticed tonight while reading Lornz's post that CTS is a sponsor
Honestly, even if they used OEC or VK for that matter, I'd still be tethered to the DOM. Is it possible to train myself to trade via the DOM in the same manner I've taught myself to trade from the charts? Absolutely. I just wasn't planning on having to do it. Just brings me back to this line:
Okay, gonna go watch some Hard Right Edge. Sounds like there should be some bow-chicka-bow-wow 70's music in the background. But it's not like that
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. ~ Seneca
At any rate, this thread is not about T4, which is just a professional grade stripped down dom, and it gets the job done. This thread is about Topsteptrader. Every new trader should pass their live trader test, the combine, before trading real money. If you can pass the combine, you are good to go. Doing simulation on your own is not the same. Here you are in a competitive arena, your stats cannot be fudged, you cannot make mistakes, you have your time and money as skin in the game. It's as real as trading real money as you are going to get, and anybody who can't pass it is going to mess themselves up pretty bad trading real money. Anyways, I'm starting one next Monday and intend to crush it, come and see me do it as I take the next step to managing a 150,000$ trading account...
It's a stretch to say that all new traders should pass their combine. If one has enough capital to trade with and a way to make money, there is no point in giving up a percentage of one's income. Swing/position and options traders also have little to gain from passing the combine.
That being said, TopstepTrader is a good firm for traders with talent, but no money. I really wish there was something like that available when I got started; I would have been able to compound at a much faster pace.
I think all traders should prove themselves in a simulated environment before trading with real money. In what profession would people in their training levels be given full responsibilities to manage so much risk? Simulated trading on your own isn't comparable because you are not held to account. If you make a mistake, you can say it didn't count, you can fool yourself into thinking you have the real skills needed to trade. A fancy chart is not a skill, this is the fate of most new traders. The real talent takes time master, and it doesn't happen in two weeks or two months. Getting into a regimented program like topsteptrader is the closest a trainee trader can get to real trading experience because you are held accountable and you do have skin in the game. There you will see see how many very smart people have spent so much time learning this game and from them you will gain a tremendous amount of experiential knowledge and mentorship that you just can't get on your own.
The combine is a high bar to pass, to be sure. The one month test requires the trader to earn 10% on the risk capital allocated to them, 5k on 50, 10 on a hundred etc. From what I've been able to gather it seems most successful professional traders are able to do consistently 3-8% on risk capital per month. This is intraday trading I'm talking about. So 10% is a very big challenge for a trader without a track record. I've come close on several combines but not yet cracked the 10%. If a new trader can do a few combines and see they are doing better than 3% per month, then maybe they don't need to pass the combine, maybe they are ready. At any rate, the topstep system is the best way, imo, to prove your ability by the numbers. And what a great way to do it, interacting and learning from seasoned professionals and trainees alike. It's a great group.
Lot's of other benefits of being a part of this group include interviews with professional psychologists like Andrew Menaker who does a weekly seminar and daily interviews with live professional traders. You become part of a network of successful people and you learn so much this way. You don't get this kind of experience from a book or self training on your own. They work with traders on the skills that are most important in trading, they don't show you methods or charts and bs like that, of course they do have some basic stuff stuff like that for brand new people starting out, but that's not their focus. Their focus is to identify talent and work with those people. If you are trading their risk capital and paying out 20-30% to the equity partners, who cares. If you want to make more, increase your account size. And don't forget that risk runs both ways. There are other benefits as well, such as a back office and a risk manager overseeing your daily trades, and equity partners their to help you with things. I think this program is a real opportunity and anybody starting out in this game would be wise to 'NOT' open a trading account with a broker before meeting some of the people in this program and seeing what they have been through on their path to becoming professionals. If this program had been around when I started I could have saved myself a whole lot of time and money, the time being the main factor here, I've learned so much from TST, thanks everybody over there!