Why do you start losing money as soon as you follow others' profitable trades?
After years of trading, I increasingly believe that the easiest thing to copy when following trades is the position size, while the hardest to replicate is the logic.
When others show a profitable trade, you see the entry price and the return, but you don't see when they opened the position, how low their cost was, whether they reduced their position early, nor do you know if this trade only accounts for 1% of their account or if they risked their entire net worth.
They can calmly hold through a 20% pullback, but you start losing sleep after a 5% drop.
I have also chased so-called "expert trades."
Seeing others make huge profits, fearing missing out, I skipped the research and bought in directly. When the price dropped, I didn't know if the original logic was invalid; I wanted to cut losses but feared selling at the bottom, wanted to add to the position but had no basis. In the end, others might just be experiencing a profit retracement, but I was stuck with real money.
What can truly be copied is never a specific code, but how the other party selects opportunities, controls position size, and handles mistakes.
Without this background, following trades is essentially using your own risk to vote for someone else's viewpoint.
Missing out on a rise won't make your account lose money; fear of missing out will.
Remember: The entry point others give you does not come with their cost, position size, or risk tolerance; a trade you cannot independently judge when to exit from never truly belongs to you from the start.
Disclaimer: OKX Orbit content is provided for informational purposes only. Learn more
