Algo's are pushing every market toward randomness - God help us traders

i remember, in good ol days jumping on a trend that everyone else saw too. (2000)my entry long gone. seldom revisited or challenged. simply question where do i want to jump off & bank.

NOW. every one of my trade entry is challenged,not once twice often 3 or more times.by faceless,nameless algos

:(
this isnt your dad's market anymore


this hasnt been your dad's market probably since the fed got involved as well along with the rest of the central banks around the world....
 
You understand that "AI" is only as smart as the dude behind the keyboard, right? The algo is only as smart as the guy who came up with it. Saying algorithmic trading is going to kill the market is like saying Amazon.com is going to kill local commerce. Change yes, kill no. I work with the most advanced forms of this technology every single day, and I'll tell you that my eye can still spot some things more reliably than most of these algorithms. Where the algorithms win is on discipline and ability to digest massive amounts of high dimensional data rapidly. There is still room for human traders to make a lot of money out there... You just have to recognize where you can and can't compete.

You have 3 options, as I see it:

1. Continue to have a victims mentality, reminisce about the glory days before SkyNet, and lose money to the market.

2. Change with the times, look beyond your candle stick patterns, and find a way to be profitable. It can be done, if you take a probabilistic data driven approach to the markets.

3. Call it quits on trading, and donate the money you would have lost to the market to a reputable charity.
 
You understand that "AI" is only as smart as the dude behind the keyboard, right? The algo is only as smart as the guy who came up with it. Saying algorithmic trading is going to kill the market is like saying Amazon.com is going to kill local commerce. Change yes, kill no. I work with the most advanced forms of this technology every single day, and I'll tell you that my eye can still spot some things more reliably than most of these algorithms. Where the algorithms win is on discipline and ability to digest massive amounts of high dimensional data rapidly. There is still room for human traders to make a lot of money out there... You just have to recognize where you can and can't compete.

You have 3 options, as I see it:

1. Continue to have a victims mentality, reminisce about the glory days before SkyNet, and lose money to the market.

2. Change with the times, look beyond your candle stick patterns, and find a way to be profitable. It can be done, if you take a probabilistic data driven approach to the markets.

3. Call it quits on trading, and donate the money you would have lost to the market to a reputable charity.
let's try to find common ground, then we can see where we depart.you agree the markets are changing? do you also agree that recent influx of mathematicians and HFT algo's have lead to an unprecedented rapid evolution of price behavior? in 2015 market structure is much different than say 2007, before rise of machines?
 
Yes, they are changing. Everything is changing.
The "mathematicians", as you call them, have something to do with it. But, we have as much right to the market as anyone else, as long as we aren't breaking rules. Why is rapid evolution bad? Survival of the fittest.

The markets are different than 2007, but not for the worse.
 
What needs elaboration? Just because the same strategies that worked in 2007 dont neccisarily work today doesn't imply markets have deteriorated. The market is just as profitable as ever. The fact that the more "mathematicians" are involved might mean your strategies need to be more intelligent. Thats a personal problem though, not a structural one.
 
What needs elaboration? Just because the same strategies that worked in 2007 dont neccisarily work today doesn't imply markets have deteriorated. The market is just as profitable as ever. The fact that the more "mathematicians" are involved might mean your strategies need to be more intelligent. Thats a personal problem though, not a structural one.
let's take an angle...for sake of rational discussion if you made your living scalping ticks, is your job easier now?

i realize you don't trade (very)short term timeframes(by your answers):)

but grant me the hypothetical because i'm working toward something
 
Im an algo guy, my time frames are as short as I can proftibly make them. I do this to minimize risk exposure. I do this is in futures, not equities.

To answer your question... Its probably harder to scalp ticks now than it was than, if u are sitting looking at candlesticks on your monitor. A market full of PhDs is going to be tougher for the Used Car salesman caliber traders of yesteryear. Times change man, but there is just as much money out there changing hands as there always has been. I'll admit its more competitive out there, if that's what you're looking for.
 
Im an algo guy, my time frames are as short as I can proftibly make them. I do this to minimize risk exposure. I do this is in futures, not equities.

To answer your question... Its probably harder to scalp ticks now than it was than, if u are sitting looking at candlesticks on your monitor. A market full of PhDs is going to be tougher for the Used Car salesman caliber traders of yesteryear. Times change man, but there is just as much money out there changing hands as there always has been. I'll admit its more competitive out there, if that's what you're looking for.
lot's more noise in the market for human placed trades than there ever was. that's my point
 
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