Cambist, Its nice of you to offer to throw some light on the secretive world of HFTs. Allow me to suggest you to write at least basic strategies and ideas about HFT on the open forum. This way you will save yourself a lot of time answering similar questions on the PM. You can answer v. specific/deep/sensitive questions via PM to interested parties. Best,
cambist is well known in the hft industry. i can attest, he was a star trader and then manager of the desk he speaks of above and led his talented team to make incredible multiples of the average american household. it was truly a spectacle to behold. a few years ago however, after a horrible accident involving both a zebra AND a gorilla while visiting the local zoo, he lost his memory completely and was forced to try and reconcile his amnesia along with the horrible event that had occurred. i know it's been awhile cambist, but please forgive all the "jungle love" gags we sent to your hospital room, our desk really didn't understand the severity of the situation (we're still paying down the personal steve miller serenade, btw). so, it's with great joy then to see that you're back on track again! welcome back cambist, you've been missed!
I am pretty much sure HFT is another name for market making. Not that market making is simple, I guess it's very hard game to play today because of low spreads and high competition.