When I write about the market and talk about trading, I often say a phrase—
I will split the order to enter the market, and I won't fill the position all at once.
Many people just don't feel good about it:
Teacher, are you making less money because you are so cautious?
If the direction is clearly right, wouldn't it be more enjoyable to go all in directly?
Entering in batches, what if the first trade takes off, wouldn't the later ones be left behind?
Yes, I admit: splitting orders to enter the market often means 'earning a little less.'
But I will still choose to split the orders without hesitation, rather than going all in.
Because for someone who wants to be 'professionally long-term' in the market:
Earning a little less is fine,
but making a whole order go to waste is what really matters.
Today’s article aims to clarify one thing:
Why do I prefer to earn less,
and still want to split orders when entering?
1) Going all in at once sounds great, but the risks are evident.
First, clarify the difference between 'going all in' and 'entering by splitting orders.'
1) Going all in at once concentrates all mistakes on one point.
Going all in at once has two prerequisites:
You feel that your judgment this time is particularly accurate.
You think this point is 'the perfect opportunity with a yellow background and red text.'
What is reality like?
The market will not move according to how you draw the lines.
The structure can be right, but the position can be a bit off.
You look at the range, but the market often gives you 'back and forth.'
You go all in at once:
Either it crashes at a local high point: a pullback leads to explosive losses.
Or it crashes at a position that hasn’t stabilized yet: getting washed again.
As long as your entry point is not 'god-level precision,'
You are amplifying all mistakes on the same K line.
2) If the position is too heavy all at once, it’s hard to 'view the market objectively' again.
After going all in at once, three things will happen:
You start watching the market:
Every small fluctuation amplifies your emotions.
As soon as you see losses, your brain automatically turns it into a phrase:
"I can't afford to lose, I must hold on."
Emotions take over everything:
Unwilling to stop loss.
Afraid to add positions.
Also afraid to reduce positions.
Becoming a person 'kidnapped by the orders.'
No matter how good the technique,
Once your position chokes you by the neck,
You can’t view the market objectively.
3) If you make one mistake, you need to make many correct ones to compensate.
You can think about these two methods:
Method A:
Splitting orders, testing positions, lose 1%–2% if wrong,
earn 4%–6% if right, slowly rolling.
Method B:
Going all in, lose 10%–20% if wrong,
earn 15%–30% if right.
It sounds like B is more passionate,
but pay attention to a reality:
Mode A:
You can still survive and correct after a few mistakes.
Mode B:
Make 1–2 mistakes, and the whole plan goes to waste.
Entering by splitting orders seems to be 'giving up profits,'
but in fact, it’s 'buying your qualification to live long.'
Two, entering by splitting orders is essentially buying three things.
Entering by splitting is not to appear steady,
but really to buy three extremely valuable things for trading:
Space, time, and initiative.
1) Splitting orders = leaving yourself a little more 'space.'
The real state of most people entering the market is like this:
You are looking at a range:
"I think there’s an opportunity around this area."
You know in your heart:
This range may have a width of 3%–5%.
It’s impossible to be precise to 'the minimum/maximum point of this K line.'
Entering by splitting orders is acknowledging a fact:
"I can’t always buy at the most beautiful candle,
That’s why I plan my positions according to ranges."
For example, you can do it this way:
First time: use 30% of the position to test.
Second time: the price moves according to the expected structure, then add 30%.
Third time: confirm the trend, stabilize at the key position, then add the remaining 40%.
Result:
If it takes off the first time:
You have a position in the car, at least you won’t be completely missing out.
If you get washed again in the middle:
You won’t directly collapse because the first order was too heavy.
On the contrary, you can get a better average price at a better position.
You use 'earning a little less,'
to avoid being educated to lie down by the market simply because the first shot was slightly off.
2) Splitting orders = giving yourself more 'time' to observe the structure.
Many times, your trading logic is like this:
"I think this might be near the bottom/resistance."
But you can only be more certain after the market shows the second half of the structure.
You go all in at once, and you no longer have the mindset of 'observing the second half'—
You can only anxiously stare at the profit and loss numbers.
After splitting orders, the rhythm will change to:
First trade: testing + buying observation rights.
Not to make a lot of money.
It's to 'first get on the bus, forcing yourself to seriously observe market feedback.'
Second trade: the structure comes out, confirming that the logic is correct.
For example: volume breakout, pullback not breaking, shrinking consolidation, etc.
After seeing the shape you want, add another position.
Third trade: confirm the trend, then use the position to eat that big segment.
You will find that:
Entering by splitting orders allows the 'market to show part of its intentions first,'
and then you decide whether to go all in.
It’s not random guessing; rather, you wait for more information before adding.
3) Splitting orders = retaining 'initiative,' not being led by emotions and the market.
Splitting orders has another very important benefit:
You always have 'some room to do something.'
If the market moves as you expect:
You have the right to add positions and make the 'stronger stronger.'
If the market seems a bit off:
You can choose not to add positions, or even reduce them.
You still maintain the freedom of 'I can step back.'
After going all in at once, your options are only two:
Endure.
Or explode.
Entering by splitting orders = always leaving yourself a button to 'still adjust.'
Three, is the cost of 'preferring to earn less' worth it?
To be honest, whether it's worth it depends on how long you want to operate in this market.
1) Splitting orders does indeed 'earn a little less,' but that’s reasonable cost.
You have to accept one fact:
When entering by splitting orders, you probably won't get the absolute minimum/maximum point.
Sometimes you might experience:
The first order enters, but the second order doesn’t get the opportunity, and the market flies away directly.
Or you only hit 50% of the planned position, and the market has already reached your target area.
This will bring two feelings:
Looking at the statement:
"Hey, if I had gone all in at the beginning, I could have earned more."
There’s a thought in your mind:
"Am I being too conservative?"
It's very normal; human nature is like this.
But you should also ask yourself:
"What if I had gone all in from the beginning,
but the market doesn’t move this way?"
You will find that:
Splitting orders means you lose 'that potential extra profit.'
Once heavily shorted and missed, you lose 'the capital and mindset of several rounds of the market.'
For a trader who wants to live many years in the market,
In the long run, earning a little less is a reasonable and necessary cost.
2) Splitting orders pulls the 'profit-loss ratio' from one single order to 'a lifetime.'
You can think this way:
Whether you earn more or less on a single order,
depends on 'the profit-loss ratio of this order.'
But whether a person makes money or not,
depends on the 'profit-loss ratio of the professional cycle':
How many years have you lived?
How many rounds of bull and bear markets have you experienced?
How many times have you been wiped out and had to start over due to 'not splitting orders + heavy positions'?
Entering by splitting orders is doing one thing:
I don’t pursue making the most from this trade,
What I want is to have chips for these years, decades.
"Earning a little less' is a short-term loss,
"Less exploding a few times' is a huge long-term gain.
Four, how should orders be split? Here’s a template that even a beginner can use.
It’s not about randomly splitting, but to split with a plan.
Assuming you plan to use a 30% position to make a swing long order:
Template example (can be adjusted according to your style).
① Position allocation:
Testing position: 10%
Confirming the increase: 10%
Trend acceleration / pullback confirmation before adding: 10%
② Usage scenario:
Testing positions:
Enter the first trade at the edge of what you think is a 'reasonable buying range.'
Goal: It’s not about how much you earn, but just to establish an observation line first.
Confirming positions:
For example, stabilizing at the 4-hour 20/60 moving average.
Or breaking through key structures without breaking back.
Price moves as expected:
Then add a second position at this time.
Accelerate / reconfirm:
When you see the expected volume breakout/trend acceleration.
Then put in the last order,
by this time, the entire structure is basically formed.
③ Stop-loss methods:
All positions share the same 'structural stop-loss position.'
Overall stop-loss total losses are controlled within 1%–2% of total funds.
If the first test position gets hit,
the losses are very limited.
Not being stubborn, moving on to the next opportunity.
The benefit of splitting this way:
When the market really takes off:
You have a position in the car, and you can add along with it.
The market suddenly changes its face:
What you lose is 'a small part within the plan',
not the whole person being pulled in and unable to get out.
Five, my advice.
If you just entered the market not long ago,
Or have already experienced several rounds of heavy losses,
I sincerely suggest you keep this phrase in mind:
"I’d rather earn a bit less,
but ensure that every single order won’t knock me out."
Entering by splitting orders is a very specific, very direct execution method.
It helps you achieve:
No need to gamble on 'god-level bottom/top picking.'
Allow yourself to be 'imperfect but live longer.'
Changing trading from 'taking one big risk at a time' to 'many controllable trials and errors.'
(Trading beginner's enlightenment 101) This series,
is to help you sort out those 'seemingly small habits that can change your fate.'
If you frequently encounter the following situations:
Either you miss out by being in cash, or once you go all in, you get washed out.
Always feel like 'either you can't eat or you can't eat it whole.'
Clearly knowing you should split orders, yet every time you get excited, you want to go all in.
Then come find me,
I can help you design a 'splitting order entry template' that suits your funding, cycle, and personality,
so that you gradually find it easy to use.
You will slowly realize:
You may not make more money than others, but you have lived longer than many.
