Recently, many friends who came over from the pen-and-drawing/crypto “circle” have been asking me how to trade stocks, and I realized this question is actually much more common than I thought. Today, I’ll organize my experience from the past few years, hoping to help everyone avoid detours.

First, let’s talk about the most core difference. The biggest distinction between the crypto/pen-and-drawing “circle” and China A-shares isn’t the trading method—it’s the trust foundation of the entire ecosystem. Behind A-shares, there’s backing from the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Your money is held in bank custody, and listed companies have solid, real performance support. What does that mean? It means you don’t have to worry about the exchange running away, and you don’t have to wake up in the middle of the night worrying whether your account has been hacked. In contrast, the unregulated anxiety of the crypto/pen-and-drawing “circle” really does wear people out.

If you want to start a new journey in stock trading, the first step is opening an account. My suggestion is to find a major brokerage—Huatai, Oriental Fortune, CITIC, and Guotai Junan are all good choices. Before opening an account, you must contact a customer manager and try to negotiate a commission rate of 万1 to 万1.5 (0.10% to 0.15%). Don’t open an account on your own casually—having it set to the default 万3 (0.30%) is really not worth it. The whole account-opening process takes only about 10 minutes, which is actually simpler than opening an account in the crypto/pen-and-drawing “circle.”

Have your ID card, bank card, and mobile phone ready, then follow the APP instructions step by step. One thing to note is the risk assessment step: fill it out based on your actual situation—don’t fill it out randomly—because it affects which market segments you can enable later. For beginners, the Main Board is automatically enabled. The ChiNext and STAR Market can be opened after you accumulate more funds and experience.

After your account opening is successful, I strongly recommend practicing on a simulated trading platform for 1–2 months. This is where the biggest difference from the crypto/pen-and-drawing “circle” lies. In A-shares, there is a T+1 rule: the stocks you buy on the same day can’t be sold on the same day; the earliest you can sell them is the next trading day. This rule changes the entire trading logic. The crypto/pen-and-drawing mindset of frequently chasing gains and cutting losses quickly will be worn down to death by transaction fees here.

The focus of simulated trading is practicing order placement, order cancellations, and participating in the call auction. Especially remember that during 9:20–9:25 and 14:57–15:00, you cannot cancel orders. I recommend deliberately trying it once so you won’t make mistakes during live trading. You should also experience the power of conditional orders—for example, setting “buy when it drops to 9 yuan, sell when it rises to 12 yuan.” But be aware that for small-cap stocks, once triggered, the order might not get executed, which is another trap.

When you truly start live stock trading, my advice is to experiment with small capital first. Transfer in 1,000–5,000 yuan to start, and choose those big blue chips—industry leaders like consumer and financial sectors, such as Midea and Wuliangye. Don’t touch ST stocks or small-cap stocks. After you get trapped by chasing higher prices, it’s hard to get out quickly in A-shares—unlike the crypto/pen-and-drawing “circle,” where a rebound might turn things around.

When placing orders, prioritize limit orders: set your own price; don’t rush to place market orders. For buys, remember it should be in whole multiples of 100 shares. As a beginner, buying 1–2 lots is enough. After the trade is executed, keep an eye on three things: the individual stock’s K-line chart, trading volume, and the overall market index. You don’t need to watch 24 hours a day like in the crypto/pen-and-drawing “circle.” Take profit at 5%–8%, and cut losses decisively at 3%–5%. Because of the T+1 restriction, stop-losses must be timely.

When withdrawing funds, note this: the money from stocks sold on the same day can only be transferred back to your bank card on the next day. This is completely different from the withdrawal logic in the crypto/pen-and-drawing “circle.” The upside is that your money is in bank custody, so you don’t have to worry about security issues.

Finally, what I want to say is that “how to play stocks” is really about changing the mindset you had in the crypto/pen-and-drawing “circle.” Don’t go all-in with a heavy position, don’t trade frequently, and don’t believe any “insider tips.” A-shares are regulated much more strictly than the crypto/pen-and-drawing “circle,” but precisely because of that, it’s actually more reassuring in the long run. I myself came over from the crypto/pen-and-drawing “circle,” and the adjustment period really was a bit uncomfortable, but gradually I got used to this “slow” rhythm. I hope you can also find your own investment style.