Table of Contents
Today’s interview features Kimmel Trading on the Words of Wisdom podcast—recorded during his UK visit—digging into why he shifted from CFD prop accounts to futures after industry shake-ups and denied payouts. He’s candid about losing a big chunk of funding overnight, rebuilding via futures challenges, and proving he could go from zero to funded to real payouts again. That mix of transparency, adaptability, and hard data is why Kimmel matters: he shows newer traders how to survive changing firm rules without losing the plot.
In this piece, you’ll learn how he structured risk around trailing drawdown and consistency rules, why he withdraws aggressively, and how he applies his “trading trifecta”—strike rate, risk-reward, and trade frequency—to stay funded and paid. We’ll unpack his futures transition playbook, the buffer-first approach, before sizing up, and the mindset shift from “Forex trader” to adaptable, market-agnostic trader, so you can plug the same logic into your own strategy.
Kimmel Trading Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Account Structure & Prop Rules (so you don’t get clipped)
Prop accounts have quirks—trailing drawdown, consistency caps, and news restrictions—that can nuke an otherwise solid strategy. Set your process around the rules first, then fit entries to that framework. This section shows how to make the account survive before you try to make it thrive.
- Trade a futures account size where 1R risk ≤ 0.5% of max trailing drawdown (e.g., $25k trailing DD → risk $100–$125 per trade).
- Stop trading for the day if equity is within 20% of trailing DD; protect the account over the setup.
- Respect consistency rules by capping any single day’s net P/L at ≤ 30% of your best day in a rolling 10-session window.
- No-news window: 3 minutes before to 5 minutes after tier-1 releases; widen to 10 minutes if spreads/vol go wild.
- Weekly loss cap = 1.5× trailing DD risk budget (e.g., five 0.3R losses per day max); hit the cap → finish the week in SIM/journal only.
Risk & Money Management (the buffer-first method)
The game is to earn and defend a buffer, then scale within that cushion. This prevents death by trailing drawdown and keeps confidence clean. Here’s the playbook Kimmel-style: small, repeatable risk until the account pays you to size up.
- Define 1R by volatility: 0.5× 5-minute ATR of your instrument; round to the nearest tick size.
- First target buffer = 5R of closed profit; only after that may you raise size from 1R to 1.5R.
- Max open risk at any time = 2R; never stack correlated positions that push beyond it.
- Daily loss limit = 2R hard stop; hit it → close platform.
- Trailing stop logic: once +1.5R unrealized, trail to breakeven minus 0.2R; at +2.5R, lock +1R.
Setup Criteria (tight, repeatable triggers)
Good entries look boring: the same context, the same level, the same reaction. Keep the checklist objective, and you’ll avoid revenge swipes. These are the “only if” rules before you even think about clicking.
- Trade direction only with higher-timeframe bias: 1-hour structure must align (HH/HL for longs, LH/LL for shorts).
- Location rule: enter only at a prior session high/low, VWAP ±1σ, or a clean liquidity sweep wick.
- Time-of-day windows: futures open drive (first 45 min) and lunch fade exit (last 90 min) only; no mid-session chop.
- Confirmation: 1-minute impulse → 50–61.8% pullback that holds above/below the impulse origin; then limit-order entry at that zone.
- Invalidate the setup if the impulse retraces >78.6% or if delta/footprint shows absorption against you for two consecutive rotations.
Execution & Orders (reduce slippage, reduce regret)
Speed and slippage matter, especially around prop rules. Pre-program your brackets and let the platform do the heavy lifting. If you’re improvising, you’re already late.
- Use bracket orders: entry + fixed stop (1R) + two targets (1R and 3R).
- Partial take: at +1R, scale out 40% and move stop to entry − 0.2R to avoid tick-for-tick stop-outs.
- If the first pullback doesn’t trigger within 10 minutes, cancel, fresh, or nothing.
- Reject market orders during data spikes; limit or stop-limit only.
- Maximum 3 attempts per level per session; if all fail, ban that level for the day.
Trade Management (let winners work without giving it all back)
Once you’re in, your job is to avoid meddling. Protect the trade, then give it oxygen. These rules help you keep the big ones big.
- After taking the first scale at +1R, switch to “bar-close only” management—no intrabar tinkering.
- Trail under/over swing lows/highs on the 1-minute chart once price closes beyond your initial target by ≥ 0.5R.
- If price returns to VWAP with weak delta after +2R, exit remainder; don’t turn winners into “almost.”
- News spike exception: if a surprise release hits while in trade, flatten to runner (10–20% size) and widen stop to structure, not ticks.
- Hard cutoff: flat 10 minutes before session close unless the runner is ≥ +3R and trailing comfortably behind structure.
Scaling & Consistency (earn the right to size up)
Most traders size up because they’re bored. Size up because the account can afford it. Keep the growth math boring, and your equity curve won’t be.
- Requirement to raise size: 20R rolling gain with max drawdown ≤ 6R over the last 30 sessions.
- When qualifying, increase risk by 25% (e.g., 1R → 1.25R), not by multiples; reassess after 10 sessions.
- If you draw down 5R from equity high, revert to prior size until you re-earn a 5R cushion.
- Cap weekly net increase in size to one step; never double inside a week.
- New size probation: first week at new size trades half frequency (max 1–2 trades/day).
Withdrawal Protocol (get paid before the firm changes the rules)
Payouts are part of the edge—cash flow reduces psychological tilt and de-risks firm risk. Withdraw systematically so profits don’t evaporate during the next rule update.
- First payout at +10R realized; withdraw 60%, leave 40% as buffer.
- Subsequent payouts are biweekly if equity is ≥ +6R above the trailing stop threshold.
- If a firm announces rule changes or backend issues, switch to daily micro-payouts until stable.
- Never request a payout that would leave you < 4R above trailing drawdown.
- Split payouts across two processors/accounts when allowed to minimize processing risk.
Daily Routine (fast prep, faster filter)
You don’t need a perfect forecast—just a bias and levels. Keep prep tight so you’re fresh when the bell rings.
- Pre-market (20–30 min): mark prior day H/L, overnight H/L, VWAP, and one “line in the sand” where bias flips.
- Define one primary scenario and one invalidation scenario; no third path.
- Set alerts 2–3 ticks before each key level; no chart babysitting.
- Max screen time before first trade: 45 minutes; if no A-setup appears, step away until the second window.
- Record plan in one sentence before the open; if you can’t, you don’t have a plan.
Journal & Metrics (make the edge visible)
Your edge hides in patterns you already trade—provided you measure them. Track only what changes behavior; drop the vanity stats.
- Log R multiple, MAE/MFE (in ticks), entry location tag (VWAP band, prior H/L sweep, etc.), and time-of-day.
- Weekly audit: top 3 setups by expectancy; double frequency on #1 next week, cut #3 in half.
- Flag “account risk violations” (near trailing DD, news violations) in red; zero tolerance the next week.
- If the 10-trade rolling win rate falls below 35% while RR < 2.0, switch to SIM for the next session and tighten criteria.
- Review one video replay per day: entry to first target; annotate where you interfered and how to avoid it.
Instruments & Sessions (trade what cooperates)
Some products fit the method better—clean structure, decent liquidity, and fair fills. Pick your battlegrounds and stick to them.
- Primary futures: NQ/ES for structure reads; CL/GC only if 5-minute ATR is within your stop budget.
- Avoid trading both NQ and ES in the same idea; they’re highly correlated—pick the cleaner tape.
- Focus sessions: US cash open and late-day rotation; skip mid-session unless ATR is 1.5× 20-day median.
- If slippage > 2 ticks on two consecutive trades, pause and reassess instrument/vol conditions.
- One instrument per day rule for newer accounts; context familiarity beats variety.
Size Risk by Volatility, Not Ego—Let ATR Define Your Stop
Kimmel spells it out: stops should come from the instrument’s behavior, not your hopes. When volatility expands, he shrinks in size; when it compresses, he allows a touch more room—but never beyond his predefined risk unit. He uses the 5-minute ATR as the measuring stick, multiplies it by a factor that fits his product, and converts that distance into ticks to set both stop and initial target. The result is a position that can breathe without turning every wiggle into a stop-out.
Applied in practice, this means calculating 1R from today’s ATR, not yesterday’s comfort zone. If ATR widens, your contract count drops, so the dollar risk stays constant; if ATR tightens, size can increase within the same 1R cap. Kimmel pairs this with a bracket: fixed stop at the ATR-based distance, partial at 1R, and management rules that trail only after price proves itself. The goal is simple: let the market tell you your risk, and let your process decide your size.
Build a Profit Buffer First, Then Scale Contracts with Discipline
Kimmel’s rule is straightforward: earn cushion before you chase size. He treats the first phase of any account as “buffer building,” pulling quick 1R–2R wins and paying himself early to get above trailing drawdown. Until that buffer exists, he refuses to add size—even on A+ setups—because survival beats bravado. This creates psychological room to execute cleanly and prevents one bad rotation from erasing a week.
Once the buffer is established, Kimmel scales methodically, not emotionally. He increases risk in small, preplanned steps and only after a rolling sample shows stable expectancy and shallow drawdowns. If equity dips by a fixed R from peak, he auto-reverts to the prior size and rebuilds the cushion. That “earn the right to size up” loop keeps confidence high, volatility shocks tolerable, and the equity curve smoother for the long game.
Trade the Process: Rules, Checklists, and Bracket Orders Beat Prediction
Kimmel is blunt about it: he doesn’t try to outguess the market—he out-executes it. His edge lives in pre-trade checklists, ATR-defined brackets, and tight session windows that remove most decisions before they can become mistakes. If the checklist isn’t green across structure, location, and timing, he passes without debate. That’s how he keeps emotions out and R-multiples intact.
Once in a trade, Kimmel lets the bracket do the heavy lifting: fixed stop at 1R, partial at +1R, and an automated trail only after price proves it. He never chases fills, caps attempts per level, and cancels setups that don’t trigger within a set time window. Every step is binary—yes or no—so there’s no room for narrative to creep in. Prediction is optional; the process is mandatory.
Diversify by Instrument, Setup, and Holding Time to Reduce Drawdowns
Kimmel keeps drawdowns manageable by refusing to let one product or one idea own his week. If NQ turns erratic, he’ll rotate to ES or sit tight for a cleaner CL/GC read rather than forcing correlation. He also diversifies by setup: trend continuation from VWAP bands, reversal at prior day extremes, or liquidity sweep fades—never the same play five times in a row. Each setup gets a defined risk unit and attempt cap, so a cold streak in one lane doesn’t snowball the account.
Time diversification matters just as much, and Kimmel uses it to smooth the equity curve. He’ll take quick morning rotations for 1R–2R and leave the occasional afternoon runner to capture 3R+ only when structure supports it. By mixing hold durations, he avoids being overexposed to one volatility regime or news window. The outcome is simple math: multiple uncorrelated edges, smaller variance, and fewer weeks where everything goes wrong at once.
Define Risk Upfront; Let R Multiples and Trailing Stops Run
Kimmel starts every trade with the exit written first: the invalidation level sets the stop, the stop sets 1R, and 1R defines size. He won’t enter unless the structure offers at least 2R to the first trouble area, because small edges don’t survive slippage and emotion. Once price moves +1R, Kimmel trims a portion, tightens to near breakeven, and mentally shifts from defense to opportunity. The key, he says, is to avoid tinkering before the market proves you right or wrong.
When the trade is working, Kimmel lets the trailing logic do its job—swing-based or ATR-based trails that only ratchet after closes, never on mid-bar noise. He accepts the giveback required to catch 3R–5R moves, because the occasional runner funds a lot of scratches. If momentum stalls at VWAP or a prior day level with weak delta, he’ll take the pragmatic exit rather than hope for re-acceleration. In Kimmel’s world, defined risk plus asymmetric follow-through beats any prediction, and the math compounds because he repeats it trade after trade.
Kimmel’s message lands the same way a good trade does—clean, simple, and ruthlessly repeatable. He treats the market as a place where survival comes first, then profit, then size. That’s why he builds around rules instead of fighting them: know the prop constraints, accept the trailing drawdown math, and design your daily play so the account can’t get clipped by one bad rotation. He sized the entire approach off volatility, not vibes—ATR sets the stop, 1R sets the size, and setups either offer enough room to breathe or they get skipped. The futures pivot wasn’t a flex; it was proof that a transferable process beats any single product. Get funded, get paid, and keep a buffer thick enough that changing firm policies can’t wipe out months of work.
The tactical layer is equally no-nonsense: tight session windows, objective location (prior extremes, impulse pullbacks), bracket orders that automate defense and extraction, and a hard cap on daily attempts per level. He scales only after the account earns the right—20R of clean stats, shallow drawdowns, then a small step up—and instantly steps down when performance dips. Payouts are part of edge construction, not victory laps: withdraw on schedule so profits don’t evaporate into platform risk or new rules. And he audits everything that matters: R-multiples, MAE/MFE, time-of-day performance, and which setup actually pays. In Kimmel’s playbook, you don’t need to predict; you need to execute a boring, quantified routine that survives bad days and captures the few big ones that fund the curve.
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