Passing my first Topstep Combine

This is my first time trading with TopStep.  I purchased 5 x 50k Combines and will use a trade copier to take the same trades on all 5 accounts.

Differences between the Apex and Topstep evaluations.

Profit Target: Apex $3000, Topstep $3000

Max Contracts: Apex 10, Topstep 5

Minimum Trading Days: Apex 7 (sometimes 1 during promotions), Topstep 2

Consistency: Apex No, Topstep max day not to exceed 50% (plus a small buffer) 

Daily Anti-Tilt protection: Apex No, Topstep $1000

Max loss: Apex $2500 trailing highest unrealised profit, Topstep $2500 fixed from previous end of day.

Day 1

Trade: The trade number on this day.

DCA: Dollar Cost Average - This increases each time a trade is added to a losing trade.

AIP: Add In Profit - This increases each time a trade is added to a winning trade.

Entry: Time in UTC.

Exit: Time in UTC.

Size: The number of ES contracts traded.

Direction: Long or Short.

MAE: Maximum Adverse Excursion.  This is the maximum number of ticks the trade moved against me during the duration of the trade.

TC: Ticks Captured.  The number of ticks captured by the trade.  A negative number indicates a loss.  To calculate the profit, multiple TC by Size.

Day 2

Trade reports

Topstep trade reports are nicely formatted.  The objectives are listed and it is easy to see at a glance what needs to be done to pass.

My thoughts on the Topstep Combine vs Apex Evaluation

The Topstep Combine is easier to pass because it has a static drawdown.  Note my last trade on the first day would have blown an Apex evaluation due to trailing drawdown, but I was fine with Topstep as I had already built up a 24 tick buffer that I could use.

Topstep rules work against gambling: 2 days minimum, 50% consistency, $1000 anti-tilt.

Apex rules encourage gambling: 1 day to pass and double the contract size.