When I first entered the crypto world, I was staring at minute-level K-lines, thinking every fluctuation was a chance to get rich. It wasn't until later that I realized— that's not trading, that's gambling.

After more than a year, I went from frequent liquidation to stable monthly profits. I’ve stepped on many pits along the way, and today I want to share the most valuable experience in hopes of helping you avoid detours.

**Key Point 1: Following the trend is 100 times more effective than prediction**

The biggest misconception in short-term trading is trying to accurately predict rises and falls. In reality, you only need to do one thing—follow market sentiment. Watching 1-minute and 5-minute charts is indeed important, but your brain must always remember the direction of the 1-hour chart.

A rebound in a downtrend? That’s usually the main force absorbing positions. The most profound lesson I learned was during a bear market rebound when I tried to bottom-fish, only to be hit with triple stop-loss. Since then, I understood—trading with the trend keeps you alive the longest.

**Key Point 2: Too many indicators are actually poison**

The most common symptom among beginners is stacking indicators. MACD, KDJ, RSI, Bollinger Bands… using all of them, and ending up more confused. I later underwent a major overhaul, decisively keeping only two things: moving averages and volume.

Moving averages tell me the direction, and volume tells me whether that direction is real or fake. When the price breaks above the 5-day moving average + volume significantly increases, that’s when I open a position. I ignore all other signals.

**Key Point 3: Stop-loss must be ruthless, profit should be greedy but with a bottom line**

The essence of short-term trading is a risk-reward game. My rule is this: for example, with a capital of 1000U, take profit at 30U and close, or cut losses at 20U. In other words, 3% profit, 2% stop-loss.

Some say, "earning only 3% is too little." My question is—can you achieve 36% annualized? Even with 200 trades a year, a 3% success rate combined with strict 2% stop-loss is actually quite good. The most important thing is to survive longer.

**Key Point 4: These pitfalls can really kill you**

I never open positions before and after data releases. Non-farm payroll reports, CPI data—those times have huge spreads and deadly slippage, not worth risking.

I am especially strict about not making more than 3 trades per day. Many people feel itchy and open a dozen trades a day—that’s emotional trading. From the top traders I’ve seen, 80% of their time is spent watching charts and waiting for signals; actual opening of positions is very brief.

Counter-trend adding? Absolutely forbidden. Once the trend breaks, whether I’m in profit or loss, I exit immediately. Thinking about "averaging down" at such times is pure suicide.

**Final words**

The top players in the crypto world are never those who made 10x or more in one shot, but those who can survive the longest. I recommend every beginner to practice with a demo account or very small positions for one or two months until this set of rules truly becomes instinctive, then invest real money.

If you’re still being driven by emotions and opening trades at will, you need to set a strict rule for yourself. This rule doesn’t have to be complicated; simplicity and brutality are often the most effective.