Trade The Pool Gave Me More Than 100x Buying Power

“Don’t try to make a profit target in one day but try to divide it into 30 days.”

Mark S. 23 years old, From Slovenia.

Mark has successfully passed our Extra Buying Power program and is now one of TTP’s $160K funded traders, or as we call it, he is a true “Stock Star.”
Every time he reaches 5 consecutive winning days, we will boost his buying power and max exposure.

We spoke with Mark about his trading plan, insights, and lessons gained while trading in the markets and our platform as a funded trader.

Watch The Interview With Mark

Mark evaluation statistics

Q&A’s with Mark

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am an ambitious person that likes to travel and play sports such as basketball, table tennis, and chess. I like to help and inspire people, and I like to learn new things. I organize and plan my days and try to stay as disciplined as I can. I never give up.

How long have you been trading?

I’ve been trading for 4 years, and I am full time trader.

Briefly describe your Trading Plan and how it contributes to your success.

I usually prepare a game plan of 4-6 stocks that are in play 30 minutes before the market opens. I typically trade large-cap stocks (nvda, meta, aapl, MSFT, amzn, spy) and mid-cap stocks (roku, afrm, zm, pltr,…). I don’t trade penny stocks. I write key-level prices and what I am looking for once the stock reaches that price. Is the volume increasing? Is the 9 Ema crossing the 21 Ema? Is the stock in a strong trend? Is the risk to reward worth it? (I usually don’t take a trade if my RTR ratio is not at least 1:2) Where is my mental stop loss? How am I scaling out profits? I answer all those questions before getting into a trade. I also write the share size for each stock. The game plan helps me once my alerts get triggered that I don’t overthink my decisions but rather just follow my plan along with my trading rules.

Share with us a challenge you faced in your trading career and how you overcame it

I faced many challenges in my trading career. The first one was the lack of capital with which I was trading, which resulted in overtrading and commissions eating my account. I overcame that by only taking the highest probability trades with the best RTR ratio. Later I discovered Trade The Pool, which gave me 100 times more buying power, and that helped me a lot since the commissions were almost erased by 10x larger profits. I also used to be a very greedy trader, which resulted in losing some unrealized profits. I overcame that by learning to scale out partial profits from the winning trades and adjusting a trailing stop as the trades went in my favor to prevent losing larger profits.

How did you adjust risk management to your trading personality?

Since I usually make 1-5 trades per day, I don’t risk more than 1/3 of my maximum daily loss on a single trade. Therefore one bad trade won’t destroy my trading day. I always calculate the maximum share size that I can take before entering a trade. I know the point where I am getting out if the trade goes against me and how much I will lose at that price. When I like the setup, and I feel more confident, I do risk a bit more than when I do not feel as confident. If I lose 2 trades in a row, I usually decrease my share size by half to give myself another trade if I lose on the third trade as well.

Describe a key moment in your trading career

The key moment happened about two years into my trading career when I went through all of my trades in one week, and I analyzed in detail all the mistakes I made and all of the good things I’ve done in my past trades. I wrote new trading rules and risk management rules, which I still follow. Those rules guide my behavior and prevent me from taking bad trades and making wrong decisions.

How long did it take for you to become a consistent trader, and what aspects did you change for that?

To become a consistently profitable trader, it took me about 2 and a half years. I slowly changed during that period. I went from an impatient, greedy trader to a more self-aware and rational trader. I became more disciplined. I started reviewing each trade that I took and changing my behavior. I also started meditating, which improved my awareness and decision-making.

What is your mental/psychological strength, and how did you develop it

I don’t overreact anymore. I learned to be more patient, especially in waiting for a better trade and not chasing plays that have already happened. I used to make a lot of mistakes, and eventually, I figured out what worked for me and what did not. I learned that I make the best decisions when I am calm and patient and that the worst things happen if I rush into a trade.

What was your strategy for successfully passing the evaluation phase?

I divided the profit target I needed to reach with the days I had to give myself daily profit goals. I took more risks when great trading opportunities came and avoided trading on slow, choppy days to prevent myself from burning money. I traded the same names every week, I executed my game plans, and when I saw strong intraday trends, I entered them and scaled out as much profits as I could.

How is trading for Trade The Pool different from trading by yourself?

It’s much easier since I have much more capital with TTP. I also don’t feel as much pressure as I do with my own trading capital, which makes me more calm, and I make better and more rational decisions.

What would you recommend to someone who is just starting with us?

Don’t try to make a profit target in one day but try to divide it into 30 days. Increase size on days that present better opportunities and avoid trading on choppy days. Stick with one strategy that works best for you, make a plan every day, and execute it to the best of your ability.

Share online resources that were/are significant in your trading development. Names and links are appreciated.

Different trading youtube channels: Umar Asraf, Stock Market Lab, Clay Trader, Smart Trader, Team Bull Trading, B the Trader,…

Many trading books: Trading in the Zone, One good trade, Market Wizards, Timing the Trade,…

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