One Prop Trader a Day - Arnas Zakarevicius: I Burned 240 Accounts

Quick intro – who are you, and what do you trade?

My name is Arnas. I am 33 at the moment, soon 34. I am from Lithuania, and I only trade NQ.

When did you become a funded trader? What changed for you at that point?

I became a funded trader a long time ago, but getting to a payout was a real psychological struggle. Sometimes I would reach the last day and blow up; it felt like I was doing it on purpose. I became profitable in January 2025. Once you are funded, almost nothing changes. Your mind shifts, you become more careful and more aware, and because you are so scared to lose that account, you often end up losing it. Being funded just gives you a “funded” certificate to look at. The real shift happens once you actually get a payout.

What is the first thing you bought with trading money that felt like proof it was working?

The first thing I did was pay back my debts. All the money I made went straight to the people I owed. It was annoying, but I knew buying things was not going to get me out of the hole. Once I cleared that, I realized making money is not that hard; it takes time, but the reward is insane. So my first real purchase was an Audi RS4. Now every time I drive it, it feels real.

How many times did you fail before getting funded? What kept you going?

I cannot give an exact number, but here is a good example: I started with Apex Trader Funding and burned around 240 accounts there. Then I moved to other prop firms, and it was the same story. Six years of losses, basically. What kept me going was the belief that one day I would make it, and the desire to win. I was obsessed with trading; there was nothing else in my head. The thing that helped me most was my mirror. After every loss I would stand in front of it and ask myself why I kept making the same mistakes. What finally led me to profitability was positive thinking, and telling my girlfriend every day that I was going to make it.

What is the single most expensive lesson you have paid for?

I remember that day like it was yesterday. I found someone selling an algorithmic bot that traded your capital on gold. At first it looked good and was making money. I put in a couple of grand and it performed well, so I started counting profits in my head: if I take a 30k loan and put it all in, I will be living in the Bahamas soon. That did not happen. I woke up in the middle of the night and saw the position down 16k. I did not close it. I ignored everything and went back to sleep, and I woke up to 30k blown. Borrowed money, gone in one night. After that, I was devastated.

What was your lowest point in trading? Did you ever consider quitting?

There were some very dark moments. I felt like a failure and thought I was not good at anything and would never make it. I had lost 30k of borrowed money, my job barely covered my rent and loan payments, and I had about 100 euros left for the whole month for food, while still looking for ways to fund my next account. I remember going to the shop and counting every euro; I had 7 euros to my name at the time. That was probably the lowest moment of my life. But I came through it, and it made me who I am today.

Did trading ever affect you mentally or emotionally?

Trading affected me in every way possible. I felt every emotion there is, sometimes all the bad ones at once. The funny thing is, once you finally get past overtrading, you jump straight into the next thing. I battled overtrading for three months, and the moment I got over it, I hit the wall again, this time with greed. Trading is hard at the start because nobody guides you, and you believe you understand everything and that the market has to move the way you want.

What does your trading style look like today?

Right now I trade NQ. My style is a mix of ICT. I look for SMT, inversions, candle patterns, and a lot of gut feeling. I trust myself; I know what works for me and I have seen the patterns play out enough times. I watch all timeframes but pick the one that gives me the most confidence that day. I trade alongside other traders, but none of them trade the way I do. Over the years I have learned a lot of strategies, and now I use a mix of all of them. I have never taught my strategy. When I try to explain it, some people say that is not how it works, but once I walk them through every move, they trust me and jump into the trade with me. I am happy I can lead people to profitability.

What is a typical trading day for you?

Before, I was living the typical day trader’s dream: wake up whenever, trade for an hour, do whatever I want. Right now my best friend and I are building a prop firm called Shark Futures, and that takes most of my time. Every morning I go through customer support requests, check accounts, handle payouts, and work on making the firm better. After that I trade, and once I am done trading, I go back to working on the firm. I am happy because everything I do is related to trading, which is what I always wanted, but right now I am missing personal time.

Walk us through your most recent losing trade.

Losing trades do not happen often these days. When they do, it is usually the wrong day to trade, a consolidation or seek-and-destroy day, or because I overleveraged. Most of the time I am trying to size up too much; I am still chasing that 10k day. I also do not care as much anymore when I blow an account, because I have enough to start again. I just know I will have to rebuild, and going through evaluations again is a pain. Lately my biggest losses have been full account blow-ups, because I rush the process right after a payout. I want to maximize, like I have something to prove to myself again.

What is a popular trading rule you completely ignore, and why?

I completely ignore patience. I am an impulsive person and I scalp most of the time. But I have noticed that my best trades come when I sit tight and wait, and that is the hardest thing for me to do. The exception is when I am in a big drawdown for the day; then I wait, because I only have one shot to bring the account back. When I wait, I always find a good trade, take it, and get back to profit.

Do people around you understand what you do? How do they react?

Now they do. Some of them ask me to teach them. Before, everyone said it was impossible. They laughed at me and called me a gambler. I agree with them, the learning phase was not easy.

How has trading impacted your lifestyle?

I live in a better house, I have my dream car, and I can eat steak every day. But it did not change my routine or daily life; I still clean my dishes and the house and do regular stuff. What it gave me is freedom, and the ability to forget, for a second, about the money I need to make, though I am always aware of it. Right now I am waiting for a baby girl, so I want to make sure she has everything.

What separates you from someone who washed out at their third evaluation?

Third evaluation? That probably means it was never for them. My first thought about quitting came around year three, but I gave myself more time, six years total. That is a university master’s degree right there. I had such a strong belief that it was impossible to lose. God led me this way and gave me strength and trust in myself, no matter what. Before the good things came, the bad things came first, and I am very happy it did not come easy.

What advice would you give yourself one year ago?

Just keep grinding. Things will get better eventually. If you try long enough, and actually work instead of pretending to work, everything will be good.

If prop firms disappeared tomorrow, would you still be trading? Doing what?

Probably trading my own capital. But prop firms really helped me scale. Five accounts on a copier, consistency, and small size can bring your month to 10k easily.

If I gave you a $1,000,000 funded account today, what would you do in the first 7 days?

Probably trade the same way I always have. One million is a nice number to have, but nothing more. What I would actually do is trade with smaller size; a bigger account does not mean you have to take bigger size.