← Back to Curriculum
Beginner

Case Study: A Retail Trader's Journey From Discretionary to Systematic Trading

A foundation-level case study built around Arjun Mehta, a Bengaluru software engineer who starts trading Nifty stocks and Bank Nifty on Zerodha on instinct, loses money, and rebuilds himself as a systematic trader over eighteen months. Each chapter is one stage of his journey: auditing his discretionary trades with Zerodha Console, turning instincts into precise written rules, backtesting on NSE data with realistic Indian costs, sizing positions and surviving a real drawdown, and finally going live with Kite Connect while keeping the discipline that stops him slipping back. Built for engineers, coders and traders who want to see exactly how the transition happens in an Indian account, with the mistakes left in.

Systematic TradingBacktestingPosition SizingTrading JournalKite ConnectOverfittingTransaction Costs
MODULES
5
DURATION
~3.5 hrs
TRACK
Algorithmic Trading

What You'll Master

Audit your own discretionary trades using Zerodha Console, Tradebook and P&L exports to find where money actually leaks
Convert instincts into a complete, testable rule set covering universe, entry, exit, sizing and review
Run a first Python backtest on NSE data with Indian brokerage, STT, slippage and taxes built in
Spot overfitting and survivorship bias before they cost you real capital
Size positions with fixed fractional rules and set drawdown limits you will actually obey
Move from paper trading to live and semi-automated execution with Kite Connect while keeping a review discipline
Access Level
LEARNER
Start Learning Now →Sign in to resume
Everything included
Full Text Playbooks
Actionable Exercises
Mobile Reading Mode
Lifetime Updates

Curriculum Breakdown

Chapter 1: The Discretionary Years

3 Lessons
▶
Meet Arjun: How a Smart Engineer Traded on Instinct12 min read
Preview
▶
The Audit: What Zerodha Console and the Tax P&L Really Showed14 min read
▶
The Behavioural Leaks: Revenge Trades, Averaging Down and the Friday Effect14 min read

Chapter 2: Turning Instinct Into Rules

3 Lessons
▶
Rule or Hunch? The Test Every Trading Idea Must Pass12 min read
▶
Writing the First Rule Set: Universe, Entry, Exit and Time Stop14 min read
▶
The Written Plan: Turning Rules Into a One-Page Trading Plan12 min read

Chapter 3: Backtesting the First System

4 Lessons
▶
Getting the Data: NSE Bhavcopy, Adjustments and Survivorship Bias14 min read
▶
The First Backtest in Python: Fifty Lines That Changed Everything16 min read
▶
Costs That Kill: Brokerage, STT, Slippage and Taxes in the Backtest14 min read
▶
The Overfitting Trap: Why Arjun's Best Backtest Was His Worst System14 min read

Chapter 4: Risk, Sizing and the Drawdown That Almost Ended It

3 Lessons
▶
Position Sizing: Fixed Fractional Risk and the One Percent Rule14 min read
▶
Drawdown Limits: Deciding in Advance When to Stop12 min read
▶
June 2024: Surviving Election Week Without Breaking the Rules14 min read

Chapter 5: Going Live and Staying Systematic

3 Lessons
▶
Paper Trading to Live: The Three-Month Bridge12 min read
▶
Semi-Automation With Kite Connect: What to Automate and What Not To14 min read
▶
The Journal and the Monthly Review: How Arjun Stays Systematic12 min read