Last night I won an irl perps trading competition. My strategy was simple: 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘅𝘅𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴. The very first trade I took was a 50x btc long. Lost about $10, which was fine, but after fees I was $30 in the hole. I realized this would be a game of 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺: over trading and high notional positions would chop me up. Still, you have to make money somehow. In the first round you could coast by simply not losing, but that didn’t work as the rounds got more competitive. I had to find a way to make money without putting on huge positions. The solution was simple: 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. I picked exactly two charts that I felt had the most variance + volume, HYPE and ASTER, and only traded those. HYPE and ASTER were volatile enough that I did not have to lever up in order to capture returns. This meant I could take on trades with high upside without absurd leverage and excessive fees. I would pick a direction based on my battle tested theory of "balls tingling", set TPs and SLs ahead of time, and then let it ride. Did not overtrade, did not puke my position when it was red, just stuck to the system. Every round I would put on 2-3 trades max. If I was up I sat on my hands. If I was down I would look for another opportunity. This competition was judged in a round based format. Each round half of the competitors would be eliminated based on $ PnL 𝘸𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺. This meant that you could not swing for a massive win and then sit on that forever. Instead, you needed consistent wins and loss minimization. My strategy was optimized for that. Overall the event was an absolute smash success: all the traders I spoke to loved it and it seemed just as fun to watch. We will continue doing these in the future–make sure you're there for the next one.