At 1:30 AM, my phone kept buzzing nonstop. I answered the call, and it was a friend who has been with me for years, his voice trembling: "Bro, I got liquidated... I put all 10,000 bucks in, and it only dropped 3 points, and I lost everything."

I was silent for a few seconds. I know this feeling too well — I was like this three years ago, thinking every day that "heavy positions are the true belief," believing that daring to gamble big makes you a real warrior. But what happened? A slight pullback, and my account was wiped out, and so were my dreams.

I asked him to send over his trading orders, and sure enough — he entered with 9500U in one shot, without even setting a stop-loss, a textbook case of "dying from reckless courage."

Many people obsess over full positions, thinking that’s the way to get rich quickly. In fact, that’s the fastest way to get out of the market. Going all-in is like placing a knife around your neck; if the market moves slightly against you, it can directly take you out. To put it plainly, you’re not losing to the market — you’re losing to poor position management.

**Three survival rules that saved my life**

After being battered by the market over the past two years, I’ve summarized these principles:

**Rule 1: Never risk more than 20% of your total funds on a single trade.** Even if your judgment is wrong, it’s just a small wound at most. Market experts understand one thing — protecting your principal is always more urgent than making money. I divide my 10,000 bucks into several parts, using at most 2,000 each time. Keep the number of open positions to no more than three. Even if all are wrong, it won’t hurt much.

**Rule 2: Set a hard stop-loss for each trade, never exceeding 3% of your total funds.** Leave yourself a safety net. Some suggest 5%, but my experience says 3% is safer — that way, you have a chance to survive and wait for the next opportunity.

Sound conservative? Yes, it’s about being cautious. There are plenty of chances to make money, but your principal is only one.