Self-delusion is good ? I think you're smart, because the market is what it is, and I think it's dangerous to indulge in the illusion that we have any control when we are trading it. All we can do is manage our risk.
That's a BIG part of doing well. But with experience, ALL of your trades can have better than 50-50 probability of winning. Couple that with stop discipline, and you have a workable formula for success.
why do you often see familiar faces at the World Poker Tour final table? that's the definition of edge - you read your opponents' cards better than they read yours. exactly the same thing in trading.
90% of my edge comes from having strong risk/trade mgmt, the right mind set (psychology), and following a disciplined approach in following the processes while not giving in to fear, greed, ego, impulses. etc. . Entry signals and all that goes with it like, probabilities, seasonal influence, back/forward testing, etc accounts for the least significant part of trading - the bottom 10%. Entering positions at the perfect price will not translate to a winning trade if your position size is to big, the slighest counter move spooks you out. Good entry signals come & go, they are only in sync with the market only at times which is why risk/trade mgmt & having the right psychology wins the game - not entry signals. I do care about having a high probability of following my trading plan & processes, I could care less what the market probabilities are - some of the biggest winners come from low probability trades.
Not really. Poor analogy. Edge would be like counting cards in blackjack. Of course if the casino figures out you're doing it, they'll kick you out.
Call me pedantic, but I think that's an "illustration" or an "example" of edge, rather than a "definition" of it.
A trader who's a whiz at number crunching, has source of extensive live data, can see statistics on screen most others don't have, is a sharp trader, do they have an edge?
No. No edge on the market or your trade... though perhaps "versus other traders".... which is of no value to your trade.
An edge is knowing something that 95% of other traders do not know. I'm pretty sure this topic has been discussed multiple times already. And by the same exact 10 or 15 posters no doubt. About every three months it pops up. And the thread explode. Might as well talk about the weather. Makes me think a lot trader here either have no edge or have a weak edge.