At two o'clock in the morning, Xiao K messaged me in despair: "Teacher, I went all in, and lost half a year's salary in three days..." I pulled him into a voice call: "If you want to turn things around, do as I say, don't be a gambler again."

Three months ago, he had only 3700U left in his account; now, a screenshot showing 19,800U feels solid. No magic, just five things to do.

① Split positions: First, build a solid "survival" base.

I had him divide 3700U into three parts: 1200U to buy BTC as a "retirement base," hold if it drops; 1200U to do ETH swing trading; 1300U to invest in wealth management for black swans. "Investing is first about surviving, then about thriving. Break the bullet into pieces, so it won't be a wasted shot."

② Watch volume: Follow the money, don't trust emotions.

I taught him a mantra: if the price goes up without volume, no matter how good the K-line looks, it's a trap; if the breakout occurs with reduced volume, take a small short position with a stop loss of 2%; after SOL's volume dropped to 60% following a dump, place a buy order at the 0.618 support level, earning 18% that night. Xiao K said, "Focusing on volume is much more reliable than following the crowd."

③ Buy low: Wait for "blood in the streets" before reaching out.

I never let him "catch the bottom"; I wait for two conditions: if it falls another 8%+ from previous lows and volume shrinks to below 60% of the previous day. When ETH dropped to 1520, he was too nervous to buy, so I had him enter at market price, and the next day he took profits at 1680, earning 10%. He cried, saying: "Making money can be so quiet, without having to stare at the screen until dawn."

④ Iron rule: Use discipline to protect capital.

I helped him set three rules and install an automatic stop-loss robot: if profits exceed 20%, take half and convert it to USDC; if losses reach 7%, the robot automatically cuts the position; if weekly drawdown exceeds 5%, stop trading and review next week. "Discipline is the shell that protects capital; if the shell doesn't break, profits will sprout."

⑤ Learning: Remove the "retail investor" label.

Every day, spend 30 minutes doing three things: read the Glassnode weekly report and summarize the indicators; review bad trades and write a hundred-word reflection; listen to Twitter Spaces and summarize three points. After 21 days, he became the most knowledgeable person about on-chain data in the group.

Last night, Xiao K said: "The first bucket of gold is not 19,800U, but the process of transforming from a gambler into a hunter." I replied: "The account numbers are just byproducts; discipline and patience are the permanent holdings."

Is there a shortcut to investing? It's just about loosening your grip (don't go all in), diversifying (spreading positions), and calming your heartbeat (waiting for opportunities). The market is not short of opportunities; what’s lacking is being present when the opportunities arise. Don't let a single all-in gamble exhaust all possibilities—take it slow; it's more reliable than "betting it all."$ETH $BTC