Hello all, it’s been a while. A few years, to be exact! I almost shut this site down, but the hubs convinced me to leave it up for the time being, and, well, I’m glad because I FINALLY have good news to share: I passed a Topstep eval!
It only took me 3 years (+ Adam Mancini’s methodology + some added tools + lots of starts and stops and breaks and mental resets + developing some form of DISCIPLINE).
Quick recap of the last few years: lots of boom and bust cycles. Lots of distracted trading whilst raising a tiny human. I sporadically took months off just to recollect myself and mentally distance myself from the red days, undisciplined trades, and mistakes. (In fact, I don’t think I traded for the majority of 2025?!) I am far from the kind of CONSISTENTLY consistent trader that I want to be, but evidently I have been consistent enough to rack up $3k in sim profits without blowing up these past 2ish months…so that’s at least something.
Now that’s I’ve passed the evaluation stage, I’m in Topstep’s Express Funded Account stage (I chose the consistency route). There’s still a bit to go until I’m actually funded, so I’m not trying to count my chickens before they hatch…but I thought I’d jot down a few things I’ve learned lately that I think might have helped contribute to this recent upswing:
Adam Mancini’s newsletter/twitter
I know that I’ve written about Adam Mancini a lot, but it’s worth repeating that his Fake Break Down setup and position management methodology has been the foundation for my trading. (Ah yes, btw, I fell off the wagon of recording 100 FBD trades a while back. Probably wouldn’t hurt to complete the task now that it’s become even more clarified for me these days, but ehhh we’ll see.) I’m not sure when, but Adam clarified his methodology (disclaimer: it’s guarded by the Substack paywall but, to be fair, I think his monthly price is very reasonable) quite a bit since I first started following him, especially in regards to “acceptance.” I have always found the “acceptance” piece to be the most difficult for me to discern, so his updated write-up has been a bit mroe helpful to me.
Added tools
Last year, my brother and I experimented with the 2b pattern quite a bit, watching it for confirmation with Mancini levels and FBD setups across the 2 min, 5 min, and 15 min timeframes. (Note: I previously thought the 2b pattern and Adam’s FBD setup were one and the same; they are not. Unlike the 2b pattern, Adam doesn’t rely on any kind of candle close.) For a short spell, it seemed to be working really well…until it didn’t. I think the most helpful thing I took away from it is the added confirmation; I don’t depend on it solely, but it’s a layer of confluence that I now tend to watch for in my setups, coupled with another added tool: orderflow/footprints. I had to spring for the Premium tier on TradingView to get it on my charts, but so far, I think it’s been worth it. (If I feel like it’s really a good tool that I stick with long-term, perhaps I’ll write more later about what I’ve been looking at) I’ve also been using some TradingView indicators like Bjorgum Key Levels, FBD Detection, Failed Breakout Detection, and FVG+GP (it shows fair value gaps). If it sounds like a lot, you’re right; I keep my footprints indicator on a separate ES chart/workspace but often glance at the other indicators to get an idea of support/resistance (alongside Adam’s levels). It is a bit cluttered tbh, and I’ll probably peel back some of the indicators in the future as I figure out what I truly want/need.
Cut the noise
At the beginning of the year, I decided to decouple myself from social media. I’m rarely on at all these days, and it feels like my mind is clearer and less overstimulated. I unfollowed everyone on twitter with the exception of Adam Mancini and Walter Bloomberg (sometimes I like to see what headlines drive a move), but really I only glance at Adam’s tweets for intraday insights. I’ve noticed that I perform best when I’m the most disengaged from market stuff: news, fintwit commentary, trading psychology, etc.. In the past, I would hit a green streak (and a dopamine high!), consume all the market/trading things I could to continue the high because LOOK I’M A GOOD TRADER AND THIS IS MY THING, and all that extra info would subconsciously seep into my trading, e.g.: “Everyone is bullish so price MUST go up!” “We’re all waiting on this data which means THIS path for price!” “Something something TRADING PSYCHOLOGY something you’re not doing it right so make sure you second guess EVERYTHINGGG!”
Stuff I’ve collected along the way
I do think structuring my position management after Adam Mancini’s has been very helpful. If the risk isn’t outrageous and my confidence in the setup is high, I’ll occasionally buy 10 MES and sell 8 at the first level, leaving one to run to the second level and the last one to be my long-distance runner. Locking in 80% at the first level (especially using 10 MES total) really is the ideal. If I can’t risk that much, I’ll buy 5 MES and sell 4 at the first level.
My biggest hangup these days is STILL occasionally revenge trading, though I have gotten better. Some of it’s just impatience, too; last week I found myself impatiently entering a trade > taking a loss > THEN coming upon the ideal setup that I should have waited for in the first place > entering THAT ideal trade and winning > end up with small red or slightly green. Having even more clearly defined rules has definitely been helping overall, though. AND Topstep’s lockout button has been a GREAT way for me to keep from turning a perfectly fine green day into a red day. After a winning trade, I will often lock myself out of the platform for the rest of the day, and thus I protect my gains from my own worst enemy:
So, there you have it. I’m going to do my best to remain calm, cool, and collected and continue to trade slow and steady into Topstep’s funded phase. But even just passing the eval has been a milestone for me, and while I know there’s still a lot left to accomplish, it’s nice to enjoy this small success for a second. 🙂