btw how do i know this? because a decade ago i was the said counterparty. roughly 1 out of every 20 trades you made in the us stock market had me on the other side. i know how good i was and i know how good my competitors like jump and citadel were. every inefficiency u can possibly think of has been fully exploited by us. u may get lucky for a few months. but the only reliable way for u to make money long term is to buy good stuff and hold it for years, most likely an index fund. in fact, the professional trading industry would go out of business if all of u did just that. the worst performers on the poker table r fish who think they r sharks.