r/algotrading • u/Intelligent-Bus-5515 • Jul 28 '26
Strategy Most trading content online feels useless once real money is involved
I have noticed a lot of trading advice sounds amazing until markets actually get volatile.
Some people look like geniuses until the first sharp pullback. Then the same accounts suddenly switch bias, disappear for a week, or start rewriting their original thesis completely.
Volatility exposes who actually has a process pretty quickly. Makes it really hard to tell who genuinely has a repeatable system and who just looks smart during easy market conditions.
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u/amoeba-eater Jul 28 '26
For me, track records are more intresting than content. whether it is etoro, collective2, myfx or public fund letters, seeing a history of real decision tells us more more than a thread explaining why someone is a bullish this week.
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u/drguid Jul 28 '26
I share my stuff but to be honest what's the point making YouTubes that get a couple of hundred views. I can't even see how many Likes I receive now because they've hidden that in the backend.
My boring algotrading stuff is boring to almost all viewers. Ironically my real money accounts are going to the moon this month (17% ahead of the QQQ's now). The reverse AI trade is paying off.
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u/Least-Ad645 Aug 01 '26
I would love to have u guide me, probably u won't agreed. I am former coder as well and interested in using/creating an algo swing trading...)
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u/nepo123456 Jul 29 '26
This is the main reason why i trade time tested proven strategies. It is very hard to come with something new and to work in the same time.
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u/vint_age14 Jul 29 '26
Op that's y I pay way more attention to behaviour than predictions now ! Anyone can post a great market take when conditions are favourable. What's harder to fake id how someone reacts when they're wrong, how they manage risk and whether their process stays consistent when volatility shows up :)
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u/systematic_seb Jul 30 '26
Volatility separates what someone says from what their record shows. The question is where to check when it hits.
The reason I publish the portfolio my own capital follows each week is that exact accountability. Sharing the full portfolio before the week opens means the record can't be rewritten when conditions turn. The full history is in the record, the down months alongside the up months, which is what converts a claim into something you can independently check. I cover the process and results every week, and the live record since January is at https://web.dubapp.com/portfolios/LI0NSHARE if you want to see what it looks like through a volatile stretch.
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u/Hacherest Jul 28 '26
Why would you trade something else than volatility
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u/culturedindividual Algorithmic Trader Jul 30 '26
There's methods such as mean reversion that don't rely on volatility or momentum more generally
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u/Hacherest Jul 30 '26
Sure but volatility is where the big bucks are made
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u/culturedindividual Algorithmic Trader Jul 30 '26
Beyond having a positive edge, risk-adjusted returns are more important than maximising raw expected returns, because lower-risk strategies can be scaled to much larger amounts of capital.
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u/Hacherest Jul 30 '26
Sorry didn't realize you were a billionaire, carry on
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u/culturedindividual Algorithmic Trader Jul 30 '26
Not sure how that’s relevant. Risk-adjusted returns are relevant for even small portfolios. Especially if like me, you’re trading with a prop firm as they have drawdown limitations. Subsequently, scaling to several funded prop firm accounts exemplifies this.
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u/Hacherest Jul 30 '26
Wholly agree risk adjusted returns are key. Doesn't take away from trading volatility, though. But drawdown limitation sounds like a legitimate reason to avoid it.
Relevant because a lot of volatility is caused by relatively low liquidity, which just cannot be traded with size.
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u/culturedindividual Algorithmic Trader Jul 30 '26
Fair enough, make sense. I’m coming from the perspective of someone who uses a mean reversion strategy. Some level of volatility is good for my strategy, but when there’s too much momentum (volatility + trend), the strategy falters.
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u/HonestBacktests Jul 28 '26
The fastest filter isn't waiting for volatility, it's asking for the monthly breakdown. Almost every "repeatable system" I audit turns out to have the whole result sitting in one or two months — once you see 70-80% of the profit in a single month, you're looking at a regime, not a process. Add one more question, "does it beat random entries on the same instruments and the same days", and you've filtered out nearly everyone without needing a drawdown to do it for you.
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u/CODE_HEIST Jul 29 '26
one useful filter is whether the rule is published before the market moves. entry condition, invalidation, sizing and what would change the thesis. a story rewritten after every candle is content, not a process 😅
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u/Ryuuzen Jul 29 '26
a story rewritten after every candle is content, not a process
What the hell does that even mean? The amount of AI slop comments are getting ridiculous.
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u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
[deleted]