The first thing to do when opening a trading account is, I never rush to find opportunities, but instead set clear risk red lines for my account.

How did I develop this habit? I only truly understood it after entering the crypto space for the eighth year. The margin call in 2018 caused me to lose half a year's profits overnight, and I still remember that feeling of helplessness very clearly.

Since then, I started reflecting: why do so many people always end up losing when trading contracts? I observed many traders' accounts and trading records and found a common pitfall—emotional trading. Seeing prices rise, they chase in; seeing prices fall, they cut losses immediately; then they are forced to leverage up to recover losses, but end up losing even more. Once this cycle starts, it’s basically a dead end.

Next, I want to share a method that won't make you ten times richer overnight, but is enough to keep you alive in the contract market and gradually achieve stable profits. Every point is earned with real money.

**Tip 1: Divide your funds into five parts, only trade one part at a time**

Suppose your account has $10,000. The smartest approach is to split it into five equal parts, investing only $2,000 per trade, with a 10% stop-loss. This way, the maximum loss per trade is $200, which is 2% of your total capital. Even if you make five consecutive wrong trades, you only lose 10% of your funds, leaving enough capital to continue trading.

Many people suffer a big loss once and can never recover, and the key reason is here— they set their risk too high per trade, some even trade with their entire position. Slight market reversals can wipe out their account instantly.

**Tip 2: Follow the trend, don’t fight the market**

Rebounds during a downtrend may look tempting, but they are often the easiest places to lose money. Trading is about riding the trend—buying in an uptrend, considering shorts in a downtrend. Wait until the trend truly reverses before changing your position. This approach naturally improves your win rate.

Many traders have the bad habit of trading against the trend, thinking they can see through the market. The result? They get painfully educated by the market.

**Tip 3: Set a stop-loss point, don’t wait for miracles**

Before entering a trade, decide where your stop-loss will be. Once it’s hit, exit immediately—don’t hold onto hope. This is the most direct way to protect your account and a basic professional trading discipline.

**Tip 4: Don’t chase highs or bottom fish**

Chasing after a price at a high point often means buying at the top. Similarly, bottom fishing looks cheap but you never know where the bottom really is—prices may continue to fall. As always, wait for trend confirmation before acting.

**Tip 5: Control your emotions, record every trade**

Keep a record of every trade, reflect on why you made profits or losses. Over time, you’ll identify your trading patterns and weaknesses. Emotional trading is a major enemy—take deep breaths before trading, and let rationality overpower impulse.

**Tip 6: Don’t believe those guaranteed profit claims**

There are no certainties in the market, and no guarantees. Any method claiming to be risk-free is a scam. Risks always exist; what we can do is manage risk and improve our win rate.

**Tip 7: Regularly review and optimize**

Review your trades monthly, see which strategies work and which need adjustment. The market changes, and your methods must evolve accordingly.

Contract trading is fundamentally a probability game. You can’t win every time, but as long as your winning frequency exceeds your losing frequency, and your winning amounts are larger than your losses, you can be profitable in the long run. The core of these seven iron rules is: through scientific fund management and disciplined trading, turn random market fluctuations into controllable profit probabilities.