I hope you can learn something from tracking the blowout process. For me, to go back and rehash my losing streaks is akin to sorting through the bowl after a bout of the runs to see what didn't digest.
I have blown out 5 times in the last 10 years, but only once in the last 5. None the last 3, in fact, starting to be a consistent winner. I disagree with the original poster about beginners being undercapitalized. Whether they have a $5K account or a $50K account, they will blow out both ways, but the latter will take longer. It's best that the first time trader start with a smaller account so once he blows out, he will take the time to analyze all his mistakes before trying again.
In the beginning, I made a lot (friendly market conditions combined with poor discipline on my part meant that stops weren't taken and positions obtained big profits when trends got back on track).... THEN I blew my account... its terrible to blow out once you have made a lot... much better to blow out a small account and learn from it cheaply...
Looking through the log, it would appear that you had quite a long run for your money<g>. That long string of consecutive losses must have hurt (8). I agree with the conclusions that you have come to, inasmuch as your performance shows the profit\loss ratio was out with losses frequently exceeding gains, often by a huge margin. I started full time futures trading, on my own account, over 10 years ago and the first major realisation was that if the maths do not work, nothing works. I created a win\loss ratio to risk\reward grid and used the variables to see the parameters that had to be met. My optimum was 80\20 (win\loss) with 1\2+ (risk\reward). I have never got anywhere near the 80%, having to settle for just below 70% and the 1\2+ has been missed by scratching out for just over entry on about 20% of the 70%. The reality is that only about 50% of all trades provide the profits to cover the losses and scratches to make trading worthwhile. In my case it has completely proved the point that losses must be controlled and profits run. I get an overall risk\reward of 1:1.3 (after all comms). The theoretical numbers: 3 X -1 units 2X +0.5 units 5X +3 units. The actual results are all over the place but the 5x 3 is made up of legging up through timeframes with many 5 minute trades becoming half day trades with R\R ratios of 1\7+ with the best ever at 1\14. It took me a long time to reach the conclusions that you have reached and many years to create a methodoogy that could satisfy the parameters and stay within money management rules. There were accounts that vanished en route but that was part of my learning the difference between what I wanted against what could be done. It is a supreme irony that when trading is subjected to a math grid (W\L, R\R) test there is so little that can actually work. I see that one post in this thread has stated that W\L doesn't matter as big wins compensate for wash trades?. If you create a grid you will see that massive wins "have" to appear regularly and that brings about the investigation of what is available within the timeframe traded. I trade intraday with swings that can facilitate my R\R parameters for an average of 5 trades per day. Shooting for the moon on big ones only crops up once in a blue moon , so wash trades with hopes of big ones is just not on. For a daytrader, if the range is not there neither will the big trades. The amount you have lost may be a lot of money to you but if it serves to put you on the right track it may prove to be the best money you have ever spent . Good luck, Traduk