Experiencing the Extremes of Leverage: A U.S. Stock Review That Left Me in Awe of the Market

As a somewhat experienced, self-proclaimed not-so-newbie investing novice, my over-a-year experience in U.S. stock trading has given me my first real, bone-deep lesson in the extreme power of leverage, and I've also swallowed the painful price it comes with. After the wild ups and downs, I was lucky enough to get back to the trading table. Looking back on this rollercoaster journey, all that's left in my heart is review and reverence.
For the past entire year, the market as a whole was oscillating sideways. Most sectors lacked clear trending moves. Only those who could endure the boredom could protect their principal. Back then, adhering to a diversified and steady approach, I allocated positions in some M7 stocks, holding on for a full year, with an annual return of only around 10%. I was too impatient at the time. Watching the slowly climbing returns, I felt that trading solely with my principal was too slow and yielded too little, completely failing to meet my expectations. Greed for chasing high returns gradually grew in my heart.
It wasn't until the end of the year that the storage sector saw a structural mini-bull market, completely breaking the dull market pattern. The sector's popularity exploded. SanDisk's stock price surged all the way, breaking through the 500 mark, and Micron also stabilized above $300, with the momentum being fierce. Having been lying low for so long, I finally caught a market move that fit my rhythm. Not wanting to miss the trend again, my mindset turned completely aggressive. I decisively entered with heavy positions and even tried leveraging for the first time, betting on a positive outcome from SanDisk's earnings report.
This gamble, I won. Around January 30th, relying on the market's momentum and leverage, I concentrated on SanDisk and scored nearly a 20% single-day gain. This was my first taste of the thrill of short-term windfall profits. The intense profit high completely intoxicated me. My impatient mindset was amplified infinitely. I completely forgot about market risks and even naively thought I had figured out the market's patterns. The brief profit gave me the illusion of being 'possessed by the stock god.'
After being blinded by the short-term victory, I became increasingly bold. My trading logic completely shifted from 'trend-following' to 'heavy betting on expectations.' Next, I went all-in with full leverage on AMD, attempting to replicate the previous windfall profits. But the market's punishment came unexpectedly. AMD's earnings report unexpectedly bombed, causing the stock price to plunge sharply. My position directly plummeted by 30%.
By this point, I had long lost my rationality. I refused to admit my mistake, obsessed with the idea of turning the tide against the trend, recovering my capital, and stopping the loss. Then I set my sights on the high-leverage permissions on the Longbridge platform. Using the platform's maximum 5x leverage, I heavily bet on Google, hoping to recover all losses with one trade. But the market never accommodates luck. Google's market move bombed again, and my account plummeted another 50%. Two consecutive heavy losses sent me into a daze, and my mindset completely collapsed.
Completely out of control, my mind at that time held only one thought: 'recover the capital quickly.' I desperately wanted to find a meme stock I could go all-in on, wanting to turn things around at all costs. Coincidentally, at that time, SK Hynix and Samsung memory stocks showed signs of starting up, seemingly about to begin an upward trend. I immediately split my capital and entered with heavy positions, betting on a sector rotation rally.
But unexpected events followed one after another. Not long after holding the positions, Trump announced relevant policies targeting Iran, causing volatility in external markets. The U.S. tech and memory sectors collectively faced pressure. In just one week, my account capital was nearly halved, with the original principal shrinking to just 30%. This was the darkest period of my investing career. Huge losses and extreme frustration hit me hard. I even felt a sense of world-weariness for the first time and finally understood: there is no guaranteed-win market. Even a U.S. stock market with a favorable trend can make you pay a painful price due to human greed and luck. Only upon reviewing later did I sober up: I never lost to the market. From beginning to end, I lost to my out-of-control self and my inflated greed.
After the massive loss, my mindset was completely shattered. I stopped trading and rested for a full two months, completely afraid to open the market software, filled with aversion and fear towards the stock market. But the irony of fate is this: during these two months I was away and lying low, the Nasdaq index started a strong rally, achieving a rare 14 consecutive days of gains. And all the stocks I had heavily invested in and lost money on before leaving—SK Hynix, Samsung, Micron, SanDisk—all rose steadily and hit new all-time highs.
This feeling is even more torturous and painful than directly losing money. It's missing out, it's regret, it's unwillingness, and it's a deep sense of powerlessness. I watched helplessly as the market move that could have turned my loss into profit arrived as expected, but I had completely left the market due to my shattered mindset. All the losses and regrets were caused by my own aggressiveness and ignorance. At this moment, I truly understood what it means to revere the market. The market never lacks opportunities; what's lacking are always clear-headed, disciplined traders.
As for how I later managed to get back into the trading arena, to be honest, it was entirely due to extreme luck, not skill at all. Later, I followed Z-lao's analytical approach, caught the move in the niche meme stock POET, went all-in on options for profit, and simultaneously positioned in Marvell with 2x leverage. Coincidentally, Huang Jiaozhu publicly hyped the stock, boosting its move. Relying on these two waves of extreme luck, I slowly recovered my capital and pulled myself out of the quagmire of huge losses.
I know perfectly well in my heart that such an extreme turnaround opportunity is rare and may never be encountered again in this lifetime. Combined with the current uncertainty of platform trading rules, I deeply understand that such trading opportunities could stop abruptly at any time, making me appreciate the present even more.
Having gone through this complete cycle of wild ups and downs, I have completely settled down and established my lifelong trading principles: Always revere the market, strictly control trading risks, stay away from leverage, eliminate greed, abandon luck, and trade rationally. All short-term windfall profits are traps. Living stably and long-term in the market is the ultimate answer to investing.