One Prop Trader a Day - Aaditya Singh Chauhan: I Passed First Try, Then Blew the Next Account

One Prop Trader a Day - Episode 102

Aaditya Singh Chauhan

My name is Aaditya Singh Chauhan. I am 19, living in India, and I trade indices, mainly NASDAQ 100 and Dow Jones, on a funded account I passed on my first attempt.

Age19

FromIndia 🇮🇳

TradesNASDAQ 100 & Dow Jones

StyleIntraday, RSI, under an hour

FirmThe 5ers

My name is Aaditya. I am 19 years old and currently living in India. I mostly trade indices like NASDAQ 100 and Dow Jones.

I am very new to this field, although I do have the foundational knowledge from paper trading when I was 16. I bought an account from The 5ers in June, and by the end of June I had cleared the stages, so my first account became my funded account.

There was no monumental shift in my mindset when my account became funded, because even during the evaluation stages, and back when I was paper trading as a 16 year old, I always equated them to real money. However, since this time I actually was dealing with real money, I did notice I became a bit more cautious and lost a bit of the risk taker side of things.

I am going to join the first year of my college this year, so I haven't really spent much. I had a party with my friends and gave myself a tennis racquet that I had wanted for a long time.

How many times did I fail before getting funded? I am sure luck plays an important role, but I was able to get my funded account in one go. I did fail on the second account I bought, but I reflected on my shortcomings, journaled my weaknesses and proceeded to buy my third account, which is fortunately going strong along with my first account.

I have been in contact with a few traders and have read about the best traders going bust.

So my most expensive lesson so far is a simple one. I basically lost my second account without even clearing the evaluation, which resulted in me losing the fees I had paid for it. The reason for the loss was incorrect lot sizing, which I am still learning to this day, as well as not staying in trades for long enough because of the fear of losses, even with the presence of a stop loss.

That was also my lowest point, being unable to clear my second account. However, I never really considered quitting, because I know that these losses are part of the process, and the most important thing to keep in mind is to cut your losses short and move on. Learn from your mistakes but never drown in regret.

Trading has definitely affected me mentally as well as emotionally. Being someone who is new to this field, and having little to no experience, it is still quite hard to deal with the trades eating your stop loss. I have set some ground rules but it still does affect me emotionally. There is never self doubt, but taking larger lot sizes puts you under pressure.

I mostly trade indices, utilizing all the timeframes as well as the Relative Strength Index. I only use two indicators and keep my charts as clean as possible. I usually do trades that finish in under an hour instead of carrying them overnight.

I live in India, so for me the US markets open at 19:30. I usually make my major trades when the market opens, and by the second half of the four hours I usually try to find trades that can be carried. If I can't find any then I just observe the market and journal my trades.

It is pretty laidback, but I have created rules that I try to follow. Even if there is a huge window of opportunity that I could have utilized, if it is outside my work timings then I leave it.

There aren't any popular trading rules or pieces of advice that I have actually been given, and whatever advice I have come across from my readings, I usually follow. I believe that no piece of advice can actually change a person. Trading is a game of self improvement and reflection, and I would rather journal my own trades and draw my own conclusions as I continue this journey.

I never explicitly explained what I do to anyone. My close friends and my parents know about it. There are those who understand trading on a periphery level and consider it gambling, and those who understand the pressure and the psychology behind the weight of trading but not the technical aspect. I don't try to correct anyone's opinions, and my close circle is supportive even if they don't grasp the technical aspect of it.

There has been no change in my lifestyle, because I haven't found that major of a success. Most of my payouts act as my savings, for my trips and other shenanigans, otherwise nothing has really changed. I am only a college student after all.

What separates me from someone who washed out at their third evaluation? I don't really know, perhaps patience. But most of these attributes are quite situational. There are professional traders with far bigger accounts that have gone bust, and small traders as well. I have learned to believe that luck plays a very important role, some days are good and some days are bad. Washing out in the third evaluation is something that can happen to anyone.

If I could give myself advice one year ago, it would be this. Don't give up on paper trading and the fundamentals thinking you can do them later. If you have arrived early then actually utilize that headstart properly.

If prop firms disappeared tomorrow, would I still be trading? I would continue my college and try to follow a career trajectory similar to Jim Simons.

And if someone gave me a $1,000,000 funded account today, it is the same job and the same trades, the position sizing will just be different. I will probably make small trades in the beginning in order to wrap my head around the fact that I have a million dollar funded account.

Verified funded - the receipts