Last year, a buddy of mine came to vent, saying his account went from $100,000 straight down to just $5,000. After hearing about his trades, I was speechless—constantly jumping in and out, getting eaten alive by fees, holding onto losing positions hoping to break even, impulsively chasing tops and bottoms, and in the end, his account was nearly wiped out.

He asked me if there was any hope left with the little money he had. I told him straight up: stop looking for magic tricks—the key is to change your approach. Later, he stuck to these three rules, and his account actually started to recover bit by bit.

**Rule 1: Stop messing around—focus on the big opportunities**
Ignore those wild swings on the minute charts. Only pay attention to clear signals on 4-hour or higher time frames. Maximum of three trades per day. Remember these words: better to miss out than to make a mistake. Patience is more effective than any technical indicator.

**Rule 2: Scale in—never go all-in**
Start with a probe position—never more than 10% of your total capital. Only add to your position if you’re already in profit. Up 20%? Take half off the table, and use a trailing stop for the rest to chase bigger gains. The toughest rule: if any single trade hits a 5% loss, cut it immediately—never average down.

**Rule 3: Set a brake for yourself**
Two consecutive stop-losses? Call it a day—don’t let emotions take over. Every night, review your trades and write down exactly why you entered and exited each one. That’s how you kill emotional trading.

These principles sound simple, so why do most people fail to follow them? Because discipline goes against human nature—admitting you’re wrong feels even worse than losing money. Look back at your own trading records: are your losses really because of a lack of skill, or is it knowing the rules but not sticking to them?

Whether it’s ETH or any other coin, the market always has opportunities, but once your capital is gone, it’s really gone. Protecting your principal is priority number one. Systematic discipline is the only way to climb out of a hole. Don’t wait until you’re wiped out to wake up.