Last winter, I lost my initial capital of 3000U down to only 800U after three consecutive revenge trades. At that time, I always thought 'if I lose, I must earn it back immediately', staring at the K lines with red eyes after stopping losses, and stubbornly opening trades based on my mood, resulting in even greater losses.
It wasn't until an old trader threw me a line: 'Trading is not about making money from market movements, it's about making money from rules', that I began to stubbornly adhere to these 9 rules. Now my account not only recouped its losses but also generates stable profits — it turns out that the secret to surviving in the crypto world is not how smart you are, but how well you can control yourself.
1. After a stop loss, 'freeze your hands for 24 hours': don’t let anger turn into 'suicidal trading'.
I once opened a trade within an hour after stopping loss on ETH, thinking 'it has dropped so much it must bounce back', and ended up hitting a waterfall market, losing 30% of my capital in one day. Later, I understood: stopping loss is not failure, it is 'the switch to cool down emotions'.
Iron law: immediately turn off the software after a stop loss, and don’t look at that coin for 24 hours, even if the group shouts 'buy the dip signal'. Trading is a probability game, missing an opportunity once is not regrettable; trading with anger is throwing your capital into the fire. Last year, after one stop loss on BTC, I stubbornly held off for a day, and the next day found it continued to drop, avoiding a bigger pit.
2. Be a 'hands-off manager' on weekends: liquidity traps hide the scythes of whales.
When I first entered the market, I always thought 'there are fewer people on weekends, more opportunities', but I lost 2000U chasing DOGE on a Saturday. Later, I discovered: weekend trading volume is only 1/3 of that on workdays, and whales can easily manipulate prices, making it hard for retail investors.
The truth: weekends are not only volatile but also prone to 'spike liquidations'. Now I strictly turn off my software on weekends, spending time with family hiking and watching movies, which has actually stabilized my mindset. Data doesn’t lie: my loss rate from weekend trading is three times that of weekdays; stopping is making money.
3. Set a 'time frame' for trading: don’t let K lines hijack your life.
In the past two years, I acted as a 'full-time market watcher', eating while looking at my phone and sleeping with my computer, resulting in missing out on market opportunities, turning into a panda-eyed zombie, and always feeling anxious between 'impulsive trades' and 'missing out on opportunities'. Later, I set a rule: I only look at the market and trade from 20:00 to 22:00 each day, and I never touch it at other times.
Change: I am more focused within a fixed time frame, and before opening a trade, I repeatedly check my take profit and stop loss, which has actually increased my win rate. More importantly, I have time to exercise and read, my life has become more organized, and my trading mindset is more stable — it turns out that if you don’t stare at the screen, the market won’t 'deliberately go against you'.
4. Be 'heartless' towards coins, so you can be 'gentle' towards your wallet.
I once had a 'deep emotional connection' with a meme coin: I trusted the team and found the concept innovative, so when it dropped, I was reluctant to sell and even added more, only to find the project team ran away, leaving me with 300U from 5000U. Traders should not have a 'favorite coin'; if you have feelings for it, it can lead you to bankruptcy.
Tough strategy: Before each trade, ask myself: 'If this coin drops 50%, will I hold on because I ‘like’ it?' If yes, then don’t touch it. Now I only treat coins as 'money-making tools', buy if they meet the rules, sell if stop loss is triggered, and emotions? Save them for family — they are more real.
5. The fewer indicators, the more stable the profits: don’t impress yourself with 'complexity'.
When I first learned trading, I piled indicators like MACD, RSI, Bollinger Bands, and volume on my chart... more than a dozen indicators, and when I opened a trade and found conflicting indicators, I panicked and missed opportunities. Later, I simplified it down to just 'trend lines + volume', which made it clearer.
The truth: over-analysis is 'using busyness to cover laziness' — if you don’t want to accept 'trading has uncertainties', you rely on adding indicators to deceive yourself into thinking you can 'control everything'. Now I only open trades when 'the trend line breaks + volume doubles'; the rules are simple enough to memorize, and execution is no longer hesitant.
6. Stop trading when your mindset collapses: decisions made when angry are worse than flipping a coin.
Once, after an argument with my family, I opened a trade out of anger, clearly seeing the resistance level but stubbornly chasing it, resulting in a loss of 1000U. The mindset during trading is like driving conditions: road rage easily leads to accidents, and trading rage easily leads to liquidation.
Lifeline: When feeling tired, annoyed, or angry, immediately turn off the software. Now I ask myself before trading each day: 'Can my emotional score reach 80 today?' If not, I take a break. Exercising, chatting with friends, or even zoning out is better than trading with bad emotions — money can be earned tomorrow, but lost capital is gone for good.
7. Trading diary: use reviews to defeat 'out of sight, out of mind'.
In the past, I would delete records when I lost and flaunt screenshots when I made money, repeatedly stepping into the same pit: for example, always chasing after prices during consolidation and setting stop losses too wide. Later, I started keeping a diary, clearly writing down 'opening reasons, take profit and stop loss, reasons for profit and loss' for each trade. Three months later, I suddenly realized: 80% of my losses came from 'not setting stop losses + chasing prices'.
Magic: A diary will make you face your mistakes — you can deceive yourself with 'I'll pay attention next time', but written in black and white it says 'I said the same last time'. Now I review once a week, and for the most frequent mistakes, I add a rule to block them, visibly improving.
8. Don't catch the 'flying knife': buying the dip during a crash is 90% about catching falling knives.
I have seen too many people shout 'buy the dip' when BTC drops 20%, only to see it fall 30% or 40% more, getting more stuck the more they buy. The 'flying knife' looks cheap, but if you don't catch it right, it will hurt your hands; if you must pick it up, you need to wait for it to 'land and stabilize'.
Sensible method: Wait for '3 consecutive bullish candles to stabilize below the previous low' after a crash, or 'a pullback to trend line support + increased volume' before entering. Last year, when BTC dropped from 40,000 to 30,000, I waited for it to stabilize at 32,000 before buying; although I earned a little less, I wasn't stuck — trading profits come from certainty, not the thrill of catching a dip.
9. In extreme market conditions, indicators are not as important as 'a sense of awe'.
On the night of December 2024, when Bitcoin dropped 30%, I looked at the technical indicators and thought 'oversold must bounce back', only to almost get liquidated. Later, I understood: during black swan events, policy negatives, or whale sell-offs, technical indicators can 'collectively fail', and maintaining discipline is more important than calculating indicators at such times.
Bottom line: Set an 'extreme market switch' — when the daily drop exceeds 15%, or the funding rate is continuously >0.2% for 3 hours, immediately reduce your position by 50%, don’t confront the market head-on. The market can become irrational, and staying alive is key to waiting for the next opportunity.
Lastly, I want to say: trading is a 'practice against human nature', and rules are your 'armor'.
From liquidation to guaranteed profit, my biggest gain was not learning to read K lines, but understanding 'to use rules to restrain my greed and fear'. These 9 rules seem simple, yet they can help you avoid 80% of loss traps — because most people in the crypto world lose not due to poor skills, but because they 'know it's wrong but can't help themselves'.
The essence of trading is a game against your own nature. If you can stick to the rules, the market will reward you; if you indulge your emotions, the market will teach you a lesson. Don’t always think about 'catching every market wave'; if you can adhere to these 9 rules and survive to the bull market, you will have outperformed 90% of people.
May you earn stable money with rules in the crypto world, and live a solid life with discipline.
In the crypto world, technical skills reign supreme. Focus on refining your operational system, from order placement techniques to trend analysis, where details hide opportunities. Use technology as your foundation.