Entering a new trading cycle, the market is once again reaffirming those brutal yet true rules. As traders, the most important thing we must understand is: principal is life.

How many people obsessively watch the "perfect top" on the candlestick chart, fantasizing that selling at the highest point is the key to winning? I’ve seen too many, and I was once one of them. But reality hits hard—unrealized gains vanish in repeated oscillations in the blink of an eye. Not selling at the top isn’t a failure; losing the principal is the real deadly mistake. The market’s punishment for greed is never gentle.

**When the market rises 10%**
This is the first watershed. At this point, your nerves should be tight. Once the price falls back to your cost line, don’t think, don’t wait—liquidate immediately. If you don’t lose on this trade, it’s a win, because you’ve preserved your principal and kept the chips for the next round.

**When the market rises 20%**
You must forcibly realize at least half of the profits. For the remaining position, move your stop-loss to your cost price, letting the rest run on its own. The benefit of doing this is that even if it doubles again later, you can honestly say—you’ve already won, what more do you need?

**When the market rises 30%**
It’s time to have the "hold tight" mindset. At least more than half of the profits must be realized into reality. Stop guessing where the top is; the peak is a curve that emerges, not a number you imagine. Opening a position is just an entry ticket; closing it is the true practice of trading.

A true trading master is not the one with the biggest single profit, but the one who can steadily pocket every bit of profit. The stop-loss line is your lifeline—this is not conservatism, but the prerequisite for surviving to see the next market cycle.