Robbie, there is absolutely zero difference between indicators and the features you derive from LOB snapshots. None. Indicator = feature = independent variable = right-hand-side variable, etc... I also derive features from LOB snapshots for (after winnowing/reduction) input into ML or statistical inference modules. These LOB-derived features may or may not have any forecast ability for, or mutual information with, future returns, but they're all "indicators."
Ok, so why would you want to know what happened in the past? Maybe to guess what will happen next? Mickey, we obviously are on a different wave length. My background is in financial software engineering with very technical and scientific approach to the markets. Being fresh on this forum doesn't mean I'm new to this game. I programmed a trading system for a top investment bank and was working closely with the bank traders. At no point the floor traders asked me to program any indicators. They were all going by L2 order book and order flow, making shit tons of money for the bank.
Well yeah, I agree, but I was talking about laying indicators on top of charts and looking for patterns in history to guess what will happen to the price in the future - the classical TA.
I use an indicator to measure momentum across time frames. It doesnt give entry or exit signals, its just an extra tool to get a smoothed out pespective of whats happening in the price action. I believe that momentum change proceeds price direction change.
Brains does not equal skill when it comes to trading. A university professor does not necessarily have a trading edge over a basement dwelling gamer. For a struggling trader on ET, determine your niche or your preferred method of trading, use the search function, attempt to ascertain WHO are the experienced traders in your field, follow their posts religously and go back in time and read their comments. Once you determine who are the experienced traders on ET put them on 'Follow' then each day click on 'Your News Feed' and after a while you will spend more time reading intelligent comments and less time on reading general chit chat type stuff from other struggling traders who often lack the experience to contribute meaningful dialogue. Wishing you well, genuinely.
How something behaved in the past tells alot. One needs go back way in time, too much to describe, but character traits in general, like a person, their past behaviour often will reflect future behaviour, however change can happen and you need to be able to read that change. I'm not aware of your field of trading so cannot assist much more, if at all.
All knowledge that humans have comes from past. We learn in school things based on past knowledge. Without the knowledge of past experience we would still live in the stone age. We use the acquired knowledge (from past) to increase our knowledge with new insights. Research is always based on knowledge, or do you have another source? Future knowledge maybe ???
I never said I was a struggling trader. I'm not looking for an advice. My style of trading is different from 99% of people. I came to his forum because I was looking for a contact at HFT firm. Now I know it was a mistake, because these kind of people do not hang out here. This forum is mixture of retail guys attacking each other and peddles of BS products/courses trying to sell them and now I got sucked into these discussions, what a waste of time But thanks for your pointers. I wish you well too.
He is. He's thinking like a good little "Quant" student, and not like his professor(s). He's reproducing the narrow little keys on which he was taught, but failing to see the full octave with which to make music in the market; he's parroting. He's pounding out baroque rigidity in a market of jazz. And when the theme&variation slides into the variation bars, he'll blame the market, instead of his (fixated) method.