Topstep Trading Combine

Pine Script Strategies for the Topstep Combine — Rules, Drawdown, and How to Pass

Topstep's Maximum Loss Limit ends Combines before traders get close. The only strategies that survive consistently are ones that take measured, fixed-risk shots every session — no revenge trades, no averaging in. Here's exactly how ours are built for that.

Topstep Trading Combine rules at a glance

The 5-winning-days-of-$150+ requirement some guides still cite is not a Combine rule — it's the Express Funded Account's Standard payout-path eligibility gate, a separate requirement that only applies once you're funded.

For a rule-by-rule breakdown — how the Maximum Loss Limit trails and locks, how the 50% Consistency Target plays out day to day, and the mistakes that end most Combines — see the full Topstep evaluation rules guide.

The trailing max drawdown (the Maximum Loss Limit) is the one that catches traders off guard. Per Topstep's own help center, it "rises as your end-of-day balance grows, but never moves down. Once it reaches your starting balance, it locks permanently" — on a 50k Combine that means once your highest closed EOD equity reaches $52,000 (your $50,000 starting balance plus the $2,000 trail), the floor is capped at $50,000 for good. That's a different, earlier point than the $53,000 Profit Target itself. Until it locks, it follows the highest closed equity you've produced. A trader who builds up to $1,800 in profit on a 50k, then gives back $1,400, is sitting on $400 of cushion with a $2,000 trail. One normal losing trade takes them out. The only way to avoid that scenario is to never let a large open gain evaporate — which is exactly what a Pine Script with fixed exits does automatically.

Recent rule changes: Topstep moved to a 90/10 profit split from the first dollar in January 2026 and split Express Funded payouts into Standard and Consistency paths — dated details in the Topstep rule changes tracker.

Does Topstep have a consistency rule?

This comes up constantly, and the site used to answer it wrong — so here's the current version. Yes, the Trading Combine has a percentage-based Consistency Target: your single best day of profit can't exceed 50% of your Profit Target. On a 50k Combine ($3,000 target), that's a $1,500 ceiling on any one day. Go over it and your Profit Target increases rather than your account failing outright — but you now need to earn more to pass.

There is also no minimum number of trading days on the Combine anymore. Topstep's own help center confirms you can pass in as few as 2 sessions, provided no single day exceeds 50% of your total profit and you hit the target while staying inside the Maximum Loss Limit.

Separately, once you're funded on an Express Funded Account (XFA), a different consistency mechanic applies depending on which payout path you pick: the Standard path requires 5 winning days of $150+ before you're payout-eligible (this is the "5 winning days" rule older guides — including a past version of this page — describe, but it's a funded-account payout gate, not a Combine requirement), while the Consistency path unlocks payout faster but caps your best single day at 40% of total profit.

For algo traders running a Pine Script, the 50% Consistency Target is the easiest rule to satisfy. A strategy that fires 2–3 signals per session and exits at a fixed target keeps every day roughly the same size, so no single day can blow past 50% of the total. It's discretionary traders swinging for a home-run day who get caught by this — a systematic strategy running consistent setups clears it by default.

Topstep's EOD trailing drawdown — how it actually works

Topstep's trailing drawdown is end-of-day (EOD), which means the floor only moves based on your closed equity at the end of each trading session — not from intraday peaks. This is the single biggest reason Topstep is considered the most algo-friendly major futures prop firm.

Practical example on a 50k Combine (trail = $2,000):

On Apex, that trade just permanently raised your floor by $800 even though you only netted $300. On Topstep, the floor only rises by $300. Over a multi-session Combine, this difference compounds. Strategies with high per-trade variance — like breakout entries that sometimes spike and reverse — fare meaningfully better under Topstep's EOD system because intraday noise doesn't count against you.

Contract sizing for the Topstep Combine

Sizing is where most traders — even ones with solid strategies — blow up on Topstep. Here's a practical sizing framework by account tier:

The goal isn't to maximize contracts — it's to keep the Maximum Loss Limit comfortably out of reach under normal strategy behavior. If you enable Topstep's optional Daily Loss Limit, keep a separate strategy kill switch below that setting. Start conservative and scale up only after 3–4 consecutive winning sessions.

Optimal session timing for Topstep MES and MNQ strategies

Topstep doesn't restrict trading hours, but not all hours are equal for MES and MNQ signals. Strategies tuned for the Combine perform best in these windows:

• 9:30–11:30 AM ET (primary): Highest volume, cleanest trend moves for MES. Most 1R setups complete within this window.
• 1:30–3:00 PM ET (secondary): Afternoon trend continuation, especially on trending days. MNQ tends to have stronger follow-through here than MES.
• Avoid 11:30 AM–1:00 PM ET: Midday chop generates false signals, stop-outs that don't count against the trail but waste trading days on scratch results.
• Avoid the 3:30–4:00 PM ET MOC window: Market-on-close imbalances create erratic price action that doesn't suit systematic strategies.

How Pine Script automation handles every Topstep rule

Manual traders fail the Combine for human reasons — fear, revenge, over-sizing after a loss. A Pine Script removes all of those variables. Here's what's built into every script in our store:

• Fixed dollar stop. Risk per trade is hard-coded. The daily loss math becomes completely predictable — you know exactly how many losing trades it takes to approach the daily limit, and it's usually more than the strategy fires in a session.
• Bar-close entry confirmation. No repaint, no chasing entries on a wick. What backtests is what executes live.
• One entry per signal. No martingale, no averaging in, no second entries on the same setup. One signal, one trade, wait for the next bar.
• Daily kill switch. Configurable threshold (default: 80% of daily limit) that stops new entries for the session if the loss approaches the limit. Existing open positions are allowed to reach their stops naturally.
• Optional RTH session filter. Restricts trading to Regular Trading Hours only. Keeps the strategy out of overnight sessions where spreads widen and signals are noisier.
• TradersPost webhook alerts. Fires directly to TradersPost for hands-off order execution into TopstepX or your TSTrader Tradovate account.

Which plan fits a Topstep trader?

The 50k Combine pairs cleanly with the Starter plan ($24/mo) — MES or MNQ, risk sized for the $2,000 trail. The 100k and 150k Combines pair with the Pro plan ($39/mo) on ES or NQ. The Pro plan's per-trade risk is sized so a normal stop-out on a 100k account doesn't push you within breach range of the trail. If you have your own specific rules you want coded, the Custom plan ($250 one-time) builds it to your exact specifications.

Frequently asked questions — Topstep