Exactly. It's not the miracle of something "working" it's simple logic and common sense: if some numbers are published for an instrument officially by the exchange and are automatically highlighted as important in the most platforms, why should it surprise anybody that those levels really influence behavior of traders? Classic reflexive process in other words. People (all people, including top fund managers) have to operate within some framework, create some rules of normal operation, consciously or unconsciously, but we all do it, that's how our mind works. And if we know which framework is most likely used by others, we can exploit it as part of our edge.
Absolutely. That's exactly what I did: claimed to only use simple almost entirely mechanical TA pattern in my journal, apriori assuming the use of money management etc.
Oh, Bighog is not a troll, he's one of the people I am the most grateful in my life for trading insight. Just he trades his own way and if you or me traded that long (30+ years) we probably would have our opinion expressed in much the similar way.
Yea, it's not typical for us traders to have a character of saint, this business is tough and attracts appropriate people. Bighog is one great trader nevertheless, that's without any doubts.
As for the money management part, my system Crude-Oil always-in uses absolutely *no* money management (it's always in the market, long or short, and right now I trade it at constant position size), and it is 100% automated TA. Follow its results on its journal thread: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=271781
HFT should not even be mentioned in a thread about TA. Cornix understands that TA involves both what he included in the heading of this thread. HFT is not skill, it is a programmed set of instructions which removes the psychological inner ramblings between the ears. Retail pikers like all of us should just forget HFT even exists. What we do in a game of chance is find what works FOR "ISH" and care less how fast a few outfits can front run each other and play a bitch game. Cornix, thanks for the kind words. And least we not forget the kindness and giving of Nodoji to ET members as a whole without asking for anything in return. She is not only the "QUEEN BEE" of CL trading, but also she welcomes anyone else to the game by helping them achieve what she has done in quite a short time. Wimbledon is playing...........love tennis matches and those cute tiny outfits on the ladies (tennis is like futures, psych and skill like cornix says...........there are no HFT tennis rackets to use as an excuse when the other opponent cleans your clock) TRADE WELL!
Hog, I have a hand-annotated chart you provided me back in our "group therapy" days, and my entire trading method is right there. Thank you, Mr. TA! It works!
Your help is huge positive factor of my own trader's career, so recognizing this fact is the least I can do. And I bet NoDoji will concur. I agree that as "intraday legs" players we better not care of HFT. It's beyond our influence and operates on the smaller scale anyway. So best we can do is adapt and evolve ourselves as market evolves. I enjoy liquidity of our days and people with experience say it wasn't that good before HFT, so even grateful to it.