what you have confirmed is what i always say - each trader must find their edge. what works for you and that you have confidence in. i didn't see that you tried range bars? anyway it doesn't matter what others do, it only matters that you worked hard to cobble together your method. it takes work now expand on that and get you a portfolio of edges if you wish or not. diversification is valuable, many think that is trading different markets but you can diversify by trading different methods on one market also. instead of trading one method on many markets as typical.
I suspect it's because it cannot be put into code and backtested - it's vague. People don't like uncertainty, but the market is the epitome of uncertainty no matter what your backtests tell you, imho. The only (legal) exceptions are hard edges the likes of HFTs have.
Sure, but as soon as you add discretion, there's no way to tell if your edge comes from using indicator or from your experience/gut. That's why many educators use indicators ... They are like crutches for newbies. Once they learn to walk, they discard them. Obviously, fully automated systems must use them.
Well, it's certainly an indicator of an edge, but one has to be very careful to separate luck from skill. The shorter the timeframe, the more likely it's an edge. And that's the reason I am concerned with Max Adverse Excursion - how much heat did you have to sweat through before market bailed you out(or your large BP)? You can tell me - Oh, my backtests show that statistically one is better off HODL. Well, I can't argue with that, but that's not how I want to trade. Obviously, if you are trading big money, this logic may not apply.
Who knows? Mostly you are are giving a false equivalency to all the opinions regardless of their merit. Until you start your observations from the basic granularity of market data, one would be like a carpenter whom didn’t place enough emphasis in getting their foundation square and level. They then wonder why as they frame the walls and roof everything is not square, plumb and connecting everything is much much harder than it should be. Your orientation is having a vertical market view which impairs and hinders you from understanding sentiment changes that all those candlesticks are attempting to tell you but you are not listening. Candlesticks are much more difficult to see trending than bars and more useful if your strategy is centered around mean reversion and trading intra-ranges. They are designed to invoke an emotional response and quite difficult to see the open and close of informational parcels/slices. Frankly, until you begin to build a language and increase your vocabulary in a systemic manner all the bits and pieces you have in your toolbox won’t really amount to much. Although I don’t trade like volpri, nor see the market in the way that he does, he’s given you some good info in another thread and made some suggestions if you were to integrate would do you well as a beginner. His recent suggestion of Al Brooks isn’t for everyone, but Al has approached the markets in a systemic manner with the necessary foundation of a specialized language to communicate his ideas. Many lazy folks are put off by that but if you are a foreigner in a foreign land, knowing the language is a necessity if one wants any sort of facility in that culture. There is so much HQ information out there much of it available for free. As tiddlywinks has stated owning it will make the difference. There are also awesome vendors whom put out HQ content as well. If you identify with being a price action trader then learn to do bar-by-bar analysis. Your path with eventually lead to exploring price’s relationship to volume. When achieving an in depth understanding of volume, this will put you in the minority and transform how you see and understand markets - as well as receive the benefits and just rewards. Truth really can’t be told to anyone, it’s something that must be experienced. Good fortune to you!