That's when I'm sending out the first Rewards Club payout of 2026 — and if you're reading this, you're already in position to receive it.

Before I get into the numbers, let me quickly explain what this newsletter is and how the Rewards Club works for anyone who's new here.

The Patient Idiot is a trading channel where I document my journey trading prop firm accounts in real time — wins, losses, and everything in between. No actors, no fake screenshots, no hindsight trades. Every chart, every entry, every payout is verifiable.

This newsletter is the hub. It's where I share trade breakdowns, results, and payout announcements. And it's how you stay eligible for the Rewards Club.

Speaking of which —

The short version: when I get paid, you get a cut.

Every time I receive a trading payout over $500, I share a percentage of that profit with eligible community members. The more involved you are in the community, the bigger your share.

There are four tiers — Free, Monthly, Annual, and Principal — each with access to different reward pools that stack on top of each other. Paying members earn from more pools, which means a bigger individual cut since those pools are split among fewer people.

For the full breakdown of how the pools work, eligibility requirements, and payout examples, head to the [Rewards Club page].

This payout comes from Lucid Trading, specifically my 50K Flex account (LFF050-37TZ9J3I-PRO001).

Lucid paid out $1,010 gross. After their 90/10 split, I took home $909.

Here's the honest story behind it. The account had been building steadily across several trading days. On March 9th the account had a strong session, gaining over $1,072 in a single day trading NQ futures and ES. On March 10th I had a rough open — I accidentally shorted 2 NQ contracts instead of 2 MNQ, got auto-liquidated for a $750 loss, then watched the price come right back down. Classic. The account still finished positive on the day, and combined with the prior sessions it crossed the payout threshold.

It wasn't a perfect run. There were a couple of fat finger moments and one account I blew during the week. That's prop trading — you manage the accounts that are working and you don't let a bad one take down the good ones.

I also have a TopStep 150K Express Funded account that has been building. That one isn't part of this payout but it's been eligible before — a $1,012 payout landed on February 25th — and I expect it to be a recurring source going forward as I scale up accounts.

The $1,010 payout triggers the Rewards Club.

This is payout number one. I currently have one Lucid account producing payouts, one TopStep funded account with balance building, and several eval accounts progressing. As more accounts get funded and producing, the gross payout number grows — and so does your cut.

Right now the community is small. That's actually the best time to be a paying member.

The paid pool and Principal pool are split among whoever is in them at payout time. The fewer people in those pools, the bigger each individual cut. As this channel grows — and it is growing, 21 new YouTube subscribers just in the last week — those pools will have more competition.

If you've been on the fence about upgrading to Monthly or Annual, this is genuinely the moment where it makes the most financial sense. The Principal tier is limited and once it closes it's gone permanently.

[Upgrade your plan here] [Learn more about the Rewards Club]

To be eligible for Sunday's payout, make sure you've completed all the steps on the Rewards Club page before 5:00 PM ET on Sunday, March 15th.

See you on the other side.

— The Patient Idiot