Given today's market, dominated by algorithmic and high-frequency trading, is his past trading methodology still effective?

Okay, let's talk about this fascinating topic.

Many people involved in trading have pondered this question. To explain it clearly, we need to think of him as a martial arts master and the current market as a new, different arena.

First, what was "Master Kogawa's" martial arts manual?

You can imagine Takashi Kogawa (known as B.N.F) as a short-term trading master who dominated the scene in the early 2000s. His signature technique, to put it simply, was the "Deviation Rate" strategy.

What does this mean?

Imagine a stock usually moving steadily along a line (like the 25-day moving average). Suddenly, due to bad news or panic, the stock price "Duang" plummets, falling far away from that line.

At that moment, Master Kogawa would strike. He believed the stock had fallen too hard and too irrationally. Like an overly stretched rubber band, it would inevitably snap back somewhat. He specialized in entering the market precisely at this time, trying to capture that "rebound" moment to profit from the price difference.

His weapons were multiple computer monitors, coupled with his superhuman focus, keen market intuition (or "feel"), and discipline. In those days, his opponents were mainly other retail traders or institutional traders like him, staring at screens. The contest was about who had sharper insight, faster reactions, and better psychology.

Today's arena is no longer that same arena

Fast forward to today. This market "arena" now has many new players: algorithms and high-frequency trading (HFT).

What are these new players like?

You can think of them as a "robot army" equipped with top-tier weaponry.

Speed is incomprehensible: Clicking a mouse to place an order might take you 0.5 seconds. For an HFT robot, the entire process of "spotting an opportunity -> deciding -> placing an order" happens in microseconds (millionths of a second). This isn't just a matter of reaction speed; it's fighting on a different dimension.
Relentless and emotionless: No matter how skilled Master Kogawa was, he needed to eat, sleep, and could experience emotional fluctuations. These robots operate 24/7, strictly executing their programs without any trace of fear or greed. They see a signal matching their program, they fire instantly.
They use similar "manuals": The famous "deviation rate" strategy that made Master Kogawa's reputation? That obvious price deviation pattern is now one of the most basic, clearest arbitrage signals for today's algorithms. When a "rubber band" gets stretched, countless robots swarm in instantly to seize any potential rebound profit before a human trader can even blink. They vacuum up that opportunity.

So, is his method still effective? What's the conclusion?

Straight to the conclusion: If you try to use his exact trading methods from back then in today's mainstream markets, it will likely be extremely difficult, potentially leading to disastrous losses.

It's like a highly skilled swordsman trying to block machine gun bullets with his sword. It's not that his skills are lacking; the rules of the game have changed entirely. The advantages of "time gap" and "information gap" that he relied on for survival have been obliterated by technology.

However, this does not mean his core thinking is outdated.

This is the crux of the matter. We need to distinguish between "tactics" (specific actions) and "strategic thinking" (the underlying philosophy).

Tactical Level (Concrete Execution): The approach of relying purely on visual observation of order books to snatch a rebound within milliseconds is indeed largely ineffective today. Robots are gods in this domain.
Strategic Thinking Level (Core Logic): What is the core idea behind his trading? It is profiting by exploiting the irrational emotions of market participants (like excessive panic or greed). This idea is timeless because as long as humans participate in the market (even the ones writing the algorithms), irrationality will never disappear.

If Takashi Kogawa were trading today, what would he do?

The mark of a true trading master isn't a single fixed technique, but rather the ability to adapt to market changes.

If the Takashi Kogawa of old were somehow brought into today's world, he absolutely would not foolishly cling to his old methods and charge head-on. He would likely:

Extend the Time Horizon: If I can't beat the robots in seconds or minutes, I'll lengthen the battlefield. Move to swing trading over hours, days, or even weeks. On this timescale, human understanding and foresight regarding macroeconomics, industries, and company fundamentals are still difficult for current algorithms to match.
Seek New "Battlefields": Algorithms and HFT concentrate on the most liquid large-cap stocks and index futures. He might hunt in new strategies: focus on less liquid small or medium-cap stocks not yet completely saturated by algos, or delve into new financial derivatives, looking for "blue oceans" with less mature rules.
Leverage New "Weapons": With his talent, he would likely learn programming and design his own trading algorithms, letting machines execute his ideas rather than manually placing orders himself. Use magic to fight magic.

To summarize

So, to answer your question:

His past trading methods (tactics) have essentially become obsolete in today's algorithm and HFT-dominated markets. It's like trying to fight a modern war with tactics from the Cold Weapon era.

But the core thinking (strategy) behind his success – the ability to perceive and exploit market irrationality – will never become outdated. A true master continually evolves their "arsenal" and "tactics" to adapt to the ever-changing "arena".

The legend of Takashi Kogawa teaches us not a formula to copy, but the spirit of constant learning, adaptation, and evolution in the markets.