No trading strategy ever truly relies on luck or indicators in the end—it’s all about discipline and patience.

I’ve seen it happen too many times. Someone jumps in with €10,000, dreaming of multiplying it tenfold in three months, only to be schooled by the market in less than a month, losing all their capital. Eight years ago? I was one of those casualties too. Back then, I’d watch the charts till three in the morning, my eyes bloodshot, and my account deep in the red.

But after years of grinding it out, I finally figured out a few tricks: started with $8,000 and, by compounding, worked my way up to $220,000. It wasn’t just dumb luck—it was a systematic approach.

Today, I’m laying out these nine iron rules. Each one is a lesson paid for with real money. If you want to make your small capital work efficiently, read on—this could save you years of tuition.

**Rule 1: With small capital, you need to “subtract”**

The less capital you have, the less greedy you should be. Watching fifty coins a day? You’ll exhaust yourself and still miss the real opportunities.

I learned this lesson the hard way: afraid of missing any mooning altcoin, I’d rack up fees all day, but my account went nowhere. Later, I realised—if I just locked in on one or two high-certainty opportunities a day, my profitability soared.

**Remember:** The goal at the small capital stage is to survive and earn your first pot of gold, not to chase every trend. Focus your attention on strong moves in major coins and block out the noise.

**Rule 2: When the good news is all out, it’s often bad news—timing is more important than direction**

There’s an old phenomenon in crypto: when a major piece of good news drops, prices spike. But if it opens high the next day? That’s usually the best time to exit.

Newcomers always get caught—thinking the good news will keep pushing prices up. Wrong. The market has already priced it in by the time you realise it.