Principle 1: Risk avoidance first, making money second
This is reflected in: eliminating and filtering out the falling currencies, the currencies that are fluctuating and adjusting, the currencies that are rising very slowly, the currencies that are rising very little, the currencies that have no upward momentum and trading volume, the currencies that have been heavily speculated in history, and the currencies with problems. Only participate in those currencies that can rise and are in the stage of rapid rise. (Choosing familiar currencies can effectively reduce risks and increase the chances of winning.)
And see the big picture, identify the trend, and only do things related to the rise. Focusing on the things related to the rise can greatly save manpower, material resources, and financial resources, and can prevent you from doing useless work. At this time, it is natural to keep up with the rhythm of the rise and take advantage of the trend to pursue it, and short-term operations have entered a new realm.
Principle Two: Intervene only when the opportunity is right.
One must understand that 'the sky has unpredictable changes, and people face fortunes and misfortunes'. The market is full of uncertainties with its ups and downs, because you often trade in unprofitable volatile conditions, so losing money becomes inevitable, and making money becomes coincidental. Once you master the trading skills, making money becomes inevitable, and losing money becomes coincidental.
Short-term traders should enter and exit quickly, and it is advisable to remain neutral most of the time. Only intervene when the opportunity is right, which is called 'not throwing a hawk until seeing a rabbit'. Do not blindly intervene in a particular cryptocurrency, nor buy in advance; only intervene just before a market opportunity arises to avoid entering too early and waiting idly, which wastes time. This will affect your capital efficiency. Do not try to catch the bottom or escape the top; just earn from the middle segment, as it is said that one should only eat the middle part of the fish.
Eating the head requires a long wait, which is too slow; eating the tail has greater risks, and if one is careless, they may get trapped. Not being greedy can avoid being trapped; one must not be greedy but should take profits when they can. If one does not intervene early, they do not have to wait in agony.
Principle Three: Fight when you can win, run when you cannot.
In the market, retail investors are a weaker group compared to main forces or market makers. For retail investors, the best way to trade cryptocurrencies is to use guerrilla tactics. When the market is good and there are many opportunities, be active, make profits, and run; when there are risks, run even more. The essence of guerrilla warfare is to retreat when the enemy advances, advance when the enemy retreats, strike when the enemy is tired, and chase when the enemy runs. Follow the five basic principles of reasonable location selection, quick troop deployment, reasonable timing, and rapid retreat after combat. This combat method may not yield high returns, but the risks are also quite small. It has been proven that those who can control risk often laugh last.
Retail investors are at a disadvantage in the market not only because their capital, information, and technology are far inferior to that of the main forces, but more importantly, because their combat methods are incorrect. Most of the time, retail investors are engaged in a war of attrition, stubbornly fighting. If they adopt guerrilla warfare tactics, fighting when they can win and retreating when they cannot, the main forces will lose their inherent advantages.
In simple terms, when it's time to buy, you must buy; when it's time to sell, you must sell. When the market is good and the probability of making money is high, we should of course hold on tight; when the market turns bad and the probability of making money is low, perhaps we can choose to stay out of the market and rest. Those who can buy are apprentices, those who can sell are masters, and those who can stay out of the market are the ancestors. Preserve your vitality; there are infinite opportunities to make money in the market.
Principle Four: Correctly face and evaluate yourself.
The market has its own operating rules and does not change according to human will; the market is always right. Even when it is wrong, it is still right. Always respect the market, and believe that your judgments should be based on a deep understanding of the fundamentals and the internal and external market environment, as well as on the principle of following the market's operational rules.
Many people, when they start trading short-term due to a lack of technical skills, often experience the phenomenon of buying high and selling low, making them very anxious. They want to pursue profits in the short term, but things do not go as planned, and they miss good buying and selling points. The main force often takes advantage of investors' eagerness for quick profits by creating various traps in the market or technical charts, causing many investors to chase highs and sell lows. After experiencing a few such setbacks, investors may develop an unconfident mindset of 'once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of a rope', leading to a lack of confidence in the market. Continuously chasing volume in the market can ultimately lead to losses.
Short-term trading, due to its characteristics of being quick and brief, demands high responsiveness and adaptability from traders. The most important rule and characteristic of the market is its volatility. The feature of trading cryptocurrencies is that plans often change. Therefore, after formulating a trading plan, one must constantly observe the implementation of the original plan, monitor in real-time whether the plan aligns with the current market's operational rules, and whether it meets the established risk tolerance. Regularly modify your plan. If the market direction runs contrary to your plan, you must quickly correct it. Adaptability is a basic quality for retail investors to survive in the market long-term. Strictly speaking, high winning opportunities are often not very certain; they are often the trader's one-sided views. Even if there is a 90% winning rate, if the market happens to fall into the remaining 10% probability, losses can still occur, and at this time losses may be greater because traders might increase their capital ratio based on high winning rates. Therefore, while finding high winning opportunities is important, traders should not overly rely on high winning rates and blindly increase their capital input based on them.
Principle Five: Appropriate timing for entry and exit.
The essence of judging the appropriate timing for entry and exit lies in avoiding getting trapped in price fluctuations from the very beginning of building a position. Even if one makes a wrong judgment, the loss will not be significant; however, the issue of making a profit despite correctly predicting market direction generally relates to being incorrect about timing.
For example, the entry points in our trading plan are derived from precise calculations and simulations through multiple dimensional indicators. During trading, one must be patient and wait for the best moment; if the market suddenly changes and deviates from our prediction, we need to revise the entry plan.
Finding low-risk, high-reward trading opportunities follows certain principles. Never attempt to find the top and bottom of market trends; the key is to go with the market trend. In trading, do not pursue eating from start to finish; just aim to capture relatively certain middle profits.
Speculation is a type of business; it is neither guessing nor gambling. Speculation requires hard work, and all market movements have rational reasons. Unless a person can predict future events, their chances of successful speculation are limited.