[BlowFish]

If you are going the full mechanical route it might be wise to run a couple (or more) systems on several instruments. This approach is more robust.

There is a bit of an art (so I am told) knowing when a system needs tweaking when it needs a rest (some stop working then start again) or when it needs retiring.

[swansjr]

Originally Posted by Blaiserboy »

I am wondering if the systems have regular small losses or do they lose for a period of time, causing you to stop their application.

My best system has losses like any other trading method. I would say it's regular small losses.

My other system I stopped trading recently because the results for the past year have been more-or-less a wash. I would like to refine it more or move on to another concept.

[Blaiserboy]

Originally Posted by swansjr »

My best system has losses like any other trading method. I would say it's regular small losses.

My other system I stopped trading recently because the results for the past year have been more-or-less a wash. I would like to refine it more or move on to another concept.

Thanks for that.. I am new to mechanical trading, am trying to get a feel for what the reality may be.....

Thanks again

[swansjr]

Originally Posted by Blaiserboy »

Thanks for that.. I am new to mechanical trading, am trying to get a feel for what the reality may be.....

Thanks again

Glad to help.

I’m relatively new as well. I started writing EL code for automated systems on January of 2008. Since then I’ve developed and tested dozens of ideas. To this day I have one system that has excellent results. I’m confident with it and I have no problem trading my money with it.

My word of advice is this: My successful system is basic, so keep your ideas simple. At its core it’s only a few lines of code. I don’t think it’s a mistake that my best system is simple.

I’m also finding value in my discretionary day trading. I’m starting to form an opinion that to develop good automated trading systems you must also understand discretionary trading. That may be an overstatement, but I found my discretionary trading to help a lot.

In short, if I spend a year testing ideas I might get one good system.

[Blaiserboy]

I read in the Tushar Chande book that to increase the variables over a set few would lead to a lot of difficulty, I quite agree with the idea of simplicity

[Uli Schmuli]

I run an automated system that for the first six months of this year has returned 450% (trading Russell 2000 index futures using $2k margin per contract) This strategy wins about 55% of the trades that it takes. At times, when I see a trade that will trigger, and it 'just doesn't look right' I let the system take the trade anyway. I know that over time the parameters that I've defined will ensure that each trade taken will be in my best interest.

The only reason that any trader can make money is because there are patterns that repeat over time, and specifying these patterns is known as 'defining your edge.' If you don't have an edge defined, you are just gambling. Hope is not a strategy.

I would recommend Mark Douglas' book "Trading In The Zone" if the concept of the probabilistic mindset is not familiar to you.

[Blaiserboy]

I have that book........

[waveslider]

Mechanical trading is very possible, more than possible -common.

Possible on the scalping level and on daily, even weekly- why not?

On whatever level, I think you have to be there overseeing it, I do and glad I was today.

If you are asking essentially is are there exploitable patterns can be defined with code (so that a computer can execute them). The answer is yes.

Discretionary traders will tell you that successful trading can be done better by a human. Yes that's true too, since computers are not able to evaluate, have no intuition, have a hard time adapting, etc.

But computers don't make mistakes! They only do what they are told.

This thread needs more depth and runs the risk of taking us back to "disretionary vs. mechanical" argument - danger....