What’s the most common mistake people make when they’re holding two or three thousand USDT? It’s not about misreading the market direction, but about losing their composure—always feeling like their capital is too small to turn things around, which only makes them more anxious and reckless.

I’ve seen a pretty typical example. With 1,800 USDT in his account, when he first started trading contracts, his hands would shake with every order. But with just that little bit of money, after five months, it turned into just over 20,000 USDT. Liquidated? Not even once. Just lucky? I don’t think so—it was more about solid execution.

How did he do it? It boiled down to three key strategies.

First, he split his funds. 600 USDT was dedicated to intraday scalping, focusing only on major assets like $BTC and $ETH, closing trades after a 2-3% move. Another 600 USDT went to swing positions, only entering when the signal was clear, holding for three to five days without rushing. The last 600 USDT? Untouchable backup funds—no matter how crazy the market got, he never touched it. So many people get wrecked by going “all in”—when it rises, they get greedy; when it falls, they panic; their rhythm falls apart.

Then there’s timing. During sideways markets, he’d rather hold no positions and do nothing than make random moves. Once a trend appeared? He’d follow it, simple as that. When he made a 10% gain, he’d lock in half the profits right away—only profits in hand really count. That period of steady growth in his account was all about having the patience to sit tight.

The most crucial thing was discipline. His stop loss was locked at 1.5%, and he closed positions without hesitation when it hit; if profits exceeded 2%, he’d reduce his position to lock in gains; he absolutely never averaged down on a losing trade—because you’re not adding to your position, you’re just digging a deeper hole. Once emotions take over, all technical analysis becomes useless.

Having a small starting capital isn’t the real issue. The real killer is the gambler’s mentality of always thinking, “I’ll turn it all around with this one trade.”

Climbing from 1,800 USDT to 20,000 USDT doesn’t require any special talent. If you have clear rules and solid execution, even small funds can steadily grow. I’ve crawled out of the trenches myself—you only learn which traps to avoid and which pitfalls to never touch after you’ve been burned.

Want to talk about how to keep things steady? I’m always open to chat. $SOL