Trading Strategy
Position Sizing for Futures Traders
Learn futures position sizing and how to calculate contracts from risk, not conviction. A practical framework for ES, NQ, MES, and prop firm traders.
11 min read min read
Level 1: Start Free, Always FreeStructured courses.
Structured courses.
Real accountability.
Not another signal service.
The first two Foundations modules are live now, with new lessons publishing every week. The curriculum covers how markets actually work, how to size a position using real risk math, how to build a pre-trade process that holds under pressure, and the psychological patterns that destroy most traders before they find their edge. Level 1 will always be free.
No motivation speeches. No theory-only modules. Every concept connects directly to execution. Built from real blown accounts and hard restarts, including mine.
When you're ready to specialize: Level 2 covers dedicated tracks for futures, options, and stocks.
How Markets Actually Work
Price discovery, supply and demand, market participants, and the exchange infrastructure behind every trade.
Risk Math Over Gut Feeling
Position sizing, stop placement, and drawdown management built on numbers, not intuition.
Pre-Trade Process That Holds
A repeatable checklist for before you click. The difference between execution and gambling.
The Psychology Patterns That Kill Accounts
Revenge trading, tilt, FOMO, and the sim-to-live gap. Named, explained, and addressed head-on.
The StoryBuilt by a trader
Built by a trader
who's been in
the trap.
I'm Jon. I've blown multiple funded accounts, spent over $100,000 finding out what doesn't work, and chased indicators for years convinced the next system would fix everything. It didn't. What actually worked was confronting the patterns: in the market and in myself.
The Trapped Trader exists because most trading education sells you a system and ignores the operator. But a solid strategy means nothing if you can't execute it under pressure. That's why everything here is built around developing market mastery and mental mastery together, because one without the other is how you stay trapped.
No hype. No Lamborghini screenshots. No “just follow my signals.” This is the real work of becoming a consistently profitable futures trader.
Phase 01
The Trap
Revenge trading. Over-leveraging. Blown accounts. The cycle that keeps you stuck.
Multiple funded accounts. $100K in tuition. Same emotional mistakes, over and over.
Phase 02
The Reckoning
Confronting the patterns. In the market and in yourself. The real work starts here.
The journal entries nobody wants to write. The patterns nobody wants to admit.
Phase 03
The Escape
Market mastery and mental mastery, together. Consistent profitability built on process.
Process over P&L. Frameworks over feelings. Every day, not just the good ones.
What We Cover
Four pillars. Zero fluff.
Every blowup I’ve had traces back to a gap in one of these four areas. Build all four and the cycle breaks. Leave one out and it unravels.
The Latest
Lessons & Frameworks
The Platform Behind the Process
UpSkalr is the companion platform I built alongside The Trapped Trader. Trading tools and resources for futures traders who are serious about turning their process data into better decisions.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is The Trapped Trader for?
The Trapped Trader is built for prop futures traders, especially those in the 20s-30s age range who are serious about building consistency but feel stuck in cycles of revenge trading, over-leveraging, or emotional decision-making.
What is The Trapped Trader's approach?
Everything on this site treats market mastery and mental mastery as two halves of the same problem, because a solid strategy means nothing if you can't execute it under pressure. The blog, courses, and protocols all work together to help you build process-driven consistency.
Is this site about crypto or stocks?
The primary focus is futures trading, especially ES and NQ. Level 2 of our course platform also covers options and stocks as dedicated instrument tracks, so you can apply the same psychology-first approach across markets. Crypto is not covered.
What is UpSkalr?
UpSkalr is the companion platform for The Trapped Trader. It's where the tools and resources live. Think of The Trapped Trader as the voice and UpSkalr as the engine. Learn more at upskalr.com.