Nice post. I totally agree with the danger of going "full auto". "Semi-auto" is much better IMHO. So many things can go wrong with "full auto".
Believe me - if I thought I could really trust any of my Algos - to run Full Auto - I still might do it - however - I really gave up on that idea long ago. I did seriously try many years ago - with Mixed results - mostly Not good. It was much different Code than I have now. My Objective everyday - is to reach my Net Daily Goal - within a 2 hour period. I am not any different than most traders - years ago - the thought of going Full Auto - making a lot of money - retire early - was on my mind. However - after trying to run Full Auto - more than once - years ago - I decided - it was a waste of time. Besides - as I started to age - I realized that pulling the trigger on a trade - managing the trade - was what I really enjoyed. And - I have often made my Net Daily Goal - in a very short period of time. I don't always trade anymore - as I do not have too - I have clients that help provide me with a great income. And this may sound crazy - but "Money" - doesn't drive me - its doing things with Family and Friends. I also love Developing Algos - always Testing new ideas - it is a challenge for me - and it is FUN. I mentioned "retire early" - what if I did - what the hell would I do in Retirement - just sit around - do nothing - waste away like a vegetable. I do have other things I do - but trading is really fun for me. I am a Veteran - was a Medic - 50 plus years ago. One thing that trading allows me to do - is Support Veterans causes. And - I also support several Charities related to Children - things like that are very important to me. Hell - someday - when I end up in a Nursing Home - or possibly the Nut House for Crazy People (aka Traders) - just make sure I have a Computer - and a trading account - I will be happy. I may not know what the hell to do with it - but I will be happy - LOL.
Long ago with Tradestation I was testing a strategy I put together and it went haywire. I never figured out if it was something in my code, Tradestation or the data feed, but it convinced me I didn't want full auto unless I had a team with me watching it. In the short span it ran I was down a lot and then up alot. Fortunately or unfortunately it was in sim mode when I ran it.
Many years ago - I used Tradestation - this was when the Cruz brothers owned it. When there were problems - Tradestation would always blame the trader or developer - never their fault. If I recall - the last thing I said in the TS Forum - was - "if I had the money - I would Short Tradestation down to Zero - then close it down". I was so pissed off. I switched to MultiCharts - most of my Code transferred easily. MultiCharts has its problems - but overall - for me - it is much better than Tradestation. I can also Code in C# and MultiCharts also has the .NET C# version as well.
Exactly what problems have you found ? Also, since you have C# skllls, have you ever looked at Ninja Trader ? It seems to be the auto-trading platform of choice now-a-days.
I have NinaTrader also - and I do like the program. I know Ray - owner of NinjaTrader - and Eliot from the old Mirus Futures - both were in my booth and spoke at a Seminar that I did in at the Hotel I was at in Del Mar - near San Diego. The Traders Expo was in San Diego that year - in June - back in 2007. They are nice guys. By the way - I was using NinjaTrader that year. I switched to MultiCharts - because I had a lot of Code in TradeStation EasyLanguage - was easy to bring most over to MC. I am currently just using MultiCharts PowerLanguage - haven't coded in C# for awhile. I also have MultiCharts.NET C#. Personally - I do NOT trust any of the platforms - to go Full Auto - without me watching it. There are too many things that can go wrong - and they will go wrong - almost guaranteed. I am mainly a Scalper - with some Scalp_Trend combination trades thrown in. I can make more money Scalping - in 2 hours or less - than I ever did trying to get into Trend trades - where you are in a trade for long periods of time. Most of my Scalps - are 10 to 40 seconds. I find it very relaxing. I have said this before - I am from Montana - both my Brothers-in-Law are American Indians - they are the ones who taught me how to Scalp - do it quick - then get the hell out of there - LOL. Believe it or not - just joking about what I just said - but some people actually believe it - LOL. The "Brothers-in-Law are American Indians" - is true though - great guys. As far as problems right now with MultiCharts. Say you do a Backtest - it finishes - shows the Values for the changes - but - it sometimes will put in Values - that are different - than you saw a minute ago. I have seen this happen before - there are problems with a program - they fix one thing - screw up another. Stuff like that - however - I really don't need to Backtest or Optimize anyway. I also see you in Futures.IO. I have a friend who had a couple of threads in FIO.
ES and MES Bizarro Code 100 Contracts (just for show) 10 days 75 Tick Range Bar Of course I would never Enter a trade with 100 Contracts - although I could Scale In. If this is being traded Discretionary - this is what can be done. Say you are trading 5 Contracts - you have some options on the Exits. 1) Exit all 5 Contracts at the First Exit - for a Scalp. 2) You could Exit - say 4 Contracts at the First Exit - then have a Runner - for a Scalp_Trend combination trade. In the Pictures - Top and Bottom - the First Profit Target is 25 Ticks. Once you Close out the 4 Contracts - you can bring your Stop into Profit - say bring it into 10 Ticks of Profit - now you Cannot Lose on the trade. Then - if Price keeps going in the direction you want - just keep moving your Stop - to Follow Price - for a Runner. 3) You could also take off 1 Contract at each Profit Target - but once you Close the First Contract - you still want to bring your Stop into Profit. You may or may not get a Runner - but really - that is okay - the point is - there will be another trade coming. You don't want to do what I used to do when I first started trading. Don't play the "should of - would of - could of" thing - in your mind - that is what can lead to Stupid Trading - lol. And - it could lead to a trader going out of business. I wish all traders much success.
Montana ? How is your internet speed out there ? All 3 of my daughters are now out there....one went 10 years ago, and the other 2 followed. They are in Livingston, Boseman, and Missoula. I plan to visit them in September. I am from Philadelphia Pennsylvania. All 3 are fitness buffs....snow skiing, snow boarding, biking the trails, running, multisport events, triathlon....
I currently live in the Bellevue area - across Lake Washington from Seattle. I have Gigabit Internet. Bellevue_Kirland_Redmond - very High Tech area. Redmond is where MicroSoft is - Main Campus. I grew up just South of Glacier National Park - in the Mission Mountain Wilderness. Our address had NO number - it was the "End of Mi-------er Trail at the base of the Wilderness. Didn't have an Indoor Toilet - until I was a Sophomore or Junior in High School. We learned as kids - how to use a Gun - because you always had to take a gun with you to the Outhouse - just in case. It was about 50 to 75 feet from the house. It was really wild - had Grizzlies - Cougars - Moose - Elk - Deer - and on and on - always on our property. I lived in Billings for awhile - my brother in law and I used to Hunt in the Livingston and Bozeman areas. This was our back yard - we lived just North of here - at the very base of the Mountains. This picture was taken from Highway 93. There was a saying when I was a kid - "I drive Highway 93 - pray for me".
syswizard, I just thought of a drive you might like - we used to hunt up in that area - going up to Cooke City. Since you may be in the Livingston area - you might like driving over Beartooth Pass - from Red Lodge, Montana into Wyoming - a beautiful drive. The problem is - it may be too long of a drive for you - probably around 150 miles from Livingston. The Pass is near 11,000 feet - lots of Switchbacks - might be a little scary for some - lol. The other problem is - if you are there in September - it could be snowing on the Pass. We once took some family members from Upstate New York - to Glacier National Park - went over the Going to the Sun Highway Pass - thought several of them were going to throw up - it was so funny to us. A couple of them were going crazy - "were going to die - were going to die". And the Going to the Sun Highway - is mild - compared to Beartooth Pass. Here is some info. https://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/810-beartooth-highway-usa.html