I recently finished reading the classic works of Wyckoff. To be honest, this set of theories changed my understanding of the market. I used to think I could predict market movements through technical indicators, but now I realize how naive I was.

Wyckoff's core viewpoint is actually very straightforward: there are indeed manipulators in the market, they hold the advantage of capital and information, and most retail investors are just the targets of being shaken out. This is not some conspiracy theory, but the reality of the market. The manipulators' tactics are nothing more than three types—fatigue warfare over time, oscillation traps in space, and illusions in information. The most classic saying is: "They create illusions that seem to match the public psychology, but their actual intentions are completely opposite."

I used to be caught in this trap. I couldn't hold on at the bottom and got shaken out, only for the price to rise afterward; I waited for a decline at the top, but got trapped again. Now I understand that retail investors and the main players operate on completely different logic channels. Retail investors look at technical indicators and chase news, while the main players only focus on price, volume, and the speed of change. How big is this difference? Main players judge based on supply and demand and the market's own behavior, while retail investors buy and sell based on candlestick signals. One sees through the essence, the other is deceived by appearances.

What is Wyckoff's solution? Not predicting the market, but understanding the logic of manipulators and following the rhythm. The core of this method is volume-price relationship analysis. He believes that once you truly understand volume and price, all other technical indicators can be discarded. Now, using his approach to analyze the market, I really feel a sense of enlightenment.

The book emphasizes three main trading strategies. The first is the supply and demand judgment method, simply looking at the balance of power between buyers and sellers. If sellers dominate, the market falls; if buyers dominate, it rises. We only trade during buyer-dominated phases. This theory helped me understand why sometimes, even with increased volume, the price doesn't rise—that's because of volume-price divergence, which is usually an abnormal signal.

The second strategy is to judge trend reversals through volume-price divergence. Wyckoff believes that every abnormal volume-price relationship could be the start of a trend reversal. But there's a key point—don't rush into action. The real bottoming process is often not just two large-volume bullish candles, but a complete process of "massive selling → low-volume testing → shakeout to drive away floating chips." This tells me that when I see abnormal volume and price, I should be patient and observe, not rush in blindly.

The third is the operation strategy of support and resistance levels. Wyckoff particularly emphasizes the "effort versus result principle"—pay attention to changes in behavior at support and resistance levels, which often indicate the subsequent direction. Now, when I trade, I pay special attention to trend lines, especially when volume surges at support or resistance with large bullish or bearish candles—that's usually an important signal.

Reading Wyckoff's description of the process from bear to bull gave me the most insight. He divides this process into five stages: accelerating decline, oscillation and sideways movement, quick rebound after breaking new lows, initial signs of strength, and finally entering the main upward zone. Each stage has different volume-price characteristics. Now, when I analyze the market, I tend to enlarge the time cycle and compare the current position within the entire cycle according to Wyckoff's stages, which gives my trading structure support.

The most practical change is my understanding of phenomena like panic selling, spring effects, and secondary tests. I used to jump in when the stock price approached resistance lines; now I wait for confirmation of a breakout before gradually building positions. During sideways movement, I no longer blindly rush in but test with small positions, and only add when spring effects or multiple tests at lows occur. This approach greatly reduces the probability of losses.

Wyckoff also emphasizes risk management, which I deeply agree with. All trend predictions are guesses based on volume-price phenomena and are never 100% accurate. Therefore, every buy must have a stop-loss, and if the judgment is wrong, I must cut losses quickly. Also, pay attention to structural breakdowns—especially if a large bearish candle breaks support and the following candle doesn't recover, then I must decisively exit. Entry and exit should be done in stages to prevent a single failure from causing major losses.

After finishing this book, my biggest feeling is that I was too impatient in the market. This set of theories has been tested for nearly 100 years and has been a classic in the market for decades. I only now see it, which shows I didn't have much skill before daring to take on this game. Trading is fundamentally a psychological contest of willpower, patience, and vision. Only by continuously improving cognition and skills can I survive longer in the market. Wyckoff's methodology has greatly helped me improve my trading logic, and I recommend it to everyone who wants to take the market seriously.