Late at night, I received a screenshot of A K's account. This guy was still deep in a debt pit of 530,000 seven weeks ago, and now the account balance has approached 50,000 dollars. The key to the change is not the market, but that he finally removed the gambler's nerve from his heart.
Last winter, a fan who had followed me for three years, 'A K', suddenly reached out to me.
He told me he lost 530,000, his car was mortgaged, his engagement fell through, and he deleted over 200 friends on WeChat, leaving only 9. With the last 4,000 U in his account, he wanted to transfer it to me as tuition, just asking me to take him once.
I didn't take his money, I just replied with one sentence: 'Losing doesn't count as losing, admitting defeat is the end. If you want to turn things around, first treat yourself like a robot.'
I gave him three iron rules and had him write them on a sticky note, placing it on the monitor's frame:
Only trade breakouts and pullbacks that you understand—turn off the computer if the candlestick is unclear.
Split the 4000U in half, store 2000 in a cold wallet, and use 2000 as trading capital; stop when the bullets are used up;
8% profit-taking and 3% stop-loss per trade, never open a position if the risk-reward ratio is less than 2.5.
In the first week, he made 4 trades, winning 3 and losing 1, with the account value rising from 4000 U to 6200 U. In the second week, Ethereum experienced sudden bad news, and he was itching to buy the dip; I directly scolded him offline for 30 seconds. That week, he only made 2 trades, and the net worth rose to 9800 U.
At the end of the seventh week, his account approached 50,000 U. He sent a screenshot, his voice cracking, saying: 'Brother, I’m not happy about making money; I finally dared to look in the mirror.' I told him: 'The market didn’t save you; you finally stopped using gambling to save yourself.'
Later, he listed his 530,000 debt in a table, paying off 30% of the profits each month, and rolling the rest. In April this year, he sent the last screenshot of the debt settlement, saying: 'Brother, the day my account returns to six figures, I will tear up the sticky note—the rules are already ingrained in my mind.'
1. The key to small funds turning around is first locking the gambling nature in a safe.
Many small fund traders get into trouble due to cognitive bias about 'quick doubling.' They firmly believe that short-term trading can achieve wealth leaps through the 'compound effect,' thinking that as long as they capture 1% of volatility every day, they can achieve 12 times the return in a year.
But this seemingly perfect theory doesn't hold up in actual trading.
Short-term trading requires high judgment of market conditions, operational rhythm, and mindset control. Even if occasionally profitable, it can be eroded by frequent fees, slippage, and erroneous operations. Market data shows that the group pursuing 'quick doubling of small funds' has a loss rate exceeding 95%.
A K was originally like this, always thinking about making a big bet to win back, resulting in an ever-growing debt hole. I had him split the 4000U in half, storing 2000 in a cold wallet, which was to force him to shed the 'gambler's mentality'—you only have half the bullets to play with, stop after using them, and there’s no opportunity to add more.
2. The logic behind the three iron rules is, why can they keep your hands in check?
1. Only trade breakouts and pullbacks that you understand—turn off the computer if the candlestick is unclear.
The cryptocurrency market is highly volatile, and prices may rise or fall sharply in a short period. Novice investors are easily influenced by emotions, leading to behaviors like chasing prices, panic selling, or blindly following trends.
I had A K only trade patterns he understands; if he doesn’t understand, he should turn off the computer and rest. This actually helps him break the curse of 'having to trade all the time.'
A strong opening often signals that the main force has clear offensive intentions, with high cooperation and concentrated chips. But many people see the price rise and FOMO chase high; when they see a drop, they panic sell, completely led by emotions.
2. Split the 4000 U in half, store 2000 in a cold wallet, and use 2000 as trading capital.
Position management is a 'safety cushion' for small funds. I had A K split his funds in half, one half stored in a cold wallet, and the other half for trading, greatly reducing psychological pressure.
The 'risk resistance ability' of small funds is inherently poor; once a significant loss occurs, recovery becomes very difficult. If a 50% loss occurs, 1 million in principal will leave 500,000, while 10,000 in principal will leave only 5,000, requiring a 100% gain to break even.
3. 8% profit-taking and 3% stop-loss per trade, never open a position if the risk-reward ratio is less than 2.5.
This is the most crucial point. The purpose of a stop-loss is to control the extent of loss in a single trade, avoiding significant capital shrinkage due to one mistake. Many traders lose money because they don’t set stop-losses or don’t know how to take profits after gains.
Never open a position with a risk-reward ratio less than 2.5, which means A K pursues the rationality of risk and reward with each trade. If the stop-loss is 3%, then the profit target must be at least 7.5% or more. This forces him to only participate in high-certainty trading opportunities.
3. From 4,000 to 50,000 dollars, execution ability is the real threshold.
In the first week, A K made 4 trades, winning 3 and losing 1. The key was that 1 loss—he strictly enforced a 3% stop-loss, with a single loss of only 60 U. Maintaining a stable mindset after a loss is the most important quality of a trader.
In the second week, Ethereum experienced sudden bad news, and he was itching to buy the dip, but I scolded him offline. This is crucial—being in cash can sometimes be smarter than holding on. When market sentiment is extremely poor or direction is unclear, proactively adjusting by staying in cash is more cost-effective than stubbornly holding on.
Seven weeks later, his account approached 50,000 U. This wasn't because he seized some hundredfold coins, but through stable risk-reward ratios and strict discipline, allowing the snowball to grow slowly.
He later paid off 30% of his profits each month and rolled the rest. This approach ensured continuous debt repayment without significantly shrinking the principal, creating a virtuous cycle.
4. The current market is a good time for rolling snowballs with small positions.
The current market volatility has picked up again; Bitcoin is washing out at high positions, and altcoins are consolidating with low volume, which is precisely the dividend period for rolling snowballs with small positions.
But remember a few points:
Choose mainstream coins with good liquidity to avoid chasing high prices in a fragmented market.
Focusing on 1-2 strategies is much more effective than frequently switching.
A sudden surge at the close is often a trap, with a high probability of a pullback after a high open the next day; a sudden drop at the close without substantial bad news might be a buying opportunity.
The market is unpredictable; no one can accurately judge the highest and lowest points. As long as stable profits can be achieved, it is a successful trade.
If you are also at the bottom, don’t rush to make a big bet; first learn to treat each order as if it were the last one. The market always has opportunities, but your principal may only have one chance.
The reason for A K’s success is not how magical my three iron rules are, but that he finally accepted the truth that 'slow is fast'. The advantage of small funds lies in flexibility, free entry and exit, but many people use this flexibility for frequent trading, ultimately becoming 'chives working for brokers.'
Those who survive and continue to make money are often not the 'smartest' but the most disciplined, understanding how to manage greed and fear.
The difference in account balances is actually a difference in cognition and execution ability. The starting point for all this is to first remove that gambler's root from one’s heart. Follow Xiang Ge, let him guide you to understand more firsthand information and cryptocurrency knowledge, precise points, and become your navigation in the crypto world—learning is your greatest wealth!#加密市场反弹 #加密市场观察 $ETH
