Do you think humans would have a fighting chance in daytrading again? –@Vic5557
I’ve written before about why people should not daytrade, despite the fact that I used to daytrade and have written books about daytrading. Here’s the 8 Reasons Why People Should Not Daytrade.
But think about it. Right now the average trader sitting at home is up against three massive roadblocks:
– Computers. High frequency computers that are attached right into the nucleus of the exchanges that make trillions of trades a day snapping up 1/10 of a penny right in between every one of YOUR trades. Why fight that battle against them? What do you know that they don’t
– Criminals. No matter what my feelings are about the laws on insider trading – right now it’s against the law. And I would estimate 90% of hedge funds are guilty of breaking that law. Every day. Again you have to ask: what do you know that they don’t.
– Congressmen. They are allowed to trade based on what they know is about to be passed into law. This is a huge unfair advantage and at the moment it’s completely legal for them to take advantage of it. Why would you want to fight that uphill battle.
Everyone thinks they can be THE ONE. The guy who armed with “technical” and moving averages and Elliot Wave Theory, etc who can fight all of these uphill battles.
I’ll give you an example. I was on a plane Monday morning. A guy passed me and recognized me from one of my CNBC appearances. He was in his 60s. He said to me with a knowing look, “the market is going down big this week. BIG.” He raised his eyebrows to emphasize it.
I was polite. “Oh yeah? How come?”
“It’s obvious,” he said. “All the technicals. You’ll see. It’s going down big.”
Meanwhile, as I write this, the market has gone up every day this week. Futures are up. And the Nasdaq closed at a ten year high yesterday. Unless the market crashes big today, this random stranger who felt compelled to pass on his sixty years of wisdom in such a definitive fashion will be dead wrong. Will he remember he was dead wrong? Of course not! He will go back for more fun in the sandbox next week. And lose even more money.
Don’t be that guy when you are sixty. Or thirty. Or twenty.