Antonio: $30K in Fees, $150 From Blown
Antonio Russo
Antonio has about 10 years in markets and focuses on ENQ/NQ (sometimes ES for confluence, rarely as the main trade). On a $100K Alpha Futures standard account he traded Asia session only and reports the account was once $150 away from breach before he recovered it and requested $30K to $35K in performance fees on that single account (self-reported in the interview). His playbook: weekly gap magnets, liquidity sweeps (short above swept highs, long below swept lows), golden pocket Fib (0.618 to 0.66), SMT divergence, and 1M confirmation after manipulation at the open. He does not show up looking for a trade. One trader's story, not a guarantee.
Trader Stats
Name | Antonio Russo Antonio Russo |
|---|---|
Experience | ~10 years in markets |
Primary instrument | ENQ / NQ (also watches ES, YM for confluence) |
Other products | Options or futures depending on the day |
Sessions | New York for main personal account; Asia only on cited Alpha Futures account; will take Asia/London futures setups if working late |
Alpha Futures account cited | $100K standard account (Asia session only) |
Performance fees (self-reported) | $30K to $35K+ on that one account |
Near-breach story | Account was ~$150 from blowing before recovery |
Style | Reversal trading after confirmation (not breakout chasing) |
Tools | Golden pocket Fib, SMT, weekly gap levels, FVG / displacement entries |
Antonio walks through a live chart session on the video: pre-market weekly gaps, equal highs into the open, manipulation candles, and how he would have framed a golden pocket short after rejection. If you are new to Alpha Futures rules, read plans compared and how to pass a futures prop evaluation.
The Alpha Futures account story
Antonio calls a $100K Alpha Futures standard account one of the best accounts he has traded.
His rule on that account: Asia session only. Nothing else.
At one point the account was $150 away from blowing. He kept the same process and brought it back, then reports $30,000+ in performance fees (host rounds to $30K to $35K) from that single $100K account.
That is one trader's path on a simulated account, not a typical result and not guaranteed.
What he looks at first every day
ENQ is always on the screen.
Sunday / pre-market routine:
- Turn on previous day close / weekly gap markers (yellow dotted line in TradingView)
- Note gap ups or gap downs from the prior week close (often act as magnets Monday or Tuesday)
- Mark all-time highs and recent equal highs / equal lows
He is not trying to top tick or bottom tick. He waits for liquidity to clear, then trades the reversal or continuation his rules allow.
Core rule: fade liquidity, do not chase breakouts
Antonio started on breakouts and says he found zero success. He reversed the idea:
After price... | He looks for... |
|---|---|
Takes out a high | Shorts (not longs into the breakout) |
Takes out a low | Longs (not shorts into the breakdown) |
"If we had no highs... and we just had a move down then start retracing, I'm not going to short any of this because we had no liquidity there."
Without a liquidity sweep, he expects V-shaped reversals that are harder to trade. With a sweep, he looks for golden pocket rejection and 1M entry.
Golden pocket + manipulation at the open
Main setup described on chart:
- Stack of equal highs before the open
- Manipulation: sharp push up, then rejection
- Fib golden pocket (0.618 to 0.66) on the retracement leg
- 1M entry after confirmation (stop above golden pocket, target prior low taken out)
- Typical framing: ~1:2 R when structure allows
He also uses SMT divergence between correlated products (e.g. ES vs NQ) as a confluence piece. He wants ~5 confluences aligned ("fill the puzzle") before entry.
Examples from the session:
- ES sold harder while NQ held; divergence can pause short bias on NQ
- ES tapped a weekly opening gap while NQ lagged (potential long bias with confirmation)
- Friday low to pre-market high Fib on ES for golden pocket alignment
All-time highs are normal, not an excuse
Antonio pushes back on "all-time highs are untradeable."
"Most of your trading career will always be at all-time highs... the markets always go up."
He will not short blindly into fresh highs without a proper reversal setup. He is fine longing continuation after a valid break and retest. He would rather catch leg two or three of a move than the exact top.
Mindset: no trade is the default
Biggest amateur mistake in his view: showing up expecting to trade.
"I go into the charts like I'm not even looking to take a trade... Then I'll see something like, oh wow, this is a really good setup. Let me take it."
- Missed more moves than he caught over 10 years
- FOMO calluses: another setup always comes
- Stop loss: must be sized so a loss is acceptable (he mentions losing a few thousand on a stop and moving on)
- No fixed R:R religion: targets come from structure (lows/highs taken), not arbitrary 1:3 on every trade
- After big Asia/London distribution, he expects New York to be rangier and gets more selective
On emotions: he expects to be green when he enters. Extreme happiness after a win might mean he did not trust the setup. Anger after a loss might mean he oversized risk.
Session split: Asia vs New York
- Personal / prop discipline account: primarily New York
- Cited $100K Alpha Futures account: Asia only (where the $30K+ performance fee run happened)
- Late-night chart work: will take Asia/London futures setups if valid, usually on proper (non-evaluation) accounts
Know your plan's session and news rules on the help centre before copying session-specific habits.
What's next in the series
The video teases a follow-up: full day with Antonio (mindset off the charts). That is separate content, not covered here.
Related reads
- What is a futures prop firm?
- Futures prop firm rules explained
- Forex to futures guide
- More interviews: Jackie Chen: Trader of the Month · Charlie: NQ day in the life
FAQs
Who is Antonio?
Antonio is an experienced NQ/ENQ trader featured on Alpha Futures content. In this interview he reports $30K to $35K+ in performance fees from a $100K Alpha Futures standard account traded Asia session only. YouTube: Futures Trader interview.
Was it a $150 evaluation account?
No. He describes a $100K standard Alpha Futures account. The $150 figure is how far the account was from breach, not the account purchase price.
What strategy does Antonio use?
Liquidity-based reversals: short after highs are swept, long after lows are swept, often into the golden pocket (0.618 to 0.66), with SMT, weekly gaps, and 1M confirmation.
Which session did he trade for the $30K performance fee run?
Asia session only on that $100K account.
Does Antonio only short at all-time highs?
No. He avoids random shorts into fresh highs without setup. He trades continuations and reversals when confluences align, including longs above breaks when structure supports it.
Are Antonio's results typical?
No. Recovering from $150 from breach to $30K+ in performance fees is self-reported, not typical, and not guaranteed on simulated accounts.
Ready to start your Alpha Futures evaluation?
Antonio's edge is patience + liquidity + confluence, not forcing trades.
Alpha Futures provides simulated evaluation and qualified accounts for simulated trading. Performance fees are based on eligible simulated results; outcomes are not guaranteed. Trader results in this interview reflect individual experiences, not forecasts for future traders. Confirm live rules and pricing on alpha-futures.com and help.alpha-futures.com.
