Saket Kumar’s story isn’t a “greed caricature.” It’s a drift: from investor to intraday trader, from discipline to debt, from curiosity to compulsion.
He’s relatable because he knew the rules—yet couldn’t follow them when the losses grew louder than logic.
The Shape of a Beginning
Not reckless. Not naive. At 29, running an MSME supply business, Saket started in 2020 as a careful investor. By 2021, he was shorting equities intraday, no options, no fantasies.
He thought: one percent on ₹10 lakh notional is ₹10,000. The math worked. The psychology didn’t.
The Seduction of Shorting
Shorting felt like reading impatience itself. Saket built a routine, traded only 9:15–11:00 a.m., capped his entries, shut the laptop. He wasn’t a gambler. He was nearly systematic.
But two habits broke him: rigid profit targets and elastic stop losses.
He demanded perfection on wins and forgiveness on losses. That inversion kills any edge.
When Green Day’s Teach the Wrong Lesson
₹84,000 in January 2022.
₹1.25 lakh in January 2024.
Saket could be disciplined.
But big wins told his brain “you’re right,” while small reds whispered, “fix it by trading more.” Winning reinforced the skill. Losing reinforced stubbornness.
Over-Trading Is an Identity Flip
Saket’s logs are brutal.
- Green days: 2–4 trades.
- Red days: 300–500 trades.
He didn’t just lose; he changed identities.
From trader to debtor, from planner to revenge-clicker. Over-trading isn’t volume—it’s becoming a different person when you’re red.
The Loans That Made Losses Loud
The structural break wasn’t a chart. It was a credit. He borrowed from NBFCs and family, swelling losses to ~₹40 lakh, debt to ~₹55 lakh.
His father even dipped into the EPF. Every tick became an EMI reminder. And secrecy bred more secrecy—until confession finally broke the cycle.
“I Know What I’m Doing Wrong” Isn’t Enough.
Saket can list his flaws: stop-loss drift, target rigidity, revenge trading, and result-day gambling.
He’s not clueless. He’s over-aware. Insight without structure is cosplay. What he needs next is mechanics, not motivation.
The Numbers Behind the Narrative
- Peak wins: ₹84k, ₹1.25L.
- Peak loss cluster: ₹55k in a day.
- Peak churn: 523 trades.
- Brokerage/charges: the silent killer.
Even with a 51–55% hit rate, the math went red because his bad days were bigger, longer, and taxed.
What Actually Broke
Three asymmetries destroyed him:
- Tight on profits, loose on losses.
- Waiting patiently for wins, cutting instantly for losses.
- Cash sized for income goals, not process goals.
With loans added, his trading day became an identity switch. He began each morning as a trader, ended each night as a debtor.
The Healthiest Pivot He’s Already Made
Confession. He told his family. His father had already bailed him out once, yet still stood by him. Shame dies in daylight. He also stopped trading for now, just watching. That pause is progress.
A Realistic Comeback Blueprint
Stage A: 30 Days of Behavioral Repair
- Capital: ₹25k–₹50k only.
- Time window: 9:15–10:45.
- Max trades: 3.
- Risk per trade: 0.25%–0.40%.
- Pre-entered stops. Never moved wider.
- Daily stop: –1R. Laptop shut.
- Journal: grade rule adherence, not P&L.
Stage B: 60 Days of Edge Definition
- Choose one setup (opening drive short, range breakdown, or VWAP fade).
- Log expectancy (win%, avg win/loss, slippage).
- Risk: 0.5% per trade.
- Success: positive expectancy and >80% adherence.
Stage C: 90 Days of Supervised Scale
- Lift size to ₹1–2 lakh from savings only.
- Risk: start 0.3% per trade, scale only after adherence ≥90%.
- Add a weekly no-trade day.
- Auto-cut size if adherence slips.
Structural Rules for Tattooing on Process
- No loans. Ever.
- Profit/loss symmetry: one-tick tolerance on both.
- Server-side bracket orders, always.
- No result-day gambling.
- Timebox: never after 10:45.
- Max 3 trades/day.
- Track brokerage costs weekly.
- Accountability partner for daily grading.
A Mindset Reframe
- Targets are permissions, not obligations. Stops are obligations, not negotiable.
- KPI = adherence %, not rupees.
- Some days exist just to preserve capital.
- Reduce EMI pressure by supplementing income outside trading—don’t demand the market to be your salary.
Repairing Trust at Home
- Monthly family report: cash, drawdown, adherence %.
- Signed “No Loan” pledge.
- Visible trading window: no secrecy.
Trust isn’t repaired by words—it’s repaired by patterns.
Why Not Algorithms (Yet)
Automation won’t solve behavior. It only enforces rules you’ve already proven. Until Saket hardens his setups and adherence, algos are just faster ways to repeat old mistakes.
What Success Looks Like in a Year
Not flashy profits, but boring numbers:
- Adherence ≥ 88%
- Expectancy +0.20R to +0.35R
- Max daily loss: –1R
- Costs < 25% of gross R
- Drawdown < 6R
- No debt, six months’ living expenses saved
That’s a trader with options—not just call/put, but career options.
Courage, Quieter This Time
Saket’s loud courage was the day he took 523 trades. His quiet courage was the day he confessed. The second kind builds a future.
The market won’t give him “one more chance.” But structure will. Thirty days of discipline. Sixty days of edge. Ninety days of scaling. That’s not hope. That’s the process.
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