How to Trade Order Flow / Footprint on TopStep
Order Flow / Footprint on TopStep is rated good fit with minor caveats. There are 2 rule conflicts to be aware of. TopStep offers 3 rules that actively support this strategy. Recommended timeframes: 1m, 5m, 15m.
Uses footprint charts, volume profile, and DOM (depth of market) data to see real-time buying and selling pressure. Traders identify absorption, exhaustion, and imbalances to time entries precisely. Primarily a futures strategy.
TopStep enforces: "No single day > 50% of total profit". With order flow / footprint, it is easy to have one outsized winning day that exceeds the threshold, especially on high-volatility sessions. You must consciously cap your daily P&L or spread profits across multiple days.
TopStep has a 2% daily loss limit. Order Flow / Footprint involves many trades per day, and a string of losers can quickly consume the daily limit. You need strict per-trade risk limits (0.25-0.5% per trade) to avoid hitting the cap.
TopStep has no minimum trading day requirement. You can pass the evaluation whenever your order flow / footprint setups present themselves -- no need to force trades on slow days.
TopStep allows EAs and automated trading. Order Flow / Footprint can benefit from automation for execution speed and consistency.
TopStep offers futures markets, which align well with Order Flow / Footprint's typical instruments.
Since TopStep requires same-day closes, use shorter timeframes for entries and exits. Higher timeframes can still inform directional bias.
With TopStep's 2% daily loss limit, scalpers should risk 0.25-0.5% of account per trade. On a $100,000 account, that is $250-$500 per trade. This allows 4-10+ trades before approaching the daily limit.
- Exceeding the 2% daily loss limit by revenge trading. After 2-3 losing order flow / footprint trades, the emotional urge to "make it back" leads to oversized positions that breach the daily cap.
- Ignoring how EOD trailing drawdown affects multi-day P&L. Order Flow / Footprint traders often focus on per-trade risk but forget that closing green today raises tomorrow's floor.
- Violating the consistency rule ("No single day > 50% of total profit"). A single large order flow / footprint winner on a high-volatility day can trigger this rule, even though the trade was well-managed.
- Oversizing positions to hit the profit target faster. Order Flow / Footprint has defined risk parameters -- increasing size beyond your plan to speed up the evaluation is the fastest path to blowing the account.
- Over-trading on slow market days. When order flow / footprint setups are not presenting clearly, forcing trades leads to death by a thousand cuts against the daily loss limit.
| evaluation | funded | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily Loss | 2% | 2% |
| DD Type | Trailing EOD | Trailing EOD |
| Overnight | No | No |
| News | allowed | allowed |
| Weekend | No | No |
| Consistency | No single day > 50% of total profit | No single day > 50% of total profit |