Day Trading Automation: Feasibility, Barriers, and Insights from Reddit and Research

Reddit users highlight mixed views on automation: some note it’s feasible for simple, rule-based strategies if you can code conditions (e.g., 3/3 math-based criteria for shorting), while others stress creating profitable automated systems is extremely difficult. Many commenters argue emotions are an excuse— the real problem is lacking a profitable strategy. A few mention discretion is critical for some strategies, which is hard to code.

AI-powered automated systems boast 65-82% win rates vs. only 10% of manual traders achieving consistent profitability. However, barriers include high real-time data costs ($1k-$10k/month for professional feeds), low-latency infrastructure needs, backtesting overfitting risks, and regulatory uncertainty around AI-driven trading.

Both Reddit and research align on the core challenge: building a profitable system is harder than avoiding emotions. Reddit’s simple strategy feasibility matches research’s note that retail traders may succeed in niche, basic cases, while institutional players dominate due to resource access. Discretion’s role (Reddit) is supported by research’s mention of strategy adaptability challenges.

Risks: High entry costs, overfitting in backtesting, regulatory scrutiny. Opportunities: Retail traders with coding skills can automate simple strategies; AI tools help validate strategies to reduce overfitting.

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