Gut feel also plays a role in algorithmic trading. When a strategy is in a long drawdown and the market doesn't seem to "agree" with it, it's up to the trader to decide when and if to pull it. It has saved me a few times and I see this gut feel as something valuable even if it's very rarely used.
Call it gut, call it intuition, call it whatever you want.... but knowing what the herd is gonna do before they do it is a gift thats cultivated over a lifetime of experience. Its a combination of everything. You're either good at this stuff or your not. All these computer science folks that think they can apply a hundred different indicators, and back-test, and blah blah blah... they all go bust eventually. I'll take street smarts any day.
There's always an exception. Thats part of it too. He had the intuition to apply something early on. And it paid off.
What is it you don't believe., that my hit rate is sky high or that twitter is unresponsive. ? Both are true.
To date - by far my largest gains have been on instinct trades spanning 2 decades. I don't get them that often, 0-3 times per year. These trades I always pull the trigger and layer in big, using risk mgmt. Most of my trading is very conservative rules based with good risk mgmt. A real good trader develops their rules and follows them. A great trader knows those rare occasions when you break the rules. Logic & discipline keep your head above water, instincts & guts are where the huge gains are made.
Most money is made using algorithms and it seems it's rather the human traders that are going bust more often. A human with all of the various emotions is far more unstable to do a task that requires ruthless discipline and an emotionless approach. Anything from sleep deprivation to marital problems to severe losing (or winning) streaks to massive volatility can and will affect the human trader. No amount of experience can save him from all these scenarios.