I've traded with the pros, and now work with hundreds of retail traders. The gap between professional and retail traders isn't always what you think it is.

Most people assume it's about capital, technology, or information access.

It's not. Those advantages exist but they're not what separates consistent winners from the 90% who blow up. Professional traders accept losses as data. Retail traders treat losses as personal failures.

When a pro loses on a trade, they mark it and move to the next trade. When retail loses, they revenge trade or freeze up for weeks.

After almost 2 decades in markets, these are a few simple pillars that we think actually matter. Everything else is decoration.

Thread/ 1. Markets are path dependent. The same pattern means very different things depending on how price arrived there, who is trapped, and what regime you are in. A breakout after a long, controlled trend is not the same as a breakout after a blowoff or inside a dead range. Context and regime matter more than any single pattern.

How does @TheFlowHorse treat levels, and why do they matter for order flow?

One of the most comprehensively answered questions in the group is now structured in a thread 🧵: 1/ I look at PDH, PDL, weekly opens, Monday’s range, VAH/VAL, and similar levels as more than just lines on a chart but also as memory points for order flow.

A previous day high or low is usually where large traders and algos had resting orders, stops, or breakout triggers.

What does “Positioning is Everything” truly mean?

This time, the answer Horse gave is structured in a thread 🧵 1/ The market doesn't respond to opinions or valuations in a vacuum

It responds to who is already long or short, how big, how leveraged, and where their risk limits or hedges force the next trade.