Reporting in as a seasoned trader from 1992—rolled my initial capital from 300,000 to 42 million, all thanks to contracts. Sounds like boasting? But first, I want to talk to you about a harsher truth.

At the end of the day, what determines your success in trading isn’t how many candlestick patterns you know or how many indicator formulas you can recite. Many people get obsessed with learning new techniques—MACD today, Bollinger Bands tomorrow, then diving into Elliott Wave or Chan theory, thinking that the more complex the strategy, the safer the account. But if you think calmly, how many of those who really survive and thrive in the market rely on showing off their technical skills?

What do they rely on? Two words—execution.

No matter how good your trading system is, if your execution isn’t solid, it’s just a worthless piece of paper. When it’s time to stop loss, you hesitate, thinking “maybe if I wait a bit longer I’ll break even.” When it’s time to take profit, you get greedy, hoping for a double. You write a beautiful trading plan, but when it comes time to act, you change your mind because of one big green candle. With this kind of approach, no amount of technical analysis can save you.

If you’ve learned a ton but are still losing money, don’t rush to blame the market or think you’re stupid. Chances are the problem is: you never took execution seriously.

Many people think those who make it in crypto contracts are quick-witted geniuses with insane win rates and superior skills. To be honest, the reason I survived repeated liquidations to now have a relatively stable account isn’t because I’m smart, but because of discipline. Rigid, a bit boring, but life-saving discipline.

How exactly? Let me share a few iron rules I always follow:

**For position management**, you must use isolated margin; never go all-in, that’s gambling, not trading. As for leverage, I personally prefer around 50x—note, I’m not telling you to recklessly use high leverage, but rather to calculate your safety margin based on the liquidation price.

Take BTC as an example: with 50x leverage, your entry price and liquidation price should have at least a $2,000 buffer. That way, even if there’s short-term volatility, you won’t get liquidated instantly. Same goes for ETH—keeping the liquidation distance around $80 is relatively safe.

And for take profit and stop loss, never rely on gut feeling. Set your points before you enter, and stick to them—don’t hesitate or gamble. The market won’t change direction just because you stare at it longer. If you drag your feet when it’s time to stop loss, you’re just feeding your money to the whales.

One last thing in plain language: trading doesn’t reward the smartest people, only those who can endure. You can learn the technical stuff over time, but execution is something you have to grind out, trade by trade, on your own.