Built by a trader who blew enough accounts to know better.

Hi, I'm Nigel.

I'm based in Idaho. I trade futures — mostly micro contracts (MES, MNQ), with a style somewhere between day trading and short swings depending on what the chart looks like that morning.

I got into futures in 2018 at a trading school in Phoenix. Five-plus years later, I'm still here, still learning, and currently grinding evaluations on the prop firm side because I'd rather risk someone else's money than my own.

Why this site exists

Like most retail traders who try to get funded, I blew accounts. More than I'd like to admit. The reason wasn't bad trades — it was a rule I didn't understand: the trailing drawdown on intraday accounts moves with your unrealized P&L, not just your closed equity.

Translation: you can be up $400 on an open position, the trailing threshold ratchets up to follow you, the trade comes back, and now you've lost $400 plus another $200 of cushion you didn't know you had. By the time the position closes flat, you've just blown an account on a trade that broke even.

The mechanic is in the documentation, but it's the kind of detail that's easier to internalize when you can see it move. So I built the calculator I wish I'd had on day one — the one you can try right here. It shows you exactly where your line is, where your peak is, and how close you are to locking in the Safety Net. Visual, interactive, and free.

What you'll find here

• Trader tools. Calculators built for actual prop firm rules, not generic finance widgets. The Apex Trailing Drawdown Calculator is the first; tick value, position sizing, and consistency rule checkers are coming.
• Plain-English breakdowns. Posts that explain the rules the way a trader would, not the way a support doc does.
• Honest reviews. Prop firms have real differences in rules, payouts, and platforms — I'll walk through them so you can pick the right one for your style.

How I make money

FuturesBanter is supported by affiliate partnerships with prop firms — including Apex Trader Funding. When you click a link to a partner and sign up, I earn a commission. It costs you nothing extra, and in some cases it gets you a discount.

I want to be straight about this: affiliate income is part of why this site exists. But it doesn't shape what I write. My job is to give you accurate information so you can choose the firm and account that fits your trading — that's what builds long-term trust, and that's what keeps both readers and partners happy.

The fine print

I'm not a financial advisor. Nothing on this site is investment advice. Trading futures involves significant risk of loss, including the loss of your entire account. Don't trade money you can't afford to lose. If you're new to futures, start with a sim account and read everything you can before risking a dollar.