When I started trading, I had an incredible amount of enthusiasm, confidence, and a desire to succeed. But the truth is, I was completely unprepared. Within a few months, my first $2,000 trading account was gone. That loss taught me a lesson that no book or course could possibly teach. Here are the five big mistakes that led me to that loss — so you can avoid them.
1. Chasing Every Momentum (Fear of Missing Out)
Whenever a coin was going up in the market, I would buy it right away. I would think, “This is going to go to the moon now.” But more often than not, I would buy at the top of the price, and sell out of fear a little later — just as the price was going back up. This taught me that FOMO (fear of missing out) is a trader’s worst enemy.
2. Not using stop losses
I used to think that stop losses were only for weak traders. But the truth is, I lost 60% of my portfolio in just one candle on a bad trade without a stop loss. Capital protection should always be the top priority — ego won’t pay you back.
3. Overtrading
Initially, I would make more than 10 trades a day, without any clear strategy — just based on guesswork and emotion. I thought that making more trades would lead to more profits, but instead, I only incurred higher fees, more stress, and ultimately more losses. Now my rule is: quality is better than quantity.
4. Blindly following social media “experts”
I followed so-called experts on social media without doing any research. Someone said “buy,” so I bought. Someone said “hold,” so I held — even at a loss. I learned that if you don’t understand a trade, it’s not yours. It’s dangerous to follow someone else’s strategy without understanding it.
5. No risk management plan
I often risked my entire capital on one trade. I had no system, no position sizing principles, no understanding of risk control. Now I only risk 1-2% of my capital on each trade. Trading without risk management is like gambling — just a little more civilized.
How did my transformation begin?
I started keeping records of every trade, learning from my mistakes, and taking trading as a serious business. I realized that knowing when not to trade is just as important as knowing when to enter.
Conclusion:
If you’re currently losing money, don’t blame the market. Fix your habits — otherwise you’ll be constantly “donating” to the market. The decision is yours
