You think you’re trading contracts, but you’re actually 'gambling.'

Those who can survive long term don’t rely on luck or chance, but rather—on rules, execution, and risk control.

Today, I condensed the lessons learned from over 400 live trades into three tips; if you read carefully, you can avoid 90% of liquidation pitfalls.

First tip: Don’t stubbornly cling to a direction; price increases and decreases are just probability games.

Many people make the first mistake of treating the choice between long and short as a 'guess on price direction.'

True veteran traders never gamble on direction based on emotions.

How do they do it?

👉 Recognize the trend first, then determine the direction; if the trend is unclear, just observe.

Remember this saying:

“Contracts are about probability advantage, not the thrill of gambling.”

⚠️Pits to avoid:

Leverage is a double-edged sword, not an ATM.

Opening a 20x leverage, a 5% increase can double, a 5% drop can lead to liquidation.

Trading based on feelings is not trading; it’s risking your life.

✅What to do:

Before opening a position, force yourself to ask three questions:

Is the current trend one-sided or volatile? (Don’t stubbornly hold a direction in a sideways market)

Is there a breakout signal for key support/resistance levels?

If wrong, where is the stop loss line drawn? (must be specific to the point)

The safest way: wait for confirmation of the breakout before entering the market.

Even if you're half a beat late, it’s still ten times better than getting killed by the market right after opening a position.

Second tip: Rely on strategy, not impulsive decisions.

Beginners rely on 'inspiration' for trading contracts,

Veterans rely on 'system + strategy + discipline.'

📊 Three practical strategies that even beginners can use:

①【Trend Following】—— Most suitable for one-sided markets

Applicable scenarios: clear upward/downward trends (e.g., BTC continuously breaking highs along the 5-day moving average).

Operation method:

Only open positions in the direction of the trend (long only in an uptrend, short only in a downtrend), use moving averages or trendlines as stop loss references.

Add more when breaking past previous highs, close immediately when breaking below the trendline, follow the market without being greedy.

💡Suggestion: Use 5-10x leverage, individual positions should not exceed 5% of total funds, hold if the trend remains unchanged, run if it changes.

②【Range Arbitrage】—— Profit from price differences in a volatile market

Applicable scenarios: Prices fluctuate back and forth within a fixed range (e.g., ETH in the $1800-$2200 range).

Operation method:

Open long positions at the lower boundary and short positions at the upper boundary; each time the boundary is touched, close the opposite position and set up the opposite order.

No need to guess the breakout; just profit from the fluctuations within the range, leverage of 3-5 times is sufficient.

③【Event Hedging】—— Don’t panic before a big move

Applicable scenarios: Facing major events (e.g., non-farm payroll data, policy announcements), where the market may gap.

Operation method:

Open equal long and short positions, set a small stop loss (1%-2%), after the event unfolds, close the opposite position and keep the correct one to profit from the market.

Don’t seek to guess the direction, just capture the fluctuations, locking risk within a controllable range.

Third tip: Control risk well, only by surviving can you talk about profits.

In simple terms, not getting liquidated is the baseline; if you can’t even do this, no matter how much you earn, it’s just unrealized profit.

✅Position Rule:

Initial position should never exceed 2%, gradually increase position after consecutive profits (each increase no more than 1%).

When losing, resolutely do not increase positions; don’t use 'averaging down' as an excuse to gamble on a rebound.

✅Stop Loss Red Line:

Opening a position must have a stop loss; for a one-sided market, the stop loss should not exceed 3%, and for a volatile market, it should not exceed 1.5%.

When profits exceed 5%, immediately move the stop loss to the opening price (lock in profits), let the profits run.

✅Emotional Management:

If you hit stop loss twice in a row, force a one-hour pause, review where the issue is, don’t open a position with anger.

Write a 'trading log': record reasons for opening positions, leverage multiples, stop loss levels, emotional state, using data instead of feelings.

✅Life Preservation Principle:

Never use 'urgent money' for contracts (e.g., mortgage, living expenses).

Account funds must be 'money that won’t affect your life even if lost'; this is the prerequisite for a stable mindset.

Finally, I’ll leave you with a saying:

“Understanding the market is a skill, maintaining your position is wisdom.”

Engaging in contracts, on the surface, earns you the price fluctuation difference,

What you essentially earn is: rule awareness + execution ability + risk resistance.

It’s suggested that beginners first practice with a demo account, at least complete 100 trades, and engrain risk control into their instincts.

Using real money to enter the market—if you don’t get liquidated, you’ve already outperformed 80% of people.