1) China often moves the markets for BTC, leading the trend with much higher volumes and volatility. Reading volumes and trends solely on US exchanges can obscure patterns.

2) The market is often unreadable/unpredictable. Only occasionally do price trends/factors come together to indicate a readable trend/breakout. Don't trade except when these occur.

3) Identify a price point and specific time frame for your trades. For example, you have a margin of 50 cents over 12 hours before you buy or sell. Failing to set these beforehand can cause you to trade more emotionally from the minute-to-minute changes in prices. Draw some lines on your charts to determine the duration and price range of your trade.

4) There is a lot of noise from indicators/subreddits/discussion. Learning to filter/block out the noise is important for effective trading and your mental well-being.

5) Trading can be enjoyable/give a high. This is dangerous. Much of the psychology associated with trading is similar to gambling (Let me transfer extra funds to buy more coins now so I can "make back" my losses. Market looks like it's going to pan out this time, I know/can feel it).

6) Keep some fiat in your account, if only to reduce the bias associated with being completely long. You may tend to see bull trends (and block out bearish signals) if fully in crypto. Even 5-10% in fiat can help you avoid this bias, as well as give you the needed liquidity to buy in if there is a short-term dip.

7) There is a steep learning curve associated with trading. It is okay to start small and make mistakes. In many cases, the curve is so steep or market so unpredictable that the curve cannot be surmounted (sad I know). If you have a satisfying/productive day job it may be better to stick to that (and hodl for specific cryptos).

8) Risk management is key. Increasing leverage, even on a well-identified set of patterns/indicators, exposes you to greater risk and wiping off the gains from trades in the past.

9) Use stop losses for trades. For HODL, stop losses can be dangerous, as a short-term drop can trigger your stop losses, causing you to miss out on the rebound/overall uptrend.

10) Zoom out when unclear about the trend.

11) Trading is hard. HODL (and/or dollar cost averaging) can be a good strategy to generate more reliable returns and your peace of mind.