Last year, a friend came to me with 2,700 USD, wanting to recover previous losses. I didn't lecture him on moving averages, technical indicators, or any of that stuff. Instead, I directly shared with him the three rules I developed through real money trading. He followed these rules for three months, and his account grew to 50,000 USD, never once hitting a margin call during that period.

Honestly, whether you can truly internalize these principles depends mainly on whether you have enough reverence for the market.

**Tip 1: Divide your funds into three parts; only with survival can you make money**

I told him to split the 2,700 USD into three portions, each 900 USD, and not to touch any of them—this was a painful lesson I learned after blowing up my entire position and repeatedly reviewing my trades late at night.

The first part is for short-term trading. Limit yourself to opening at most two positions per day. Once you close a position, shut down the software immediately—glancing at it too often can easily mess with your mindset.
The second part is reserved for trend opportunities. As long as the weekly chart hasn't shown a bullish alignment or there's no volume breakout at key levels, stay out of the market. Chopping around in a sideways market just hands your money over.
The third part is emergency funds. When the market suddenly plunges and threatens to wipe out your position, this money is your lifeline to stay in the game. Losing a finger is one thing; losing your entire capital is the real end of the game.

**Tip 2: Chase only the wave of the trend, shrink back at other times**

In earlier years, I fell many times in consolidating markets—nine out of ten trades got stopped out. Later, I only recognized three signals:
- Never go long before the daily moving averages form a bullish pattern.
- Only enter lightly when volume breaks previous highs and the daily chart stabilizes.
- When profits reach 30%, take half off the table; set a trailing stop at 10% for the remaining position. Only what you actually lock in counts as real gains.

**Tip 3: Kill your human nature with discipline for long-term stability**

Before entering a trade, write the entire plan in stone: set a stop-loss at 3%, and if hit, close the position without debate.
When profits reach 10%, immediately move the stop-loss to the breakeven point.
Every night at midnight, shut down your trading software—no matter how tempting the candlesticks look.

Opportunities are everywhere every day, but once your capital is gone, everything is over.

Internalize these three rules deeply. Once you truly understand them, it’s not too late to study wave theories or complex indicators. The essence of trading is simple: protect your capital, follow the trend, and discipline yourself.