The Quest Begins (The "Why") I still remember the first time I watched my shiny new mean‑reversion bot blow up a simulated account in under two minutes. It was like watching a hero charge straight into a dragon’s lair without a shield—cool moves, but instantly toast. The culprit? I was sizing every trade with a fixed 1% of equity, ignoring volatility, and slapping on a stop‑loss that was tighter than a pair of jeans after Thanksgiving. When the market swung a bit, the stop got hit, the posit...