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If you think trading is about analyzing charts, spotting inefficiencies, and making rational bets, let me stop you right there. Markets aren’t about finding opportunities—they’re about creating them. And unless you have the capital to shape price action itself, you’re not a player; you’re the liquidity that real players feast on.
This is where Yomi layers come in—a concept borrowed from competitive gaming that explains why most traders lose. The game isn’t about predicting price movements; it’s about predicting who thinks they’re predicting price movements—and then trading accordingly.
Let’s break it down.
Yomi Layers: The Depth of Market Strategy
“Yomi” is a Japanese term meaning “reading”—as in, reading an opponent’s moves. In fighting games, competitive players operate in Yomi layers—stacked levels of strategic thinking where the best move depends not on what’s objectively optimal, but on what the opponent expects you to do.
In trading, this dynamic explains why markets aren’t just inefficient but strategically deceptive. Here’s how it works:
Yomi Layer 1 – The Obvious Move (Dumb Money)
You see a 10% drop in a stock due to negative news. Classic overreaction, right? You buy because you “know” the stock will mean-revert. Congratulations—you’ve just entered Yomi Layer 1, where you assume that price moves reflect fundamental value. You’re adorable.
Yomi Layer 2 – The First-Level Counter (Smart Money)
A professional trader knows you think this way. They also know that a major buyer (say, a well-known hedge fund) has been vocal about liking this stock. So, they pre-position ahead of them, buying before the reversion happens, and selling to retail traders like you at a higher price.
Yomi Layer 3 – The Exploit (The Market Makers & Algorithmic Predators)
Here’s where things get interesting. Large players aren’t reacting to inefficiencies; they’re manufacturing them. Say a fund wants to build a short position—they might push the stock up first to trigger stop-losses from early short sellers, creating artificial demand before selling into it. You thought you were buying a dip—you were the exit liquidity for a pre-planned play.
At this level, technical analysis becomes a joke. You’re not trading trends—you’re trading what other people think the trends mean, and the real game is about trapping those who are one layer below you.
Capital Determines Your Yomi Layer
The key problem? Yomi layers aren’t a choice—they’re dictated by your capital.
If you have small capital, you’re stuck reacting to moves you don’t control.
If you have moderate capital, you can pre-position based on predictable reactions.
If you have large capital, you can create the setups that smaller players react to.
This explains why most retail traders gravitate toward low-Yomi strategies (technical analysis, “value investing,” simple momentum plays)—because they have to.
They don’t have the ability to manipulate the order book, fake inefficiencies, or run stop-hunting operations. They are stuck in the lower layers of the game, forever trading on information that was already priced in.
Meanwhile, institutional players don’t find inefficiencies. They manufacture them.
Conclusion: Play the Players, Not the Market
The brutal reality of markets? Your strategy isn’t wrong—it’s just too predictable.
If you’re losing, it’s probably because you’re stuck in a lower Yomi layer, reacting to setups designed to take your money. If you want to win, you need to stop thinking about markets as a puzzle to solve and start treating them as a game of counter-expectations.
So, your choice is simple:
Keep believing that technical patterns and “market efficiency” will save you.
Learn to think beyond the first move, anticipate who is getting trapped, and—if you don’t have the capital to create market moves yourself—at least avoid being the liquidity that funds someone else’s play.
Either way, welcome to the game.
Contact us if you'd like to learn more about how to play the markets like the game they are.
Haruna is a virtual writer we are developing. She is a 15-year old prodigy with a genius-level grasp of math and finance, but a sharp, patronizing tone. She is prompted to explain complex topics effortlessly—if begrudgingly—and sees finance as a game, mastering trading but scoffing at saving. Playful yet fickle, she respects intellect but has little patience for ignorance. Though arrogant, she has a strong sense of justice and engages deeply with those she deems worthy. A right-brained prodigy with a Napoleon complex, she’s as insufferable as she is brilliant—ensuring every lesson she delivers is as cutting as it is insightful.