That's a pessimistic view huh? I agree with you to an extent. The market is a game of speculation. It's a game of supply and demand... whichever participant or group has the most capital to prop their position, they will win. Fundamentals hardly matter. Soros' Theory of Reflexivity brings up this point to a degree. If people can't handle the risk, they shouldn't be investing their 401k in equities. I'm a daytrader so I don't get caught up in the oil and real estate bubbles.
The bottom line with program trading/algo's whatever you want to call them, is they will take a good trader to new heights and maximize their profit potential. Its like having 1000 traders working for you implementing your strategy across markets. But ya still gotta know how to trade.
Another note about algo's is that they are always in competition with each other. So you produce a mish mosh of shit in the end.
what is this, brokerage english? because i don't want my thread to end with the words "mish mosh of shit" - i think we can do a little better than that, especially if we claim to be "elite traders" - let's call it zero-sum game instead and leave it at that. and yes, you need skill set, trader etc etc there are a lot of things you need. most importantly, you need to unleash your inner, and conquer your past fears. don't try to dominate the person on the other side of the trade. don't let the person on the other side of your trade subdue you. it's all about domination and control. never let the winners overpower your losers. it's a battle you have nothing to do with. stay detached. it's like zen in the art of archery. you already know you will hit the target the next moment. do a series of tai-chi exercises before every trade. visualize your trading wounds and the healing process. your winners are already becoming more important than your losers. the losers are no longer in control. but you should not take sides. it's only between them, and only them, your losers and your winners, you should stay out of this. it's very important to have a plan. even if the plan is to join a prop firm in the hope to go to hawaii one year later. you might as well give me half of the money now, and return one year later, i'll save you 50% of your trading capital. stay focused, like an ancient warrior, concentration is key, your mouse is your sword. remember you control the mouse the mouse does not control you. again, it's all about domination and control. you may think the person on the other side of your trade controls you, via your mouse, but you have to counter that with your own trading energy, and overpower the person on the other side of your trade. you're already stronger. you may be trading against a hedge fund, or a huge player, you don't know, but you'r already becoming stronger, you can say trading is aikido, your enemy can't defeat you, because your weakness is your strengh, and, of course, vice-versa. ushiro-waza ("rear techniques") are designed to assist an aikido practitioner to refine his or her "sixth sense." This allows aikido practitioners to test their intuition and ability to respond without being able to see the attack. ushiro techniques represent the intuition, presence of mind, and good judgment we need to function well in life. randori (free-style) techniques help develop free-flowing movements, keep peripheral vision, quick reactions, and firm presence of mind. good zanshin, remaining alerd and on guard even after the technique is executed, is also vital in aikido training. sometimes just the simple act of greeting the rising sun at dawn can be a powerful form of chinkon-kishin. morihei composed this verse: the morning sun floods my heart with light. from my doorway i soar to heaven bathed in divine radiance
food for thought. i still feel like there's something going on with this limit order book thing. ok, they don't know who your are, but they do know what you, and people like you, are up to. again, it's like information asymmetry in war, you know more about your enemy, than your enemy knows about you - you have an advantage. i mean, if a retail trader knew, with precision, what large players (even nameless) were up to, wouldn't that be an edge? again, don't know enough about these limit order book maneuvers, but there must be something in there . . . maybe you're right it's only a device to hide large trades, nothing more . . . still i'm suspicious . .. if the limit order book info is harmless, why not publish it on yahoo finance, or another open source
I guess the reason is that it amounts to enormous amounts of data. It is 3-dimensional data, i.e. the 2-dimensional chart is continuously changing as the time goes by. And this information is useless to the general public, that's why I think it won't be published on yahoo finance.
can the average retail daytrader beat the BOTS / Algo's / programs / darkpools ? guess thats why there are mutual funds www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bzWSJG93P8&feature=related
The average retail futures trader cares less about so called bots, etc, etc. Thats silly to worry about because retail traders are concerned with price and price only...........or should i say thats all they should be concerned with. When will everyone realize that computers have not changed what price can and will not do. Price can go up, down, sideways or stand still. Why complicate that? Where computers actually throw curve balls or a slider to new traders is to inundate the user with tons of useless crap. I see on TV ads that show colors like a kaleidoscope did and amazed us when we were children. The difference now is the ad tells you where to buy or sell. Forget trading with that unless you are a bonified crackhead and still enjoy the colors. Lets get real and admit the truth............retail traders use computers for fast order entry and thats about it. A truck driver uses a truck to transport goods from point A to point B. The driver still needs how to get from point A to B, same for traders, they still need to know how to actually trade. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKyEo-P4zik&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8rZWw9HE7o&feature=related PS: i think sadly i read or heard where that actress is having health issues.
I like Shida Gozo more. Hear about Kennedy's bodyguard and other stories about street fighting? Akira Maeda (famous Japanese pro-wrestler) mentioned that he tried to expose that Aikido was fake and got his ass whooped by Shioda.