what was your aha moment when you first started trading?

Manual Trading is using 1960 tech. Basically, fill out a "ticket" and trade it. Algo trading is more than automating the single ticket mentality. E.g. given any trend there are literally 10 of thousands of possible trades, not just a handful.

Anyone who thinks those cute charts gives them an edge when all the large players are using algo setup generation and algo order generation and algo order management, is living in a fantasy land. Albeit, one propagated by the industry like Robinhood. This is akin to the Mutual Fund with its monthly window dressing and high churn rate, being a good way to leverage "expert" stock picks.
 
Jzwu2017 said:
Nice write-up but those are not really aha moments but merely revelations during the learning process.
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I am aware of that. Oftentimes the question initially asked arises from unconscious incompetence.

Answering directly serves no purpose and would just keep the questioner in his state of incompetence. Your observation is useful.
 
Picking through fresh SEC filings in the mid 80s (pre-EDGAR days) to see which greenmailers were accumulating stock, then calling in my trades.
 
mute9003 said:
Curious to hear yall's stories what clicked in your head that set you on a path to profitable trader from noob trader
when you went from " i donno wtf is going on in market now" to " ok this all makes sense now"
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I had a few relatives that worked for professional trading firms or for the exchange (now retired except for one) plus a family friend that worked for a professional trading firm.

I visited two of them at their office and discover they use "charts" plus they communicated heavily with other traders at their firm that traded different assets...together it influenced their trade decisions.

That was my aha moment after hearing so many stories online that institutional traders do not use charts.

Today, those firms have more automation but they still get inputs from traders that still trade the old fashion way plus a ton of research.

wrbtrader
 
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The realization that so many small, medium and even large traders (Bill Hwang/Cathy Woods are two currently) don't know WTF they are doing.

And as the old old adage goes, hiking in a back country trail with a friend if a bear surprises us and looks to attack I don't have to be that fast a runner, just faster than my friend.
 
Manual Trading is using 1960 tech. Basically, fill out a "ticket" and trade it. Algo trading is more than automating the single ticket mentality. E.g. given any trend there are literally 10 of thousands of possible trades, not just a handful.

Anyone who thinks those cute charts gives them an edge when all the large players are using algo setup generation and algo order generation and algo order management, is living in a fantasy land. Albeit, one propagated by the industry like Robinhood. This is akin to the Mutual Fund with its monthly window dressing and high churn rate, being a good way to leverage "expert" stock picks.
More...

30 trades this past week (24 Nasdaq 6 Gold)
using nothing but a CHART, 26 were winners.

Every night Nasdaq, S&P, and the DOW
makes a run between 2am and 3am EST
Sometimes it's a little earlier, but
there is always a run for 200 to 500 ticks.

I've talked about this fact on a previous
thread.

Some nights I don't get any trades
until run time. If people can't or wont
understand these markets are running
on specific times, it's not because
they are using charts.

Everyone has an opinion, but
yours concerning trading with
charts is terribly off.
 
There have been a lot of aha moments trading, but for me two major ones:
1) Risk control is paramount. You cannot lose the farm if you don't bet the farm.
The market will always be there tomorrow, you have to make sure you will.
2) You better know why and what your trading, you do not have to be an analyst, but you need to know more than the basics. For when the unthinkable happens, a market halt, gap, limit close, flash crash, stop jump, etc...., you will not know what to do. During chaos you better know what your holding or you can cancel a long period of profitable trading in a single session, by freezing and getting mowed over or jumping off a roller coaster in the middle of the ride ( have done both , more times than want to admit and have the scars to prove it ).

These two items greatly reduced big drawdowns and "shock" downs, which then lead to overall profitable and much less stressful trading over the long haul. Good trading to you all.
 
There were so many crucial epiphanies on the road to profitability that it's impossible to remember them all. One of the most significant ones though was the realization that buying and selling is done by actual humans for specific reasons, not just the product of an RNG or secret algo which can be 'solved'. Lots of conclusions flow from this eg trends and moves are driven by news and fundamentals; every market trades a bit (or a lot) differently; edges come only in certain flavors and exist for comprehensible reasons.
 
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