One Prop Trader a Day – Shri Patil: The Traders Who Survive Are Usually the Boring Ones
One Prop Trader a Day – Episode 105
Shri Patil
My name is Shri Patil. I am originally from Karnataka, India, and currently based in Dubai. I trade Gold and the major forex pairs using Smart Money Concepts, and I have been at it since 2017.
I’m Shri Patil, originally from Karnataka, India, and currently based in Dubai. I’ve been trading since 2017, so it’s been around eight years of charts, coffee, mistakes, and a few victories worth remembering. I mainly trade Forex, especially Gold and the major currency pairs, using Smart Money Concepts.
I became a funded trader in 2023, and that was the year my life completely changed. I’d spent years learning, failing challenges, refining my strategy, and questioning whether it would all be worth it. Then came my first major payout. Seeing that money hit my account wasn’t just exciting, it was validation. It proved that all those years of hard work, sacrifices, and discipline had finally paid off.
That payout gave me confidence, financial freedom, and, more importantly, belief in myself. From that point on, I stopped chasing trades and started treating trading like a business. Looking back, becoming funded wasn’t just a milestone in my trading journey, it was the turning point that changed my life.
The first thing I did was probably what every tech lover dreams of. I bought almost the entire Apple ecosystem. A MacBook, iPad, Mac mini, basically everything I’d wanted for years but could never justify buying before.
But the purchase that meant the most wasn’t a gadget. I still remember opening my bank account and seeing an amount I never imagined I’d earn through my own decisions. That was the moment it truly felt real.
One of my proudest moments was taking my parents on their first flight. Seeing the excitement on their faces meant far more than any payout or any Apple product ever could. Those moments reminded me that trading isn’t just about making money. It’s about creating opportunities, making your family proud, and enjoying the freedom you’ve worked so hard for.
How many times did I fail before getting funded? Honestly, I lost count. Like most traders, I failed multiple challenges before finally getting funded. But instead of jumping from one strategy to another, I made a decision to master one. I spent nearly six months building my edge around Smart Money Concepts, backtesting, journaling every trade, and refining my execution until it became second nature.
What kept me going was the belief that consistency comes from execution, not from finding a holy grail strategy. Every failed challenge gave me feedback on what I needed to improve. Once my strategy was solid, the real work was mastering my emotions. That’s when things started to click. I wasn’t just passing challenges anymore. I was becoming a better trader.
Financially, my single most expensive lesson was probably over $20,000 across losses, failed challenges, and opportunities I ruined by breaking my own rules. But the real cost wasn’t the money. It was the time I wasted thinking the next indicator would save me, when what I actually needed was patience and discipline.
Did trading take a mental or emotional toll? Absolutely. Trading has a way of exposing every weakness you didn’t know you had. Ego, impatience, fear, greed, they all show up eventually. These days, I don’t judge my success by my P&L. I judge it by whether I followed my process.
I’ve traded with almost every major prop firm in the industry, and each one taught me something different, not just about trading, but about how prop firms operate. These days, I look beyond flashy discounts and aggressive marketing. The things that matter most are consistent payouts, transparent rules, reliable support, and a firm that genuinely wants traders to succeed instead of looking for reasons to fail them.
As someone who’s been on both sides, as a trader and now closely working with a prop firm, I understand what makes a great trading experience. The best firms create an environment where disciplined traders can focus on trading, not worrying about hidden rules or payout issues. For me, trust is worth more than the biggest profit split.
My style is simple. I focus mainly on Gold and major Forex pairs. I build my bias from the 4-hour and 15-minute charts, then execute on the 1-minute timeframe once liquidity is taken and structure confirms my idea.
I don’t trade every day. I’d rather take one high-quality trade than ten average ones. The market isn’t paying for activity. It pays for precision.
Most of my work happens before I even enter a trade. I mark key levels, identify liquidity, plan different scenarios, and then I wait. If my setup appears, I execute without hesitation. If it doesn’t, I close the charts and get on with my day. People think professional trading is exciting. Honestly, it’s mostly waiting.
My most recent losing trade was actually a good trade. It just lost. The setup met all my rules, I managed my risk correctly, and the market simply chose the other direction. A few years ago, I would’ve tried to make the money back immediately. Today, I just log the trade, review it, and move on. Not every good decision ends in profit. That’s a lesson every trader eventually has to accept.
One of my biggest milestones has been crossing $80,000 and more in total prop firm payouts. But if I’m honest, the number I’m most proud of isn’t the payout. It’s the consistency. Anyone can have one lucky month. Staying profitable year after year is what separates traders from gamblers.
Do the people around me understand what I do? Not at first. When I started, most people thought trading was gambling. Some still do. Now they mostly ask me if Gold is going up tomorrow. My answer is always the same: I’ll let the charts decide. Over time, results speak louder than explanations.
What separates me from someone who quit after their third failed challenge? Perspective. A failed challenge doesn’t mean you’re a bad trader. It means the market charged you for a lesson. Most people quit because they think failure means they’re not talented. I believed failure meant I wasn’t finished learning. That mindset made all the difference.
And if someone handed me a $1,000,000 funded account today, I’d probably disappoint anyone expecting fireworks. I’d trade exactly the same way I trade a much smaller account. No oversized positions. No unnecessary risks. No pressure to make the most of it. The account size changes. The process doesn’t.
Because in trading, boring is profitable.
Verified funded – the receipts
About the writer – Shri Patil
Shri Patil trades Gold and major forex pairs with Smart Money Concepts from Dubai, and has crossed 80,000 dollars in prop firm payouts.
