I only brought $5,000 when I entered the market in 2019. Many people around me have been wiped out in contracts, and some even mortgaged their homes to cover losses. But my account has been steadily growing, with no maximum drawdown exceeding 8% in five years.

The secret is not so mysterious—I simply treat the market as a probability machine rather than trying to guess ups and downs or chase hot spots. Here are three methods I’ve been using:

**First Trick: Lock in Half of the Profit First to Provide Protection**

Whenever I open a position, I set stop-loss and take-profit orders first. When the floating profit reaches 10% of the principal, I immediately withdraw 50% of the profit to a cold wallet, and continue to roll over the remaining part with "the money provided by the market." If the trend continues favorably, I enjoy compound interest; if it turns weak, I at most give back some gains, keeping the principal always safe. Over five years, I’ve withdrawn 37 times, with the largest single withdrawal reaching $180,000. I was even flagged by the exchange for frequent large withdrawals and had to do a video verification.

**Second Trick: Three Time Cycles to Profit from Both Ends in Volatility**

Simultaneously monitor the daily, 4-hour, and 15-minute charts. The daily chart provides the overall direction, the 4-hour defines the fluctuation range, and the 15-minute is used for precise entries. For example, with BTC, I can open two positions: A is a long chase after a daily breakout with stop-loss below the previous low; B is a short position using limit orders in the overbought zone on the 4-hour chart. Both stop-losses are controlled within 1.5% of the principal, but take-profit is set at over 5 times.

Most of the time, the market is consolidating. While others get wiped out in volatility, I can make money on both sides—long and short. During the extreme market conditions like LUNA in 2022, with intraday swings over 90%, I was taking profits on both sides, and my account grew 42% in a single day.

**Third Trick: Treat Stop-Loss as an Entry Ticket, Use Small Risks to Capture Trend Opportunities**

I always see a 1.5% controlled loss as the cost of entry. When the market is favorable, I use trailing stops to let profits run; once it turns, I exit immediately. Over the long term, my win rate is only about 38%, but my risk-reward ratio can reach over 4.8:1, with a mathematical expectation of +1.9%. That means for every dollar risked, I can earn an average of $1.90. If I catch just two decent trends per year, my annual return far exceeds ordinary investments.

This approach sounds simple but is very counterintuitive to human nature. The key is to remember: the market’s biggest danger isn’t your misjudgment, but that you can’t recover after a margin call. As long as you survive long enough, probability will be on your side.