This huge crash really opened my eyes. You still have to respect the market and use your imagination. Don't assume any price is impossible. My liquidation price on SOXL was 69 before, and I held on all the way down from 169. Although I eventually cut my losses, deep down I never thought this thing could drop into the 40s.
When a major downtrend is just getting started, there will still be two or three decent rebounds. I just wasn't skilled enough back then to take advantage of them and get out at breakeven. Now that the trend is accelerating, there aren't even any decent rebounds—not over a day or two, or even on the 15-minute chart.
Throughout this loss, I've been reviewing my trades every day and thinking about what I did wrong. There were lots of mistakes, both in my mindset and my technique. I've summarized a few points and am writing them down so I don't forget—to reread them often and keep reminding myself:
1. Once a trend is established, be careful about trying to pick tops or bottoms. I always say to follow the trend, but I can't help trying to get in early. In the end, in a market like this, I got caught halfway up the mountain. My actions didn't match what I knew.
2. When the market is rebounding, just take a quick profit and get out—don't try to hold for the big picture. A few days ago, I caught a rebound in KORU from 10.7 to 14 and was already up 6,500 USDT. But I thought 10.7 was really low and wanted to hold for more. In the end, I gave back all my profits and got out at breakeven. Holding for the long term should really mean waiting for the price to stabilize and buying on the right side of the trend.
2. Never let a losing position run—always set a stop-loss. Even if the price turns around after stopping you out, don't think you made the wrong call. This kind of trading discipline goes against human nature and greatly amplifies our aversion to losses. So you have to practice deliberately, until it becomes second nature—until not setting a stop-loss feels like running around naked, completely uncomfortable. At a critical moment, this really can save your life. The prerequisite for making money in this market is staying alive.
3. There's a lot of noise around you, and it's easy to get influenced and make impulsive trades. As a beginner, I can't say I'll definitely fix this, but I hope I'll make this mistake less often. Little by little, less and less.
4. After taking a loss, you have to keep your hands off the keyboard. Don't open random trades just to make the money back. Whether you look at it from a psychological, technical, or even superstitious angle, you're likely to keep losing—and turn a small loss into a big one.
I'll start with these points. The market has been terrible lately, so I should use this time to keep learning. I'm going to start by reading *High Probability Trading*.
During today's huge crash, a lot of the big names I follow lost a lot. I'm glad I was cautious and didn't trade. Maybe narrowly escaping this time is a good start. #soxl
When a major downtrend is just getting started, there will still be two or three decent rebounds. I just wasn't skilled enough back then to take advantage of them and get out at breakeven. Now that the trend is accelerating, there aren't even any decent rebounds—not over a day or two, or even on the 15-minute chart.
Throughout this loss, I've been reviewing my trades every day and thinking about what I did wrong. There were lots of mistakes, both in my mindset and my technique. I've summarized a few points and am writing them down so I don't forget—to reread them often and keep reminding myself:
1. Once a trend is established, be careful about trying to pick tops or bottoms. I always say to follow the trend, but I can't help trying to get in early. In the end, in a market like this, I got caught halfway up the mountain. My actions didn't match what I knew.
2. When the market is rebounding, just take a quick profit and get out—don't try to hold for the big picture. A few days ago, I caught a rebound in KORU from 10.7 to 14 and was already up 6,500 USDT. But I thought 10.7 was really low and wanted to hold for more. In the end, I gave back all my profits and got out at breakeven. Holding for the long term should really mean waiting for the price to stabilize and buying on the right side of the trend.
2. Never let a losing position run—always set a stop-loss. Even if the price turns around after stopping you out, don't think you made the wrong call. This kind of trading discipline goes against human nature and greatly amplifies our aversion to losses. So you have to practice deliberately, until it becomes second nature—until not setting a stop-loss feels like running around naked, completely uncomfortable. At a critical moment, this really can save your life. The prerequisite for making money in this market is staying alive.
3. There's a lot of noise around you, and it's easy to get influenced and make impulsive trades. As a beginner, I can't say I'll definitely fix this, but I hope I'll make this mistake less often. Little by little, less and less.
4. After taking a loss, you have to keep your hands off the keyboard. Don't open random trades just to make the money back. Whether you look at it from a psychological, technical, or even superstitious angle, you're likely to keep losing—and turn a small loss into a big one.
I'll start with these points. The market has been terrible lately, so I should use this time to keep learning. I'm going to start by reading *High Probability Trading*.
During today's huge crash, a lot of the big names I follow lost a lot. I'm glad I was cautious and didn't trade. Maybe narrowly escaping this time is a good start. #soxl