One of the top traders in the SOL and Hyperliquid ecosystems shared his tips on position management.
Here are a few patterns I’ve noticed that often trip traders up, along with some thoughts.
Skipping trades after a loss
One loss shouldn’t dictate the rest of your day. Staying consistent with your system is key, even when it’s tough.
Avoiding new trades when holding losing positions
Holding onto losers while avoiding fresh opportunities can create a spiral. It’s important to separate trades and not let one impact the other.
Reducing position size after a loss
While managing risk is crucial, consistently cutting position sizes after a loss can undermine your ability to recover. It’s not just about winning but how much you win when the trade is right.
Trying to “win back” losses
Chasing losses is a dangerous mindset. It often leads to impulsive trades and compounding mistakes. Focus on trading well, not on breaking even.
I will share my “deadly sins” and how I fight them
Sometimes after a bad trade I started to exit positions that I was in positive territory in order to mitigate the feeling of capital loss.
Not writing down my conviction ideas and rationale on a separate piece of paper: as a result, I was exposed to random opinions and would exit positions due to different fodder.
Having a limited mindset that makes the goal too low – this was the case with ai16z – this tao started as a parody of a16z’s Mark Andersson’s tweet and all I had as a thesis was Mark’s good sense of humor and the fact that after being an active $goat token shill – he would suddenly repost ai16z.
So it happened, but my prediction was for the token – $40M-$50M, and so I got out just in those parameters: without realizing that from a joke idea – ai16z turned into a full-fledged framework for AI agents and managed to reach $1B. Recently I had to correct some mistakes and bought the token for $600M.
Therefore:
- Learn from others’ mistakes
- Separate trades, do not let losing trades influence profitable ones
- Dn’t stop clicking – one click can separate you from a new ai16z
- In these trades (they happen very rarely) – enter with good volume, write the reasons for your choice on the sheet and set big goals.
- Don’t let other people’s opinions influence your thesis.