It's a book with about 300 different charts in it. They're broken down by market and timeframe in each market - no dates just time and day numbers. On the lower half of the page are different indicators such as DMI, RSI, MACD lines, moving averages, oscillators, etc. On the bottom is the question to answer like "What will be the range for the next 20 bars", "Will the market bottom in the next 20 bars", "Is the high in for the day or do you think it will go higher". Then there's the choices to choose from. You're supposed to go through the book and pick out 20 charts you feel most comfortable with and answer the questions. Then it's graded and you're given a score. Other pros who took the test were getting 17 or more out of 20 right. I took it using the ES market intraday and scored 4. I realized I have no clue what the market is doing so I'm better off just trading mechanically.
I don't think so. He made it when he and his old partner started a exempt CTA. He was looking for 3 more traders. People with good track records but terrible skills kept showing up. Then he made the test and stopped wasting everyone's time. Eventually he hired three traders that were laid off from Wall Street. Now his old partner and the other traders started a hedge fund. I wish he went with them but he hates hedge funds. He's got lots of other tools to help a trader improve. I love one computer game where it tells you where the market will be in 50 bars. You can enter and exit anytime without any commission charges. You press the space bar to display the next bar or press b for buy, s for sell, or e to exit the position. You can have up to three buys or sells on at a time. The score is based on how much profit you make against the largest drawdown. He says its used to get you to exit losers fast and add to winners. After playing about a hundred times I can see why it's important. He keeps saying he should write a book but I don't think he wants to do it while he's still trading.
That's ok. I've been down many times and made it back with plenty to spare. Last month I made 210 pts in my IRA account. My last losing month was April of 2003 with 238.5 pts lost. The combination of the three systems average month is more than the largest losing month in the past 5 years so I can afford it. I think of drawdowns as the bait that's used to catch the larger fish. I'm thankful all I have to do is execute the trades. If it doesn't make money I can just blame my husband.
Breakout - buy stop at 1044.00 and sell stop at 1039.00 If not filled by 10:00 ET then the trade is cancelled.
wow...interesting...i think my system and yours are very similar... i took at look at some of your numbers for entry and exits and they were spot on with mine... was wondering how long your husband has been trading these systems? i hope it will last! hahaha on another note, i think u should really take the time to sit down with your husband and discuss some of the elements and the thinking behind the exits and entries...it will really clarify your understanding of price movement for the futures... if you start with his framework, and understand fully the logic and thinking behind why certain trades are taken or disregarded, it will be much easier for you to develop your own strategies based on that understanding of the system framework...and then you'll be able to express yourself creatively and come into your own personal trading style, which i think is both very important and fulfilling.. this will really make things a lot more fun for you, aside from the pleasure of ringing the cash register every month, and you'll really be able to truly call yourself a trader.. awesome...first time i really got excited by a thread on elitetrader!