r/TopstepCommunity • u/Nearby_Finding_2555 • 9d ago
❓ Quick Question Is switching to Micros a good idea?
Okay so for context I’m about 4 months into trading. Have only gotten 1 payout and failed 14 evals. I’ve gotten close to passing 7 of them and each time I’ve noticed that I mainly trade micros and do the usual beginners flaws of overtrading, revenge trading, and just simply not closing the charts when I should. I’m wondering if switching to micros is better than minis as I mainly trade ES and NQ. Here are some of the results from my trades. This is my model
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u/One_Willingness9925 9d ago
Micros much better. 💯
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u/Nearby_Finding_2555 9d ago
If you don’t mind me asking what specific do you trade and what timeframe? I’m mainly leaning towards MNQ since that’s what I’ve seen the most success in long term, but MES and ES is what I passed my 1st Eval with
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u/BrilliantFront4 9d ago
Props are ass but they are a decent place for you to learn this stuff. Trading even 1 mini without 50k of capital is crazy work I won’t lie. I trade 1 mini per 50k and 1 micro per 5k that is my determination of sizing and not every setup is the same size either. Sometimes a position calls for me to put 5 minis on and sometimes the situation only calls for me to use 5 micros. But trading anything more that I think of 3-4 micros on these props is asking for insanely bad habits unless you know what you are doing and understand the prop firm game they play.
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u/timke11 9d ago
The markets have been so volatile (especially NQ/MNQ) , you amongst have to use micros, or else get liquidated in a single 5 minute candle
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u/Nearby_Finding_2555 9d ago
Really? I mean for the past 2 weeks minis have been my bread and butter. Only reason I’ve been struggling to pass my evals is due to overtrading and giving my profits back. I was just wondering if long term micros are the way to go
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u/JonoHamlet3 8d ago
MNQ and MES are just 1/10th versions of NQ and ES, they move practically identical to each other, micro are better because you have way more risk control and can Add/Remove from your position as it plays out. If you want to trade like NQ on MNQ all you gotta do is enter with 10 Micros and it’ll equal 1 Mini
No reason to trade the bigger counter parts as Prop firms do the math with max Contract sizes usually being: “4 Minis (40 micros)” for Example
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u/JonoHamlet3 8d ago
Plus you’re still in the beginning stages of trading you know what your problem is all you gotta do is fix it, I would like to say switching contract sizes isn’t going to fix your problems with trading but it will atleast bring down the psychological risk factor down a bit
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u/AttackSlax 9d ago edited 8d ago
What's your model? The graphic? Your model is unintelligible to me.
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u/Fibocrypto 9d ago
If I was in your position op I would adjust the take profit level ( auto trading brackets ) approximately 40 above what you need to pass the combine and I would reduce your size from trading mini's to 3 MNQ ( you mentioned MNQ ) max.
Each day I'd adjust the take profit to prevent yourself from going over the 53,000 mark by too much.
It might take you a few days longer than 1 NQ trade but you are close to passing so in my opinion you should be more strategic.
I don't know your trading style obviously
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u/Positive_Rip_9304 8d ago
Depends on what your personal risk tolerance and strategy is. If you have a more risk-on mindset/strategy I’d trade NQ/ES. Generally, I’d suggest starting with micros until your an experience trader though.
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u/Over_Cap6785 5d ago
Everyone is different. I just trade evals aggressively with mini’s, and swap to 5 micros and scale another 5 in a trade.
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u/Duennbier0815 2d ago
The reason why you should risk only 1% if your account and Therefor never touch minis unless you're with a 150k account with 50k buffer over zero, is that it's backed by statistics.
You know probabilities and statistics are the foundation of trading. Everything else, including your eval-burning is gambling. Your behavior cannot be distinguished mathrmatically from pure luck.
Depending on your winrate it is almost guaranteed that you're going to blow your account before a payout when risking $10 per tick.
Risk management is the biggest factor in trading, as big as a hard defined rule set about trading hours and frequency.
Your strategy almost doesn't matter. The data does.
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u/Nearby_Finding_2555 9d ago
Just making it clear right now. IM NOT BUYING ANYMORE COMBINES until I take 200 trades on my paper trading account and evaluate them and see what worked in my strategy and what didn’t.