Risk Management 101: How I Protect My Capital (And Still Grow It) Part 1

Let’s talk about something that separates the survivors from the bagholders:

Because if you don’t respect risk,
the market will make sure you respect losses.

Today, I'm going to start breaking down, step-by-step, how I approach risk management — the same system that's kept me alive through brutal bear markets and ruthless volatility.

Let’s start from the top.

1. First things first:

There is no one-size-fits-all “best” way.

Forget the idea that there’s a magical secret.
Risk management is personal.
It’s based on your style, your goals, and your pain tolerance.

I’m not here to give you theory.
I’m here to show you what’s worked consistently for me — and for those serious about this game.

2. Before You Even Think About Trading:

You need four things locked down:

✅ Define the portfolio size you will trade with.
✅ Define your risk appetite per trade.
✅ Know your main trading style.
✅ Understand how to calculate position sizing.

If you skip any of these, you’re not trading —
you’re gambling.

3. Step One: Define Your Portfolio Size ✅

This one’s simple but crucial:

👉 Separate your trading portfolio from your long-term holdings.

When I started out, I made the mistake of trading from the same account where I held my long-term Bitcoin.
Bad idea.

Emotionally, it’s a disaster.
When your long-term stack dips, you panic-sell your trades.
When your trades pump, you FOMO-sell your long-term bags.

It’s chaos.

So here’s what you do:

You split them.

🟡 Long-Term HODL Portfolio:
This is your "never touch unless absolutely necessary" bag.
Think multi-year holds — BTC, ETH, high-conviction assets.

🟠 Trading Portfolio:
This is your "actively managed" bag.
You’re allowed to enter, exit, and manage risk here without emotions.

Example:

Let’s say you have $5,000 total.

You might split it:

• $3,500 → Long-term HODL (cold wallet)

• $1,500 → Trading account (ready for action)

The mental separation here is key.

Your long-term holdings? You don’t panic.
Your trading account? You execute like a sniper.

4. Step Two: Define Your Risk Per Trade ✅

Now that you know how much you're trading with,
you need to know how much you’re willing to risk per trade.

This is your line in the sand.

If your trading portfolio is $1,500,
and you risk 1% per trade — that’s $15 max risk.

Meaning:

❌ You don't randomly ape into positions.
❌ You don't YOLO your whole bag on a gut feeling.
✅ You size every position based on controlled, calculated risk.

$15 loss max per trade. Period.

Cool. You can adjust.

✅ 1% risk — conservative, for choppy or unpredictable markets.
✅ 2% risk — aggressive, when the trend is strong and you're seeing clean setups.

The bigger your risk per trade, the faster you grow and the faster you can blow up if you're reckless.

Pick wisely.

5. Why This Matters Especially for 9-5 Traders:

Because you don’t have the luxury to monitor charts all day.
You can't micromanage trades between meetings and school runs.

You need a system where:

• Every trade has a pre-defined stop loss.

• Every entry is sized to survive multiple losses without killing your account.

• Every move is part of a plan — not a reaction.

This is how real traders stay in the game.
Not by chasing moonshots.
Not by gambling leverage.
Not by hoping.

By protecting their capital like it’s oxygen.

Because it is.

🔥 In tomorrow’s email, I’ll go deeper:

I’ll break down how your trading style impacts your risk —
(and why scalpers, day traders, and swing traders all manage their portfolio differently).

And most importantly —
I'll teach you how to calculate your position size like a pro (no guessing, no gambling).

Because if you can’t size your positions properly?

You’re already setting yourself up to lose.

📩 Stay tuned — the next lesson is where we go from survival… to domination.

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Talk soon,
Victor