The Day Trading Show

Can futures traders actually make money trading options? Tanner Owings (The Strong Trader) sits down with Austin Silver, Evan Dyer and Randy Bains in New York City to break down the jump from futures to options — and why options prop firms make it low-risk to learn.

Options Prop - https://www.asfx.biz/vanquish - code ASFX

We cover why fixed risk makes options easier to manage than futures, why you should start with QQQ and SPY if you already trade NQ and ES, how to find stocks in play using volume and post-earnings catalysts, and why implied volatility can make or break your trade.

Tanner also tells the story of the $3K NDX 0DTE trade that would have turned into $600K — and why he cut it 20 minutes early.

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Plus: gamma hype vs. keeping it simple, paralysis by analysis, hiring a trading psychologist 7 years in, and what walking onto the NYSE floor meant to the crew.

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 - Highlights

1:23 - Intro: Tanner, Evan & Randy in NYC

3:43 - Fixed risk: why options can be safer than futures

8:24 - NQ = QQQ, ES = SPY: the easiest transition

13:44 - Volume: the #1 way to find stocks in play

15:47 - The $3K trade that could've been $600K

19:16 - Is options trading just gambling?

22:21 - Implied volatility explained (GME vs Home Depot)

25:34 - Is gamma overhyped?

28:23 - Selling premium & theta decay

36:53 - Why most traders fail: time in the game

42:43 - Walking into the New York Stock Exchange

There's over $500,000 in real payouts at this table, all made this year, and three completely different strategies behind it. This episode proves there isn't one right way to make money trading.

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I sat down with Chris, Nick, and Zach, three profitable traders who all run mentorships, and asked them to push back on each other. We get into VWAP Wave, reading market conditions, order flow scalping on NQ, why ORB still doesn't work, and what separates amateurs from professionals.

They also break down the rules that made them money, and they explain why every trader should be planning a move from prop firms to personal capital before the prop space changes.

This is the less flashy side of trading. No Ferraris, no Chrome Hearts. Just real trading from people doing it with real capital.

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🎟️ ASFX Futures Bootcamp 2027 – Tampa, May 13-14

🔗 https://www.asfx.biz/bootcamp

1:30 Meet the guests: $500K+ in real payouts

6:01 VWAP Wave and reading market conditions

10:28 Why profitable traders still coach

13:33 Can anyone make a living trading?

19:28 Best rules: 40-minute time stop and "don't fade strength"

23:09 Why daily profit expectations are a death sentence

31:57 "ORB is trash": old-school education vs today

34:37 Prop firms vs personal capital: taxes, rules, and freedom

41:07 The future of prop firms: should you be preparing?

In this episode, Austin Silver sits down with Zarb (Zach), a profitable prop trader who just took home $45K in payouts in a single month. We dive deep into how he structured accounts across Top One Futures & Futures Elite, why lower contract sizing led to bigger profits, the difference between New York & Asia session trading strategies, managing multiple accounts without burning out, and the mental game of trading when you don't need the money. 

🎯 Sponsor: Prop Firm Match — Compare 40+ prop firms side-by-side. 

Code MATCH

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Zarb shares his journey from struggling trader to consistent six-figure annual payouts, the mistakes he made early on, and exactly how he's positioning himself for even bigger months ahead. 

Topics Covered:

✅ How he structured accounts across Top One Futures & Futures Elite

✅ Why lower contract sizing led to bigger profits

✅ The difference between New York & Asia session trading strategies

✅ Managing multiple accounts without burning out

✅ The mental game: trading when you don't need the money

✅ Why prop firms are a net positive for retail traders

✅ What's next: scaling to 6-figures with copy trading

✅ Live account transitions & account selection edge

✅ The truth about rushing payouts vs. playing the long game

0:00 Intro - Zarb's $45K August Payout Month

1:20 Welcome Back - Best Month Ever Follow-Up

6:00 July Zero Payouts, August Massive Month

11:20 New Prop Firms - Top One Futures & Futures Elite

15:17 The Secret - "Disgustingly Low" Spend on $45K Payout

17:00 Mindset Shift - Stop Rushing, Size Down, Widen Stops

23:50 Biggest Regrets - What He'd Do Differently as New Trader

27:07 Hot Take - Are Prop Firms Net Positive or Negative?

32:00 Zarb's Liquidity Lab - Building His Own Trading Community

40:40 Scaling Strategy - Copy Trading 10-30 Accounts Simultaneously

48:00 Going Live - Top One Futures Live Account & Next Goals

Former 500K-sub bodybuilder turned futures trader Lucas Pinheiro shares how he transitioned from personal training to making $45K in monthly payouts. Learn his high-win-rate prop trading strategy, why he switched to Tokyo sessions, how he manages multiple accounts simultaneously, and the mindset shift required to succeed—plus why trading without external income sources leads to failure.

Connect with Lucas -  @LPTradesFt 

🎯 Sponsor: Prop Firm Match — Compare 40+ prop firms side-by-side.

Code MATCH 🔗 https://www.propfirmmatch.com/?a_aid=asfx

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0:00 Opening Mindset - Winning vs. Execution

1:19 Podcast Intro & Lucas's Journey

3:00 Moving to Miami at 19 - The Brazilian Dream

5:00 Law School Drop & Sports Career Path

8:00 First Bodybuilding Competition Win

9:00 Building a 500K+ Subscriber Channel

11:00 Transition from Bodybuilding to Trading

12:00 Bitcoin Discovery (2019) & Crypto Interest

14:00 First Forex Trade Loss & Learning Curve

19:00 The $13K Loss - Emotional Breakthrough

22:00 Retiring from Bodybuilding (2021)

23:00 Real Estate Arbitrage in Brazil

25:00 Selling 4 Properties & Moving Back to Brazil

27:00 Why Switch to Futures Trading?

29:00 Starting the Trading YouTube Channel

31:00 Live Streaming Trades - The Missing Angle

34:00 Growing to 42K Subscribers in 4 Months

37:00 Why Traders Fail - The Psychology

38:00 Bodybuilder Mindset vs. Trading Mindset

40:00 Need Money Before Trading (Risk Management)

44:00 Marriage & Support System During Losses

45:00 Prop Firm Payouts & Account Strategy

47:00 Risk-to-Reward: Personal vs. Prop Accounts

50:00 Copy Trading Strategy Across Multiple Accounts

52:00 Tokyo Session vs. New York Session Switch

54:00 $45K Payout Month & Best Results

56:00 Weekly Payout Strategy & Risk Bucketing

59:00 Handling Max Loss Days with High Win Rate

1:01:00 Current Opportunity in Prop Trading

1:02:00 Outro & Connecting with Lucas

James Bruce shares his raw recovery story: a catastrophic $50K loss in one day due to a trade copier error on New Year's Eve 2021, followed by a brutal seven-month drawdown that nearly broke him.

The key lesson: don't make trading your identity. After making $150K in 2020, he hit rock bottom but stayed locked in because he'd proven it was possible before.

Learn why sizing down matters, how to rebuild after massive losses, the importance of having income outside trading, and why showing losses publicly (not just wins) is critical for the trading community. From near-bankruptcy to $70K+ in payouts, this is the unfiltered truth about trader recovery.

🎯 Sponsor: Prop Firm Match — Compare 40+ prop firms side-by-side.

Code MATCH

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1:23 - James Bruce intro: $70K payouts this year

4:12 - How James found Austin (mid-2019)

5:00 - Borrowed money from dad for Austin's course

10:04 - 2020 success: Made $150K with father-in-law's capital

10:20 - 2021 seven-month drawdown begins

12:00 - Biggest lesson: Don't make trading your identity

13:00 - The $50K loss story (trade copier error on New Year's Eve)

16:00 - Character building & resilience from massive losses

18:00 - Tweet: Why trading shouldn't be your only income source

36:00 - Why showing losses publicly is critical for community

38:00 - Birthday week: Down $32K, recovered $50K next week

42:00 - Why win rate matters more than R-multiple

Scott Pulcini breaks down why CVD divergences are unreliable and reveals what's actually driving the market: options flow, gamma levels, and price-change algos. After 9 years of trading stop-runs and icebergs as his main edge, he's shifted focus to zero-DTE options hedging by dealers—which moves 90% of intraday action most days.

The key insight: stop/iceberg events validate where the market will react, but options flow (gamma, pace of tape, relative volume) tells you when and how. He demonstrates real trades including why his 3-minute VWAP trade worked and how price-change reversions can be scalped or held based on confluence.

Sponsor: Prop Firm Match. Compare 40+ firms side-by-side.

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Connect with Scott - https://www.scottpulcinitrader.com/

0:00 — Headline risk destroying setups; options flow now dominates

3:00 — Stop runs & icebergs → options gamma edge shift (9 years vs new game)

8:03 — Real-time options flow example: dealers hedging move market, visible in charts

13:14 — Why CVD divergences fail: it only shows aggressor, not intention

16:48 — Six stop/iceberg setups; GEX levels are magnets dealers must hedge at

20:15 — Zero-DTE gamma "sexy gexi" entries vs reversion trades off GEX bounces

23:54 — Randy's YM trade: bought VWAP at 9:57 ET, out in 3 mins (entry anatomy)

27:35 — Euro options flow drives hero, not futures → source of moves

31:45 — Market pulse price change algo: reversion-to-mean every 5 min when quiet

35:48 — Relative volume key: use Sierra Charts (30-day lookback), not Thinkorswim (60-period only)

39:30 — Real NQ trade setup: VWAP + GEX2 + price change + pace of tape = "reversion dream"

42:50 — How to manage: scalp around position or trail half using price-change exits

46:20 — Risk half an ATR on price-change scalps; protect against big money runs

49:01 — Scott's chart tabs problem: too much data layered, needs Bookmap UI fix

Nick Stewart is BACK!! In today's podcast, he reveals how he scaled from a $50K live account to $270K+ in withdrawals this year by ditching prop firms and sizing up to 10x on high-probability setups.

🎟️ ASFX Futures Bootcamp 2027 – Tampa, May 13-14

🔗 https://www.asfx.biz/bootcamp

He breaks down the copy trading strategy that lets traders manage multiple funded accounts simultaneously, shares the psychology of handling big losses (he took a $21K hit in one day), and explains why futures payouts beat CFDs for consistency. Plus: Trade Set journal launch, UK bootcamp announcement, and NYC event details for the community.

Connect with Nick: https://www.youtube.com/@TimeToEatTrading

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Code MATCH

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0:26 — Family update: 4 kids, life's good

2:13 — Nick confirmed as Bootcamp 2027 speaker (first teaching gig)

4:54 — Futures payouts easier than CFDs (no drawdown seesaw trap)

8:22 — Evals - instant funded for new traders (cheap learning phase)

13:14 — Copy trading setup: 3 of 5 accounts locked after daily P&L

17:13 — New trader mindset: don't take wins or losses personal

20:45 — Playbook building: collect 20+ samples, find your edge

24:15 — High win rate trap: 70% WR = 30 unavoidable losses per 100 trades

28:07 — Live account leap: $50K -- $130K -- withdraw, repeat ($270K total YTD)

33:28 — Left prop firms for freedom; trading 5–10K size now

35:48 — Gold 90–95% of trades, selective NQ entries, avoiding chop

39:30 — TradeSet journal launched: analytics + mindset + behavior scoring

45:28 — Bootcamp talk prep: technical focus, show wins + losses + strategy

The boys are back for the first Home Team episode since the London Prop Firm Expo and the May Bootcamp. Austin, Randy, Evan, and Bruce dig into Bootcamp 2026 recap stories, why copy trading is the real scale in prop trading (and why people blame it for their own losses), the VTC indicator/double break strategy trends, prop firm drama, and wrap with NFL/NBA/MLB predictions for the fall.

🎯 Sponsor: Prop Firm Match — Compare 40+ prop firms side-by-side. 

Code MATCH

🔗 https://www.propfirmmatch.com/?a_aid=asfx 

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00:00 – Cold open: "documentation of the end of ASFX" + copy trading blame game

01:12 – Intro back from London Expo & May Bootcamp

02:00 – Bootcamp 2027 tickets on sale, Randy's stage evolution story

04:16 – The dinner bill roast — "how cheap some influencers really are"

09:41 – Prop firm drama, copy trading as the real scale, TradeSyncer discount code

12:08 – Copy trading psychology: "your trading capital's got to match your mental capital"

19:59 – TradeSyncer sponsor read + ASFX stream free trial offer

20:57 – VTC indicator, double break win rate, systematic vs. discretionary trading

39:38 – "Rich" giveaway winner story — blew 3 accounts, now stacking payouts

1:00:58 – NFL/NBA/MLB predictions wrap + Penn State college football game idea

Dylan Maltman of Apex Capital Management (Cape Town) joins the show to break down how he went from a banned retail prop trader to running an AI-native futures hedge fund.

He details Apex's origin story, the difference between proprietary trading and challenge-based prop firms, and how Apex structures capital raising through SMAs vs. LPGP vehicles.

🎯 Sponsor: Prop Firm Match — Compare 40+ prop firms side-by-side.

Code MATCH

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He dives deep into daily operations — fully automated order-flow strategies run on the Sierra platform with Chicago colocation for millisecond latency — and explains why Apex doesn't do manual or discretionary trades, instead selling investors on a consistent risk/return distribution.

He also unpacks how AI now touches every part of the fund's research and execution pipeline, and closes with a technical breakdown of the order book square root law and why speed matters in delta/order-flow trading.

Connect with Dylan - https://za.linkedin.com/in/dylan-maltman-8b575b1b1

00:01:22 – Dylan joins from Cape Town; intro and backstory with Austin

00:03:53 – What Apex Capital actually is: proprietary trading firm, not a challenge-based prop firm

00:05:09 – Dylan's background: crypto prop shop, sell-side derivatives, then going independent

00:06:01 – Getting banned from retail challenges, the Luxembourg hedge fund offer, and founding Apex in 2024

00:08:16 – Entrepreneurial mindset: separating the fantasy of trading from the reality

00:10:00 – Designing Apex's capital structure around survivability, not high-growth VC style

00:12:31 – Day-to-day life as a fund manager: strategy design, P&L checks, watching latency

00:17:17 – Why Apex uses Sierra platform and Chicago colocation instead of building custom tech yet

00:18:01 – What it was like raising capital in the early days vs. now

00:23:01 – Apex's niche: asymmetric strategies for hedge funds and prop groups focused on drawdown

00:26:35 – How scaling client allocations works, from starting ticket to max cap

00:29:00 – SMA structure explained: how client money never touches Dylan directly

00:33:00 – Latency and risk engine allocation across sub-accounts explained

00:36:34 – Why Apex is fully automated with no manual/discretionary trades

00:44:19 – Biggest mistake: a risk-sizing error on a new order management system import

00:50:59 – Order book square root law explained — why speed matters in delta/order-flow trading

00:56:09 – Closing thoughts and where to find Dylan and Apex Capital

James Sixsmith, CEO of Take Profit Trader, returns to The Day Trading Show for a deep-dive on prop firm infrastructure, risk management, and what actually predicts a trader's success. He explains the difference between front-end platforms (NinjaTrader, Tradovate, Wealth Charts) and back-end order/risk management systems (CQG, Rithmic, Teton, CTS), and why building a fully in-house risk system has taken TPT two years and counting.

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He goes deep on CME Rule 575 (disruptive/spoofing practices) and why TPT enforces live-market rules in simulation too — because strategies that work in sim get carried into live, and TPT is on the hook with the CME regardless of account size. He teases the upcoming TPT Score (a multi-factor, AI-driven scorecard using 120+ data vectors from 6.6 billion filled sides) and confirms it's being held back until edge cases are reliable enough to avoid ranking mismatches. The conversation closes with his read on what separates winning traders — smaller size, longer hold times, fewer trades — and how prop trading fits into the broader boom in prediction markets, AI-assisted trading, and retail speculation.

🔄 Sponsor: TradeSyncer — 30% off w/ code ASFX

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00:01:23 – Stanley Cup talk (Caps, Canes, Panthers, Rod Brind'Amour)

00:10:10 – Pro+ program updates and platform landscape (Wealth Charts, Apex)

00:13:00 – Front-end vs. back-end: CQG, Rithmic, Teton, CTS explained

00:16:40 – Why building an in-house risk/platform system takes years

00:23:20 – Strategies TPT won't fund; simulation exploitation

00:24:40 – CME Rule 575, spoofing, and Aventus surveillance system

00:33:00 – How TPT protects downside on live accounts using trade data

00:38:05 – TPT Score explained: 120+ AI vectors, why it's not live yet

00:52:00 – What makes an ideal trader: trade smaller and less often

00:56:00 – Copy trading, leverage, and why "9010 rule" traders complain