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Trader awareness card 25 / 32
The Teetering Spire
A Cautionary Tale of Leverage
Card meaning
A high tower leans to one side, rising ever higher while its foundation cracks under the weight. It is like borrowed leverage amplifying ordinary market movement into catastrophic swings.
“Leverage can send you to heaven in one minute, then kick you into hell the next second.”
Signs to notice
- Using high leverage routinely
- Underestimating volatility
- Margin calls becoming familiar
- Focusing only on upside magnification
Lessons to learn
- Leverage is a double-edged sword — mostly the second edge.
- Understand the full risk of borrowed money.
- Small leverage + long survival > high leverage + quick ruin.
- Respect the height of the spire.
Climb only as high as you can fall.
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