In the Guangzhou urban village of 2017, the phone balance showed 159.16 yuan, and I couldn't even afford to order a 15-yuan rice bowl. During those days, on countless nights, I stared at the K-line chart on a moldy bedboard, waiting for a reversal.

Now, the account shows a figure of 26.88 million. It's not luck, but four survival rules verified with real money after crawling out of hell.

**First realization: See through the dealer’s tricks**

In 2017, I chased a small coin that surged 300%, only to be liquidated in the end. Later, I realized that the pattern was almost always the same: rapid increase over 30% → sideways trading for 3 days at high levels → volume-driven decline of 15%, which signals distribution. Last year, when $AVAX dropped below $150, this pattern appeared. I decisively opened a short position and earned 870,000 in three weeks. Recognizing the dealer’s tactics prevents you from getting trapped again.

**Second lesson: Silence is often more frightening than a crash**

In 2019, I heavily bet on mainstream coins that traded sideways for two months with bizarrely shrinking volume, which eventually fell to $12. After that, I realized that when turnover rate drops below 2% and the price deviates more than 20% from the 20-day moving average, big funds are quietly withdrawing. Now, my trading system automatically detects these signals and places short orders. Market silence is often the biggest warning.

**Third discovery: True bottoms have clues**

During the flash crash in 2020, I bought the bottom of $LINK but got trapped. Later, after studying 300 historical bottom cases, I finally understood the pattern: consolidation with decreasing volume plus three consecutive days of gentle volume increase in bullish candles, this is the real bottom. When Bitcoin dropped to $25,000 last year, I saw this signal and went all-in. Six months later, when it rose to $42,000, I decisively took profits. That profit allowed me to buy a sports car I had been driving for years.

**Fourth realization: Volume is the heart, position is the breath**

K-line charts can be manipulated on the surface, but volume reveals the truth that cannot be hidden. Operating with half a position can keep you alive longer; going all-in can lead to a sudden crash. During last year’s $ETH rally, the whole market was crazy, but I waited until it broke out of the box pattern with volume exploding fivefold before entering. Once the trend line broke, I immediately took profits. In the end, I only earned 12 times, but watching those who lost everything in the subsequent crash made me smile with rationality.

These four rules won't give you a dream of overnight riches, but they can help you survive long enough in the jungle of this market.