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ProLesson 2 of 7 · 3 min read

Entries: when to buy and when to stay out

Why every buy needs a reason you can write down, what being late costs you, and how limit buys and slippage shape the price you really get.

On this page
  1. A reason you can write down
  2. Being late is the default
  3. Limit buys, slippage and the price you really get
  4. Quiz

An entry is the moment you buy. New traders spend most of their energy here, scrolling for the next coin. The entry matters, but less than you think, and only if it comes with a reason you could write in one line.

A reason you can write down

Before you buy, finish this sentence: I am buying this coin because... If the honest ending is that it is going up and you don't want to miss it, that is not a reason. That is FOMO. A real reason is something you checked: the coin fits a narrative that is moving today, the holders look spread out, the dev's wallet is small, and the buying comes from many different wallets rather than a few.

  • I only buy coins that have a working X account and community.
  • I only buy after the coin has left its bonding curve.
  • I skip any coin where a handful of wallets hold most of the supply.
  • I never buy a coin that already went up 5x in the last ten minutes.
  • I buy no more than five coins a day.

Those are examples of personal rules, not advice. What they share is that you can check them. Looks bullish is not a rule. Has a working X account is.

Being late is the default

In memecoins someone is almost always earlier than you. Snipers buy in the first seconds. Insiders sometimes hold supply before anyone else can buy. Bots react to every big buy in a moment. By the time a coin reaches a trending list or a group chat, the first wave already owns it. Every later buyer pays a higher price, and someone has to be the last buyer: the exit liquidity for everyone before.

A sniper's timelineA price line over four phases after a launch. In block zero, the very first moment, snipers buy. In the next seconds early buyers arrive. Over the next minutes the crowd piles in and pushes the price up. Then the snipers sell into the crowd and the price falls.PriceBlock 0Snipersbuy firstSecondsEarlybuyersMinutesThe crowdpiles inThenSnipers sellto the crowd
The order buyers arrive in. The later you are on this line, the more people are waiting to sell to you.
Example

The chase (made-up numbers)

A coin goes from a $20k market cap to $100k in eight minutes. You see it in a chat, feel the pull, and buy 0.5 SOL at $100k.

  1. Step 1: The early buyers from $20k are sitting on 5x. Any of them can sell into your buy.
  2. Step 2: For you to make 2x, the coin has to reach $200k, which is 10x from where they bought.
  3. Step 3: If it slides back to $50k, where it was five minutes ago, you are down 50%. The early buyers are still up 2.5x.

Nothing says that coin can't reach $1M. But you took the most risk and the smallest upside on the board. That is what chasing a green candle costs.

Limit buys, slippage and the price you really get

A market buy says: buy now at whatever the price is. A limit buy says: buy only if the price comes to my level. Most trading terminals offer both, and Axiom and GMGN both describe limit orders in their docs. A limit buy is a simple way to stop yourself chasing, because you choose the price while you are calm and the order waits.

Slippage is the gap between the price you see and the price you get. On a small memecoin your own buy moves the price, and so do the trades that land just before yours. Your slippage setting is the most gap you will accept. Set it too low and the trade fails while the price runs away. Set it too high and you can be filled at an awful price, or caught in a sandwich attack, where a bot buys just before you and sells just after.

Check what you learned

0 of 4 answered

  1. Question 1Which of these is a real entry reason?
  2. Question 2A coin went from a $20k to a $100k market cap in minutes and you buy at $100k. What market cap does it need for you to make 2x?
  3. Question 3What does a limit buy do?
  4. Question 4TrickyYou set slippage very high so your buys never fail. What is the catch?

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This guide is for learning. It is not financial advice. Most memecoins go to zero and most people who trade them lose money. Only ever trade what you can afford to lose.