3 Times of Account Burnout to Understand: Contract Trading Is Not Just About Guessing the Right Direction

Guessing the right direction can still lead to losses In the futures market, what determines your survival is not “accurate intuition,” but discipline, risk management, and emotional control. When I first started trading futures, I believed that simply predicting the trend correctly would guarantee consistent wins. The reality was far from that: within just a few months, I burned through my account three times in a row. The hardest part was that in all three cases, my trend predictions were… correct. I collapsed just before reaching the finish line. After seriously relearning from scratch, I realized I wasn’t losing to the market — I was losing to the psychological traps and game rules that “sharks” always set up. Below are some survival lessons more important than guessing the trend. Trap 1: Temptation to Enter Too Early When the price just breaks out, the excitement makes us want to “jump in immediately.” But very often, it’s just a light push to trigger orders — and right after, you get hit with a “pullback,” knocking you out of the market. The fear of missing out on (FOMO) makes us enter trades earlier than safe. Meanwhile, real breakouts don’t disappear in a few minutes, but fake breakouts happen frequently. Safer approach: wait for the price to break out and then return to check (pullback) and confirm. You might miss some profits, but the probability of success is higher and less noisy. The market always offers opportunities. Capital does not. Trap 2: Fixed Stop-Loss in Volatile Markets Many traders set stop-losses at fixed percentages (3%, 5%…). In highly volatile futures markets, these levels are like “candy” hanging to be swept away. I have been repeatedly stopped out by false breakouts, only to see the price move in the direction I predicted. That feeling is even worse than being wrong. Correct mindset: stop-losses should “live” according to market volatility. Combine support/resistance zones with recent volatility to set flexible stop-losses, avoiding being knocked out by short-term noise. Trap 3: Entering Too Heavy — The Fastest Path to Account Burnout A “all-in” move is entrusting your fate to the market. Even if the trend is correct, just a few opposing candles can wipe out your account. The psychological pressure of heavy positions also distorts decision-making: hesitation when cutting losses, rushing to take profits. Futures are not gambling. Position management is the key to long-term survival. My Three Always-Adhered Survival Principles After costly lessons, I set three “steel rules” to help me move from a losing streak to stability:

1. Never Go All-In — Divide Capital into Multiple Layers Divide positions into: exploratory orders, main orders, and reserve parts. Only increase gradually when the market confirms the initial prediction. This way, you don’t miss opportunities and spread risk.
2. Flexible Stop-Loss — Move with Market Breath Avoid using a “one-size-fits-all” stop-loss. Set stop-losses based on support/resistance structures (and recent volatility) to avoid noise.
3. No Clear Trend, Stay Out Holding cash is also a position. When the market is uncertain, staying out helps avoid unnecessary losses and keeps you ready when clear signals appear. Conclusion Those who survive in the market are not those who always guess correctly, but those who always control risk and stay in the game long enough. Futures trading is a game of probabilities: consistent wins don’t come from one big hit, but from countless small, well-managed decisions. If there’s one thing to remember, it’s this: survival is more important than quick gains. Only with remaining capital can you truly seize opportunities.