90% of traders learn these after their balance hits zero. Don't be them.
Most people think they lose because they guessed the wrong direction. Wrong. You lose because you ignored the mechanics. Here is how the 10% actually play the game:
🔍 Part 1: Reading the "Tape" (Market Sentiment)
Stop looking at just the candles. Look at what the crowd is doing.
The Long/Short Ratio: If 80% of retail is Long, the market makers have a massive incentive to hunt those liquidations. Trade the crowd’s pain, not your bias.
Open Interest (OI) + Price: Use this as your "Trap Detector."
Price Up + OI Up: Longs are piling in. It’s getting crowded and risky.
Price Up + OI Down: Shorts are being forced to cover (closing). This is a "healthier," more sustainable move.
💸 Part 2: The Silent Account Killers
Fees and funding aren't just "small change"—they are the difference between a winning month and a losing one.
Watch the Funding Fee BEFORE Entry:
Deeply Positive = Longs are paying Shorts.
Deeply Negative = Shorts are paying Longs.
If the crowd is paying 0.03% every few hours just to stay in a trade, they are "exit liquidity" waiting to happen.
Check the Interval: Some pairs charge every 1 hour instead of 8. If you're in a high-funding coin, you can be right about the price and still bleed to death through fees.
🛠️ Part 3: Professional Execution
Stop clicking "Market Buy" during a pump. You're just donating money to the exchange.
The "Post-Only" Rule: Use Limit orders with "Post-Only" selected. This ensures you stay a Maker (lower fees) and prevents you from accidentally buying into a "bad fill" during a spike.
Avoid Market Orders in Volatility: During a crash or a moon mission, slippage is a monster. If you market order, you are the liquidity for someone else’s exit.
"Reduce-Only" is Your Safety Net: Always check this when setting a TP or closing a position. It prevents you from accidentally opening a reverse position if you panic-click or if a limit order fills twice.
🛡️ Part 4: The Survival Shield
Isolated > Cross: Cross Margin is how one "oopsie" on a meme coin liquidates your entire Bitcoin stack. Keep your trades in silos.
The Power of Partial TPs: Never exit at 100%. Set TP1, TP2, and TP3. Taking profits at 25% increments allows your "runners" to pay for your inevitable "losers."
Pro Tip: The market is a magnet for liquidations. Find where the most "Stop Losses" are clustered—that is usually where the price is headed next.