5 golden rules to remember if you really want to make a living from trading

Rule 1: Risk control is always the top priority.
The first thing in trading is not to think about how to make money, but to first consider: how much can I lose at most?
Many people, when they first start trading, always think about doubling their money overnight, but they never set stop-losses. As a result, they end up losing 30%, 50% on a trade, and ultimately get liquidated.
Real professional traders first focus on how not to die.
The most fundamental risk control principle is: taking contracts as an example, the risk of a single transaction should not exceed 1%-2% of the account capital. For instance, if you have a principal of 100,000, you should only take on a risk of 1,000-2,000 at most in one transaction. If you keep losing, you can still survive and continue to adjust.
Stop-loss is not cowardice, but a tactical retreat. The market can move in ways you least expect at any time. Once the direction is wrong, you must decisively exit; do not fantasize that "it will rebound" or "just hold on a bit and it will come back."
The significance of risk control is to qualify you for the next opportunity. Those who can truly make money are not because they win every time, but because they can afford to lose each time.
You need to control the risks before you can really start considering profit.
Rule 2: Don't act without signals; staying in cash is also a strategy.
Many people feel an itch to act as soon as they open the market, always thinking, "If I don't make a move now, am I missing out on a big opportunity?" In fact, what professional traders excel at is not frequent trading, but enduring solitude.
Trading is not clocking in at work; it doesn't mean you have to take action every day to be considered "hardworking." On the contrary, the more mature a trader is, the more they resemble a patient hunter who does not actively pursue their prey but instead waits for it to walk into the trap.
The market does not have good opportunities every day. If you force yourself to enter the market, you are likely to buy high and sell low, frequently hitting stop losses, ultimately disrupting your rhythm and breaking your mindset. Instead of making a wrong trade, it is better to simply not trade at all. Missing out can wait for the next time, but making a mistake may come at a cost.
Learning to stay in cash is an important sign of maturity in trading. Doing nothing when there are no signals is a respect for the market and also a protection of one's own funds. True experts do not take action frequently, but only engage in "winnable battles." When they do take action, there must be a basis, logic, and probability of success. At other times, just wait quietly.
Iron Rule 3: Execute the system, do not follow emotions.
Many people think that trading experts rely on market intuition and instinct, but in fact, it's quite the opposite. Those who achieve stable profits do so through systems and execution.
You need to have your own standardized trading system, including entry conditions, stop-loss mechanisms, position sizing logic, exit rules, and capital management. Each operation should be like "process production," rather than relying on spontaneous decisions. Emotional trading is the fastest way to ruin your account.
Many people make mistakes not in technique, but in "knowing what they shouldn't do, yet doing it anyway." For example, entering the market early without a signal from the system; hoping for a miracle when it’s time to cut losses; failing to exit at a previously set target price due to greed. Ultimately, it's being defeated by emotions, not the market.
Trading is a game of probabilities; it's impossible to win every time.
Therefore, you need to learn to accept "planned losses" instead of pursuing lucky profits in the moment. The meaning of a system is to help you maintain rationality amidst chaos; the meaning of execution is to truly realize long-term advantages.
A loss is not terrifying; what is truly dangerous is operating outside the system.
Rule 4: Reviewing is the only shortcut to growth.
Many people have been trading for a long time but still find themselves going in circles, and the reason is simple: they never review their trades.
After a trade is completed, regardless of profit or loss, have you seriously asked yourself: Does the entry reason conform to the system? Was there any delay in stopping loss? Did you make a decision during emotional fluctuations? If you never review, you will never know the answers to these questions.
Reviewing is a trader's mirror. It can reveal the flaws in your system, habitual mistakes in your operations, and emotional weaknesses. Every trade should be clearly recorded: entry logic, holding psychology, and exit reasons.
Only by writing these down and summarizing them can one truly see their own problems.
Reviewing is not a formality, but the core action of self-cultivation. Every trade you make today is material for your improvement tomorrow. A true professional trader is not afraid of making mistakes, but is afraid of making the same mistake repeatedly without realizing it.
Those who do not review are destined to go in circles. To break free from the deadlock of "losing for no reason," one must rely on the mirror of reviewing, continuously correcting and evolving. There are no shortcuts to growth; reviewing is the only path.
Rule 5: Stability is more important than getting rich quickly.
Many people enter the trading market with thoughts of doubling their money, getting rich, and making a comeback overnight. But those who have truly traded full-time know that to survive in the long run, it's not about explosive growth, but rather stability.
Professional trading is not about making money every day, but rather about having a surplus year after year. You don't earn big money from one or two miraculous trades, but rather by relying on long-term stable strategies to steadily accumulate profits. Behind the sudden wealth often lies high risk, significant drawdowns, and accounts that can easily crash due to emotional fluctuations.
To go far, you must learn to treat trading as a "serious business." Treat your account like a company, control costs (losses), improve efficiency (win rate), and maintain rhythm (frequency of trades), so that your trading can form a positive cycle.
Stable profits may not sound as thrilling, but only this model can truly allow you to "survive" in the market. The market is always there, opportunities come every day, but only those who are not greedy, not crazy, and who keep their feet on the ground can truly laugh last.
Relying on trading for a living is not about a few miraculous operations or some mysterious technical indicators. Those who can truly survive and make money are the ones who consistently do well with every trade over the long term, preferring to earn less rather than engage in reckless behavior.
We don't need to win every day, but we need to be on the right path every day.
Finally, I would like to share a phrase with everyone, which is also a reminder to myself:
Trading is not about beating the market, but about overcoming that part of yourself that wants to cross the line at any moment;
Freedom is not doing as one pleases, but rather the peace of mind that comes after self-discipline.
#内容挖矿，赚丰厚返佣#