Mostly. I've been known to get my hands a little dirty using historical pricing combined with deep due diligence efforts. Think of my use of TA like the cherry

Mostly. I've been known to get my hands a little dirty using historical pricing combined with deep due diligence efforts. Think of my use of TA like the cherry on top, not the actual cake. I already know I want cake or I wouldn't be sitting at the table. But, I might consume the cake a little bit differently depending on the nature of the cherry. For example, I'll listen to an earnings call or other investor presentation to determine if I even want to do business with some corporation. After I have committed to my decision to purchase based upon DD, I might look at how the market has historically treated their business up until today to develop an actual strategy for acquiring a position (or more of a position). The most recent instance of this for me was AT&T and Verizon getting bad news raked over the coals last week. I already know I want to be in business with these organizations (already am), so I looked at how the market was reacting in near-real-time to the news and adjusted my cake-eating strategy accordingly. Ultimately, the outlook you are working with is what will drive all of this. I don't ever sell stock. If I decide to buy something, I know I want to hold it for at least 3 years. Never selling and strategically buying seem to be a simple rule for not getting fucked over with how investors typically try to use these tools. The least tortured analogy I can come up with is to compare pure TA investing strategies to poker. Is it gambling? Kinda yes. Is it also strategic? Maybe also yes. Really depends on the context and mindset of the participants going into it.