The article says he was in a 44% drawdown as late as june of 2023 which tells me he still hadn't figured anything out by then. Apparently he wasn't able to apply anything he learnt from Minervini's course(which probably wasn't cheap). An 805% gain in only 6 months sounds kinda hard to believe.
17 losses in a row isn't a big deal for a day trader as long as they are small losses. The article never mentioned how many trades he took over the year. When I was day trading I think my record was 19 in a row and I didn't have a 44% drawdown. It would have been nice to see the win loss percentage combined with the average win/loss size. Win /loss rate is meaningless without knowing win/loss size.
I read it as a 44% drawdown in June after a couple of pretty good gains, not 44% from his starting capital. Drawdown is usually measured from the account high to the swing low.
A great story. An amateur retail, an underdog, won the trading competition! Gives us retail hope so let's celebrate his success instead of knocking him down. Think about it, in what other sports or professions, someone like him wins a competition.
Think. This is a comp. 17 in a row while others are either winning or shortest consec losers. At least the ones he is trying to beat. Not the loser losers. Many of these contests are set up that way, to "swing for the fences". The ones who impress me are the ones who are up near the top many years in a row, or so many times out of so may years Not the ones who get lucky .... once.
What impresses me about 17 losses in a row is that he seems to have stayed with his system. I know when I had numerous losses I would always take the next set-up because you never know when you'll have your next winner. We'll have to see if he even enters the contest this year. I agree that contestants probably take on more risk than they should and finishing high in consecutive years is more impressive than a one year shot. Maybe he'll write a book detailing his trades. Keep in mind that I'm happy with 25% return per year. So I'm always impressed with spectacular returns.
17 losses in a row seems out of the ordinary even for a day trader. I dont think most guys could stomach losing 17 trades in a row and a 44% drawdown.
Most guys fail at trading. If you risk 1% of your account per trade 17 losses in a row is a 17% drawdown. Buy and hold investors experience large drawdowns all the time. What drawdown can you handle and what do you do if you hit that number?
Regardless of how much you risk per trade 17 losses in a row is still 17 losses in a row. If I was a day trader,which I'm not,I would find that disconcerting and probably stand down for a while and re-examine my strategy. Maybe it's not as valid as I thought it was.And I think buy and hold investors know it comes with the territory seeing their portfolio take bad dip now and then.Most just ride it out.