How to Trade Supply & Demand on TopStep

hours holds1-stepPossible with adaptation

Supply & Demand on TopStep is rated possible with adaptation. There is 1 rule conflict to be aware of, including 1 high-severity issue. TopStep offers 2 rules that actively support this strategy. Recommended timeframes: 1H.

About Supply & Demand

Identifies zones where price previously made strong moves away from, indicating unfilled institutional orders. Traders wait for price to return to these zones and enter with tight stop losses. Works across all timeframes.

Typical timeframes:1H4HDaily
Best instruments:forexindicescommoditiesfutures
Hold time: hoursOvernight: YesNews: Optional
Rule Conflicts (1)
highNo overnight holding

Supply & Demand typically requires holding positions overnight, but TopStep requires all positions to be flattened before market close. You must close all trades by session end, which limits multi-day setups.

Rules That Support This Strategy (2)
+No minimum trading days

TopStep has no minimum trading day requirement. You can pass the evaluation whenever your supply & demand setups present themselves -- no need to force trades on slow days.

+Supports futures

TopStep offers futures markets, which align well with Supply & Demand's typical instruments.

Recommended Timeframes
1H

Since TopStep requires same-day closes, use shorter timeframes for entries and exits. Higher timeframes can still inform directional bias.

Position Sizing

For supply & demand on TopStep, risk 0.5-1% per trade. On a $100,000 account, that is $500-$1,000 per trade. With a 2% daily loss limit, you can take 2-4 setups per day without excessive risk.

Common Rule Violations When Trading Supply & Demand on TopStep
  1. Forgetting to close positions before market close. Supply & Demand setups often signal late in the session, tempting traders to hold overnight. On TopStep, this is an instant violation.
  2. Exceeding the 2% daily loss limit by revenge trading. After 2-3 losing supply & demand trades, the emotional urge to "make it back" leads to oversized positions that breach the daily cap.
  3. Ignoring how EOD trailing drawdown affects multi-day P&L. Supply & Demand traders often focus on per-trade risk but forget that closing green today raises tomorrow's floor.
  4. Violating the consistency rule ("No single day > 50% of total profit"). A single large supply & demand winner on a high-volatility day can trigger this rule, even though the trade was well-managed.
  5. Oversizing positions to hit the profit target faster. Supply & Demand has defined risk parameters -- increasing size beyond your plan to speed up the evaluation is the fastest path to blowing the account.
  6. Over-trading on slow market days. When supply & demand setups are not presenting clearly, forcing trades leads to death by a thousand cuts against the daily loss limit.
TopStep Rules Quick Reference
evaluationfunded
Daily Loss2%2%
DD TypeTrailing EODTrailing EOD
OvernightNoNo
Newsallowedallowed
WeekendNoNo
ConsistencyNo single day > 50% of total profitNo single day > 50% of total profit
Supply & Demand on Other Firms

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