Limit Up! Podcast

Emotions cannot be eliminated. Instead of trying to push away strong emotions, traders need to learn what the emotion is really trying to tell you. Jared Tendler is a Mental Game Coach and expert in performance psychology. He talked to Jack and Dan on this week’s edition of Limit Up! about his latest book, The Mental Game of Trading. Jared has successfully coached professional golfers, gamers, and poker players and now is shining a light on performance psychology. Listen to this fascinating discussion to learn how to approach emotions such as fear and greed. Come back next week for pa...

For Jack, trading began with some trading tips from his grandfather. Dan grew up in a trading household. These experiences shaped their lives, however, even with that exposure trading can only be successful when you have the desire and the interest. On this week’s edition of Limit Up! Podcast, Jack and Dan are sharing their personal stories of how they discovered their future careers. They also discuss ways to maintain your trading edge and why adaptability is the most important quality for traders. Take a listen to the episode. (01:10) - Getting the trading itch (09:07) - Action seeking (12:54) - Mentorship (16:47...

Most novice traders want to know the stats of more experienced traders. However, a better question to ask yourself is, “What are my personal strengths and weaknesses?” If you know the conditions under which you thrive as well as what makes you tick, you will be more successful. In the business world, this is called SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). This week on Limit Up! Podcast, Jack and Dan are sharing their personal strengths and weaknesses to help you better reflect on your own. They discuss why hard times make hard people and why you need to know your...

If you’re down on your luck, take a break from trading. If you’re on a hot streak, take a break from trading. There are countless stories of people getting in over their heads which is why knowing your out is one of the most important skills to develop. This week on the podcast Jack and Dan define “going on tilt.” Listen to learn the history of the term and the lessons to take from traders such as Evan Dooley. Market Mania is happening soon so don’t forget to fill out your brackets! (02:23) -https://www.topstep.com/market-mania/ ( Market Man...

The GameStop drama in January and February has given a lot of attention to social sites like the WallStreetBets Reddit page. But what are the pros and cons to making trades based off of information gleaned from social media? This week on Limit Up! Podcast, Jack and Dan talk about how WallStreetBets and Discord have changed the game. They offer advice on what to look out for and what to stay away from when making social trades. Listen for their advice. (02:04) - Social trading (03:32) -https://www.topstep.com/market-mania/ ( Market Mania) (06:37) -https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/ ( r/WallStreetBets) (12:13...

You can’t trade for 23 hours a day. Eventually, you’re going to hit a breaking point. With so much money to be made in the stock market, it’s easy to want to push through and keep going. But you really need to take time off and pace yourself. This week on Limit Up! Podcast, Jack and Dan discuss the importance of taking time off for your general well-being. They share tips on why to step away even if you’re on a hot streak, how to conquer trading FOMO, and how to make rest a part of your trading...

Everyone knows that timing is everything when it comes to trading. But timing goes beyond getting lucky on a big trade. Good traders have a plan and execution strategy for every type of trade they get into. On today’s edition of Limit Up! Podcast, Dan returns after a bout with Covid (he’s ok!) to talk to Jack about the strategy behind timing. They discuss knowing when to close a stale trade, how the duration of time you’ve held onto a stock determines what you should do with it, and why you should commit to trading during certain hours...

While most traders have some degree of impulsivity, when it comes down to it, trading is all about understanding patterns. Ego can drive traders to make rash decisions. If you employ a strategy in which patterns guide your trades, you will make better decisions and have a clearer view of what is happening in the market. This week’s episode of Limit Up! Podcast is all about patterns. Jack and John Doherty share the patterns they watch for and talk about why walking away is sometimes the best decision. Listen to the episode for the latest analysis on what’s goin...

To be a good trader, you need to have good instincts and well-established routines. That means taking the day off when you’re not 100% and sticking to the daily routine that keeps you healthy and alert. As part of our series on technical analysis, Jack, Dan, and John Doherty are sharing their personal trading habits to help you plan out the routine that will work for you. Listen in to learn what charts to look at during various times of day and what indicators work best for the traders on our team. Stay tuned for our market reaction and an up...

Unless you’ve been living under a rock this week, you have no doubt heard about the GameStop stock drama. What started as a once in a lifetime opportunity to get rich quick has become a David versus Goliath story of retail traders rebelling against massive hedge funds. Limit Up! is taking a short break from our trading fundamentals series to bring you all the details behind Wall Street’s story of the week. Jack, Dan, and John Doherty give a recap on how GameStop blew up, how a short squeeze works, and what sort of repercussions are likely in stor...

Charts. Some people love them, others question whether they actually work. To broaden your understanding of technical analysis, today’s episode of Limit Up! is diving into the history of this chart heavy theory. Jack and Dan are joined by Topstep’s John Doherty to give you an overview of the history of technical analysis and talk about how you can integrate it into your trading toolkit. The team goes into best practices and offers their experience on when technical analysis does not work. Listen to the episode and decide for yourself whether or not you are a “chartist.” (01:44) - The sque...

Simulations are just that: simulations. Trading in real life is vastly different. Some traders get so comfortable in simulations that they take bigger chances than they should when they get to the real trading floor. On this week’s edition of Limit Up!, Jack and Dan walk you through tips and tricks to make the jump from simulation to real trades. Jack and Dan share tips such as start smaller than you think small is and why you should trade what you have and not what you want. Check out the episode for their advice and our latest market reaction. (01:12...

This week’s installment of our new Trader Development Series is all about how to open a brokerage account. Jack and Dan are joined by longtime trader, and Founder/Chief Visionary Officer of Topstep, Michael Patak, for a discussion on futures brokerages. Listen to their conversation to learn about the importance of risk management, trading small, and watching your margins. Whether you’re a longtime trader or a brokerage newbie, the Topstep team has a wealth of wisdom to impart to help you get set up today. (01:39) - Stock melt up (06:07) - Opening a brokerage account (10:30) - Understanding margin (16:46) - Choo...

Limit Up! is kicking off 2021 by getting back to the basics. This week, Jack and Dan are sharing their essential trading tips for newbies and veterans alike. Listen in for their advice as well as resources and book recommendations. They explain why it’s so important, especially for new traders, to keep things simple and not bite off more than you can chew. Check out the episode and hit the ground running in 2021. For even more coaching, check out the https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLddTh6jO7O9G7LF2KdQIf82ENJDk5Z7RF (Coach’s Playbook) on YouTube on Tues...

This week on Limit Up! We are saying so long to 2020 with a special compilation of some of our favorite guests from this year. In this episode, we have highlighted some of the best tips about improving your trading game. Listen for advice from traders such as Chris Tate, Austin Silver, Matt Miller, and many more. Bring this energy to 2021 and make it your best yet!

If you think you...

What makes Santa such a great gift-giver? He has his system for delivering presents on lock. To be an effective trader, you have to put in the work to create a system that works for you and stick to it. This week on Limit Up! we are revisiting some of the best advice on trading systems we’ve gleaned from our guests in 2020.

Take a listen for trading best practices from such guests as Chris Tate, Gary Morrow, Gary Antonacci, Jerry Robinson, Jeremy Tang and Zac White. We hope you learn something and have a safe, restful ho...

As we round into the holiday season at the Topstep office, Jack and Dan are ending the year strong with their last interview of the year. Greg Baird comes onto the show to break down all things stocks, futures and options as well as what it’s like to answer the lure of the pit when you’re just getting started. 

Greg talks about the importance of always making adjustments when you’re trading, getting into the rhythm but also creating distractions so you can enjoy the process. It’s not all about the money after all. But first...

Viktor Nebehaj didn’t originally want to get into investing. Preferring technology over finance, his career started with HTML and SEO rather than stocks and ETF. After an early stint at Google in the early 00’s left him with some of their stock, he started to get more interested in the financial world of investing and trading. Faced with challenges trading within the U.K., he thought there has to be a better way to access the markets. Fast forward to present day and Viktor is the co-founder of Freetrade, the main commission free trading platform in the U.K. <...

Latoya Smith worked in finance for a time before pursuing her passion for trading. She is now the co-founder of The Profit Room, a stock market and trading educational company. On this week’s edition of the Limit Up! Podcast, Jack and Dan talked to Latoya about her road to becoming a day trader.

One interesting thing about Latoya is that she learned about the stock market by forming an investment club with friends. She talked about this formative experience, how investment property helped her create wealth, and why she loves to trade gaps. Take a listen to...

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our listeners! As a special holiday treat, this week on Limit Up! we have compiled some of our best advice from forex traders.

Whether you have been wanting to trade forex or you have no idea what that is, we’ve got you covered by expert guests including Akil Stokes, Etienne Crete, and Austin Silver. Listen to the episode for best practices, a discussion on cultivating the right mindset, and why now is the best time to start trading forex.

Jack Pelzer is one of the fearless hosts of Limit Up! Podcast. If you’ve wondered about his experience as a trader or how he came to be the voice of Topstep, this week’s episode will answer your burning questions.

After getting his start at a big prop firm amidst the turmoil of the Great Recession, Jack earned a Master's degree, wrote for the satirical website The Onion, and then made his way to the Topstep family.

Listen to the episode for reflections on what it’s like trading at a big prop firm and wh...

If you’re a regular listener, you know that Topstep’s own Dan Hodgman comes from a family of traders. But his route to the trading floor and ultimately to Topstep was not linear.

On this week’s episode of Limit Up! Jack interviewed Dan to find out how he became a trader and how those experiences shaped the kinds of trades he makes. Dan talked about his time clerking for his father, his time in the Marine Corps, and a bit about his trading strategy these days. Listen in as we learn Dan’s trading origin story.<...

To be a successful trader requires strategy and creating systems that help you succeed. When you get stuck in the emotion of trading, it becomes little more than gambling. Austin Silver is a Forex trader and Head of Trading and Education at ASFX. He believes that the key trait of successful traders is to create your own trading plan.

Austin joined Jack and Dan and talked about why it’s important for traders to focus on one area instead of juggling multiple things. He also talked about his journaling practice and how that has helped him become a...

Etienne Crete is the founder of Desire To Trade, a trading education website. Before he became a founder and full-time trader, he worked a job he hated and searched for a way to generate income while devoting time to his love of traveling.

His success came about thanks to his adherence to routines and systems designed to help him improve his skills. Etienne is our guest this week on Limit Up! and talks to Jack and Dan about one of his most important tools: old fashioned journaling.

Listen to the episode for Etienne’s story an...

The media often portrays trading as a get rich quick scheme. The reality however, is that trading is a job like any other and it is a job that contains a high degree of stress. Many trading education programs focus on how to trade, but not many offer tools on how to find personal happiness while trading. Jacob Rudge of TradeHappy wants to change that.

On today’s episode of Limit Up! Podcast, we’re diving into why mindset matters, what tips you can use to cultivate more happiness into your trading, and when it might be time...

Modern economists have grown so reliant on bailouts whenever there is market instability that the tax burden inevitably gets passed on to regular people. Most US families only have income streams from their jobs, the most heavily taxed revenue stream. Jerry Robinson is a trader and author who wants to change all that.

On today’s episode of Limit Up, Jerry discusses two key fundamental concepts for every trader: know your trading niche and diversify. Traders who are educated in a specific area do well to trade in that area as opposed to casting a wide net.

Recency bias means that you pay the most attention to the last thing you heard or said over historic knowledge. For many traders that means that because the markets have been going up that they will always go up. Chris Tate is a trading veteran and the Director at Trading Game. He joined Jack and Dan to discuss this phenomenon.

Chris has been a trader for over 30 years and has seen it all. He makes the case for training yourself to be comfortable with discomfort, honing your money management skills, and increasing your patience. Listen in for...

Hollywood has given many would-be traders a warped perception of what it actually means to be a trader. The truth is, trading isn’t a get rich quick scheme so much as a skill that needs to be developed. Akil Stokes is a trading coach and co-founder of Tier One Trading. He joins Dan this week to debunk some of the myths around trading.

Akil also takes time to break down Forex trading and discusses why trading psychology is the most important piece when it comes to making successful trades. Listen to the episode for advice on cr...

Elections have the power to turn markets into chaos. Just look back at 2016 and Brexit to see the uncertainty and volatility. We can’t tell you who will win the 2020 election, but we can tell you how to plan your trades for the weeks leading up to November 3.

This week on Limit Up! we’re hosting a panel discussion about the strategy of trading around election time. If you’re unsure how election modeling works or want to know what usually happens in the futures market around elections, tune in so you can craft your trading plan.

When you’re a trader, wins are fleeting, and hypervigilance is key to not losing money. This can create a high degree of stress and uncertainty. Adam Boostrom is a former trader turned author, investor, and startup founder. He sat down with Jack and Dan to discuss his life beyond the trading floor.

These days, Adam is following the Warren Buffet approach and focusing his time and energy on the things he’s most interested in. Listen for our latest market reaction and a discussion on knowing when it’s time to take a break.  

Interested in getting involved in structured note trading? Our guest this week on Limit Up! is Biju Kulathakal, founder of Halo Investing and a huge proponent of this type of trade. He offers up a convenient guide to structured note trading and how risk is assessed.

Biju did not get into trading via the traditional route. After starting his career as an aerospace engineer, he found quantitative analysis and trading models similar to the problems he faced as an engineer. Listen to the episode for Biju’s story and his biggest advice for would-be traders: treat it li...

When it comes to trading, Gary Morrow, investment advisor and President of Yosemite Asset Management, considers himself a bull. He was around for the 1987 crash and currently counsels investors both in his private practice and on his popular blog, This Week on Wall Street. His advice for nervous traders: embrace the decline.

Gary joined Jack and Dan for a discussion on his life as a trader and his biggest tips for new investors. He encourages traders to grow their confidence and systems, so they don’t succumb to panic selling. For Gary, trading is akin to climbing Yo...

This week on Limit Up! we’re welcoming back to the podcast Bob Greifeld, the former CEO of Nasdaq and current Chairman of Virtu Financial. Over the past 20 years, Bob has witnessed a tremendous shift in the trading industry. He joins us today to talk about how things have changed and what he sees ahead for retail trading.

Bob touched on issues of technology, speed, and the importance of data and gave an overview of how his new company Virtu Financial works. As always, stay tuned for our market reactions.

Gary Antonacci wrote the award-winning book, Dual Momentum Investing: An Innovative Strategy for Higher Returns with Lower Risk. He’s back for his second time on the Limit Up! Podcast to give us an overview of his theory of dual momentum.

He shared how this theory takes into account 200 years of market trend information and explains how this system can make you more adaptable to the changing whims of the market. Listen to learn how a monthly analysis of trends can make you a more competitive trader.

If you’ve only been trading S&P futures, you’re missing out on the flexibility and diversity of commodities trading. David Klusendorf is the Chief Investment Officer at Typhon Capital Management and joined Jack and Dan to give an overview on how you can benefit from a CTA.

David is a trading veteran and was around for the 1987 crash. He discusses what happened that day and the differences he sees between then and our current market volatility. He also shares current trends as well as the most important question to ask yourself when trading: do I have...

Jane Gallina was laid off when she was pregnant with her first child. Instead of letting the layoff get her down, she immersed herself in day trading and was able to create a career for herself on her terms.

Now Jane runs the popular day trading site, See Jane Trade. She stopped by the Limit Up! Podcast to talk about what she’s learned from bouncing around careers, how to break up with a bad trade, and how to balance the demands of trading with the demands of motherhood. 

Macro-managers look to the big picture when it comes to making trades. While it’s necessary to look at the long game, if you only focus on the macro, you’re missing out on what’s happening in the short term. Our guest this week on Limit Up! is Samantha LaDuc, a Macro-to-Micro Analyst who shares how to keep your eyes on both to make the best trades.

Samantha shared how she got into trading and offers advice for new traders cutting their teeth in our current volatile market. She also discussed her mantra: There’s no meritocr...

To be a successful trader, you don’t need to make 30 trades a day and drive a Lamborghini (although that’s always the dream). Sometimes the most effective strategy, especially right now with all the market volatility, is to get back to the trading basics. This week on Limit Up!, The Trader Chick, Marina Villatoro, joins us to talk about simplifying your trading process.

Marina has a fascinating life story; she was born in the USSR, moved to America, began traveling the world and ended up married in Guatemala. Her trading story didn’t begin until she decide...

Troy Prince grew up in the Bronx, one of the most impoverished zip codes in America even though it was just 11 miles from the New York Stock Exchange. Thanks to an early interest in trading piqued by a social studies class, he knew from age 17 that he would be a trader. This took him on a journey around the globe trading at international firms from Spain to Japan and Vietnam.

These days, Troy is trying to use his social capital to get more diverse traders on the floor with his programs Wall Street Direct and Diverse Trader...

Elon Musk, like Steve Jobs before him, is a brilliant marketer. In a sense, when you invest in Tesla, you’re really investing in Elon Musk. This week, Jack and Dan are taking some time to break down why Tesla stock is so volatile and offer advice for those looking to trade in the company.

They round things out with a discussion on summer trades. Every summer has a different flow from the other seasons, but with a pandemic, things are going to look even weirder than usual. Jack and Dan share how they’re trading this summ...