Common Traits of People Who Say the Market Is Being Manipulated by Someone

When the price reverses the moment you’re stopped out. It moves in the opposite direction you expected. After experiencing that repeatedly, you end up saying, “The market is being manipulated by big players,” or “Individuals are meant to be hunted.”But people who say this share a common pattern. And with that mindset, you’ll never win.

This time, we’ll carefully explain why the belief that “the market is manipulated” does not help you win, its common point, and its essence.

The common point is “blaming losses on others”

The biggest common point among those who say, “The market is manipulated,” isblaming their losses on something other than themselves.

This pattern is exactly the same as what we’ve seen many times in this series. They blame losses on the method, the tool, the capital, the environment. And now, this time, they blame it on “someone who is manipulating the market.” The common thread islooking for the cause of losses outside themselves. As long as they think the cause is external, they can’t see the real internal problems.

Most “hunted” can be explained

Many phenomena where you feel you were hunted at stop-out can actually beexplained rationally by market structure.This isn’t a conspiracy.

As explained in Series 5, places where stop orders gather—just outside obvious highs and lows, etc.—tend to experience price extensions temporarily. This isn’t because someone targets individuals, but because many traders place stops in similar locations, making price movements toward those areas natural market dynamics.It’s not that you were “hunted,” but that you placed your stops in a place that’s easy to hunt. That’s closer to the truth.

In other words, the problem isn’t “manipulation” but the way you place your stops. As I’ve explained before, this is something you can improve with methods and knowledge. By understanding the structure and placing stops in areas where you’re less likely to be hunted, the frequency of being hunted can be greatly reduced.

When you think the market is manipulated, your growth stalls

The most harmful aspect of the belief that the market is manipulated isthat your thinking stalls and you stop trying to improve.

“Since it’s manipulated anyway, there’s no point in trying.” The moment you think like that, you stop learning, stop refining, and stop reviewing your stop positions and your environmental awareness. Because the blame lies with “someone manipulating it,” not with you.This mental stop completely halts growth. People who blame losses on external factors lose their motivation to improve, and thus never win.

The market simply exists

The market isn’t targeting you personally and manipulating you.It just moves as a result of the actions of countless participants.Big players’ actions are part of this, but they aren’t aimed at you personally; they’re driven by their own interests.

What we, as individual traders, should do is read the broader flow and ride it. Dow Theory and multi-time-frame analysis, which we’ve explained in the series, are tools precisely for reading this big market flow (including big players and the overall market movement). Instead of lamenting that you were “manipulated” by going against the flow, learn to read the flow and ride it. This is the mindset for winning.

The common trait of people who say the market is manipulated is that they blame losses on external factors, and stop thinking. With that mindset, you’ll never win. Many phenomena where you feel you were hunted can be explained by market structure and improved with strategy. Stop resenting the market; review your stop positions and situational awareness. Only those who search for the cause of losses inside themselves rather than outside will grow and win.