From Hope Trading to Harsh Realities of Futures & Options

When we talk about retail traders in India, one often imagines young men and women glued to their screens, chasing that one trade that will change their lives. But scratch beneath the surface, and you will find a very different reality—one of broken savings, emotional rollercoasters, and lessons that arrive far too late.

Ashish’s journey is a classic case study in this evolving landscape. Hailing from Bihar and based in Jamshedpur, Ashish has been in the markets for over four and a half years.

His trajectory is not unique: profits in equities, heavy losses in derivatives, withdrawals from provident funds to fuel trades, and a constant struggle between “discipline” and “hope.”

This editorial dissects Ashish’s story, not merely as a personal tale but as a mirror reflecting the vulnerabilities of an entire generation of retail traders.

Equities: Safe Haven That Masked Problems

Ashish began his journey, like many others, in equities. With swings and intraday trades, he consistently booked profits. Over time, his equity account showed ₹5–6 lakh in gains.

But the devil was hidden in his portfolio. While he booked profits on rising stocks, he held on to falling ones, turning them into involuntary “long-term investments.”

His logic was simple:

If the company was good, it would recover. If not, he would cut at a 30–40% loss.

This is where the first warning sign appeared: no pre-decided exit rules. Entry was based on charts or tips; exit was based on emotion. Ashish admitted:

“Entry pata hai kahan karna hai, exit kahan karna hai pata nahi.”

Equity gave him the illusion of control. But that comfort led him to step into far riskier waters.

Futures & Options: The Beginning of Hope Trading

Like many in 2021–22, Ashish was lured by the stories around options trading. YouTube “gurus,” friends, and community chatter painted options as a money-printing machine.

In his first 18 days of options trading, Ashish made ₹1 lakh profit. That was the hook. But then, in just three trading sessions of market decline, he lost ₹2.5 lakh.

Here lies the essence of “hope trading.”

Each day, as his positions bled, he told himself the market would reverse. Instead of cutting, he held on. Contracts expired worthless, and losses mounted.

By the time realization dawned, he had already burned through lakhs.

Over his journey, Ashish’s F&O account recorded ₹3 lakh losses in options and ₹5 lakh in futures/commodities. The net tally: close to ₹10 lakh gone, with equities’ profits merely cushioning the final figure to a net ₹2–2.5 lakh loss.

The Psychological Trap: Optimism, Addiction, and PF Withdrawals

Ashish’s greatest enemy was not the market, but his mind.

• Optimism as a Crutch:

He firmly believed that “the market always comes back.” This belief, while occasionally true in equities over long horizons, is fatal in derivatives where time decay and leverage erode positions rapidly.

• Trading as addiction:

Despite losses, he could not stop. He even dipped into his provident fund (PF) savings—money meant for his long-term security—to keep funding margin requirements in futures and commodities.

“Trading ek nasha ban gaya tha,” he admitted.

• Hope > Strategy:

His biggest trades had no defined setups. Profits were booked quickly, but losses were left unchecked—sometimes for seven days at a stretch—leading to ₹40,000+ single-day losses.

• Illusion of passion:

Ashish often said trading was his “passion.” But passion without preparation is merely recklessness. True passion, as in sports or arts, demands discipline, practice, and frameworks. Ashish mistook thrill-seeking for passion.

No Stop-Loss: The Costliest Mistake

Throughout his options phase, Ashish rarely used stop-losses. His reason?

“Agar mera SL cut ho gaya aur market wahan se reverse kar gaya toh?”

This mindset—fear of missing the recovery—ensured he always risked more than he could afford. Losses ballooned, while his occasional wins only reinforced bad habits.

Even when he moved to futures, the same pattern repeated. Although he developed a setup, he still avoided placing hard stop-loss orders, preferring to “watch manually.”

In volatile products like futures and commodities, that hesitation was enough to turn small losses into massive drawdowns.

The Hidden Killer: Charges and Brokerage

Perhaps the most shocking revelation from Ashish’s journey is not just his trading losses but the money he paid out in charges.

• 2022–23: ~₹94,000 trading loss + ₹34,000 charges.
• 2023–24: ~₹1.05 lakh loss + ₹1.26 lakh charges.
• Total: ₹2.3 lakh lost to charges and taxes in two years.

In one segment, he calculated that on a ₹26,000 trading loss, he had paid ₹18,500 in charges.

Effectively, brokers and the government made more money from his trades than he did.

As he ruefully remarked:

“Main loss-making trader nahi hoon, main broker aur government ke liye profit-making trader hoon.”

This is a harsh but crucial lesson for all retail traders—high-frequency trading in leveraged products without an edge only enriches intermediaries.

Lessons From Ashish’s Journey

Ashish’s story is rich with lessons that every retail trader must absorb:

• Exit strategy is non-negotiable: Knowing when to enter means nothing if you don’t know when to exit—both in profits and in losses.
  
• Hope is not a strategy: “Hope trading” is the fastest path to ruin. Markets don’t owe anyone a reversal.
  
• Stop-loss is protection, not punishment: The fear of being “stopped out before reversal” is universal, but without a stop-loss, small leaks sink the entire ship.
  
• Beware of product selection: Jumping directly into high-margin futures and options is like learning to swim in the deep end of the ocean. Start small, with equities or defined-risk spreads.
  
• Charges kill more than you think: When brokerage and taxes eat more than your profits, it’s time to rethink frequency and product choice.
  
• Never touch PF/retirement money: Risk capital should be separate. Borrowing or dipping into secure funds for trading is a form of financial self-sabotage.
  
• Discipline is 100% game, not 95%: As Ashish himself admitted, even five undisciplined trades can wipe out 95 good ones. In trading, the margin for error is zero.
  

Stock Pathshala’s Perspective

What stands out in Ashish’s journey is not a lack of intelligence but a lack of structure. He speaks the language of passion, but passion without guardrails led him into a cycle of loss.

At Stock Pathshala, we repeatedly emphasize:

• Trading must be treated like a business.
• Every trade requires pre-defined entry, exit, and risk parameters.
• Why trading psychology is important. Hope, greed, and addiction must be replaced with discipline, planning, and position sizing.

Had Ashish invested a fraction of his PF withdrawals into structured mentorship, his trajectory could have been vastly different.

Our mentors—profitable traders with SEBI/NISM credentials—focus precisely on these blind spots: eliminating hope trading, building exit rules, and protecting capital.

Closing Reflection: Trading as a Business, Not a Gamble

Ashish ends his story on a philosophical note, comparing the stock market to real-world businesses like Tesla or Larsen & Toubro.

Companies often take years to turn profitable, but they succeed because they have established processes, discipline, and systems.

The market, too, demands the same. It is not a lottery; it is a business. Those who treat it like one—by respecting risk, capital, and rules—may succeed. Those who treat it as hope or addiction are merely transferring wealth to brokers and governments.

Ashish’s losses—₹10 lakh gross, ₹2.5 lakh net, plus ₹2.3 lakh in charges—are not just numbers.

They are a tuition fee paid to the market. The question for readers is: will you pay the same fee blindly, or will you learn from his mistakes and build a structure before capital?

Final Word

Ashish is not a failure. He is a work-in-progress. His journey captures the quintessential Indian retail trader, optimistic, hardworking, but vulnerable to the traps of derivatives and overconfidence.

His honesty in admitting mistakes is commendable. By sharing his journey, he offers a mirror for thousands of traders who may not yet realize they are on the same path.

As he rightly concluded:

“If we trade with full discipline, over the years, success will come. But even five lapses can destroy everything.”

For every retail trader reading this—the lesson is simple: discipline, not hope, is the bridge between losses and profits.