Well, one way to look at it is this...there's a lot of software developers out there that trade on the side and if there was something fishy going on with one of these applications, somebodys gonna pick up on it and get the word out. So, I'd just use the more popular apps until the developers get a chance to look over some of these newer ones.
These programs do not log directly into your IB account, they interface with TWS. What it means is; you don't need to insert account number, username, password or any of that information. All you need to do is enable "clients" to log into TWS. All activities done through TWS. TM Trader
I've tried all of these programs in the poll. Why is ButtonTrader in there? It's an odd one out?! ButtonTrader by far beats the heck out of any of these - by miles! I used to use Futures-Trader last, which I consider the second best - but it's waaay behind ButtonTrader! Anybody can try it in the sim version. The software even features realtime-market session recording and you can play it back and do after-hours training on a real recording - Even scalping! You can even plug in Quotetracker to chart recorded sessions! You can program and fully test and automate any kind of market strategy and multiple (i.e. contract group order) strategy you can even dream of. You have visual volume pressure charts that tell you what the market looks like above and below you - it even shows prior supports & resistances! You can optionally monitor either on-quote or cumulative volume, as you wish. You can trade any instrument you can even think of - not just futures, but anything - in any market, America, Eurex - You name it! You get the most comprehensive manuals, best and most immediate support you could ever dream of - they're specialized European professionals. It also is the most reliable software of all - It will be the last one that crashes. Even IB's TWS will go down before it. You get full details on every trade taken during the day, on one page - It even 'knows' your commissions and deducts them immediately from PNL. It does this with more simplicity than you need. It's got the most realistic simulator of all built-in and the simulator is free for a full 6 months! Then you pay 22 bucks a month for the lite version, which is all you'll need unless you're trading multiple contracts / are already pretty profitable. And for the pro's: I think you can get the Standard version for only $30 or so right now... There's certainly nothing comparable out there in that price bracket. If you want a comparable program, the next ones in a similar class cost $550+ per month, i.e. X-Trader and the like. But X-Trader has similar functions and isn't much different - Except for the price. ButtonTrader was a discovery for me. I have extensively tested all the the other platforms in this poll and, in comparison, they are are Mickey Mouse in every aspect. Period. It's the go. But what am I telling you, anyway? You can test it yourself - for free and no obligations: www.buttontrader.com Scientist.
Your very convincing testimonial almost has me motivated to try it. What level would I need to be able to scale in and out of a position. also, can I run multiple programs at once so I can take trades in 2 or 3 different futures at same time. Thanks for any help.
For scaling in & out the standard version would be enough, unless you're doing large scaling exercises, in which case you'd get the pro version. And NO - You DON'T need multiple instances of the program with ButtonTrader at all! - That's the beauty of it! You can trade multiple futures or futures and stocks or whatever combination you like at the same time and even with different positions in each! Basically, each issue has its own container and within that container you can have as many trades as you like! It's plain fantastic. If you're looking for edges in trading - This program is one for sure! Compliments, Scientist.
Writing your own based on your own preference is best. My TS2000i-Xtrader API (No name yet) is simply the best for me...
If you can be bothered spending your time programming just to make your own execution platform - Rather than using the time for a day-trip or sth - fine. But why bother? I'd rather spend my spare screen-time improving my trading and evaluating results / logs / stats. ButtonTrader, and a few other state-of-the-art platforms for that matter such as your named X-Trader, have all the features you'll ever really need. If there's something they don't feature that your platform features - Could you give us some examples? Keep it simple. Scientist
The poll here is extremely small. What is most telling I think, is to look at the number of users signed up in the email support forums for these products, and what date each forum was founded. Check it out yourself: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ButtonTraderGroup/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Futures_Trader/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ninja-trader/ NinjaTrader: 670 people Futures Trader: 296 people Buttontrader: 62 people There is a huge discrepancy here! The overwhelming number of people are gravitating towards NinjaTrader. More than double the number of Futures Trader users and more than 10 TIMES the number of Buttontrader users. The other products don't have Yahoo groups. In addition, Ninja has added over 100 new people in just the last 3 weeks alone, compared to about 5 new users in Futures Trader. Ninja has all the momentujm right now. ButtonTrader is lagging massively behind for a supposedly "superior" product. My feeling is this: - BracketTrader ...the place where freeloaders go who don't want to pay for NinjaTrader. It's price and capabilities reflect the level of support you get: patchy at best. By Pretzel's own admission, the product was slapped together over one weekend. It shows. - FuturesTrader ...I think the developer is a good guy but it looks like the User Interface has become extremely messy due to him constantly tweaking it in accordance to every person's whim ...without stepping back and looking at what is happening to the program overall. - ButtonTrader ...written by the most technologically savvy developer. Too clever for his own good in my opinion. It may well be a good product, but hell's teeth ...just look at how many hoops you have to jump through to figure out how to Buy and Sell ...it's enough to drive you to drink! 10,000 pages of reading and maybe you'll understand all it can do? Who has time for that in their life?! It's probably used by eggheads and technoids who feel like they've got the best program, but who probably make less money than Joe Sixpack does with NinjaTrader. - NinjaTrader. A product with a clean interface, features that are excellent, great developer support and training. You can be up and running with 30 minutes of downloading it. It's mission is to make your life easier not harder, and it does this fabulously well. The vast majority of users are gravitating towards NinjaTrader as evidenced by Yahoo group numbers. Ignore the technoids and eggheads who tell you that you must spend the next three months learning ButttonTrader. Download Ninja and be adding to your bottom line within hours. If you're a cheapskate, go to BracketTrader but don't whinge when things don't work as you expect, or when Pretzel decides to take another 6 month hiatus without warning. Like everything in life, you get what you pay for.
Well, so what do your statistics tell us? Mainly that ButtonTrader isn't represented enough yet, which is why not more people are using it. It's like saying "Microsoft Windows is good, because it's on 90% of all computers. Linux is crap, because it's on only 6% of computers, and no one uses it" Unfortunately, this is inaccurate. The opposite is the case. And as a matter of fact, more than 60% of web servers today run on Linux, i.e. Apache servers. Because it's a lot more secure and reliable, and that's what's required for servers. But people don't look at things objectively. They buy what's most common and hyped the most. I'll just say - Wait a little while - It won't be long until ButtonTrader's fan-community grows larger than all the others' - There are some major features coming up in Button Trader... Regarding your difficulties with ButtonTrader - I don't understand anything of what you're saying. The first time I loaded it, I figured out how to buy & sell - Intuitively. It's very intuitive, very practical, very simple and particularly very safe. It's got every money management feature you could wish for. There's no 10,000 pages of reading required. But if you want to make use of all the amazing features, you're free to do so. I don't know about "eggheads and technoids" - You know, I would make a careful guess that if you don't understand a program of the simplicity of ButtonTrader, you may not be in the right profession with trading, either. Trading doesn't require extreme smarts, but it requires a basic ability to understand simple things and relations. Think about it. If you really think ButtonTrader is complicated... Well, good luck to you, anyway... Scientist.