The Goal I Am Focused Most On
Passing my The Futures Desk evaluation!
Highlights / Wins To Celebrate
- Payout from Topstep. It wasn’t a big pay out ($1,475 requested, $1,325 after 90/10 split), but it was enough for me to feel like I’m moving forward.
- Consolidated to one account
- Going into the year, I already stated I was struggling to juggle multiple accounts at multiple firms. I also wanted to shake off the boom and bust cycle. I know some traders do multiple firms, and they can do it well. Maybe it is my personality that makes it difficult to shift gears between firms and trading them during the day.
- I did decide to gamble away my Topstep and Tradeify accounts (not recommended). It was a discussion with someone that made me realize, why am I wasting time putting effort into something I’m ready to let go of? It’s not the right mindset to trade an account that you’re wanting to eventually lose. So I am relieved it’s over.
- I think it is important to consider the rules when picking a firm. Most pick firms based on friendly payout policy. If you’re thinking long term though and you’re still in the process of working out your trading flaws like me, then pick the firm that will help develop you as a trader the most. Choose the rules that would help you build the habits you need to move on to a personal account in the long run. I’ve picked The Futures Desk because of their built in rules around consistency and daily loss limit.
- Feeling optimistic and “back on track” with my development as a trader. Now that I’m feel like my real journey starts, and I feel ready to take it on!
Lowlights / Things To Work On
- Rough week of trading overall for me. Maybe it was my mind was set on gambling away my accounts, but that could just be me making excuses. I’m the one pressing the buttons.
- I let a really bad losing day happen again. It was a trade that showed signs that I should cut it early, but I decided to give it more room (moved stop loss) instead. I was probably hoping for the best and not being logical.
- I’m back in a drawdown, but this time with The Futures Desk.
- Bye bye Tradeify and Topstep (for now).
- I decided to “let go” of these two accounts. Yes, I did gamble the accounts. No, the gambles did not pay. Usually it doesn’t. I’m just glad I took the payout first!
- I’m down to focusing on what matters which is to build good trading habits, and doing it in one account.
- Now that I know I’m going to be starting from the beginning, and that it is a slow grind… it will be mentally tough to not rush the process. I am already expecting to not payout anything for a while from a prop firm. I want this process to be slower than normal, but also steadier. Consistent and steady profits is my end goal.
- I think the earliest my next payout will be is in three months from today. I would need time to pass the evaluation, time to pass sim funded to build buffer, and time to build a healthy balance to payout. three months would be the earliest, and it can take way longer. I would have said “That is CRAZY” just a few months ago. Now I’m prepared for the longer road ahead.
Top Lesson
If you’re going to improve yourself, get rid of the noise. Noise can come in many forms. More importantly, if you’re going to improve yourself then TAKE ACTION.
Someone recently said something that echoes my own thoughts:
“It’s just one of those things you know? When you just go on a self-journey and everyone does it differently.”
When I first created the site, I named it “futuresjourney.com” because that is what it felt like. I was going on some journey or quest. It was a little bit about self-discovery as a trader. I knew I needed something to change with my trading, and I wanted it to be a little more drastic. I needed to refocus myself. I needed to downsize my futures day trading. I decided to write my journey in blog form, because I often like to write things out. Sharing it with others puts me into action, and I think this is an important takeaway: Take action.
Trading Week Grade
I give my week a D.
I let my funded accounts go, which I am actually happy to. I feel refreshed that I’m with only one firm again. I also took a payout, which it is nice to pay yourself from your trading. So this isn’t the reason. I give myself a D.
I took a heavy loss at The Futures Desk, and the manner in which I did so prompted the poor weekly grade. I went into a long early into the trading day on Thursday. There were clear signs that I should close the trade, but I decided to “give the trade more room”. Well I gave it all the way to my Daily Loss Limit. This is something that I thought I fixed long ago, but it keeps creeping back. These types of mistakes make me feel like I need to stick to a single account at a single firm. I need to stamp these things out if I want longevity in trading.
I’m back in drawdown that I have to trade my way out of. I’m going to have losing days, but I need to be mindful to not set myself back nearly a full week’s worth of profits in a single day. I made $2,676.25 in this account last week, and I wiped most of that out in a single day. I may have picked the wrong Daily Loss Limit amount, and I need to learn to control it myself. Being able to control daily losses is a useful account management skill in the long run.
Trading Performance
- Topstep Express Funded Account – GONE! Took one last payout though.
- Tradeify Funded Account – GONE! I’ve had this account since October 30, 2025 and it had 3 payouts.
- The Futures Desk
- MON: -$172.55
- TUE: -$466.35
- WED: +$810.60
- THU: -$2,430.75
- FRI: +1,132.10
- WEEK: -$1,126.95
- Evaluation Progress: +$4,378.30 / $12,000 | 36% complete
Since I am now down to one account, this will minimize the the number of screenshots / hosting space I will need. I like the idea of providing a text summary weekly (like above), and then a screenshot of a monthly view at the conclusion of every month. The image below will match my previous posts (unless if I made typo). I’m not sure why their dashboard says I am at $4,393.15 though. When I add up my numbers I should be at $4,378.30, but if they give me an extra $15 then that’s fine with me too!
A note about my monthly view. I started off with $6,000 in drawdown, and I made $4,378. If I had put $6,000 in a brokerage account and made the same profit, then I would have made 73% for the month. Now I have $10,378 in drawdown (I chose the static plan), and I need to make another $7,621.70 to pass my evaluation. I hope to do this in February. That’s like making 73% on my current drawdown ($7,621.70 / $10,378). What a coincidence!
