Analyzing the Main Force's Intent: The Three Things Market Participants Fear the Most

Many investors want to know: who are the main players in the market? How do they make money? In fact, the main players are those market participants who control large amounts of capital, information, and resources. They influence market price trends through various methods, profiting from retail investors’ greed, fear, and luck. This is the true face of the market and the reason why the entire trading system can operate normally.

The reason why the main players can continue to profit is that they understand human nature’s weaknesses. They know most people tend to follow the crowd and are swayed by collective emotions. Conversely, if we can understand their operational logic and use it against them, it becomes a psychological game. To win this game, you need two skills: sharp market insight and self-control to suppress your human weaknesses. So, what are the main players most afraid of?

Who are the main players, and what are they most afraid retail investors will see through?

The most common tactics in the market are “shakeouts” and “push-ups.” Shakeouts usually happen at low levels, where the main players create short-term rapid declines to induce panic and scare off unstable retail investors. During the push-up phase, prices rise quickly, leaving retail investors no time to position at the lows. They end up chasing the rally at high levels, becoming the ones caught in the trap.

If individual investors can see through these routine tactics, they can respond accordingly. During shakeouts at lows, stay rational, avoid panic selling, and don’t rush to cut losses. When prices surge, don’t blindly chase highs; follow your trading plan. Some investors just “ride the wave” to capture part of the profit during the push-up, rather than trying to catch the entire move. This way, they avoid being deeply trapped at high levels, and the main players have fewer ways to manipulate rational investors like these.

The main players’ nemesis: disciplined traders with strong execution

What do the main players fear most? It’s traders who have their own rules, clear stop-loss and take-profit standards, and disciplined execution. These traders are their worst enemies because they are driven by human nature but act rationally. They don’t follow the crowd blindly or get influenced by market sentiment. For example, when the main players fake a breakout at lows, disciplined traders might strictly follow their rules and exit with a stop-loss. But when the market truly reverses upward, they can decisively re-enter based on signals, capturing the upward move. Or if they mistakenly buy at the top and get caught, their strict stop-loss rules help them exit promptly, limiting losses to an acceptable level and preserving capital for the next opportunity.

Such traders make it difficult for the main players to manipulate because their funds are not easily drained. If the market is filled with rational traders like these, how can the main players profit by harvesting retail investors? Therefore, strict stop-loss and take-profit discipline not only protects oneself but also disrupts the main players’ profit models.

Seeing through the psychological warfare: investors immune to insider info

Main players also use a classic tactic: spreading various “insider news.” This is especially tempting for those looking for shortcuts or those who have already suffered losses and want to quickly recover. Once such news spreads, many people rush in without thinking, spending money on “inside information” and ending up losing everything.

But think carefully: any news we see in the market has already been passed around and distorted multiple times. Even if the main players truly have accurate information, why would they release it to the public? Because the value of information lies in how few people know it. If you can quietly profit yourself, why share it? It’s often a way to manipulate public opinion and harvest retail investors chasing rumors. This is one of the main psychological manipulation tactics used by the main players.

Therefore, the most feared investors by the main players are those who are not fooled by these rumors. They don’t change their trading plans because of “insider” tips. Instead, they rely on technical analysis, risk management, and disciplined trading. These investors act like a mirror, revealing the falsehoods and truths behind the main players’ tactics.

Going beyond confrontation: rationality and discipline are the long-term winners

Ultimately, the main players profit from the market by exploiting most people’s human weaknesses—greed, fear, and luck. Their larger capital, more information, and stronger resources are used to amplify these weaknesses. But if individual investors indulge their human nature and trade impulsively without rational analysis, being harvested is inevitable.

The only way to avoid being exploited and even profit from the market is to understand human nature’s patterns, use rationality to guide trading, and establish your own rules and discipline. When you do this, the main players’ tactics lose effectiveness. You won’t be scared out at lows or blindly chase at highs; your capital flow is controlled by your rational decisions. As more traders adopt this approach, the market will truly become more mature and rational.