If you have, at any point, the opportunity to cover your initial investment and still have enough crypto to play around with: don't hesitate and do it. It will give you peace of mind and it will allow you to trade with a lot less emotion and make better choices.
Before investing anything in the world of crypto currency, you need to remember one thing in your mind and that is you need to acquire some good amount of knowledge about the things which can help you later ion once you have invested your money into crypto world.
Knowledge plays a very crucial role in this field as it is the only thing which can help you in having something good by helping you in making right decision.
I agree with what you are saying completely. Knowledge, research and luck play a crucial role in determining whether you will profit from your investments or not. Some of the best sources to gather knowledge regarding the crypto world and Bitcoin is this forum itself which has a plethora of information regarding the crypto market.
Research really helps in avoiding scammers and cheaters and I advise everyone to HODL rather than day trade in this extremely volatile crypto market.