Very insightful and true statement. Yes its all about the edge (assimilated knowledge from TAs can help provide an edge to the equation. The more the better if you can get them to align properly. The game analysis theory also stands considering casino rules and 2:1 profit loss suggestions etc. First understand the game in all its subtleties, only then can you look for the edge. And as you infer, profit itself is a relative factor. If your strategy is profitable/reliable - with today's leverage and ability easily 'scale' - it doesn't really matter for the purpose of strategy development the 'size' of 'current profits' as this can easily scale up upon POC.
You and Renaissance have one thing in common: Both of you are exceptional. You should be very proud. Successful private retail traders are exceptionally rare.
%% Good little LBR talk; 77% thru it.......dailys + hourlies[Edit she defined a trend= highers highs+ higher lows...... Most would also include higher close-everyone has voted by then.] Good video
Thank you, though I'm not sure of the terms of reference. Successful private retail DAY-traders are definitely rare, but I'm not one of them. As for long-term traders, I think many of them are not always regarded as traders by other traders or by the industry even by their own definition of themselves. For me a trader is anyone who enters or exits a position based on instrument price, the time-frame is not the key. Success in these terms is not so rare: success trading off charts marked in minutes is bloody uncommon.
I know there is a lot of debate on the topic and I really don't want to get sucked into a philosophical debate because I really believe that each trader is different and traders should focus on what they know and do best... but my $0.02 - in two parts: 1) anecdotally, I have traded with technicals, trendlines, and indicators for nearly a decade and I most certainly do OK. I don't pretend to be the worlds greatest trader, but I have been green more than not. 2) A little more scientifically, my company builds technical analysis software, so we have a ton of data, and information to base this on. Some traders do very well with it. It's a tool, its utility depends on the user. Really, it's a collection of different tools, each with their own purpose and instructions. Understanding all available tools and using them as part of a broader trading strategy can be an effective way for even non-technical fundamental traders to up their odds and get a little bit of edge by maybe getting a better entry on a position or a better exit -- on positions they would have taken regardless. If you see a stock with strong fundamentals, something that you would want to invest in or trade, and the technicals line up with a bullish move, then that's just another data point in your decision-making process. The smartest investors that I know will take a combination of data points into account when making trading decisions, and those often include at least some technical analysis. Anyway, thats my philosophy -- I know I may be a bit bias
In my book there are generally two types of traders: The hunters and the farmers. Day traders are hunters, they "hunt" for their targets each day and once get their prey, they "kill" and move on to the next. Some swing traders are like that too. Farmers? They plant their crops and wait for the harvest. In the mean time they have to keep pruning and weeding. But they also "plant" some quick crops, "hunt" some small games allowing them to "put food on the table" while waiting for their big harvest. So, traders trade but most investors also trade. Take care.
%% Small caps turned into a HI speed, hi volume hunt about the time i put in buy another limit order.[Edit; so i never got filled, got enough anyway,LOL] LOL; barchart.com has a 48% sell on QQQ.;but hold on QQQ 10 day ma +50 day parabolic time price, hold QQQ they say. Looks like QQQ is going up again; but i exspect day traders to make a mint tomorrow- i seldom daytrade =unless they gap up about 10% = then if they 1 0 %% gap up maybe a trend change , may tighTen up stops; IN that case. QQQ may move 10% in a day,it has before, but seldom gaps up 10%-NOT a prediction.....................................
It depends who is doing the analysis. I use 4 different techniques of TA and only take a position if 2 or more line up together.