Brothers, don’t rush to scroll away — let me lay it out here: I’m not here to show off my account numbers. There’s no steady money in the crypto world. Recently, the milk tea shop downstairs had discounts; today it was 3 off, tomorrow 5 off — at least there’s some consistency. But in this circle, money that was bouncing around in the account in the morning could disappear with the K-line by the afternoon, ten times more absurd than the milk tea shop discounts.
Today, I’ll speak honestly: three months ago when I first touched contracts, I spent half a day just trying to find the leverage button in the app, trembling as I entered the market with 3000 U, afraid of hitting the wrong button and going to zero. Now, my account is comfortably sitting on over 100,000 U, and it’s not due to any luck or someone whispering tips to me — it’s purely from getting beaten by the market a few times and learning to 'play hard to survive.'
Our strategy is actually simple: at the beginning, I didn't dare to invest much, so I took 300 U to test the waters, each time tossing in 30 U to play 100x contracts. Don’t think 100x sounds intimidating; frankly, it's a 'double-edged sword': if the direction is right and the market rises by 1%, that 30 U can turn into 60 U, like picking it up; but if the direction is wrong, a 1% drop is enough to wipe out that 30 U without a sound.
The pitfalls I faced in the first two months are enough for me to remember for a lifetime. Later, I developed these five 'life-saving rules,' which I now write on a sticky note next to my computer, more firmly remembered than my bank card password —
① If you're wrong, cut it off; don't argue with the market.
I feel embarrassed thinking back to my first liquidation. At that time, I had just learned to open positions and chose a small coin, opening a 100x long position with 30 U. I set a stop-loss, but when the market fell by 0.8%, I stared at the screen, thinking, 'Maybe it'll bounce back in the next second,' and my finger hovered over the close button but didn't press it.
So what happened? In that hesitant half a minute, the market dropped like it was on a slide. My phone buzzed, and when 'liquidation' popped up, I stared at my black screen phone for three minutes — that 30 U wasn't much, but it hurt, hurt so much that I couldn't sleep the rest of the night.
Later, I made a strict rule for myself: the stop-loss point is the red line; once it reaches, cut it off immediately, regardless of whether it might rebound later. I’m not a god; how can I guess right every time? What’s the use of proving 'I didn’t misread it'? Having U in the account and staying alive is worth more than anything. Last week, when I was trading ETH contracts, after opening a 30 U position, the market moved in the opposite direction. As soon as it hit the stop-loss point, I closed it instantly. Although I lost 5 U, I turned around and opened a position in the other direction, making 20 U right away — quickly admitting defeat allows for a quick turnaround.
② If you make five mistakes in a row, shut down. Don't stubbornly fight the market.
The market sometimes behaves like a drunk person, staggering around. What kind of rules are there? If you insist on challenging it, you're just asking for trouble.
I fell once at the end of last month: I woke up early that day and got up at 7 to check the market. I opened a long position on BTC, which was wrong; switched to a small coin for a short, wrong again; four trades in a row, not one was right. At that moment, my mind was heated, and I felt blocked — 'Why is this happening?' I stubbornly opened the fifth trade, and it was wrong again.
Not only did I lose 150 U, but my mindset also collapsed. Everything I saw in the K-line felt awkward, and I almost wanted to throw all 3000 U in to 'recoup my losses.' Fortunately, my wife passed by, saw me staring at the screen and said, 'Are you getting angry at money? Are you crazy?' I suddenly woke up, closed the app, opened the drama I was watching, washed my face, and lay on the sofa — hey, when I check the market again in the afternoon, that chaotic market from the morning had already passed. If I had stubbornly fought back then, I might have faced liquidation.
Now I've established a 'circuit breaker mechanism': if I make five mistakes in a day, regardless of how much I lose, I shut down immediately. Even if the market later seems to be handing out money, I won't touch it — when can money not be made? If my mindset collapses, no matter how much I earn, I’ll end up giving it all back.
③ Withdraw when you earn 3000 U; don't trust the account numbers.
The most deceptive thing in this circle isn’t liquidation, but 'paper riches.' You stare at the numbers in your account and feel happy, thinking 'I have 50,000 U now,' but if you haven’t withdrawn, that’s just the platform painting a pie for you — when the market turns, that pie shatters instantly.
When I first started making some money, I got carried away. In the first month, I made a few correct trades, and my account went from 3000 U to over 6000 U. I was ecstatic, thinking 'I’ll break 10,000 next week,' and didn’t withdraw a penny. But not three days later, I encountered a black swan, and the market plummeted, my U dropped from 6000 to 4000 — that feeling was like having meat snatched from my mouth, it hurt so much.
Since then, I've set a firm rule: every time I earn 3000 U, I withdraw at least half. Last month, when my account reached 100,000 U, I immediately withdrew 50,000 U to my wallet, leaving the rest to play with. That night after withdrawing, I took my wife out for a nice meal, paying with the withdrawn money. It felt solid — this is real profit. The numbers in the account? Just look at them, don't take them seriously.
④ Only trade in one-directional markets; play dead in sideways markets.
100x leverage needs to look at the market's 'expression.' When the trend is right, it’s like wings that can lift you up; but if you encounter sideways fluctuations, it's a scythe, cutting down on foolish actions.
I used to be skeptical; once ETH hovered between 4500 and 4600 for two days without moving. I thought, 'I can bet right once,' and opened a long position with 30 U, quickly closing when it dropped a bit; then opened a short with another 30 U, closing again when it rose a bit — I fumbled back and forth four times, spending quite a bit on fees and losing 20 U. Later, looking at the trading records, those two days' trades were like a headless fly, pure busy work.
I've learned to be wise now: I look at the K-line to check the trend first. If a line is going up or down clearly, I consider opening a position; if the K-line is fluctuating in a small range, like an electrocardiogram, I just close the trading page — I'd rather lie on the sofa watching short videos as a 'slacker' than touch it. In a fluctuating market, less action is profit, and that's no mistake.
⑤ Don't exceed 10% of your position. Full positions are what gamblers do.
This rule is the most practical: Don't go all in. Playing contracts with a full position is like going to a buffet and grabbing ten plates of meat — the first two plates are delicious, by the fifth plate, you're stuffed, and by the tenth, you might end up in the hospital.
I've seen someone jump in and throw 10,000 U into a 100x position immediately. If they're right, they boast, 'Look how great I am.' But what if they're wrong? In one go, it's all gone, with no chance to recover. We enter the market with small funds, aiming to roll slowly, not to gamble and leave.
Now, every time I open a position, I calculate the position size: if I have 1000 U in the account, I’ll take out at most 100 U to play with; even if the market looks good, I will never add more. With lighter positions, even if the market moves chaotically, I don’t feel anxious — losing small is better, and slowly accumulating profit is safer than anything.
Now, I look at the market like walking a cat: if the cat is happy, it runs a few steps; if not, it sits still. We just follow the rhythm, not rushing or getting anxious. Honestly, in the crypto world, becoming rich depends on luck, but staying alive relies on rules — luck is unreliable, but rules are something we can control.
Brothers, if you're also trading contracts, don't think I'm nagging — these rules are lessons I learned from losses. If you've also faced similar pitfalls, or have your own 'life-saving tricks,' let's chat in the comments; if you want to learn slowly, hit follow. We don't aim for too much, just to walk away with money and smiles. Walking steadily allows us to smile longer, right?
