👍

The biggest taboo in trading is an impatient mindset. Jumping in aggressively at every opportunity, or opening positions when there’s no chance—playing like this, you’re not far from a margin call. I experienced this myself yesterday.

After making two consecutive RIVER contract trades, the first one hit stop loss, but within two minutes I was back in again, losing a total of 33%. It was really uncomfortable at that moment. But today I finally found a good entry point and recovered yesterday’s losses.

Having gone through this, I’ve summarized a few more stable strategies for contract trading to share with everyone.

**Tip 1: Lock in principal risk at entry**

When opening a position, think about how to protect your principal. When the price moves in your favor and the gain just covers your trading costs, quickly move your stop loss to the entry price. It sounds simple, but this step has huge psychological significance—starting from this moment, you’re no longer gambling with your principal, but trading with the profits the market gives you. This is the psychological watershed.

**Tip 2: Partial take profit + trailing stop**

Never fixate on a 30% target. The volatility of leveraged contracts can be terrifyingly fast—prices might spike to your target in an instant, then drop back down. A smarter approach is to take profits in three batches:

First batch (quickly recoup): When profits reach about 15%, close 30%-50% of your position. This way, you’ve safely recovered your principal, and the remaining position is just trading with the exchange’s money. The psychological pressure eases significantly.

After the first batch exit, don’t stubbornly hold your original stop loss. Follow the price to protect the profits of your remaining position. This way, you won’t be wiped out by a pullback, nor will you miss subsequent opportunities.

A calm mindset leads to steady hands. There’s no absolute secret to making money—only traders who survive and exit.