What is magical and what is not
spike said:
"dark side is an EXTREMELY UNTRADITIONAL approach,"
With the greatest of respect, I have to disagree. The likes of Wyckoff were trading with just price and volume in the early 1900's. There is nothing magical about trading with just price and volume. I fear that there is a danger here of creating a "Zen" like mysticism that will alienate many who are seeking to trade without indicators.
No, Spike, you misunderstand the statement and as a consequence you are apt to misapply the logic. I will explain to you what it is, and how it functions in reality.
The majority of people who start off with an interest in this topic do so without any previous knowledge whatsoever. Their first stab at the topic is probably the purchase of some books.
This kindles their interest. Then they start sufing the net fo further information and land on websites such as this one, which I must say is the best I have ever seen for traders,
that is of particular benefit to beginners and learners.
Then they may attend a seminar or a presentation. This leads them to visit a trade show.
In a trade show the majority of people you will see attending as visitors are looking for
information.
In my experience, and I assure you I have a lot, this is the case.
I am willing to expand further on this.
A very large percentage are first time attendees. I know this because I am invariably
invited to speak at conferences of this kind. It depends a little bit whether it is a developed
market or not . Last year and the year before and the year before that I spoke at the Palais
De Congres in Paris. Before I really get going I want to know the makeup more or less of
the audience to know at what level to pitch the discussion, so I always ask people if this is
their first visit and I ask for a show of hands.
This show of hands is invariably 70 percent or more. The remaing core of 30 percent are regulars. Of this core there is a steady element who make a point of repeating attendance to my discourses every year. and even if I cannot remember their names I recognise their faces, and it cannot be missed, as they invariably occupy the front row and the second row !
"Mes Salutations Distanguees, chers amis!"
All this is done in French for the French speaking world, (France Belgium Canada),
to the same exacting standard as my discourses in English, for the English speaking world.
I can tell you that in Spain the percentage of newcomers every year is greater than that of France as a percentage of attendees.
The same formula exists with regard to the Front Row Attendees.
"Hola., Amigos, Saludos Cordiales Como Siempre !"
Discourses for this audience are delivered in Spanish to the same exacting standards as the
French and English model. Both these countries have a rapidly emerging audience interested in this topic who are novices.
And so has the Spanish speaking world, particularly Mexico and Argentina. I all these theatres a rapidly developing interest is developing in Technical Analysis,many have new associations being formed all the time. I am telling you all this so that you have some background, as it is important for you to understand all of it by having the background.
All of this has one thing in common. All of these people are looking to learn and improve their
skills. But in all of this there is a common mistake. The common mistake is that beginnners
are temped to look for an easy solution. In this connection they start by researching indicators.
Many of them start their trading odessey using indicators. The great majority persist.
A few now begin to explore the idea of what it would be like to trade without their use.
"The few" are very few indeed. A need is not perceived to exist to explore this idea
AWAY from what has become mainstream.Therefore the techniques of legendary operators of the past are in large measure ignored or forgotten.
This is the reason why in the 1900's and later as you correctly say the likes of Wykoff (Richard D) were trading effectively using only price and volume.You have to realilse that in those days
markets were slower, there were less participants than today and these markets were
truly free markets, ie., not nannyfied. In those days indicators were not available because of the non existence of computers. All charts were done by hand. Today' sscenario is totally different because the first concept that people encounter when considering software are whatever
indicators are included in the package. This leads the individual to follow the indicator route. This is natural.
And, Software Houses are now obligated to include indicators in their packages because this is what people want., as a consequence of today's route being so diametrically different to Wykoff's era, as I explain above. There is nothing magical about it at a mechanical level. It involves the application of detailed examination followed by reasoning, but you will be shocked at how many people can actually reason their way out of a paper bag let alone abandon to what for them appears comfortable for that which appears to them to be uncomfortable, because it is unfamiliar.
Therefore the percentage of darksiders is very small in comparison to the indicator followers, also for this reason.
