I'll check out the post you mentioned and comment if I can think of anything useful to add.
The facts are like this - over 90% of traders fail, and lose all their money. To be in the 10% that do make money, you need to be thinking and doing the opposite to those in the 90%. That's pretty much the secret to it all :-)
Interesting fact for example, take a moving average cross system, something simple like the 9 SMA crossing above the 20SMA as a buy signal. Very common type of system that's recommended to newbie traders. Try backtesting it, it never ever works out profitable.
So what do you think happens if you always sell when you get a buy signal ? ;-)
Just to make sure I understood you correctly... You are saying I could try taking the MA cross system which would suggest going long when 9 SMA crosses and goes above 20 SMA and basically reverse it? I.e. 9 SMA crosses and goes above 20 SMA I place a short order just under the price where the SMAs crossed?
Well, "logically" thinking most of the orders I place should not get filled as price should, in theory, keep going up but the ones that do get filled will be filled with other peoples' stops.
Is this what you are saying?
Sorry no, I didn't mean in a 'trapped trader' sense, I was just making the point that if you always do something and it loses money, then it makes sense to do the opposite and see if it makes money instead... ;-) It wasn't a suggestion to actually try that system, just an example.
One of my hobbies is looking on YouTube for trading 'systems' and backtesting them to see how badly they fail (because they always do...). Then I test them again but with the signals reversed, and you'd be surprised how many are actually profitable with some minor tweeks lolol.