We trade ES futures using a 5 step hybrid martigale system hedged with options. In essence its a 54 contract trade that scales in and out averaging down costs to exit either profitably or the entire tradeset hits a safety stop. Future options hedge the tradesets reducing losses. Trade Long and short tradesets concurrently with a range of 25 points. Profitable exits as long as market checks up 5 points every 25 points. We stop out and take the loss when the market exceeds are programmed trading range. We have blown out many accounts trying to avoid taking the inevitable runaway loss. Discipline... Set hard and fast session limits. 3 strike outs and close down trading for the session. Lots of $100 - $2500 winners and each stop out is about a $10K loss. (Manageable risk) Overall returns are decent when ES stays inside of 50 point session swings. Inevitably we are drawn down and forced to stop out. Important: your Risk objective is not to avoid the loss but to mitigate the damages. Using future options to hedge each tradeset you can reduce your loss to 1/3. ie. Contract Add increments 1 - Enter Long or Short at market Add 1 - 5 points Add 4 - 7.5 points from average cost (Buy options hedge) Add 12 - 7.5 points from average cost Add 36 - 7.5 points from average cost Safety Stop entire tradeset at 25 points from entry. Exit set at 1.5 points with 1 point trail stop. This is a very fast game that should be autotraded... Lots of trades, calculations and transactions. Avoid temptation to interfere based on chart indicators.
To quote Kenny Rogers ("the Gambler") You have to know when to hold them You have to know when to fold them You have to know when to walk away You have to know when to run To the OP: it all depends on how good your system is. If you know exact turning points in the markets and know how to exploit them then you can trade in whichever way is the most profitable. But if your system is marginal then this is a garanteed way to be wiped out. If you cannot make a decent living using fixed size then forget it. Dad did extensive investigation and cam to the conclusion that there is only a single method to improve your profit factor and it is neither martingal or anti-martingale. And no, it is not fixed size although fixed size is not far behind. Take care
Wow, my apologies for being so hardset against it. You do realize that 90% of the people on this site can't do this, and are better off not even knowing what a martingale is, don't you? But that's very good trading, just don't try this at home kids, professionals only please.
I don't know who "Dad" is, but most likely what you are talking about here is a percentage of risk based algorithm traded in tandem with a high expectancy, trend following system. If you can learn to love your losses with that one, you can do very well.
I agree It is the worst system ( martingale ) IT,s always better to put a stop losses or just dont over trade And i have realised news is very importnant 1 day i kept avaraging a ER contract long and it was going all the way down Man that was really pain in the heart loosing $3500 from a 10 K account A simple stop loss would have taken care of it
Some swear by a simple 1-2-3 system of betting, ( I mean trading ) with a 3-2-1 stop system. Works if you aren't too hopeless a trader
One of the best reality posts ever on elite trader. This is how consistent money is made--not by guessing direction, et al. nice style. bravo!
Works till it don't, then it's very painful. I once played a Martingale system at the craps table. Two things that killed it. Table limits and the dreaded deviation from the mean.
martingaling with the trend is better then martingaling countertrend. but then its called buying pullbacks.