Got liquidated again? Don’t rush to delete the app—this might be your closest chance yet to “cash out alive.”

This isn’t just empty talk—I had my account wiped out twice in one day three years ago, ending up with just a few USDT left. Staring at an empty portfolio, I finally realized: what ruins you isn’t volatility, but that restless urge you can’t control.

Why do we still hit “open position” even when we know the risks? Let me break it down for you:

**The gambler’s button is hidden in “intermittent rewards”**
Every now and then you catch a lucky wave and score big, so the ten small losses that follow don’t seem to matter—you keep thinking the next trade will turn it all around. When you profit, you want to go bigger; when you lose, you just want to break even—until one sudden wick wipes out your whole position. I’ve seen people repeat this cycle until their account balance is barely double digits.

**Bi-directional trading is too tempting—even in a bear market you can make money**
For coins like CATI or ACT that drop five days in a row, spot traders can only sit tight and play dead, but with futures you can short and profit from the drop. The colder the market, the more thrilling it feels to go against the crowd—who wouldn’t want to make money while everyone else is panicking?

**High leverage is a double-edged sword**
A 50% gain in spot trading is enough to brag about, but with 10x leverage, that’s 500%. 50x or 100x is even more intoxicating. But that magnifying glass multiplies losses just as fast as profits—liquidation hits as quickly as those dreams of getting rich.

**Want to survive? Engrave these four rules into your DNA**
• Set a stop-loss when you open a position—write it into your order, don’t give yourself a “wait and see” excuse
• Keep leverage under 3x, never risk more than 10% of your total funds on a single trade, and use isolated margin to lock in risk
• If you lose two trades in a row, shut everything down—go for a run or spend time with family. Don’t touch the market until your emotions have settled
• After a 20% profit, withdraw 30% to a cold wallet—money that’s offline can’t be taken by even the worst black swan event

In the world of futures trading, it’s not about who predicts better, but who can hit pause before acting on impulse. I’ve hit these pitfalls—hopefully you can avoid them.