The short version
- Everything here is education. Nothing here is investment, financial or trading advice.
- Futures are leveraged. You can lose money quickly, and in a brokerage account you can lose more than you deposited.
- Any trading results the author shares come from prop firm accounts, which are simulated trading accounts.
- Past results do not predict future results. Prop firm rules change often.
- Some links are affiliate links and are labeled. You decide, and you carry the risk of your decisions.
01What this site is, and what it is not
Way of the Trader (wayofthetrader.com, the newsletter and the Way of the Trader YouTube channel) is an educational publication run by Creas Solutions Marek Kaliszuk, ul. Cynamonowa 9/2, 64-130 Nowa Wieś, Poland. It publishes general information about futures markets, prop firm rules, trading platforms and the author's own trading process.
Nothing published here is investment advice, financial advice, trading advice, a trading signal, or a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell any futures contract, security or other financial instrument. Content is general and impersonal. It does not take into account your financial situation, experience, objectives or risk tolerance, and it is not tailored to any person or account.
02No advisory relationship
Reading this site, subscribing to the newsletter, writing to the author or downloading a tool does not create an advisor-client, fiduciary or any other professional relationship. The author does not manage, direct or have access to anyone else's trading account, does not accept money to trade on anyone's behalf, and does not offer paid trading services, signals, trade alerts, chat rooms or live trading access.
The operator of this site is not registered as a commodity trading advisor, commodity pool operator, introducing broker, investment adviser or broker-dealer with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the National Futures Association (NFA) or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and is not authorized by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) to provide investment advice. If you need advice suited to your situation, consult a properly licensed professional.
03The risk of trading futures
Trading futures and options on futures involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. Only risk capital, money you can afford to lose without affecting your lifestyle, should be used for trading.
- Futures are leveraged. A small price move can produce a large loss relative to the margin posted. In a brokerage account, losses can exceed the amount deposited, and your broker can require additional margin on short notice or liquidate your positions at a loss.
- Stop and stop-limit orders do not guarantee that a loss will be limited to the intended amount. In fast markets, gaps, limit moves or thin liquidity, orders may be filled at much worse prices or not filled at all.
- Scheduled economic releases, earnings and unscheduled news can move prices sharply within seconds.
- Platform, data feed, internet and broker outages happen. They can prevent you from entering, managing or exiting positions.
- Trading costs (commissions, exchange and data fees, platform fees, slippage) reduce results and matter more at higher trade frequency.
- Most people who trade short-term lose money. Reading about a method, watching someone use it or testing it on historical data does not mean you will be able to execute it profitably.
04Prop firm evaluations and funded accounts
The author trades evaluation and funded accounts offered by proprietary trading firms. At the firms discussed on this site, these accounts are simulated trading accounts: no trades are sent to an exchange with the firm's or the trader's own capital. Payouts from funded accounts are paid by the firm under its own rules and at its own discretion.
- Evaluation and activation fees are not refundable when an account fails, and most accounts fail.
- A firm can change its rules, pricing, payout conditions and account types at any time, can deny a payout under its rules, and can close accounts. A prop firm is a counterparty with its own business interests.
- Rule summaries on this site are written in good faith and dated where possible, but they can be outdated by the time you read them. Always check the firm's current official rules before you buy or trade.
- Nothing on this site is an offer or endorsement of any firm beyond the author's own stated experience, and the author has no control over any firm's decisions.
05Simulated and hypothetical performance
Any trading results the author publishes, now or in the future (session results in points or dollars, win and loss records, payout figures, equity curves and results visible in videos and screenshots), come from prop firm evaluation and funded accounts, which are simulated trading accounts. Worked examples in articles are hypothetical and are included only to illustrate how a rule or a formula works. Statistics from historical market data describe past market behavior and are not a forecast.
These results are based on simulated or hypothetical performance results that have certain inherent limitations. Unlike the results shown in an actual performance record, these results do not represent actual trading. Also, because these trades have not actually been executed, these results may have under-or over-compensated for the impact, if any, of certain market factors, such as lack of liquidity. Simulated or hypothetical trading programs in general are also subject to the fact that they are designed with the benefit of hindsight. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to these being shown.
Simulated results can differ from results in a live brokerage account because of fills, slippage, queue position, liquidity and the psychological difference of risking your own capital. No published result should be read as typical, representative or achievable by you.
06Past performance
Past performance, whether actual, simulated or hypothetical, is not indicative of future results. A profitable week, month or payout says nothing reliable about the next one.
07Accuracy and timeliness
Information on this site is believed to be accurate when published, but it is provided without any guarantee of accuracy, completeness or timeliness. Contract specifications, trading hours, economic calendar times, prop firm rules and prices change. The economic calendar and levels posted here may contain errors or be incomplete. Verify anything you intend to rely on with the original source: the exchange, your broker, your platform vendor or the prop firm.
08Levels, scenarios and market commentary
Key levels, weekly scenarios and market commentary (including the Week Ahead series) describe how the author prepares for his own sessions. They are reference points, not signals, targets or instructions to trade. The author may trade differently from any scenario described, or not trade at all, and does not notify readers of his own entries or exits.
09Software tools
Trading tools published on this site (for example add-ons and indicators for NinjaTrader 8) are provided free of charge, as is, under the software license in the Terms of Use. They execute or display only what you configure, make no trading decisions, and can fail because of bugs, platform updates, connection problems or configuration errors. Test every tool on a simulation account, monitor your positions at all times, and check that your broker's or prop firm's rules allow the way you use it.
10Affiliate relationships
Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you buy a product after following one, the operator may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Affiliate links are labeled where they appear. The author only links to firms and products he has used himself, and opinions are his own, but you should assume that any firm or product with an affiliate link provides the operator with a financial benefit. The operator may also receive voluntary donations from readers, which do not buy any content, ranking or opinion.
11Testimonials
If this site ever shows a statement from another trader about their experience, that statement may not be representative of the experience of other people and is no guarantee of future performance or success. Any testimonial for which more than a nominal sum was paid will be labeled as a paid testimonial.
12Third-party names
Product and company names mentioned on this site (including CME Group, Nasdaq, NinjaTrader, TradingView, Tradovate, Bookmap and the prop firms discussed) are trademarks of their respective owners. Their use does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by those companies, except for affiliate relationships disclosed as described above.
13Your responsibility
You are solely responsible for your trading decisions, your accounts and the results. By using this site you agree that the operator is not liable for any loss or damage arising from reliance on its content or tools, to the extent permitted by law, as further described in the Terms of Use.
14Changes and contact
This disclosure may be updated. The date at the top shows the current version. Questions: contact@wayofthetrader.com or the contact form.