A buddy of mine messaged me late at night a while back. I still remember the tremble in his voice.

He only had 4,200 yuan left in his account. He said if he lost any more, he wouldn't be able to pay his rent. $TNSR

I looked through his trading records—he’d chased the highs and panic sold at the lows, kept averaging down on losing trades, just jumping all over the place. Honestly, the market didn’t kill him; he took himself out first.

I didn’t say much at the time, just shared with him three survival rules I’ve learned over the years. He choked up and said, “Bro, I’ll really listen to you this time.”

Yesterday, he sent me a screenshot: his account balance was 200,000. I stared at the screen for several seconds in disbelief.

**He turned things around simply by strictly following these three rules, forcing himself to suppress that bit of human greed and fear.**

# Treat your position sizing like your life depends on it

Don’t go all-in. Seriously, don’t.

I told him to only use 10-20% of his funds each time to test the waters, add another 10% if things are steady, and keep increasing as it remains stable. Always leave yourself an exit. As long as you have your principal, you’re still in the game. If your account goes to zero, it’s all over.

A lot of people think small positions make money too slowly, but the thing is—you have to survive first to make any money at all.

# Cut losing trades quickly, only add to winners

Averaging down is basically throwing more money into a losing hole.

I taught him a simple logic: cut your losses, add to your winners.

If it goes up 5%, add another 10%. If it goes up 8%, add more. Only use your profits to increase your position; never touch your principal.

After he tried this for the first time, he told me he never realized making money could feel so steady. It was a totally different feeling from the constant anxiety before.

# Don’t fight the trend

The most dangerous words are, “I think it’s the bottom.”

The bottom isn’t where you think it is, and neither is the top. Trends are like ocean waves: you can surf with them, but swim against them and you’ll drown.

He was able to turn things around because, when others panicked and tried to average down, he didn’t; and when others bet on a reversal, he just followed the trend.

He didn’t try to guess the top during an uptrend, and didn’t try to catch the bottom during a downtrend. He just followed along honestly.

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Finally, I told him: in crypto, it’s not about technical skills—it’s about human nature.

The winner isn’t always the smartest, but the one who can endure, stay steady, and stick to the plan.

The market always has opportunities, but it won’t wait for everyone to be ready. It only rewards those who can stick to the rules and keep their impulses in check.