Yo, bro, let’s get real—position sizing is the unsung hero that keeps your trading account from turning into a smoking crater.
I’m Vikas, and I learned this shit the hard way back in 2016 when my cousin roped me into some shady Bitcoin MLM called GainBitcoin.com.
Picture this: I’m a total newbie, don’t know jack about trading, and he’s like, ‘Bro, 10% monthly returns for 18 months—180% profit, guaranteed!’ I’m thinking, ‘Hell yeah, easy money!’ So I scrape together $8,580, buy 11 Bitcoins at $780 a pop on some tiny Indian exchange called ZebPay, and send it all to GainBitcoin’s wallet. No clue what a crypto exchange even was, just blind faith in my cousin’s ‘don’t worry, I got you’ promise.
Fast forward: I get 6 payments—6.6 BTC total—before those scammers vanish into thin air. I’m pissed, but I start digging into crypto, learning basics like trading indicators, candlestick patterns and charts. Good thing I held those 6.6 BTC—went from $5,150 in Dec 2016 to $112,000 by Dec 2017.
Then I got cocky. Took a celebratory trip to Rajasthan, read some blogs hyping SiaCoin (SC), and dumped all my BTC into it through Bittrex exchange. Portfolio triples to $400,000 by Feb 2018—holy shit, I’m a genius! Didn’t sell, though.
Market crashes hard, and by 2019, I’m staring at $43,000. Yep, I’m the dumbass who didn’t size his bets right. Position sizing’s how much you risk without torching your life—I fucked it up so you don’t have to.
Here’s 10 no-BS practices to keep you in the game, bro—let’s dive in.
What’s Position Sizing, Anyway?
Alright, quick rundown: position sizing’s figuring out how much cash—or crypto, stocks, whatever—you throw at a trade without screwing yourself if it goes south. It’s not about picking winners; it’s about surviving losers.
I didn’t get this in 2016—thought ‘go big or go home’ was the vibe. Spoiler: I went home, broke. It’s risk management 101, and if I’d known it, I wouldn’t have bet my whole stack on GainBitcoin or SiaCoin.
These 10 tips are hard-earned, bro—trust me, I’ve got the scars.
10 Best Practices for Position Sizing
1. Stick to the 1% Rule Like It’s Gospel
| Account Size | 1% Risk |
|---|---|
| $1,000 | $10 |
| $5,000 | $50 |
| $10,000 | $100 |
| $50,000 | $500 |
First up, bro, never risk more than 1% of your account on one trade—it’s the golden rule I ignored like an idiot.
When I dumped 11 BTC into GainBitcoin, I was risking 90% of my cash—dumbest move ever. Imagine you’ve got $10,000—keep it to $100 max per trade. It’s not flashy, but it’s why I’m still kicking after the 2018 crash wiped out bigger dreamers. I learned this after losing my shirt on SiaCoin too—1% keeps you alive when the market’s out to get you.
Start small, stack wins, and thank me when you’re not broke.
2. Match Your Size to Volatility—Don’t Be a Hero
Not every trade’s equal, bro—some markets are chill, others are a damn rollercoaster. I found out the hard way with SiaCoin—it spiked 3X, but it was wild as hell. Should’ve sized down.
Use the Average True Range (ATR)—every charting tool’s got it. If it’s jumping like a kangaroo on crack—like Tesla on earnings day—cut your position in half. Steady pair like USD/JPY? You can go a bit bigger.
I ignored volatility once, bet big, and watched $400K shrink to $43K over a year.
Don’t be that guy—size smart.
3. Know Your Stop-Loss Before You Bet a Dime
Truth bomb, bro: no stop-loss, no survival. I didn’t set one on SiaCoin—thought I’d ride it to the moon. Nope, crashed to hell instead. Before you size up, pick your exit—like 2% below entry. Say your $10K account means $100 risk, and your stop’s $2 away from your buy-in. That’s 50 shares, simple math. I skipped this step, held through the SiaCoin drop, and paid for it.
Set it, stick to it—keeps you from clutching a sinking ship.
4. Don’t Go All-In on One Trade—Ever
I’m the poster child for this screw-up, bro—11 BTC into GainBitcoin, then all my BTC into SiaCoin later. All my eggs, one basket, twice. Even when I got 6.6 BTC back from GainBitcoin, I didn’t learn—went full YOLO again and lost big.
Spread your risk—split your cash across 3-5 trades.
One tanks? Others might pull you through.
If I’d split that $112K across a few coins instead of SiaCoin alone, I’d have kept more of that $400K peak.
Diversify your bets, trust me.
5. Scale Up Slow—Greed’s a Killer
Real talk: scaling too fast is how you crash and burn. After BTC hit $112K, I thought I was untouchable—dumped it all into SiaCoin like I’d cracked the code. Nope, just set myself up for a fall.
Stick to 1% ‘til you’ve got a streak of wins, then maybe nudge it to 2%. I went from zero to ‘all-in’ and ate dirt—$400K to $43K in a year.
Slow growth beats a fast grave, bro—ease into it, don’t let greed take the wheel.
6. Use Account Size as Your Anchor
Here’s a no-brainer I missed early: your position size ties to your total stash, not your wild-ass dreams. With 6.6 BTC at $5K sometime in 2017, I had $33K—should’ve risked $330 max per trade, not my whole pile on SiaCoin later.
Check your account daily—$5K? Risk $50. $50K? Risk $500. It’s your anchor when hype hits. I got swept up in SiaCoin buzz, ignored my limits, and paid the price.
Stay grounded, bro—this keeps you sane.
7. Factor in Commissions—They Sneak Up
Don’t sleep on fees—they’re sneaky little bastards. On ZebPay, transferring BTC to GainBitcoin, I barely noticed the cuts—added up fast. If your broker’s taking $5 per trade and you’re risking $100, that’s 5% gone before you blink.
Size down to cover it—I didn’t, and those bites stung when SiaCoin crashed. Calculate fees into your risk—$95 after commission means $95, not $100.
Learned this late, but it’s a wallet-saver.
8. Avoid Revenge Sizing After a Loss
Big lesson here: losing doesn’t mean ‘double down to win it back.’ After GainBitcoin ghosted, I was itching to throw my 6.6 BTC into something wild to recover fast. Thank god I held instead—dumb luck saved me. Post-loss, stick to your plan—1% or whatever. I’ve seen mates revenge-size after a bad trade and lose it all in a week.
Chill out, reset, trade smart—I dodged that bullet, but it’s a close call too many make.
9. Test Small Before You Swing Big
Before you bet big, test the waters—I didn’t with SiaCoin, just jumped on blog hype like a fool. Take 0.5% of your account—say $50 on a $10K stack—and try that hot tip or strategy.
Works? Scale to 1%.
I’d have saved a chunk of that $400K if I’d tested SCBTC first instead of going all-in blind. No that SCBTC was a bad investment, just that I didn’t know how to exit at the top.
Experiment, bro, but keep it tiny ‘til it proves itself—saved my ass once I started doing this.
10. Keep a Risk Journal—Learn or Burn
Last one’s gold, bro: track your risks like a diary. After SiaCoin tanked, I started scribbling every trade—size, why it won or lost. ‘BTC to SC, 100%, hype’—dumb as hell, noted. Next time, ‘1%, stop at 2%’—lived to fight another day. Review it weekly—it’s how I stopped being a reckless ass and started trading smarter. You don’t learn without seeing your screw-ups in ink.
Get a notebook, start today—future you will high-five me.
Wrap-Up
Alright, that’s position sizing in a nutshell—your shield against trading’s wild side. I went from $8,500 to $400K to $43K ‘cause I ignored this shit. Don’t be me—use these 10 tricks, keep your head on straight, and trade smarter.
I’m not some guru who’s never lost; I’m the guy who’s been burned and bounced back.
Got questions? Hit me up—I’m here to keep you out of my rookie graveyard.
Next up, check out my swing trading tips—let’s keep this winning streak alive!
