In this Topstep Moment of the Week, Anthony Crudele and Dan Hodgman discuss trading around Holidays and how these events can serve as inflection points for the markets. With Labor Day in the books, we are now entering the most volatile part of the the trading calendar, and a giant shift in sentiment is most certainly not out of the question. 

In this Topstep Moment of the Week, Anthony Crudele and Dan Hodgman take a look at a big-money Oil trade from Topstep funded trader Vladimir M. over in Dubai. In these volatile markets, Dan explains why it pays to to define your exit strategy, and let your winners run until market conditions dictate otherwise. 

Funded trader Adam V. has been with Topstep for almost 3 years now, and we were lucky enough to have him stop by our Chicago studios Monday to talk about Gold and his journey through the Trading Combine. In this edition of The Weekly Preview, Adam and Dan have a great conversation about the upcoming Fed rate decision, looming market volatility, and why working with a trading coach is so important. We hope you enjoy!

Well, would you look at this? Apparently the folks over at Futures Magazine had the good sense to name TopstepTrader one of the world's 40 best proprietary trading firms. This is slightly embarrassing, because it's mostly our thousands of traders around the globe doing the heavy lifting. But hey, we'll take whatever recognition we can get!

Read below to find out who else made the list. 

Have you decided to begin your journey toward becoming a profitable trader? You want to trade futures but are still looking for the best way to get started? Excellent!

Now you may be asking: should I just go open a brokerage account myself or should I join something like the TopstepTrader Trading Combine to become a funded trader? If you’re still undecided about which way to go, then this little guide might help you to make a more informed choice.

The concept of margin is sometimes confusing for new futures traders because it is very different than the margin used for buying stocks, exchange-traded funds, or bonds. In the world of stock trading, margin is a down payment, often up to 50% of the value of the purchase, to take ownership of the shares. In futures trading, on the other hand, margin is a good faith deposit and not a down payment. Let's see how it works.

Folks, I must confess that I didn't pay much attention to the markets this weekend. I was both flat, and extremely interested to see what Shaquille O'Neal could do as a DJ at Lollapalooza (the answer is that he continues to be one of America's greatest cultural treasures). It was a rough Monday morning. I placed an online order at the wrong Starbucks, then proceeded to do a literal spit-take once I finally looked at the S&P futures quotes...

Some of you may know Yose. He's one of our favorite success stories here at Topstep. Since getting funded, he has become a formidable futures trader, quit his day job, and secured major outside capital to back his personal account. We're thrilled to have been part of his journey, and lucky to have had him in the Topstep Studio this week, all the way from the Dominican Republic. Traders of all levels can learn a lot from his insights, so we certainly hope you check out this very special episode of the Topstep Weekly Preview. Enjoy!

The news driving markets continues to play out like a professional wrestling match. There's a little bit of everything: heroes, villains, threats, heel-turns, over-dramatic commentary. The only major difference is that at least a handful of people at a wrestling match presumably know exactly how it will end (apologies to any readers if we just ruined the magic of the WWE).

Now would be a good time to get caught up on the action so far...

Topstep performance coach Dan Hodgman made his triumphant return to the Trading Futures with Anthony Curdele show last week to discuss his old friend, the 30-year Treasury Bond future. Diving into the charts, he will show you to frame the market and make smart trades around settlement prices like a pro.