336. Trading Nut

336: How Networking with 8-Figure Traders Led to $300k+ in Prop Firm Payouts w/ Tanner Owings

Tanner Owings

38 mins

Three years after his first appearance on Trading Nut, Tanner Owings returns to share his evolution from a tight-target options trader to pulling in over $300,000 in futures prop firm payouts. Tanner pulls back the curtain on the massive value of in-person networking with seven and eight-figure traders, and how those relationships forced him to completely re-evaluate his risk-to-reward math.

But the journey hasn’t been without its brutal lessons. Tanner candidly breaks down a massive $40,000 tilt day on a personal live account, explaining how a hungover Sunday Globex session led to a complete loss of control. He shares the exact psychological safeguards he now usesΓÇöincluding the concept of “technical drift” borrowed from powerliftingΓÇöto keep his inner discipline locked in.

In the second half of this episode, Tanner shares his charts to break down a spectacular $24,000 overnight short trade on NQ futures. You’ll see exactly how he combined a 4-hour market structure retest with a 30-minute Fair Value Gap (FVG) to frame an asymmetric, high-reward trade while he slept.

Podcast Interview

Strategy Breakdown

Key Lessons

[01:05] Networking in person with seven and eight-figure traders is a massive edge that keeps you motivated in a lonely industry.
[04:20] Shifting from tight 10-point targets to a lower win rate (35-40%) with a higher multiple (3R) can dramatically improve long-term profitability.
[09:40] Use journaling tools like TradeZella to identify your exact 'tilt threshold' and set a hard broker daily loss limit.
[11:30] Establish process-oriented daily goals (like never moving a stop loss) rather than focusing purely on P&L.
[13:20] When you catch a major reversal at key levels, don't be afraid to average up and add to your position as the market confirms your bias.
[15:15] Skip the evaluations and pay the premium for instant-funded prop accounts if you struggle to treat demo environments seriously.
[17:45] Avoid using brokers that do not allow you to lock your daily risk settings if you are prone to breaking your daily loss limit.
[25:45] Beware of 'technical drift'ΓÇöthe psychological tendency to slip back into comfortable, bad habits when you stop actively focusing on your rules.
[34:15] Build a strong market narrative first, and then let price action confirm your bias at key levels using VWAP, volume POC, or fair value gaps.
[Strategy 05:15] Risk-to-reward is magnified when you secure a high-quality entry location, allowing you to hold trades for multiple hours.