I know an old stock trader, making 10 trades and losing 8 yet multiplying his money by 10 times. His silly methods are specifically aimed at various types of inexperienced traders.
Last year, I coincidentally met an old stock trader who truly changed my understanding of 'making money'.
This person usually talks very little, and in the trading group, he is always a lurker, unlike others who flaunt their transaction receipts and discuss technical indicators every day. His operations are so simple that they make people laugh — not chasing limit-ups, not bottom-fishing, not playing waves, just fixating on a few stocks relentlessly.
But this 'silent pot', after a year, has seen his account grow more than tenfold. Can you believe it? What's even more outrageous is that he himself admits: out of ten trades, he can lose eight.
I was stunned at that moment and asked him for a long time before I realized that his logic for making money is just one sentence, which has now become my motto: you have to stay at the poker table first to have a chance to win money.
This sounds simple, but I dare say less than 5% of people can do it. His specific operations are all 'against human nature' tough tasks; if you write them down and follow them, you can avoid 80% of the market's pitfalls.
Divide the principal into ten parts; if you lose, accept it, never get attached to the battle.
He divides his principal into exactly ten parts, daring to use only one part for each order. Moreover, he sets his stop-loss line at 5%, without any hesitation. No matter how promising the stock looks, as soon as it falls below the stop-loss line, he immediately cuts losses and leaves, never holding onto the fantasy of 'waiting a bit longer for a rebound.' What's more ruthless is that after three consecutive losses, he just turns off the machine, goes out for a walk, drinks tea, and spends time with family, not looking at the market for three days. While others are being cut to pieces by the market, he has long been enjoying the show outside.
Don't look at the flashy indicators; just recognize two lines.
He doesn't look at all those 5-day line golden crosses, death crosses, MACD divergences, or KDJ overbought/oversold. The brother said: 'Those are just noise prepared for the retail investors; all are false signals when the market fluctuates.' In his eyes, there are only two lines: the 30-day line and the 200-day line. Standing firm on the 30-day line is called a main bullish wave, and only then do you qualify to enter; any stock below the 200-day line, no matter how lively it seems, he won't touch it, even if everyone around him says 'this is a dark horse'; he can resist the urge to act.
Emotional counter-trend operations; while others panic, he is greedy.
This is what I admire most. The quieter the market is, the louder the complaints in the community, he becomes more excited; during a crash, when no one in the social circle is discussing stocks, he slowly picks up chips in batches; conversely, when the market is soaring, and everyone is shouting 'the bull market is here,' he is as cautious as a cat, starting to slowly reduce his positions. What's smarter is that he only uses profits to add positions; the principal has long been withdrawn. For every 10% increase, he halves the amount added, stacking it like a pyramid: heavy at the bottom, lighter as it goes up. If the big players want to cut him, they can't find an opportunity at all.
Remember two iron rules: avoid 90% of traps.
The brother also summarized two extremely simple rules that seem inconspicuous but are tried and true: First, if there is a long upper shadow at a high position, there is a 70% probability of a market crash within a week. When encountering this shape, hurry to reduce positions; second, coins/stocks that fall without volume are specialized in treating impatient retail investors — don’t think about bottom fishing; the more you try to catch the bottom, the more you get trapped.
Now that I think about it, why do we retail investors always lose money?
It's just about wanting to get rich overnight, chasing highs and cutting losses, unwilling to sell after a loss, and running away after making a little profit; afraid to buy when the market is quiet, but rushing in when the whole market is celebrating; putting all the capital in at once, and getting kicked out after a single crash.
And this brother, relying on these 'foolproof methods,' does not get greedy, does not get anxious, and does not get attached to battles; instead, he outperformed 99% of the 'smart people.'
He once said something that I remember to this day: the market specializes in treating all forms of disobedience; the more you seek shortcuts, the easier it is to fall into pits.
Now I increasingly agree: slow is the fastest way.
Stock trading is not about who makes the most in a single instance but about who lasts the longest. If you are not standing guard outside when the market is crazy, and if you have chips in hand when the market is warm — that already means you've won 80%.
So stop being anxious about others' stories of making hundreds of times profit, and first ask yourself three questions:
Have you set your stop-loss line?
Is the principal protected well?
When losing money continuously, can you afford to stay in cash?
There is no luck in the market, only rules. Surviving is more important than getting rich overnight.
Remember, avoiding stepping into one more pit is already making money.
If you are also struggling in the market, often caught in traps and chasing highs, it’s better to pay attention to me, as I will share more practical details and pitfall avoidance techniques from the brother. Let’s chat in the comments: what traps have you recently fallen into?
