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Thursday, February 25, 2016

Defining a Trade Setup

Beginner's Guide to Define a Trade Setup

Hello Everyone !

On this Article I will explain the basics on defining and executing a Trade Setup.
It doesn't matters if we are analyzing Forex, Futures, Stocks or any other instrument, the rules are the same and they work anywhere.

An important step we must follow to document what are we doing is to write the rules in a way that anyone can understand and trade in the same way.

As a suggestion, try to avoid long and complex conditions and try to differentiate the setup into these 3 different items :

  1. Entry Trigger
    A group of conditions that when all in agreement trigger an Entry Signal
  2. Filter Conditions
    A group of conditions that must agree to accept an Entry Signal
    Usually we can put all these conditions together with #1
  3. Exit Trigger
    A group of conditions that when all in agreement trigger an Exit Signal.
    Any remaining position is closed when this happens.

Examples of #1) Entry Trigger

  • Fast Line crosses above Slow Line to Enter Long
  • Oscillator leaves oversold area to Enter Long
Examples of #2) Filter Conditions

  • System is already Long ( so we dont add more position )
  • System is Short ( so we wait this position to finish at target or stop )
  • Higher Time Frame Filter is not aligned
Examples of #3 Exit Trigger can be similar to #1


With Markers Plus, now we can Create, Visualize and Auto Trade any Logic that we define :



On the Following Post I will show several Trade Setup Examples and its implementation using Markers Plus Tools

Best Regards,
Pablo Maglio

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Skype Skype id : pmaglio
      

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Markers Plus 4 for Ninjatrader - Creating our own Trade Setup

Markers Plus 4 for Ninjatrader
Creating our own Trade Setup

Hello Traders

As we know, a trade setup consists on set of rules that define when to Enter the Market and in which Side, Long or Short. 
It can be just that, or can include also a rule set to define when to close a position.

As we saw on previous posts, Markers Plus 4 include tools to create Signals.
Those Signals can be used to either enter the Market or Exit the Market.

Lets review the most important included tools :


  1. Universal Slope Tool
  2. Universal Crossover Tool

Universal Crossover Tool

With this Tool we can identify the Cross between any pair of lines. Those lines can be drawn by any indicator installed on the platform.

Example :

These pair of Red and Blue Lines are an example of 2 things ;

  1. We can define the trend by the relative position
    When Red Line is above Blue Line, the trend is Up
    So, we only take Longs
  2. We can also paint a signal on the crosses ;
    When Red cross above the Blue, we have a Buy Signal
    ( or an Exit Short Signal )
Both items can be done with the Crossover Tool

Example applying the Crossover Indicator :

We get Up and Down Arrows painted in user defined Colors, so they can be used by Markers to initiate or exit a Position.
We also get a histogram with the difference between both lines, positive when red line is above the blue. Negative when below.
We can use this difference as a filter condition on Markers.
Example ; Taking only longs when histogram >0 ( or a threshold )
Take only shorts when histogram < 0 ( or a threshold )



This tool is really powerful to research and backtest new setups as we can see the results in real time on the historical data ( as seen on the chart )
We can change the settings of the indicator or the indicators itself that generate those lines and have the result at the instant.
Remember that those lines can be any plot of any indicator on your platform.
No need to Market Replay.
No need to create a Strategy.
Just create your logic, watch it on your chart, and put it to auto trade with Markers.

Some examples : 

  • Fast EMA vs Slow EMA ( this is a classic )
  • EMA crossing above an upper Donchian ( long signal )
    ...crossing below the Lower Donchian ( short signal )
  • SMA crossing above a Bollinger Upper Line ( long impulse signal )



Universal Slope Tool

With this Tool we can calculate the Slope of any line painted by any Indicator installed on our platform.
The slope is calculated by the difference of the indicator's line current value and N bars ago

This indicator draws a histogram with the slope and also paint signals when there is a slope directional change :





As we can see, with these 2 Tools, almost all possible Trade Setups can be recreated and Executed on Full Automatic, Semiautomatic or Manual Mode with Markers.





Feel free to ask for a demonstration if you want to see it working.



Best Regards,
Pablo Maglio


photo
Skype Skype id : pmaglio
      

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Markers Plus System for Ninjatrader (new version 4)

Markers Plus System for Ninjatrader - Version 4

Hello Traders !

We are presenting the New release of the Markers Plus System which includes a lot of new features.
New features add Limit, Stop, Bid, Ask Orders to the current Market Order and also more powerful filter and trigger condition creation tools ;

But first a brief review about what is Markers TM©

The main feature of Markers TM© is to detect objects painted on the Chart, by an indicator or by the user.
Those objects can be any of the Chart Marker available on Ninjatrader, like Arrows, Dots, Diamonds, etc

Example :









These are standard Ninja Arrows produced at the crossover of 2 lines
To verify if a Marker is a standard Ninjatrader Object, so.. compatible with Markers TM© 
We can double click the signal ( Arrow on this Example )
..and we should get the Object Properties Dialog Box :



If instead of getting the object properties you get nothing or just the indicator parameters dialog box, it is possible those signals are not compatible.

 Once the object is detected, Markers TM© can execute an ATM Order of the following types :

The standard Entry Option present on previous version
  • Enter at Market ( at the exact tick moment the signal is painted )
For a Long Signal with Entry Below the Market :

  • Place a Buy Limit at Bid ± Offset
  • Place a Buy Limit at Ask ± Offset
  • Place a Buy Limit at Object Price Position ± Offset

For a Long Signal with Entry Above the Market :

  • Place a Buy Stop at Bid ± Offset
  • Place a Buy Stop at Ask ± Offset
  • Place a Buy Stop at Object Price Position ± Offset

Same applies for Short Signals

When using non Market Orders, where a Limit or Stop Entry Order is used, we can also specify on Markers TM© for how many bars the Order will be kept alive without fill.
We can also specify if a new signal updates the Entry Order Price.

This new Entry Methods increases a lot the flexibility for our trade setup definition

Example ; if we want to enter at market but not wanting to have much slippage on high volatility moves, we can enter a Long with a Buy Limit at Ask ; this should produce instant fills under normal conditions, and if not filled, the order can be auto cancelled after 1 Bar.



Auxiliary Indicators


We have simplified the set of tools and made them more powerful so they can be used to filter and also to produce signals ;

Now, all the auxiliary indicators produce historical results so we can check and visual backtest our filters and signals.

Any line from any indicator can be copied to a Markers Auxiliary Line using the Copy indicator ( examples ; the lower Donchian line, or the upper Bollinger band, etc )

It is possible to calculate the slope of any line, and also paint a signal when that slope exceeds a threshold. This is the Universal Slope Signal Indicator
It is also possible to calculate the difference between 2 lines, and also paint a signal when that difference exceeds a threshold. This is the Universal Crossover Indicator.

Any of these lines can be matched against maximum and minimum limits to filter Signals.
It is possible to combine unlimited conditions to create complex filter

Now the Trader has all the Tools to create its own Trade Setup, trading a current signal indicator compatible with Markers or creating its own signals and also filtering those signals with all the indicators that each user has installed.

This new Markers Plus is currently on beta testing during the first week of November and will be available for all current Markers Plus Users ( all upgrades are always included )
I will add Videos and trade Setup Examples the following Week

Pablo Maglio

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Skype Skype id : pmaglio