When I first entered the crypto world, I was no different from most people—staying up late to monitor the market, chasing after rises, selling during dips. As you can imagine, I kept getting liquidated, losing sleep and feeling anxious all day. Instead of making money, I ended up losing everything.

The real turning point was when I changed my mindset. Instead of treating trading as gambling, I started to see it as a serious job. When it's time to "go to work," I enter the market; when it's time to "leave work," I exit. Everything follows a plan, and gradually, I stabilized. Here are some experiences I’ve gained from years of real trading to share with everyone.

**Trading time is crucial**. I usually trade after 9 PM, when all news has been digested, candlestick patterns are clearer, and my judgment of the trend is more confident.

**Lock in profits when you make them**. Once you earn some, withdraw 30%-50% to your bank account. The numbers in your trading account are virtual; only when they reach your wallet are they real. Greedy for the entire market move? A single pullback can wipe out your capital.

**Rely on indicators, don’t guess blindly**. I use TradingView with MACD, RSI, and Bollinger Bands. I only enter when at least two indicators agree on the direction.

**Stop-loss should be flexible**. If you can monitor the market, move your stop-loss up as the price rises to lock in gains and reduce risk; if you can't watch in real-time, set a hard 3% stop-loss and stick to it.

**There are also rules for reading candlesticks**. For short-term trades, look at the 1-hour chart; two consecutive bullish candles can signal a buying opportunity. If the market is sideways or consolidating, switch to the 4-hour chart to find support levels.

Finally, a few taboos for crypto trading: don’t think about heavy leverage and large positions to turn things around—that’s suicide; avoid altcoins you don’t understand; making more than 3 trades a day usually results in losses; and never, ever borrow money to trade. These are lessons learned the hard way with real money.