Discipline is the armor of the bare-handed, patience is the sharp tool of small traders.

Three years ago, I mentored a novice trader who started with only 500U. Three months later, his account grew to 28,000U, and he never blew up his position. This is not some overnight wealth myth, but the result of strictly following discipline.

Looking back now, that experience made me see a reality: the most common way for small capital players to die is dreaming of going all-in to turn things around. The three rules I’m about to share may be more effective than reading ten market analysis articles.

**1. Divide your money into three parts and always leave yourself a backup**

With an initial capital of 800U, your first reaction should not be to jump into trading immediately, but to organize your account first. My approach is as follows:

The first part (30%-40%) is for intraday short-term trading. Only trade mainstream coins—BTC and ETH—taking profits as soon as the price moves 3%-5%. Make at most one or two trades per day, take some profit and exit, don’t be greedy.

The second part (30%-40%) is for swing trading. Focus on the 4-hour chart, only enter when the price breaks key levels with significantly increased volume. Hold positions for 3 to 5 days, aiming to earn 15%-20% before exiting. Don’t try to catch the entire trend.

The third part (20%-30%) is for emergency funds. No matter how tempting the opportunity, do not touch this portion of the money. This is crucial—what’s most dangerous for small capital is not earning little, but losing everything and having no capital to recover.

Most beginners make the mistake of going all-in on short-term trades. As a result, during sideways markets, they lose half their principal to fees and their mindset gets completely shattered.

**2. Trend is your friend, volatility is your enemy**

Seeing the trend clearly is very important. But the real secret to making money isn’t guessing the big direction correctly, but surviving long enough in the favorable direction. Small account risk tolerance is weak and cannot withstand repeated oscillations. So, identifying the big trend is just the first step. More importantly: when the market has no clear direction, stay out.

I’ve seen too many people repeatedly struggle in sideways ranges. Making ten or more trades back and forth, paying fees that can eat up a whole month’s profit. Instead of blindly guessing in choppy markets, wait for a clear trend to emerge. Once confirmed, go all-in and quickly exit. Doing so increases your chances of success.