Your account balance will most likely go down by several $100 in the first weeks after starting a strategy. This is not a real drawdown, but the result of two statistical effects. Unprofitable trades are closed early, while profitable trades stay open longer and thus contribute later to the balance. The equity fluctuations - the up and down 'ripples' in the equity curve - will most likely exceed your initial profit if you don't have an exceptionally lucky start. Both effects will cause periods of negative balance and equity in the first time of almost all strategies (for details see income). When the profit accumulates, negative balance periods get shorter and eventually disappear. However if you're not yet in the profit zone after several months and your trade returns still deviate largely from the predicted performance, something is wrong. The strategy might be expired and you should stop trading it.