In trading, those who follow the rules eat meat, while those who think they're clever end up with nothing.

Last month, I met a guy who wanted to make a comeback in this market with just $1,200. Guess what happened? His account did shoot up to $21,000, but in the blink of an eye, he crashed and burned.

The first time I met him, he was basically an "information dumpster"—he'd follow anyone's calls in the group, chase after whatever coin was pumping, and made all his decisions on a whim. In just two weeks, he got liquidated twice and even lost his rent money. The more he lost, the worse his mindset got, and he just wanted to go all-in to win it back.

I figured he was doomed playing like this, so I gave him three survival rules that I learned the hard way.

**Rule 1: Split your money into three baskets—never bet your life on one hand**

How do you split that $1,200? Use $400 for quick in-and-out short-term trades, $500 to wait for big trends before making a move, and keep the remaining $300 as your "lifesaving money"—never touch it, no matter what.

For the short-term trades, cash out once you’ve made 4% on a single trade—don’t worry about whether it could keep going up. At first, he thought this was too slow, until he saw someone in the group go all-in at the top and lose everything overnight. That’s when he realized why I care more about risk control than making money.

In this game, how many hits your account can take directly determines how long you can survive. Most people only see the profits and never think about what they’ll do when their account hits zero.

**Rule 2: Only trade setups you fully understand—if you don’t get it, do nothing**

I told him straight: "When the market is going sideways, no matter how itchy your hands get, don’t make a move. Wait for a clear signal before acting."

I remember there was a time when SOL was consolidating sideways for almost ten days. He wanted to jump in several times, but I held him back. Later, when SOL suddenly broke out with big volume, he jumped in right at the breakout and made 20% on that trade. That was the day he finally understood—