Trader interview. Abraham's history and the performance-fee figures are self-reported from a 24 March 2026 Alpha Group Podcast episode. Related reading: what is a trading evaluation, why most traders fail evaluations, Alpha Capital rules, how much an evaluation costs, Saad on systematic index trading, Jake on gold and NASDAQ.
Quick answer: Abraham scalps indices. He reads direction and strength first, then uses Bookmap to enter with volume. On Nasdaq he expects a volatile open after 9:30, and a possible reversal around 10:00. Those accounts use simulated funds. The figures below are his and the host's, not a typical result.
TL;DR: Abraham is from Puerto Rico. He lost money trading bitcoin perpetual futures, then moved into CFDs and forex, and now scalps indices intraday with order flow. He says the first performance fee took about three years, and that he still journals, backtests, and checks his numbers every day. The host opens with $500,000. Abraham's own ladder ends at almost $500,000 in the year of the interview, after a year he puts at almost $280,000. Those figures are theirs. They are not typical and they are not guaranteed.
This page summarises He Went From 10 Years in Prison to 500K Trading, a 40-minute 38-second Alpha Group Podcast interview uploaded on 24 March 2026. The video is embedded above. Figures below are what he and the host report, not an audited record.
Abraham trader profile
| Detail | What the 24 March 2026 interview reports |
|---|---|
| Name | Abraham |
| From | Puerto Rico |
| Now | A house, a wife, and a family, in his account of the years since he started |
| First markets | Crypto investing in 2019, including bitcoin, Ethereum, and meme coins, then bitcoin perpetual futures |
| Then | CFDs and forex, then indices, because the cycle gave him something he could study |
| Style | Intraday scalping |
| Tools | Order flow and Bookmap, after he has already judged direction and strength |
| Nasdaq clock | Volatile after the 9:30 open. A possible reversal around 10:00. Then another volatile move he calls more controlled |
| Seasonality he cites | In his study, January closed bullish and February closed bearish across the prior 10 years |
| First performance fee | About three years in, in his words |
| His figures after that | About $6,000, then something over $100,000, then almost $280,000, then almost $500,000 in the year of this interview |
| Host's opening figure | $500,000 in one year. He places it as last year. Abraham's ladder does not use that same split |
| Daily work | Journal, backtest, and KPI review. He says he still does all three |
| Community | Mostly Puerto Rican, with traders from Colombia, Peru, and Chile joining |
Alpha Capital Evaluations and Qualified Accounts use simulated funds. Performance fees are based on eligible simulated results and are not guaranteed. Abraham's numbers are interview claims.
How did Abraham get from crypto to index scalping?
He is from Puerto Rico, which he describes as part of the United States, so what happens in the US markets reaches the island. He says he served 10 years after an original 25-year sentence, and that he came home with nothing. Friends gave him a little money for clothes. A church had donated clothes. He used the money to buy women's jewelry and sell it on Facebook Marketplace, and that money became the first investment.
The host dates the crypto start to 2019. Abraham says he was investing, not yet trading: bitcoin, Ethereum, and meme coins, including Shiba Inu. Small money went up with the market, and he made more than he had ever made. He calls that the start of the trading, and he moved into bitcoin perpetual futures. He names Bybit. He lost a lot. The host mentions the leverage of that period, 1:500 and 1:1000, as the reason it was brutal. Abraham says he fell in love with trading anyway and started studying.
CFDs and forex came next. Indices are where he says the work clicked. He is a process person, and the index cycle looked like something he could map. His line is that he finally had an edge.
If you are choosing between those two markets, the comparison is here: futures prop firm vs forex prop firm. Saad is the other Capital interview on a rules-based index process: Saad on systematic index trading.
How long did the first performance fee take?
The first one or two years were blown accounts and lost money. He calls that stretch gambling. He was not building a strategy. The change was the work he saw in traders he respected: statistics, KPIs, data, backtesting, and a journal. He says progress showed up after he started doing those things, and that he still backtests, practises, and journals every day.
He puts the first performance fee at about three years. The system was still being built even after that fee. He describes years three, four, five, and six, which is where he places himself at the time of the interview, as compounding.
His own sequence, in the order he gives it:
- About $6,000 in the first of those years
- Then something over $100,000
- Then almost $280,000 in the year before this interview
- Then almost $500,000 in the year of the interview
The host's introduction says Abraham made $500,000 in performance fees last year. Abraham's own split puts almost $280,000 on that prior year and almost $500,000 on the current one. Keep both lines as what was said on the show. Neither is an audited Alpha Capital total. Passing an evaluation does not guarantee income.
What an evaluation actually is, before anyone treats a fee as a salary, is here: what is a trading evaluation. The early blown accounts are a common pattern, and the practical version is in why most traders fail evaluations.
How does he scalp indices with order flow?
He trades intraday. Asked if he starts from higher time frames, he says no. He is mostly a scalper.
The tool is order flow. He uses the depth of market and the order book, and he names Bookmap as the visual of that flow. He uses it to confirm momentum.
He is explicit that "patterns" here are not chart shapes. He means fundamentals and context. The order of operations is direction first: how strong the move is. Order flow is the entry, in the direction of the volume, when he can see larger participants coming in. He goes with them.
He does not rip the strategy up when a piece stops working. He changes a time frame or a model inside it. He calls those tweaks. The host's point, which Abraham is agreeing with, is that an edge fades if you stop measuring it. A fixed entry at 9:30 can work until the volume is no longer there. Abraham's version of staying current is the KPI review: what is working, what is not, then a small change.
The rules those tweaks still have to live inside are in Alpha Capital rules explained.
What Nasdaq times does he watch?
Time cycles are a large part of how he says the strategy developed. On Nasdaq, the open after 9:30 is very volatile. Around 10:00 the market can reverse. After that he expects another volatile push, in what he calls a more controlled pattern.
He also keeps seasonal statistics. In his study of the prior 10 years, January closed bullish and February closed bearish. He uses that kind of count as a map of context, not as a signal by itself. Treat those closes as his research, not as a forecast from Alpha Capital.
What is he seeing among traders in Latin America?
Trading in Latin America is growing fast, in CFDs and in futures. He says it used to look like something for rich people. The example he gives at home is Alpha Capital: CFD evaluations, including a small account, so a normal person can see a way in. He also mentions Alpha Futures promotions in the same breath. He does not quote a full price list. Current evaluation costs are on how much an evaluation costs and on the evaluations page.
He has a community. Most of it is Puerto Rican. Over the last few years he has seen traders from Colombia, Peru, and Chile come in. He expects more Latin American names on leaderboards. That is his read of the region, not a ranking.
Learning the skill, he says, is the first job, and it does not have to be expensive. Information that was closed 20 years ago is available now. He also says it will not be easy.
What is worth copying from this interview?
Copy the sequence.
- One market family. His is indices, intraday, after crypto and forex did not give him the cycle he wanted
- Direction and strength before the entry
- Order flow as the trigger, not as a replacement for the directional work
- A journal and a backtest that are still happening after the first performance fee
- Tweaks inside the strategy when the numbers fade, rather than a new method every month
Do not copy $500,000, $280,000, or a three-year clock as a promise. Alpha Capital evaluations and Qualified Accounts use simulated funds. Performance fees are based on eligible simulated results.
More interviews are in the Alpha Capital interview library.
FAQs
Who is Abraham?
Abraham is a trader from Puerto Rico, interviewed on the Alpha Group Podcast on 24 March 2026. He scalps indices intraday and uses order flow for entries.
How long did his first performance fee take?
He says about three years. The one or two years before that were blown accounts. He calls that stretch gambling, and he says the journal, the backtest, and the statistics are what changed it.
What are the performance-fee figures in the episode?
Abraham's sequence is about $6,000, then something over $100,000, then almost $280,000, then almost $500,000 in the year of the interview. The host's introduction says $500,000 last year. Both are interview claims.
What tool does he use for order flow?
Bookmap, on top of the depth of market. He judges the strength of the direction first, then looks for entries that go with the volume.
What time does he watch on Nasdaq?
After 9:30 for the volatile open, around 10:00 for a possible reversal, then another volatile move he describes as more controlled. He also cites January as bullish and February as bearish across the prior 10 years in his own study.
Does he say a course replaces the work?
No. He says reading a course does not make the trading work. The work he names is statistics, KPIs, backtesting, and a daily journal.
Watch more trader interviews
Browse the Alpha Capital interview library. Related episodes: Saad on systematic index trading, Jake on gold and NASDAQ, and Sully on supply and demand.
Explore Alpha Capital Evaluation programmes. Evaluations and Qualified Accounts use simulated funds in a simulated trading environment. Compare objectives, drawdown limits, and market access before you buy.
Author: Alpha Capital Research Team · Reviewed by: Content and Compliance · Article published: 6 October 2026 · Interview published: 24 March 2026 on the Alpha Group Podcast · Related: Saad · Trader interviews · Evaluations
This article summarises a public interview. Abraham's history and the performance-fee figures are his and the host's. They are not typical or guaranteed. Alpha Capital evaluations and Qualified Accounts use simulated funds. Performance fees are based on eligible simulated results. Simulated results do not reflect real trading outcomes. This is general information, not investment advice.
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Evaluations and Qualified Accounts use simulated funds. Performance fees depend on eligible simulated results and are not guaranteed.
