Home › Market News › The Top 3 Proven Day Trading Strategies
Every day trader wants to know the secret sauce. What strategy are the pros using? What setups actually work?
To answer that, let’s turn to the day traders who’ve been there, done that, and kept their edge. Together, our TopstepTV coaches, Hoag, Dakota, and Jay, bring over 50 years of trading experience and three very different ways to trade futures.
Hoag swears by volume profile. Dakota keeps it clean with price action. Jay tracks options flow to ride institutional momentum. So what do they all have in common?
That’s where it gets interesting. We’ll dive into the top strategies successful traders are using on TopstepTV, and the one thing that matters even more than your setup.
Coach Hoag has 35+ years of experience trading, including two decades on the floor of the Mercantile Exchange. He’s seen it all, and more importantly, he knows what separates long-term traders from short-lived ones.
What It Is: Volume profile shows where the market is doing business—price levels with heavy activity. Hoag pairs it with Market Profile (TPO), which tracks when that trading happened. Together, they help him spot shifts between balance and breakout trading in real time.
Why It Works: Instead of guessing, you respond to context. Volume shows where price is accepted or rejected, helping Hoag lean into momentum before the crowd catches up.
Bottom Line: Ever chased a breakout just to get whiplashed? Volume profile helps you stay grounded and react with confidence.
🎥 Want to see it live? Catch Hoag on Fast Markets weekdays from 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM CT, or check out his Market Profile Masterclass:
Coach Dakota has 14+ years of experience as a full-time trader and investor. He likes to trade what’s right in front of him (pure price movement).
What It Is: Price action means trading straight from the chart. He reads higher highs, structure breaks, support, and resistance. No indicators. No distractions.
Why It Works: With price action, you cut through the noise. By focusing purely on price movement and structure, Dakota avoids laggy signals, over-optimization, and second-guessing. It’s how Dakota stays sharp when other traders hesitate.
Bottom Line: Don’t overcomplicate it. If your charts look like a bowl of noodles, try trading like Dakota. He proves that clean, reactive trading works.
🎥 Watch Coach Dakota’s setups live on Slow Markets, Sunday through Thursday at 7:30 PM CT.
Coach Jay brings 8 years of market experience, including time spent in the Trading Combine and Funded Account. His edge? Tracking where the big money’s going and using futures to capitalize on it.
What It Is: Options flow tracks where institutions are placing big bets. Jay watches for unusual volume, then confirms his thesis with futures levels to catch the move early.
Why It Works: Jay doesn’t chase moves. He follows the money. By tracking where serious capital is flowing, he trades with confidence and lets the big players move the market for him.
Bottom Line: Jay’s not chasing hype. He’s watching flow, confirming levels, and riding real momentum.
🎥 See Coach Jay’s strategy in action on Fast Markets weekdays from 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM CT, or catch his recaps later in the day on Live at the Buzzer from 3:15 PM to 4:15 PM CT.
Let’s be clear:
They win trades because they follow their rules. They stay patient. They show up with a focused trader plan, and they stick to it.
That’s the difference between a funded trader and someone who blows up every few weeks.
No strategy works without discipline, and that’s where most traders struggle.
Let’s be real: most accounts don’t blow up from bad setups. They blow up from bad behavior: revenge trades, size creep, ignoring rules.
You want to grow as a trader? Start by removing the things that destroy your consistency.
One of the biggest traps new traders fall into is trading strategy hopping—jumping from one setup to the next, hoping something clicks. But it’s not the strategy that needs fixing. It’s your ability to stick with one long enough to see it through the ups and downs.
That kind of consistency takes structure, and that’s exactly what TopstepX, our exclusive trading platform, was built to provide. TopstepX isn’t just a place to trade; it’s a discipline builder. Tools like Daily Risk Lock help you stay in control by letting you:
Because growth doesn’t come from doing more, it comes from doing it right.
You don’t need to trade like a TopstepTV coach. You need your own strategy, backed by discipline.
The best strategy in the world means nothing if you don’t stick to it. That’s where most traders fall short, not in the setup, but in the follow-through. With the right structure and risk management in place, you give your strategy the space to actually work. That’s what TopstepX was built for.
And you’re not in this alone. TopstepTV is live every weekday on YouTube, where our coaches break down market context, walk through real setups, and help you stay cool when the heat turns up. Take what works, build your plan, and commit to it. Because your strategy doesn’t make you a winning trader. Sticking to it does.
And that’s what gets you funded and keeps you there.
Volume profile highlights where the market is doing business by showing price levels with heavy activity. Traders like Hoag use it with Market Profile to spot shifts between balance and breakout conditions, helping them react with confidence instead of guessing.
Price action trading means analyzing pure price movement without indicators. By reading structure, support, resistance, and higher highs or lows, traders like Dakota keep their approach clean and avoid the noise of lagging signals.
Options flow shows where institutions are placing large bets. By watching unusual options activity and confirming with futures levels, traders like Jay align themselves with big-money moves instead of chasing hype.
Yes, but only with discipline. The key isn’t the strategy itself but sticking to your rules, managing risk, and avoiding destructive habits like revenge trading or over-sizing.
TopstepX is a trading platform designed to keep traders disciplined. With features like Daily Risk Lock, it sets custom limits and automatically locks you out after hitting them. This structure helps prevent overtrading and builds consistency.
Many traders fail because they jump between strategies or ignore risk rules. Success comes from sticking to your plan, staying patient, and letting discipline do the work.
