I Lost My Funded Trading Account

[@abeNpdx]

Hey Daniel, got turned on to Topstep from watching your first combine videos. I was always skeptical of prop firms. But after some devasting losses trading options on my personal account and watching your videos...I decided this could be the answer for me as well. I passed my first 50k combine on Jan 3rd and am now funded. Working now on my 150k and another 50k. Those videos changed everything for me bro, I went from a really dark place to absolutely stoked and optimistic. First time trading futures too! I can't believe I was trading options! Everything is clicking now without the complexities of options. Made $4300 between all my accounts in the last two days. I can't thank you enough for putting yourself out there and making these videos. THANK YOU!!

[@DanielInskeep]

this is my favorite kind of comment. congrats, man.

[@streambolt2467]

i aspire to be like you

[@Xx561SCRIBLERxX]

Don’t let the need or want for money to cause u to risk your strategy. Remember u only need so much a month… to make your bills. Not wants.

[@ni7299]

DUDE! Hell yeh! Slow down I’m trying to catch up!!👍

[@EGR370]

Congratulations!! 🎉 whats your personal favorite good go-to strategy? 🎉

[@justistowne]

I'm currently in my combine and I feel this is a great reminder that once you pass the combine, your discipline and consistency still matters. Goes to show its not over yet. Thank you Daniel!

[@DanielInskeep]

it never ends :)

[@tracynyokabi2607]

I love how self-aware you are about your flaws in trade management, I have found myself in the hole where i cut my winners early. Definitely something I am working on.

[@michaelmcwhirter]

Hang in there man. Your dedication will see you through. I can't wait to see your future videos where you are winning daily!

[@UmarAshraf28]

Thank you for the transparency in a space that lacks it. You'll bounce back!! keep up the great work Daniel!

[@DanielInskeep]

thanks, umar 🙏

[@smbuckley]

Super impressed you were able to shake off a lost account and pull off another one, that's really tough mentally. You have an excellent disposition for trading, its just building the right habits now. Best of luck!

[@ShimonLobel]

Take the Al Brooks trading class. 80% of break outs fail. Especially on the Nq. 2) your account size is your distance to draw down amount. That’s it. It’s not 50k 100k or whatever. Treat it like.

[@MilesLangley]

Awesome man, thanks for sharing. We need more people in the space giving a realistic view like you have done here. Thanks

[@zVaapu]

In my opinion the hardest part comes after the combine. I like to take a break once I passed a challenge, to "reset" the mind. You are euphoric after a passed challenge. You want to make the real money. This is a bad spot to be in, IMO taking it extra slow with a fresh funded account is a must. Especially because drawdown will make you even more emotional.

[@dzigginator5535]

Congrats, Daniel! Really helps to break the ice... after you pass your first combine, it can be disheartening to lose an XFA, but it's a lot easier to get back there than it was the first time. Just a bump in the road. Keep grinding, man!

[@misterraider7212]

I feel the exact same. I just recently failed my first combine because i was for the first time subject to monetary fears and took 2 big red days. Im overall profitable when in practice trading yet i let emotion affect my decisions. And it is the same problem as u said im overall correct on my "predictions" but bad executions. Coming from someone id say is in the same point as u in the journey, my advice is to not change strategy too much because u will always change ur strategy to what worked in ur last trade when it should be consistent overall. Fears will affect u in places u do not expect. Rock on bro im cheering for u

[@PsychologistToTrader]

Congratulations on being accountable. It’s hard to take losses and just as hard if not harder to share publicly. Your stats suggest you have a good system and you can have confidence in your analysis. Now just to tweak your wins to losses and I’m sure you will be back stronger than ever. Nice job reflecting and thank you for sharing! You got this!!

[@radscorpion8]

man I love your honest and relaxed approach to everything

[@dogelife7901]

I see the same at the casino.

[@thenewsincolor5246]

You can separate your volume indicator from your charts by clicking on the volume indicator and then select a new pane above or below, it makes the charts way cleaner and clearer

[@MaarvinGaming]

I would recommend you to not look at the numbers all the time, most traders gets scared or anxious when they see red (including me) especially with big numbers, so I decide to switch to percentage without looking at how much dollars I am in loss and it really helped me out.

[@__Dave__]

Why trade at all if you haven’t found edge first..

[@ThePropFirmChannelofficial]

Same thing i've been thinking but my guess he's not in it for the money directly more for views, affiliate income etc (which intern leads to money so win win). But this definitely is not a good decision for a normal individual.

[@NimThree]

Same here; very good plans, less-than-ideal executions. I just finished a 2-week losing streak. It's hard, but we're still here! Eventually, we'll all get there as long as we keep coming back. Good luck Daniel and everyone!😊

[@ru2528]

Thanks for updating boss, adore this series cause i'm in a bit of a similar part of my journey. i know youtube comment advice is probably not the one but with that being said, here goes hahaha, a huge change in my game was just accepting that 1m and 5m weren't for me, i get too freaked out with the speed, 4hr chart is my jam but it's not for everyone but i reckon just moving up your time frame can help descision making and dealing with fomo and all the fun fear based descisions. Anyway, take this with a grain of salt, if what you're doing is working and its just a mental thing sure you know yourself, keep at it, you're doing great!

[@mohamedchaer4013]

good luck with your journey as a trader looking for to seeing the next videos as a funded trader

[@souravkundu7938]

good luck brother for your trading journey

[@DanielInskeep]

thanks!

[@michaeldiamondturner]

Love the realness brother! You got this keep killing ❤

[@nobsfx-wb4el]

prime example of how not to trade, no clear rules nor strategy.this is gambling.Just because you know some trading words means you're a trader

[@surfguitarsleep5265]

Thank you so much for sharing your journey to being funded

[@DanielInskeep]

of course!

[@forex_shark6042]

hey man, last year I was top 7 highest performing trader out of 54 million accounts on one of the most popular exchanges in the world and have been a highly successful trader for almost a decade. I'm not saying this to brag, I just want to tell you that I've dealt with some of the issues you are dealing with and I wanted to give you one point of criticism. Your trading strategy is extremely arbitrary. Not just in one aspect but holistically. If you want to be successful you need to have methods that are well defined and repeatable. Your intuition and general bias should never enter the picture at all. Good Luck.

[@extremeencounter7458]

Should do a couple videos on your methodology, rarely witness someone who's so vocal from so high up on the curve

[@flintlights]

Got introduced to futures with your last video and started to learn last month. Started my first time with a prop firm (topstep b/c of you) and trying to pass the combine.

[@newnametrading]

DO THE PAYOUT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Never slack on the payout , even do the minimum. Need to always pay yourself first

[@CalvinTrades100]

always take your payout, these propfirms are not your friend and they want you to lose, take what ever you make its better to lose the account and get a new one.

[@kierangallagher5687]

It doesn’t look like there is a clearly defined trading strategy.

[@joelwarren2993]

Account 2 is the one! Good luck 🔥

[@MrChristocentric]

Listen man, I hope you are reading the comments. put a pivot point indicator on your chart, also mark previous day high and low, go only long if we passed yesterday's high, go only short if we are crossed yesterday's low. Daily pivots is the indicator

[@nyontee0509]

You’re on your way to becoming a profitable trader my friend! Recognizing your weaknesses and working on them is the first step my friend.

[@Eclipse-ed9vj]

Most important aspect of a trade is how the RISK was managed regulated and CONTROLLED, when you enter a trade you should already know your MAX loss, I see you have a random trade plan random risk day by day random amount of trades day by day, control everything you can and follow strict rules, 90% of trading is also a mental game, you barely feel it with combines, becomes slightly more real with “funded” but it’s still fake money, becomes the most real trading real money. Learn who you are and what type of trader you are, control your risk, create a plan that can be executed CONSISTENTLY, controlling everything you CAN and play your edge, so many variables changing constantly is just gambaling

[@solumefood]

I lost my funded account 2x’s had to step back and admit that it’s different when you’re out of the combine and their is a real possibility of money involved. The mindset changes 😢 they don’t talk about that too much

[@dre6289]

Its fascinating watching your journey. I wonder where you'll end up

[@tamslean]

Analyse, be confident in the trade, place it with stop and tp's and walk away until you hear the noise to represent closure

[@dkpresents1177]

Hello Daniel, what platform are you using when it shows you the calendar and all of ur winning/ losing days. Along with your profitability per trade I feel like it has a very good general showing of how you have been trading that month. I would love to incorporate this into my trading, just not sure what platform it is

[@زيالقانونمابيقول-ز8غ]

amazing Daniel , you know what i'm planning also to go with some funded platforms and you are giving us a great experience for the hole of the journey , i do really appreciate your effort

[@jjb1570]

You doin a good job! I started trading because of your video with matt for about 8 Month. I exactly facing the same problems. In my Experience, i cash out as early as possible on my next funded account. Just for the feeling and to be able to pay for the next two resets. its the worst when you lose 3k because of the buffer zone. I wish you all the best!

[@RCW_Trader]

Bro I lost two funded accounts. Those max daily losses are killer. I’m trying to pass another challenge now and my goal is to keep my loss at 500 or two losing trades.

[@danielodihi6440]

Hi Daniel, not sure if you’ll even ever see this but there’s one thing you’re missing. When you take a payout, say even as little as $300, Topstep then refunds your last months combine fee which is $149. So really it halves the cost it took to get funded (if one try on the combine with no resets). For context, I’m a Topstep and TPT funded trader and have had over 20 funded accounts across both companies. Still fine tuning my game but my average return on a funded account is around $4000 withdrawn (not bragging just want you to know why my opinion isn’t pointless)

[@DanielInskeep]

hey daniel, yeah - that is a good point and i should've done that on the first funded account.

[@miguelbenav]

I have thoroughly enjoyed your trading videos. Thanks so much for your dedication and it has been amazing seeing you constantly get better and better. Keep on rocking!

[@DanielInskeep]

thanks!

[@DogsRC]

Have you tried scalping instead of taking long trades? It will really cool to see another head to head with Matt just to see how much you learned

[@mrf2915]

Found your channel recently, really liking the content, keep it up!

[@DanielInskeep]

thanks man

[@applejackzo]

I just did 2 things I KNOW not to do and lost a funded account. Thankfully I have 2 more. But…I have to be better. Thank you for this.

[@DorianGreer]

I like the honesty of real life; it tempers expectations vs those frauds that always win (because those courses aren't going to sell themselves).

[@jarbard]

This happened to my funded account , I traded with almost no emotion during the combine just traded per the strategy. As soon as I got funded, my phycology went to bits, and even when I got into profitable setups I'd trim much too early.

[@alexeverson2015]

Hey Daniel I am the same as you with my analysis being correct but my execution (stops) being bad - quick rec for placing your stops: use ATR to set your stops. What I have found works for me is placing my stop, then adding 1/2 of whatever ATR currently is. For example, if I’m long NQ at 16800 and want to keep my stop at 10 points, and ATR is currently at 8, I’ll make my stop 14 points, at 16786. Hope this helps!

[@jkam84]

Getting comfortable taking losses is the hardest part in this whole journey. Good job getting funded again, as someone who has passed 13 Apex PAs and failed 10 of them, I can relate to the grind and overall struggle.

[@tuber7081]

Have you considered just quick scalps, since you have a hard time holding trades and you tend to have large losses? This way you have a quick stop/small loss and you can get back in if needed, and you can comfortably get out green on a quick move

[@thornbyte2011]

We've been on this same road. First payout today after 5 months. Thanks.

[@iAmCrunchy1]

Try the 1000 & 3000 tick chart and maybe adding a footprint chart. I use a heat map, footprint, dom, and a couple minute/tick charts to trade. 3 years later I’m breaking even and will be profitable hopefully on my 4th year.

[@thomasd3261]

Awesome video Daniel! You’re the most open and honest trader on youtube that I know of and you set a realistic example of what the trading journey is like. With an absurt amount of scams, expensive courses and downright misleading information/statistics in the trading space, it’s refreshing to see someone making videos for the purpose of sharing their own journey without claiming to know it all! My trading journey started a year ago and although I’ve been funded twice (without being able to take a payout), I just can’t seem to consistently improve my performance. At this point I lack the motivation and focus to trade at all thinking I’m never gonna get there. Anyway, good luck and don’t forget to take a payout🙏🏼

[@DanielInskeep]

well, i’ve been at it for four years. trading will definitely beat you down, but if you can stick with it and improve, it’ll pay off. thanks for watching.

[@DavidStephen]

Hi, Try to trade HTF & let you wins hit at least 1:2 RR. If you do that, you will become a trader consistently.

[@JW20236]

I can see you coming to grips with your weaknesses at some point. All the best in your endeavour. I'm no fan of day trading (swing trading more my thing). On an unrelated side note, I caught some TV the other day (a rare occurrence lol)and one of the adverts had your outro music on it!

[@tomrobins2641]

Everything you want is on the other side of fear. Face your fears. Let the winners run. Good to see you in another XFA. I miss your live streams.

[@BiggzLyfe]

Thanks for keeping it real man, much respect!

[@Cody23D]

Position sizing is key for me. I almost never take more than one contract and this allows all the wiggle room I need in a trade. I chart previous days highs and lows, overnight highs and lows, and value are high and low and this keeps my trades tight and with good risk management. I watch the big 7 NQ, ES, and RTY to get a feel for the market and lets me know how tight my stops should be. I still cut trades too early I think everyone does brother. I also try not to buy the first touch of a key level unless there is reason maybe buy a retest still working that one out. Yesterday when ES broke 4760 we still looked fine so when we came back up got in for 5 points and that’s a good day to me. Best of luck will look for the next video and your continued success.

[@haverelmink]

Glad to see I'm not the only one making rookie mistakes. You'll learn from it, and come back stronger.

[@harrybraulio]

Needed to watch this video today. I'm -1390 in my 50k xfa. Going to re asses and switch to practice for the remainder of the week

[@lpsminecrafter-js6ix]

Great job mate. You are one of not many who doesn't sell bullshit. Keep on doing good job Dan.

[@NMDz-uu3ke]

Didn’t know you passed the challenge. Pick back up the pieces and get back to it and trust the process.

[@bttuce]

Way to bounce back Daniel, really appreciate the content and I hope this next funded acct continues going well for you!

[@brijeshbs3634]

Babe Daniel just uploaded a new video hurry up

[@Metaskriptz]

A little advice. These funded accounts are ultimately designed for you to eventually fail. Otherwise you are day trading wrong. Reduce size, scale in to positions and avoid using tight stop loss. Avoid news, trade less, and Go for negative risk rewards when day trading. That’s the edge

[@trader_mike]

Awesome video and update Daniel. Good to see ya progressing as a trader!

[@ByJamEmpire]

can i ask why a lot of people risk so much on funded accounts? as if the drawdown doesn't exist? im brand new and when calculating my lot size, i will put my daily drawdown number as the "account balance" and then have 2-3-4% risk. but i see a lot of people doing 1-2-3-4% risk and setting their account balance to their actual balance. and i never understood why? i currently have a 200k account. even if i risked 1% per trade and a trade lost. that is a -$2000 (1/5th of daily drawdown) yeah R:R is important, but 5 bad trades and my account is done... that is very possible on a bad day. how can that possibly work over the long run. is the goal not to keep our accounts for as long as possible, maybe even expand as the months go on. the way a lot of people trade its like they are just gambling and i will never understand.

[@Urmo]

I don't have enough info on how those accounts work, but isn't you not wanting to take out the money essentially gambling?

[@jafo1701]

Also its kind of misleading the way they state tbe size of the accounts. Sure you have the leverage but you really dont have the room to use that leverage. Playing 2 contracts in a 50k account you can easily hit your daily stop out in two trades with stops placed properly. You get a but more room with the larger accounts but i wouldnt play more then 4 contracts on the mini S&P 500s at a time, even then it can go south very quickly. I wish they gave you the option of playing the Micros without the same scaling limit. For instance your limited to 3 contracts to start in a 100k account no matter if you play the micos or minis...i'd rather play 5 contracts on the micros to start then 1 mini at least till my account size grows to where i have a bigger cushion.

[@trime33]

Awesome Video Daniel love the realism! - I joined Futures about 4 months ago and really enjoying it... very close to funded account fingers crossed!

[@DanielInskeep]

best of luck!

[@dylanstox]

Excellent video Daniel! Your improvement is clear as day! Stay grounded and you'll see consistency sooner than you think

[@DanielInskeep]

thanks, dyl - you the goat

[@jeremyowen1]

Some takeaways as a super new trader who isn't ready to trade outside a demo account yet. 1) Dollar figures are bad, percentages are good. 2) Trust yourself and your strategy. This is why you did all that analysis ahead of time. 3) Don't be greedy and don't rush trades when it isn't opportune. 4) I'm not ready for a demo account.

[@MarvinJulian]

Hi, Love the video. My advice set a dollar target and just withdraw once you hit it. build discipline on withdrawing, will save you a lot of what ifs

[@black2009money]

Congrats man I really love to see the growth

[@diegoitamayo4191]

Hey Daniel, I'm no pro, but I am noticing that your red days, you made many more trades (7+) and your green days you usually did like 4, maybe try to have a limit to how many trades you take per day.

[@tradewithhamza]

Great video my man! if i can give you an advice for taking losses... a red day will come, a red trade will come no matter what you think is your setup a A+++... remember at each trade you will lose or win on a 50% and it is not because of your strategy the trade will be winner or a loser. the only thing you know is that in the long term following your rules you will end up winning. breaking a rule, it will make you have a step back everytime. What i say to my guys is one thing, journal in a different way, not on a PNL points, i see people post "look i have a month green", yeah i had it as well on my second year but now i know that it was pure luck... the only way you have to journal yourself in the beginning is GREEN if you followed all your rules and excecution, RED if you break at least one rule.... at the end you need to have at least 14 consecutive GREEN days to have a good habit in your brain, good luck

[@piercebourgeois1751]

getting capital is the easy part. maintaining it is the hard part. also i dont know why so many traders have to try and trade every day. take a break during holidays.

[@XTRADERXNYC]

Bro you are so realistic and very logical! Your thought process and understanding in an intimate of your mistakes is exactly what make a successful trader! Don’t give up and don’t repeat those mistakes and I am sure you’ll be fine

[@alexandroschatzopoulos7285]

Really painful to watch traders with so much persistance and work ethics to fail because of lack of knowledge and no understanding of the market

[@thegagankhaira]

Can you please share your trading setup? any routines that you do on everyday basis to help you in trading?

[@Cici_Silo]

First: silence is the best background music. That said. I had to reset my first $25k account because I was risking 1% of the $25k instead of the max drawdown amount of $2k. After resetting I only risk 0.5% of $2k per trade. My account is slowly growing with less stress and more satisfaction.

[@braden6992]

Looks like you have a great attitude and you're very self aware. All I would question is varying the number of contracts. It's a recipe for defeat. Think of it as like a unit for sports betting - never ever change the unit size.

[@pepaigea]

What indicators do you like to use? I've been practicing Williams' Alligator and I'm liking it

[@monke2303]

damn, this video is real and so relatable. this is the type of content that is so needed on social media

[@theUnprofitableTraderYT]

I’d personally avoid trading single options w 0dte without an extremely strict risk management plan.

[@singularitytrader]

Had the same outcome yesterday and for no good reason if not bad trade and risk management and wanting more.

[@kushanperera8832]

S&R breakout was a rather simple solution to my The5ers prop challenge.

[@yobytae]

When you say you don't want to request a pay out and want to grow the account a bit more, what does that mean? What is the effect of leaving money with the prop firm? From what I understand it doesn't affect your drawdown limit and people seem to request payout immediately to secure profits in case the firm stop working for one reason or another.

[@ikthan22]

Man I feel that. I lost my first ever funded account during that same week too. It really sucked

[@jjp8445]

Ye don't trade last two weeks in December mate

[@Socrates21stCentury]

Thank you for the update!

[@Socrates21stCentury]

@Daniellnskeep. No, but I love your dogs, I have Frenchies as well! 🙂

[@emsmith995]

can someone explain why funded accounts better than margin accounts? I get 150k buying power for 900 dollars.

[@dr.doohickey]

After I took several losses I developed a really bad case of pulling the trigger, I would sit there and watch as the asset went into the direction I expected it too but I just would not enter the trade. It took me a long time to get over that, so I fully understand the fear of losing a profitable trade and honestly I don't think it's all that bad of thing.

[@forexkhan7421]

Appreciate your transparency😮, don't average down and no trading on two instruments simultaneously. Overall you did great 🎉

[@DogsRC]

Yo I feel like you’ve been getting better over time since you started the journey 2-3 years ago

[@jafo1701]

I feel your pain. I've lost two 50k funded accounts and a 100k just recently. I have the same type of issues, I gett into profit see I'm up a certain amount and either trail to closely or take the profit and the trade runs. I need to train my brain to let the trade run. So what I'm going to do is go to my personal account and trade the Micros...just 1 contract maybe 2. I think if I see small numbers I'm less likely to get spooked out of a trade. Once I gain confidence that my system works I'll give the funded account another try...or if I'm doing well in my private account just increase the scale.

[@marcussagote]

do you have to pay the money you’ve lost for the account? i’ve been looking into trying to get evaluated but even with that in mind it’s giving me second thoughts

[@jafo1701]

@@marcussagote nope. You just loose the account. The express account on top step is still a sim account...they just pay you for it. Once you get 30 days of $200 or more they consider moving you to a real account...however at that point they consider you a professional trader and you have to pay professional fees for market data. Once they decide to move you to a real funded account you lose the express account. You can't just keep the express account instead of going with a real funded account.

[@jafo1701]

@@marcussagote I think I'm going back to top step and try for the $150k account. I'd rather have that then three $50k accounts on Apex...I hate that trailing drawdown. For instance let's say you're up $1000 for the day. With Apex your it makes you less aggressive because that drawdown follows you up during the day. With Top step your drawdown is locked at close from the day before. So if you see a good setup, you can go really aggressive on contracts if you want try to hit a really big trade and not have to worry about that losing ground on that drawdown. So until you get that trailing drawdown to lock, you have to play pretty conservative and take your winner and profits. really hard to let trades play out.

[@marcussagote]

thank you! this infos really helpful

[@palmetto.]

Thanks for sharing, good video dude. Sounds like you’re on the right track, just keep working on improving the small things one at a time and eventually it all comes together. GG

[@Nq-76o]

Love the videos man. They motivate me a lot but quick question what broker are you using?

[@DanielInskeep]

it’s through topstep

[@UK-11-11-Prepper]

Daniel, I can see on this video the asset is NQ and you're using Trading View as your charting platform, is that correct? If so, where are your indicators, or have you removed them for this demonstration?

[@DanielInskeep]

my main platform is motivewave. i always have VWAP. i use LRSI on the 5m. i often use the 50EMA on the 1m to gauge pullbacks.

[@viralsheddingzombie5324]

Volatility matters more than your initial analysis.

[@NoeCastellon]

Thanks for the videos. I have been trying to pass challenges with prop firms since December 20th and have paid over $3500 in resets and new signups. I also lost around $3500 with my personal account when I first started in Oct 2023. All this to say it is a bit depressing especially watching you go 11 months to pass and then blow your funded account a month later. Question: are you still trading with the new funded account? I am considering moving on after one more month of this. Curious where you are at in terms of any payouts and if no payout yet why are you continuing to spend more time? When is it time to throw in the towel. Genuinely asking here because as I said I am getting ready to.

[@DanielInskeep]

i am still trading my funded account and have taken $4k in payouts. i recommend limiting your size (1 contract max) and consider taking 1-3 trades a day.

[@adan2974]

I have pretty much the same issues as you. I have already blown thousands on these challenges getting very hard to justify on continuing the trading journey. Definitely have to stick to 1 to 2 contracts or trade the micros. The draw down is very tight compared to the leverage on these challenge accounts. Patience is key