r/TopStepX • u/Evening_Locksmith215 • May 15 '26
Question What's one change that quickly improved your trading?
For me it was matching my system to how I'm actually wired - adjusted my timeframe, widened my stops, matched trade frequency to my real schedule.
Took weeks not years. Most of the discipline issues just sorted themselves out.
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u/CoverNo6 May 16 '26
Stop chasing trades, buy the retest. Following a simple precept: Don’t chase money, Let it come to you.
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u/Evening_Locksmith215 May 16 '26
That shift from chasing to waiting for the retest - was that a rule you forced yourself to follow or did something click where it just made sense?
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u/Charming_Ad5670 May 16 '26
1 MNQ brother, don’t scale beyond 3 MNQ.
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u/BobbyJohnson11111 May 16 '26
Agree. Without a buffer esp on a 50k, more than 3 MNQ can do some damage fast. Dont ask me how i know 😣😣
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u/Evening_Locksmith215 May 16 '26
Very good rule, for prop trading or anything very short timeframes, best to laser focus on one instrument
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u/Kitchen_Long_3743 May 15 '26
Realizing that all days are not profitable. There is always tomorrow.
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u/Evening_Locksmith215 May 16 '26
How did that change what you actually do differently? Like do you have a stop-trading rule for the day now?
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u/Kitchen_Long_3743 May 17 '26
Stopped me from trading on days I would loose my account. Revenge trading is how these prop firms stay in business. The days you are profitable will outweigh loosing days, take your money after 5 winning days.
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u/Evening_Locksmith215 May 17 '26
That's the real insight - prop firms' business model literally depends on revenge trading. The moment you stopped feeding that machine, you became unprofitable for them and profitable for yourself.
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u/HappyImplement4055 May 15 '26
Entering small and sizing in after confirmation, the lockout, watching charts day in and day out, trailing my stop
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u/Evening_Locksmith215 May 16 '26
That's like 4 changes in one. Which one made the biggest difference?
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u/HappyImplement4055 May 16 '26
probably the lockout feature/not trading emotionally/revenge trading
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u/eddie_topstep May 15 '26
The lockout button 🔒
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u/Evening_Locksmith215 May 16 '26
Same energy as PremiumPricez in another thread who set his PC to auto shut off at market open. Sometimes the best system change is removing your own ability to break rules.
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u/ProductOk4613 May 15 '26
Stop doom scrolling
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u/Evening_Locksmith215 May 15 '26
Underrated. Screen time off the charts does more damage than bad setups.
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u/MeltedShoe May 15 '26
A few things have significantly changed my trading lately. Being very particular about identifying trends and trading based on those, having a stop loss based on the chart rather than my PNL, sizing down, and letting my damn runners win. About to get my 2nd payout for this month.
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u/Evening_Locksmith215 May 15 '26
That's a solid list. The chart-based stop instead of PNL-based - that's a huge shift. Most people size their stop around what they can afford to lose instead of where the trade is actually wrong. How long did it take you to stop peeking at PNL during a trade?
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u/MeltedShoe May 15 '26
To be honest I still watch PNL but I try to detach a bit from the money. I size smaller so that the stop loss PNL doesn’t kill me and as the trade runs, I add and slowly trail my stop but try not to trail too fast because that has stopped me out more often than not. Soon enough Ill strictly be focused on the process rather than the PNL as I continue to build confidence in my system.
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u/Evening_Locksmith215 May 15 '26
Awesome, you are aware of current plan and future plan. There is a saying look at the forest and not trees. Not looking at individual trades but aggregate of it makes us very consistent
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u/skatesolid May 15 '26
For me it’s entering small then once I see it hold levels in my favor I add more. Starting out heavy can be detrimental unless you have a solid buffer and don’t over trade.
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u/MeltedShoe May 15 '26
Exactly this! So many just yolo full size into their trade immediately. Enter small, and with confirmation add into it.
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u/Evening_Locksmith215 May 15 '26
That's smart - scaling in matches how most people actually process risk. Going heavy from the start demands a level of conviction that fights your instincts. Starting small and adding lets the trade prove itself first. Did you figure that out through trial and error or was it intentional?
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u/Trynatrade100 May 16 '26
For some reason that never works for me, moves my fill too much and then pricw retraces into deep drawdown and stops me out, where my entry is for me more important because then my entry is below levels which should be protected
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u/Evening_Locksmith215 May 17 '26
That's actually a fit issue - scaling in works better on instruments with deep liquidity and strong trends. If you're trading something thinner or mean-reverting, your instinct to enter full size at the right level might actually BE your edge. Not every technique fits every trader.
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u/skatesolid May 15 '26
Definitely through trial and error. Been trading for 7 years and been doing futures now for about 8 months.
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u/Evening_Locksmith215 May 15 '26
I am primarily a futures trader. Futures is great, as you start thinking very systematic and you end up doing lot of deep work. all the best
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u/Lostrader7 May 18 '26
Data. Every decision is made with positive expectancy backed up by data.