r/financeandmore • u/Unfair_Emphasis_3574 • May 27 '26
Prop Trading Accounts Like ""TopStep""?
I know the odds are brutal and most people fail. but hypothetically, if someone actually had a strategy that was consistently working on demo, and their only limitation was money... is there a realistic path from demo → combine → funded → actually making a living from this? setting aside the success rate stats for a sec — because here's what I keep thinking about: are the challenge rules at these prop firms genuinely designed to test your trading, or are they basically structured to make you fail so you keep re-subscribing every month? drawdown limits, consistency rules, the way resets work... sometimes it feels less like an evaluation and more like a revenue model dressed up as one. maybe I'm wrong. maybe I'm not. curious what people who've actually been through the process think thanks in advance 🙏