Timing the market for gold – is it even possible or just wishful thinking?

• •Been seeing a lot of chatter lately, both here and on some of my other financial subs, about “timing the market.” Specifically for gold.
• •My entrepreneurial brain always wants to optimize, you know?
• •Could that realistically add another 8-figure number to my eventual net worth?

Been seeing a lot of chatter lately, both here and on some of my other financial subs, about “timing the market.” Specifically for gold. I’ve always been a pretty firm believer in a long-term, dollar-cost averaging strategy for my precious metals, especially within my Gold IRA and my personal stack. I've built up a pretty substantial portfolio over the last 15 years, probably around 5M+ in various asset classes, and feel like that approach has served me well.

But then I see these posts from people who claim they sold a chunk of their gold right before a dip, or bought heavy right before a surge, and honestly, it makes me wonder if I'm leaving something on the table. My entrepreneurial brain always wants to optimize, you know? Like, if I could consistently get an extra 5% swing by being smarter about entry/exit points, what would that even look like after compounding for a decade or two? Could that realistically add another 8-figure number to my eventual net worth?

I’m based out of Scottsdale, and have a good network of other investors here – some are hardcore allocators, others are more active traders – and the opinions are just all over the place. For me, the peace of mind of just steadily accumulating physical gold has been worth a lot, especially through all the market volatility we’ve seen. I guess my main question is, for those of you who actively try to time the gold market, how do you even approach it? What indicators are you looking at that give you enough conviction to make a significant move? Or is it truly just a gamble that statistically doesn't pay off in the long run for most people?