I think you have some distorted impression of how HFT works. They are mainly doing "just" frontrunning by the sheer speed advantage they have; no other long term strategy or patterns but this.
https://volow.co/book/read/systematic-trading Hi JJ These are basic and very important concepts which it is worth understanding in detail, not tiny details that only experts know. I'm donating my time for free in answering your queries. This is a pretty good deal for you; I used to get paid quite a lot of money and you're getting a 100% reduction on that cost. It's a very inefficient use of my time to answer queries about basic concepts which could be answered by doing some googling and doing some research and reading. A more efficient use of my time is to answer questions which can't be easily answered in this way and which require some specialist skill and experience. Knowing what sharpe ratio and Kelly criteria are doesn't fall into this category. GAT PS You can get a free copy of my book for a limited period here https://volow.co/book/read/systematic-trading. Sharpe ratio is explained in chapter two, and Kelly in chapter nine.
It's simple maths: sharpe_ratio = CAGR / stddev(CAGR) It should be > 1.0 An example for CAGR you can find at http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cagr.asp And Sharpe Ratio at http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sharperatio.asp There are many more sources on the net, just search here at ET or google for more info. Nearly every book on systematic trading explains it. Don't you have any trading literature?
And the financial experts are telling you that you're simply naive about what you think you can accomplish. You've gotten a lot of great, realistic feedback here about the financial side of what you want to do, something you admit you know nothing about. In my humble opinion you're disregarding all of it because it isn't what you want to hear. You're really in trouble when you do find the person who feeds you the line you want to hear.
I see interesting I think I get it now. But this is something that cannot apply to short positions or shortterm trading? For example I look into UWTI 3.95 Dec 31, 2015, 314.4 Dec 31, 2013, (314.4 / 3.95)*(1/2) = 39.79 = CAGR, stddev(CAGR) = 219.5. So 0.18 Sharpie? Sharpie is something you calculate after you exit your position, or before you get in?
"Sharpie" ;-) Oh. man, that all is so embarrassing... You should do a reality check and a fact check...
My advice: just become a quant first, then you can try again. Here are some books to begin with: https://www.quantstart.com/articles/Top-5-Essential-Beginner-Books-for-Algorithmic-Trading