How to pass the Topstep Trading Combine: rules first.

1. The Topstep 50K rules that decide pass or fail

• Profit target$3,000
• Max drawdown$2,000 (EOD trailing)
• Drawdown typeEOD trailing (Maximum Loss Limit, set from the end-of-day balance high; stops at the starting balance)
• Price$49 per month
• Activation after you pass$149
• If you failreset $49

Plan notes: Standard Path list prices. Consistency target in the Combine: best day at or below 55% of the profit target (Topstep help centre, 'Consistency at Topstep', rechecked 2026-09-27; third-party guides quoting 50% are out of date). XFA reactivation (Back2Funded): 50K $599, 100K $699. Topstep's affiliate program was reportedly sunset in Aug 2026, so we expect no code.

List prices before any promotion; confirm the final price at checkout. Rules change often: read Topstep's current rules page before you trade (official source).

2. The math most people skip

On the 50K you must make $3,000 without ever giving back $2,000 from the peak. That's a target of 1.5× your drawdown. In other words, you can't afford to "try again tomorrow" after a big loss: two or three oversized losers end the attempt.

Hypothetical sizing example (not advice, just arithmetic): if you risk 10% of the $2,000 drawdown per trade, that's about $200 per trade, and you'd need roughly 10 losers in a row (with no winners) to fail. Risk 25% per trade and four losers end it. Size from your stop distance, not from how confident you feel. The course shows how to set that stop with ATR.

Consistency: Topstep's rules we track mention a 55% consistency figure. In practice that means one huge day doesn't finish the job on its own; plan for several ordinary days instead. Read the exact wording on the official page, because firms apply it to different stages (evaluation vs payout).

3. How the drawdown can fail you

Topstep: EOD trailing (Maximum Loss Limit, set from the end-of-day balance high; stops at the starting balance).

The limit is recalculated from your balance at the close. An intraday dip doesn't move it, but a big green day raises the floor for tomorrow.

• Write the day's max loss on a sticky note before the open. Stop when you hit it.
• Know the time you must be flat and any news restrictions on your plan.
• Don't scale up after a win to "finish fast". A new balance high raises a trailing floor.
• Track the distance to your floor after every trade, not at the end of the day.

4. A simple plan for the Topstep 50K

1. Before you buy: run the numbers in the true cost calculator. What it costs you if you need two tries matters more than the sticker price.
2. Pick one setup and one market. A setup you can define on a chart (for example, absorption at a key level on the footprint) beats five you half-know.
3. Fix your risk per trade as a share of the drawdown (see the math above) and your daily stop as a share of that.
4. Aim for ordinary days. Meet the target over several sessions so no rule on single-day profit or consistency catches you.
5. Review every session against the rules, not just your P&L.

5. What passing Topstep really costs

True cost = evaluation + activation + retries (reset, or a new evaluation where resets aren't offered). Full Topstep true-cost review · Calculator

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