It's past 5 a.m., and my phone hasn't stopped ringing. Friends from afar sent over more than ten voice messages in a row, their tone very urgent: "Bro, I put all 10,000 yuan in, opened a long position with 10x leverage, and the market only dropped 3%, why is my account wiped out?"

I pulled up his trading records and took a quick look, and immediately understood—he went all-in with 9,500 yuan and didn't set a stop-loss. This isn't trading; it's clearly gambling with his life.

**1. The real behind-the-scenes cause of liquidation is actually the position size, not leverage**

Many people have a misconception that adding leverage to a full position can withstand risks. In reality, it's quite the opposite—the truly deadly factor isn't the leverage multiple, but the size of the position you take.

Let's do a simple example. For an account with 1,000 yuan:

If you use 900 yuan to open a 10x leverage position, a mere 5% adverse move in the market will wipe out your margin completely.

But if you only use 100 yuan to open a 10x leverage position, you'd need a 50% move against you to get liquidated.

My friend just happened to put 95% of his principal all in. With 10x leverage, a slight market correction would directly wipe out his account. It's like putting all your eggs in one basket and forgetting that the basket itself has a hole.

**2. Three bottom lines to survive liquidation**

I've experienced a few liquidations myself, and I managed to hold on until now by following these three rules:

**1. Single position size should not exceed 20% of total funds**

In a 10,000 yuan account, each trade should be no more than 2,000 yuan. Even if the trade goes against you, setting a 10% stop-loss means a loss of only 200 yuan, which is 2% of total funds. Losses within this controlled range keep your mindset stable. Smaller positions mean more room to retreat.

**2. The maximum loss per trade should be 3% of the total capital**

For example, with 2,000 yuan at 10x leverage, setting a 1.5% stop-loss. Once triggered, the loss is 300 yuan, exactly 3% of total funds. The benefit of this approach is that even if you make 10 wrong trades in a row, you still have 70% of your principal left.

**3. Stop-loss ≠ admitting defeat, but a condition to stay alive and exit**

Many people see stop-loss as a failure, but in fact, stop-loss is a standard move for professional traders. Not setting a stop-loss is truly gambling your entire wealth.

These three rules sound simple, but few people actually follow them. Most are blinded by greed, thinking that when the market is rising happily, adding leverage can make them rich overnight. But one wrong move and everything is wiped out.

Position management, in essence, is—**the longer you survive, the more you can earn**.