Friends who are new to the crypto space often ask me: I only have 1000 USDT, I want to trade contracts but I'm afraid of liquidation. How should I operate to avoid losses? I’ve compiled my years of spot trading experience in hopes of helping you avoid detours.

**First suggestion: Never go all-in**
I usually recommend beginners split 1000 USDT into 5 parts, each 200 USDT, and use 10x leverage. Some people prefer to be conservative and go with 50x leverage, but a 2% market fluctuation can easily catch you off guard, and a slight mistake can lead to faster losses.

**What to do with the remaining 800 USDT**
Keep it in a financial product and don’t touch it for now. This is your safety net. If one 200 USDT portion loses money, don’t rush to add more. I’ve fallen into this trap before—adding more only deepens the loss. The right move is to stop, take a few days to think about why you lost, and wait two or three days before acting again. Bitcoin fluctuates daily, and new opportunities appear every month. Protecting your principal is the top priority.

**After your mindset is adjusted**
Divide the remaining 800 USDT into several smaller parts. At this point, you’ll trade much more cautiously. If you make 500 USDT profit, take 300 USDT off the table and only leave 200 USDT to continue trading. The benefit of this approach is that you have profits as a cushion, which stabilizes your mindset and makes it less likely that a single bad trade will wipe out everything.

**You must understand the risks**
The brutal reality of 10x leverage is that a 10% wrong move can lead to liquidation. Bitcoin’s 20% annual volatility is quite normal. Professional traders have a win rate of around 60%, which is already good. What does this tell us? Position management is far more important than you might think. Going all-in can make even the most aggressive traders lose everything in one trade.

**Discipline tips to follow**

1. Monitor daily loss limits closely: If you lose 2% of your total funds, stay alert; if losses reach 6%, close all losing contracts, set take-profit on profitable ones, and rest for 2-3 days.

2. Don’t chase the market. Use pyramid averaging when adding positions, or wait for a pullback before entering.

3. Once your margin profit doubles, set a 40% retracement stop-loss on half of your position to lock in profits, and exit the other half to break even. This way, big gains won’t turn into big losses.

**Key numbers for beginners**

Start with 300 to 500 USDT, leverage 5x to 10x. Always set a stop-loss—if you lose 100 to 200 USDT, exit decisively. Use a 30% profit retracement for take-profit—take profits early, and practicing with 1000 USDT is enough.

All these tips are based on real trading experience, not hype. The market offers opportunities every month, but mindset and discipline are what truly determine whether you can last until the end.