The “Solo Bot of The Year” has been retired. After gold moved up over 40 points today, the Precision bot couldn’t keep up. If I had unwisely let the bot keep going with no MAX drawdown, I might still be including the Precision tractor on my farm. But I did have a MAX drawdown, and the bot is gone. Its remaining funds have been dispersed to bots with strategies that don’t consistently lose me money.

As a reminder, both the Precision and Aviator bots made big mistakes in June. Today’s misstep officially makes the Precision bot “dead to me.” My other bots should still let me break even or slightly better for the month, but there are no guarantees. Gold’s upward move has my Gold Digger bot sweating to get out from under a nasty price movement, too.

Why do I continue on this bot adventure? It isn’t for the now. It is for the long-term. If the surviving bots are running smoothly in two years with minimum risk and drawdown, this year will have been worth it. I hate losing money. And I wouldn’t say I like it when the bots lose money twice and rub my nose in it. I am letting the bots teach me lessons and build my investing calluses. When retirement gets here, I will shrug off their teasing. I will also allow myself to develop other hobbies that don’t make me break out in a cold sweat in the middle of the night.