The essence of trading is not about who makes the most in a single trade, but about who survives the longest.

Many beginners see “All-in” as an act of courage, even romanticizing it as “the art of going all-in.” But to traders, All-in isn’t trading—it’s suicide.

The most basic yet easily overlooked mathematical principle in trading is: the percentage of loss and the percentage gain needed to break even are not equal.

When you go All-in and suffer a loss, your principal decreases, and you need an even bigger gain to get back to where you started.

Lose 10%, you need an 11.1% gain to break even.
Lose 20%, you need a 25% gain to break even.
Lose 50%, you need a 100% gain to break even.
Lose 90%, you need a 900% gain to break even.

Once you choose to go All-in and face a major drawdown (such as a 50% drop), you’ve actually forced yourself into a desperate situation where you need to double your money just to break even. Achieving a 100% return is exponentially harder than losing 50%.

Trading is a game of infinite rounds. The goal isn’t to score big once, but to stay at the table continuously. Position sizing isn’t about being timid—it’s about making sure you still have capital to recover after inevitable consecutive stop-losses.

Beginners focus on returns, while experienced traders focus on risk. When you go All-in, any normal market fluctuation (-3% or -5%) will cause a significant drawdown. This fear will prevent you from holding onto the right trades or cause you to stop out in panic at the wrong time.

Your position shapes your mindset. After going All-in, you stop analyzing the market and start praying for the market. You lose the trader’s most essential traits: calmness and objectivity.