Receiving a call in the middle of the night from my buddy in Guangdong, I could hear his rapid breathing on the other end. His voice was a bit shaky: "I put 10,000 USDT in full position with 20x leverage to go long, and the market just moved 5%, my account was wiped out instantly!" I checked his trading record—full position, 20x leverage, no stop-loss set at all. This guy treats trading like gambling with his life.

I told him about a phenomenon: many people think that full position can withstand volatility and make it easier to hold through market swings, but the reality is completely the opposite. Using full position poorly can lead to liquidation ten times faster than with incremental positions.

**Position size is the real culprit**

Take a 1,000 USDT account as an example. If you open a 10x leverage with 900 USDT, a mere 5% adverse move will liquidate your position. Conversely, with 100 USDT at the same 10x leverage, it takes a 50% move to get liquidated. What did my buddy do? He put 95% of his principal into one trade, leaving no room for pullback—any small fluctuation would wipe him out instantly.

**Three golden rules I’ve developed**

In the past six months, my own account has never been liquidated and has doubled, all thanks to these simple yet strict rules:

**Rule 1: No single position exceeds 20% of total funds.** For a 10,000 USDT account, never invest more than 2,000 USDT in one trade. Even if I get the direction wrong and lose 10%, that’s only 200 USDT lost. The principal remains, and there’s still a chance to turn things around.

**Rule 2: No single loss exceeds 3% of total capital.** For example, with 2,000 USDT at 10x leverage, I set a 1.5% stop-loss, risking 300 USDT, which is exactly 3% of total funds. Even if I get it wrong several times in a row, the account can still hold up.

**Rule 3: Don’t open new positions during sideways markets, and don’t chase high profits.** Only trade breakouts in trending markets. I avoid trading during consolidation periods no matter how tempting. After opening a position, I never add to it. Emotional trading is the direct cause of liquidation.

**The true purpose of full position**

The full position tool was designed to give traders a margin of error, not for gambling. The premise is: trade lightly to test, and enforce strict risk control.

A follower of mine used to blow up his account every month. After adopting this logic for three months, his 5,000 USDT account grew to 80,000 USDT. He summarized: "I used to think full position was no different from gambling. Now I realize it’s about trading more safely."

The real survival rule in crypto is never about who makes the most money fastest, but who survives the longest. Reduce impulsive bets on market direction, and pay attention to position management details. Take it slow, and you’ll actually move faster in the long run.

Trading is real trading; I don’t play with illusions. If you want to stay grounded, avoid pitfalls, and steadily profit in crypto, stop feeling your way in the dark. Use a proven, winning logic to earn consistent profits.