In the early morning of December 2017, I was lying in front of the screen—three minutes, my account plummeted from six figures straight down, finally settling at 37.28U. My first encounter with contracts, the market taught me the harshest lesson: only the faint glow of the screen flickering in the darkness, my heartbeat pounding like a gavel, and a buzzing in my ears.

Ten years have passed. From 37.28U to seven figures, my deepest realization is not "how to make money," but "how to survive." Contract trading is not a gambling table; it’s more like an operating table—every move must be precise, leaving no room for luck.

# First Rule: Hold Your Position Tight

I set an unbreakable rule for myself: single-loss trades must not exceed 1% of total funds.

Sounds conservative? But on the night of May 19, 2021, during the bloodbath, many around me were wiped out to zero, while my maximum drawdown was only 12%. Doing the math makes it clear—if you have 10,000U capital and set your stop-loss at 10% of the current price, then your single position should be around 100U (the specific calculation is: 10,000×1%÷10%). This is not some math game; it’s a matter of survival. Being conservative is always better than being completely out.

# Second Rule: Once Stop-Loss Is Set, It’s Ironclad

I’ve seen too many people stubbornly hold on without cutting losses. When prices fall, they move the stop-loss line down, then fall further, and keep moving it—until there’s nowhere left to retreat.

My approach is different. Once the stop-loss level is set, there’s no excuse to "wait and see" or "maybe it will rebound." Either the price hits the line and I stop immediately, or I get liquidated. Admitting mistakes and exiting is a thousand times wiser than stubbornly holding on until liquidation. This isn’t some clever trading trick; it’s simply a way to live longer.

# Third Rule: Leverage Amplifies Your Flaws, Not Your Profits

Many newcomers are dazzled by stories of high leverage, thinking that 10x or 20x leverage can make them soar. They ignore one fact: leverage amplifies not only profits but also all mistakes.

I myself usually trade within the 3-5x leverage range, only going up to 10x in extreme cases. Beyond that, normal market fluctuations of 3-5% can trigger liquidation—at that point, you’re not trading trends; you’re fighting market noise, basically wrestling with air. Core coins like BTC, ETH, SOL, BNB, although relatively stable in volatility, cannot tolerate excessive leverage.

After ten years, the most important thing isn’t how much I’ve made, but that I am alive and have been alive all along. That 37.28U is no longer important; what matters is that I’ve learned how to breathe in the market.