I've noticed that many beginner traders get confused about one basic concept — profit is simply your target gain, which you set before entering a trade. Nothing more.

Here's the point. When you enter a position, you need to decide in advance: at what price do I exit? Not "someday later," but right now, before buying. This prevents the main mistake of beginners — they buy a coin and then just sit and wait for it to grow. The result? They get stuck in the trade for weeks, sometimes months. Profit helps avoid this.

Why is this important? First, you clearly know when to exit. Second, you can earn small but frequent profits — 5 trades at 0.5% are much more reliable than one at 5%, which you ultimately won't wait for. Third, you increase either the number of coins or dollars, depending on your strategy.

Now for the calculations. The formula is simple:

Target price = Entry price × (1 + Profit in percentage / 100)

Example: bought a coin at $1, want 0.5% profit. Calculate: 1 × (1 + 0.5 / 100) = 1 × 1.005 = 1.005. So, you set the sell order at $1.005.

Another example. Entered at 0.328, target profit 0.6%. Target price = 0.328 × 1.006 = 0.33. You exit at 0.33 and that's it.

What profit size should you choose? If you don't want to wait too long — take 0.3–0.6%. If the coin is volatile — you can go for 0.7–1.0%. Above 1.5% is already high risk, meaning you might simply not reach the desired price, especially if the market isn't in an uptrend.

One important detail: fees. On most exchanges, it's about 0.1% for entry and 0.1% for exit, totaling 0.2%. Therefore, your profit should be at least more than 0.2%; otherwise, you'll just break even after fees. If you set it at 0.5%, your net profit will be roughly 0.3% after all costs.

What happens if you get the profit target wrong? Too small — the fee will eat up all your profit. Too large — you'll wait, but the price won't reach it, and you'll end up at a loss. Not calculating at all — it's like going to an unfamiliar city without a navigator, only worse.

My advice: always calculate your profit before entering. Don't do it "by eye." Use the formula, even if it's just on your phone calculator. Trading is math, not intuition or luck. Small but regular profits accumulate much faster than you think.