Can someone backtest this simple idea in Tradestation?

Discussion in 'Strategy Building' started by Complexity, Dec 5, 2002.

  1. One Directional trade a day system.



    Concept and parameters:

    At 8:00am EST, review the current S & P 500 e-mini change from the previous close. Place a directional trace in the direction of the current S & P e-mini futures. Example: At 8am, if the S & P futures are -2.25, then you would place a “Short” trade in the market. The opposite will happen if the futures are indicated positive at 8am. In this case you would “Buy”.

    Every trade has a 3 point trailing stop loss that adjusts to 1 point closer to trade with every 1 point added in profit BUT ONLY starts trailing after +3 points is achieved (At the moment of a 3 point gain, your stoploss would start it’s first trail at your cost entry price, thereafter, advancing 1 point with every gain of 1 point on your position, but never backing off when your position looses a point) Note: Your Stoploss starts a -3 points from your entry on a trade. It’s the trailing part of the stop loss that triggers when you have achieved +3 points.

    Exit:

    1. From trailing stop order.
    2. Timed exit of 3:30 exit at market.


    Thanks ahead of time.
     
  2. yes, quite ingeneous. Entry schmentry, you could just flip a coin and do as well. It's the mm that's a winner. I've tried them all, and converting a fixed to a trailing stop can't be beat. I should use it more, but I don't, because it takes 6 to get 3.

    But if you could abduct an ignorant person (preferably one of low intelligence) and isolate them, and never allow them to read elitetrader or get any crazy ideas in their head, and tell them all they have to do is guess which way the market is going to go, but always use a fixed stop and convert it to a trailing stop and then never do anything else, they would beat 90% of all traders including me.

    Put this one in "the market transfers wealth from the impatient to the patient" file.

    So this rich trader tells me,"The secret to trading is cut your losses short, let your profits run, don't try to pick tops, don't try to pick bottoms, and you'll make a lot of money."

    And I say, "Yeah, but what's the secret?"