Trading Lessons/Insights From Coin Flipping

Discussion in 'Risk Management' started by tradingjournals, Aug 31, 2010.

  1. Blox,
    Welcome, and I must say, of the get-go, I like the way you are thinking. You are not bogged down with the fact that this is a thought experiment and these are random trades, but you are trying to see 'through' the data and analyzing the underlying structure (which, given it's a random generation, may not exist, in this case...something to ponder...).
    As for the 159 bars, my guess is it is either a coincidence or a function (or limitation) of Mike's software random number generator. The largest loss (short, I believe) is also 159 bars. I am assuming, and Mike can correct me, that in this test a bar is 1 day. Actually, my guess is that 159 bars represents 1 trading day or something close as the average # of bars is also close to 159 and the system trades daily, roughly, unless the position does now swap from long to short.

    Feel free to add thoughts and comments, and thanks for pointing out all that is positive in this thread :)

    masterjaz
     
    #181     Sep 17, 2010
  2. JSSPMK

    JSSPMK

    So what insights can be derived from coin flipping?
     
    #182     Sep 17, 2010
  3. This guy is psychotic. You are wasting your time. He is calling me buddy of a guy I do not even know. He is calling me names and other people too when they do not agree with him. He should be treated, seriously. He is too aggressive and abusive with other people. He cannot stand for a minute a different view. He has comprehension problems and possibly some other serious type of disorder. It's a pity. What a waste. He has never said something that made sense and he has never helped any newbie here to understand anything. He is here just to attack people.
     
    #183     Sep 18, 2010
  4. You should be ashamed of yourself. You are using Elite Trader to unload your frustrations. I receive many thanks from people because of the help I provide to them in this forum. I try to be helpful. You have problems Mike. You need to see a doctor. Seriously, before it is too late for you. For your own good. This, your reaction, is typical pattern of people who slowly grow too aggressive in life with serious side effects for others, even danger to their lives. Shame on you Mike.
     
    #184     Sep 18, 2010
  5. why is the exposure only 3.47%? the way i understood it: the script is always in the market switching long/short/long/short etc. depending on a random# at each step.

    is this a representative equity curve?

    could you comment on your choice of the trading instrument and the entry/exit time?

    do i understand the script correctly for the given string of random#s:
    50
    51
    50
    50
    50


    you will get:
    enter long
    sell long, enter short
    cover short, enter long
    stay long
    stay long
     
    #185     Sep 18, 2010
  6. tim888

    tim888

    I am new here. I appreciate the use of thought experiments in physics and elsewhere in science but given that I am a pragmatist I never assigned high value to them.

    I can understand the negative reaction of some members here who maybe strongly believe that trading is about results, not thought experiments. What are you trying to accomplish? Can you explain that in a couple of sentences so that a phycisist like me can undertstand it?
     
    #186     Sep 18, 2010
  7. Bakinec

    Bakinec

    Mike, what if you run the test again, will it be also profitable? Sorry, I really have no clue about how these random generators work or what true randomness is, but I assume it's like a coin flip. I guess what I'm saying is, maybe this one time, this "random" process of entering trades, randomly got "lucky", so to speak? If you run this test a hundred times, and it would prove profitable, that would be more convincing. Bah, to be honest, I don't even know what I'm talking about here, so ignore if you wish.
     
    #187     Sep 18, 2010
  8. tim888

    tim888

    Win rate is actually 49.11%. What is your explanation for these results?
     
    #188     Sep 18, 2010
  9. random # generator with 50/50 chance of the outcomes = coin flip

    one caveat to Mike's code is that he uses a pseudo random # generator and that may have some caveats. but my limited understanding is that for most practical purposes it can be considered truly random. certainly in this case it should not be an issue.
     
    #189     Sep 18, 2010
  10. tim888

    tim888

    I don't think this is the important issue here. I think that Mike805 is trying to demostrate that the performance of some money managers and traders can be attributed to pure luck and not to some edge. Maybe it would be better for him to explain what motivated his test and I apologize if he has already done that.
     
    #190     Sep 18, 2010