Learn From My Mistake
I frequently advise traders that trading should be viewed as a journey rather than a destination. Success doesn't materialize overnight. Just like baseball, base hits are great, you don’t always need the homerun. If you're a golf enthusiast, you'll understand the difficulty of progressing from bogey golf to scratch and, ultimately, shooting under par. It's worth remembering that even professional golfers occasionally miss the cut. In trading, it's no different; there will be winning and losing days. Our ability to respond to and learn from these experiences profoundly shapes our development as traders.
One particular experience from my early days at Apex stands out in my memory. I found myself caught in a destructive cycle of overleveraging, blowing up accounts, and then repeating the process. I had successfully completed 20-$300k evaluations and had begun to grow the PA accounts. During the COVID pandemic I was based in Taiwan and was frequently undergoing two-week quarantine periods when entering Taiwan. It was during one of these quarantine periods I was trading in a quarantine hotel on a notebook and Wi-Fi connection. I was trading my 20-$300k Apex PA accounts via a NinjaTrader/Rithmic/Apex Trade Copier setup.
In hindsight, it's clear that I had set myself up for disaster. I was relying on a questionable Wi-Fi connection, trading 20 accounts, subpar notebook computer, overleveraged with multiple NQ contracts and attempting to capitalize on the FOMC news event with hopes of hitting a home run. I got caught and lost over $350k in real live money.
I was a couple days into a two-week quarantine and couldn’t leave my apartment so there I was stuck in quarantine having lost a small fortune with nothing but time to reflect on my lack of discipline and trade management with the only interruption to my thoughts being the occasional foodpanda meal delivery. It's moments like these that teach us the most about ourselves.
I initially wanted to blame Rithmic, NinjaTrader, or the Apex Trade Copier, but the truth was that I had failed to acknowledge or mitigate the risks. I shouldn't have been trading at all during the FOMC news event, let alone overleveraging across 20 accounts with NQ contracts while relying on a 100 Mbps Wi-Fi network.
With nothing but time on my hands and my PA accounts wiped out, I decided to read two books by Mark Douglas: "The Disciplined Trader" and "Trading in the Zone." I also reread my all time favorite book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie to take my mind off of trading for a bit. I highly recommend these books. Little did I know at the time that this marked the beginning of a fundamental shift in my trading discipline. This transformational moment in my trading journey was further solidified later by a phone call I received from Darrell Martin, the Founder and CEO of Apex Trader Funding, who offered his guidance and insights.
When I travel now, I no longer use my notebook computer the way I previously did. I have since set up a desktop computer in my office for trading and use TeamViewer to login via my notebook. This eliminates the need for any trading software or data on my notebook and has worked surprisingly well. When traveling I don’t copy trade or if I do I only trade micros and in most cases trade accounts one by one.
There are inherent risks to trading and it is up to each one of us to understand these risks and mitigate them as much as possible. Neglecting to adhere to risk management principles can lead to experiences like the one I went through. Although it imparted a profound and enduring lesson, I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. My hope is that others can learn from my mistake and avoid such pitfalls in their own trading journeys.
The content presented in this post reflects the author's viewpoints and is intended solely for informational and entertainment purposes. Vince Koehn is not a registered financial advisor or certified analyst. By engaging with the information provided, the reader acknowledges their acceptance of all associated risks. It's important to note that past performance is not n indicative of future results, given the inherent risks within financial trading. Please read the Full Disclaimer
