Traders who win but really have no clear strategy

I often hear about these traders, those who really don't have any concrete strategy, who just basically take a moment to digest everything that's been going on, like what the market is doing, if the stock has news lately, what a specific commodity is doing (if applicable), what other stocks in the sector are doing.

...And then they come up with a feel for if there is bias to the upside or downside?

Do these traders actually exist or is this basically a political answer to avoid not telling you their real strategy (but rightfully so)

 

If you mean by intuitive day traders, then yes. I've seen guys with no set strategy make money on a very consistent basis. Some were formerly in the pit and by listening to the S&P 500 squawk they do a better job of interpreting momentum than most other traders do.

Of course they have certain rules (long strong stocks, weak short stocks... don't call tops/bottoms, etc.), but nothing too concrete.

The market is also chaotic and random and there is no proof that yesterday's strategy can work today. Intuition is quite helpful... it prevents you from being overly mechanic and from trading like a robot.

 

Alex of PureTick wins when he calls out trades after they move in his favor but loses REAL money trading a managed account for Profit Navigation.

Explain that.

 

>> Alex of PureTick wins when he calls out trades after they move in his favor but loses REAL money trading a managed account for Profit Navigation. <<

Who is Alex of Puretich?

 

That's basically how I trade. If I could automate what I do I would, but you can't automate gut feeling.

 

That's amazing... I wish I could do that

 

Same here for the most part. The best way I could describe my method is that I trade volatility.

 

The only successfull trader I know trades volatility and abhors TA.

 

so, you place ~100 trades each day based on gut feeling alone. no disrespect, but somehow i doubt that.

if you say that your gut feeling contributes to most of your trades, i will believe it more.

 

Yes, but that depends on semantics. What exactly is the definition of a “clear strategy”? You can argue that a trading methodology can either be completely automated or it is at least partly discretionary, with no middle ground. Therefore all non automated traders could potentially fit your definition. As to what you appear to be asking (with a non rigorous definition of strategy), I will add my opinion that traders who use their experience and gut feelings, to a large or small degree, do exist and prosper.