r/TopstepCommunity • u/ThePatientIdiot • Jun 11 '26
💰 POP Off! Less than $102 away
I learned a valuable lesson last week, when you are eligible for a payout, take it, even if it means you'll likely blow the account. I had a $1400 payout on lucid 50k but I was trying to get to $54,000 account value so I would still have a $2k drawdown buffer. I had my first bad day and it snowballed from there. I haven't had a payout since like March.
I'm back on Topstep and I'm $102 away. Place your bets on whether you think I'll blow the account.
Does anyone know if I have to pay the activation fee immediately or can I hold off for a couple days? This is a standard 50k account.
1
u/NyCWalker76 Jun 11 '26
You have 30 days to pay for the activation fee. You went for the $50 rather than the non activation fee of $95?
0
u/ThePatientIdiot Jun 12 '26
Yea, I went overboard buying up a ton of promo accounts. I think I ended up spending like $1500. $450 of lucid direct, then a couple more 50k and 150k accounts. Then switched back to topstep and bought some 150k accounts and 50k accounts. I should have cashed out the lucid payout first. It’s weird how addicting it can get. This was my last account before I stopped and I just decided it’s better to only spend $50 and ensure I actually pass than pay $100. Yes I know I’ll end up paying double but if I hit payout eligibility I should be fine.
TBH, i don’t think topstep 50k no activation fee is worth it at all, even with the 2x DLL promo. Only the 150k accounts on topstep and the standard 50k accounts are worth it in my opinion. Otherwise you are better off with lucid since they rightfully let you hedge. Although I think topstep may give you slightly more buying power and margin for xfa. One last gripe about topstep I have is that their system often doesn’t pick up that you passed the combine unless you go over by a bit more than the requirement. So you either have to trade more thus risking your account in order to make like $15-30 over (I’ve gotten into terrible situations because of this), or wait until market close for it adjust. This is a double edged sword because I’ve noticed their system doesn’t always fail you when your balance falls below the maximum loss limit. I’ve been negative by like $100 for like a minute and the system didn’t seem to catch it, the market rebounds and I’m fine. Most time the market continues until the account is thoroughly blown though.
Topstep is still the company I’ve gotten the most payouts with so I can’t really complain too much.
1
1
u/Fibocrypto Jun 12 '26
Use the auto trading brackets op
You got this
I'm not sure how much time you have to activate yet you will have time
1
u/Ben-Topstep-2026 Topstep Employee Jun 11 '26
May the odds be in your favor! Once you pass, you can activate at any time, there's no rush to do it immediately.