After ten years in the crypto space, I made a crazy decision six years ago—to quit my job and trade crypto full-time.

From being in debt to achieving financial freedom, what truly turned my life around was that sleepless night six years ago. A few words from an old player hit me like a wake-up call and made me realize where I really stood in this market. He talked to me about the eight stages every crypto trader goes through. I kept reflecting on myself through this mirror, and finally managed to earn back everything I lost.

Some people might say, aren’t retail investors just waiting to be harvested like leeks?

If you’re planning to enter the market, I sincerely hope these experiences can help you. I’m pretty good at summarizing things and expressing myself, so I’ll just get straight to the point.

**The hardest part of trading crypto is making sell decisions.**

Every time you struggle with whether to close your position, ask yourself: If my judgment is correct, why is the market moving in the opposite direction? There’s only one answer—you’re wrong. Remember, the market is always right.

Let me stress this again before we start: **The market has inertia.**

Once a trend is established, so-called reversal signals are likely to fail. What’s more likely is that the price will fluctuate within a range. A true trend reversal? That’s a rare event.

**Practical experience with reversal patterns**

Climax reversals and terminal flags—honestly, these setups aren’t great for opening new positions. I usually use them to manage my existing trades—taking profit when I should, and cutting losses when I must.

Although you can’t use these patterns to pick exact tops and bottoms, learning them is extremely important. Only by fully understanding the logic behind different price moves can you keep your cool during wild swings and handle your orders calmly.

The market will teach you lessons in all kinds of ways, so it’s always better to arm yourself with knowledge in advance than to regret it later.