Keep it simple, it'll get complicated all by itself. "Trading at Support & Resistance provides greater conviction." https://elitetrader.com/et/threads/...t-right-here-baby.335635/page-10#post-5014575 What would you say belongs in a solid trading plan? https://elitetrader.com/et/threads/...solid-trading-plan.340340/page-4#post-5031706
5 tech. analysis tools. [Do NOT repeat them -- there is no such thing as "confirmation", only multicolinearity (which will destroy any predictive abilities).] • O-H-L-C (Japanese candlesticks) for relevant time horizons • Volume • Trend • Oscillator • Volatility Don't post a tool to your screen real estate without being able to describe its output in a single sentence (derived from your interpretation of the actual formula, not some website blather). When you've got that down, coding will be a snap. At that point, you'll be forming hypotheses and backtesting set-ups as fast as your fingers can type. At that point? It's time for expectancy, eh. Yessum!
AT one point I was very hung up on Algo trading MES (index future) as I have a computer background but I soon realized; the complexity to have a hft level algo bot would perhaps require a team and more work than I care to put forth. The algo bot should simultaneously look at 5-min, daily, weekly and even monthly charts, keep positions overnight and determine the four states of the market. The four stages of the market, level of moving average changes with the time horizon of the chart you are looking at! If I were you, starting out I would only focus on trading well, manually! That is hard but easier than algo trading and backtesting the beast... IF you wish to have your algo for stocks then it is a whole different ballgame. The ultimate solution is; trade with brackets and leave the screen! Go play golf, swim, watch TV...This made many many index traders winners who were losing constantly!
The next thing is to learn TA without using indicators. I started trading with hundreds of indicators. Now I have none.
I am not a very successful trader so there is not much to boast about. Here is what I gather on TA after more than a decade. 1. Never say never. It's not getting any lower or higher. We could be wrong. 2. TA is not perfect. We could be wrong again. 3. Hit the right trade. It's so good to see a trade just track a moving average. 4. Rough patch. Trades keep crash out. 5. Missing a good trade e.g. FRHC. Remember point 1. Just move on and look for the next one. 6. It's so hard to know when it's going to break the trend. 7. It's so hard to have a sense of the market direction. Our job is to protect our capital and keep trying. Never give up. Sorry, I don't have a solution or tips.
A pattern which ironically even expert and successful traders appreciate least is the simplest one - trend. It is the one that pays most consistently and best with least risk. Unfortunately, many traders never seem to want to get beyond the ability to say, Yes this is a trend / No this is not a trend.
%% Those moving averages proVe what the charts have been telling US/its an up-trending bull market.NOT a prediction+ not suitable for all investors................................
Tom's advice about 5 tech tools that each have a purpose and don't have redundancy is spot-on. The only thing I can add is that I have better luck when I jump on a new trend and let the indicators tell me when I need to leave it.