At 2 a.m., my phone vibrated again. Without even looking at the screen, I could guess it was another contract trader's desperate plea for help.

Last week, I received a message, and the tone was already on the verge of collapse: "Bro, I only have 5,000 yuan left in my account... This is the turnaround capital I scraped together by borrowing from friends around me. If I lose more, there's really no way out." Looking through his trading history, three months ago he had a principal of 52,000 yuan. But he followed various "celebrity signals" chasing gains and cutting losses, heavily leveraged all-in, no stop-loss, and used all his profits to add more leverage, gradually destroying his principal until it was almost gone.

Having been in the crypto world for over 8 years, I’ve experienced everything from the initial poverty—cowering in a rented apartment and eating instant noodles—to finally being able to profit steadily. I’ve seen too many stories of "overnight riches" and also witnessed too many people crying all night after being liquidated at 3 a.m. Whenever someone asks me "how to quickly recover losses," my first answer is: contract trading is never about gambling everything to make money; the real core is "staying alive."

This is not some motivational speech; it’s the ironclad rule that the young man with 5,000 yuan turned into 200,000 yuan with real money. I didn’t recommend him any "guaranteed rising coins," only taught him a set of "survival rules." He followed them diligently for three months and finally turned the tide successfully. Today, I bring out this secret contract iron rule, especially for brothers who are new to the game. Understand it thoroughly before operating—it can help you avoid 90% of liquidation traps.

**Four Ironclad Rules for Survival to Avoid 90% of Liquidation Traps**

**1. Stop-loss is your life line; once hit, you must exit**

The most fatal mistake for beginners is "waiting for a rebound to cut losses." I’ve seen someone endure a floating loss of 5% all the way to account zero, filled with the delusion that "the market will turn around." But the market shows no mercy; it only harvests those who hold onto false hope. Setting a stop-loss is not about admitting defeat but about reserving your last chance—this is the deepest insight I’ve gained from eight years of trading.