trade-samarai

Hi UrmaBlume & Tams: Urma, what TS ad-on Genetic Optimizer do you recommend and why? I wish to speed up TS's backtesting. It is soooo slow. From my immature understanding of back-testing, TS uses brute force rather than smart GO and thus wastes time number crunching on outlier tests that are away from the sweet spot. Is this correct or just propaganda from add-on venders? Tams, how would compare MC to TS for backtesting? I know that you're a user of TS. Thanks in advance.

Hi thetatrader: So which broker are using now and what is your experience there compared to TS?

Hi sunilrohira: Forgive me for being a poor communicator. By "doesn't always work" what I meant was, though it often does, it doesn't always reflect the price movement. There are divergences. It's interesting how different people see different things on a chart. Here's what I see. - There are only 4 bid-ask bars pictured. - All the bars are green and above the zero-line indicating positive bid-to-ask ratio. (I realize that you posted a slightly different version of this indicator.) "The green bars are decreasing." - If the all the green bars were decreasing, the 1st bar would be the highest. After all, the 1st bar is the reference point in this example. The 1st bar is the 2nd lowest bid-ask pressure, yet the price is the highest. The 2nd and 3rd bars indicate higher bid pressure than the 1st, yet the prices are obviously lower. If sellers are bailing out, they may just hit the bid, rather than negotiating for their limit ask. Meanwhile, the bid may be dropping. That said, I have been using this indicator since before I found it here in this forum, for very short-term trading. It is helpful to me sometimes, but not in every case. The smoothing depletes some of the accuracy. And much of the volume may be between the bid and ask. Actually, the Lee Leibfarth indicator, PZT BA PRESSURE, is a smoothed version of the TS indicator “Bid & Ask Vol Ratio.” So you might wish to check out the standard TS version as well. Attached picture: 1) The bid-ask pressure is increasing but the the price is dropping (divergence). also includes: a) PZT Bid-Ask Pressure b) Bid-Ask TL version c) standard TS Bid-Ask Vol Ratio I expect that there are more experienced traders than I that can shed some light on this subject. (Sorry, I didn't need to upload the second pic. Too late now.)

Like any indicator, it doesn't always work. Here it shows positive Bid Pressure yet obvious falling prices. This is the original indicator taken from the TS forum.

//ADX-Mod (Format type as point and weight from 3 to 5 as desired to look as pictured.) inputs: Length( 14 ) ; inputs: UpColor(green), DnColor(Red); variables: ADXValue( 0 ), Color (0) ; ADXValue = ADX( Length ) ; if ADXValue < 20 then color = UpColor else color = DnColor; plot1(0,"ADX-Mod",color);

momentom: You stated: "Interesting idea. Let's make a decision based upon the opinion of a group of people of whom probably 90% are using those tools to lose money." 1) Your statement is sarcastic and unconstructive. “Sarcasm is anger’s ugly cousin.” The purpose of the forum is traders helping (building up, not tearing down) other traders. 2) Your 90% figure seems baseless in the absence of any evidence. 3) Your statement seems illogical. I can buy my 350-lb. neighbor the best basketball shoes in the world and there’s still no way he beat LeBron James or Kobe Bryant even if they’re forced to play in wingtips or barefoot. Translation: Usually, a great tool doesn’t make a poor trader a great trader and a poor tool doesn’t make a great trader a poor trader. 4) Your statement is inaccurate. It assumes that I posted the data and expected people to make a decision solely from the survey. . I only posted the data as just that; data. I proposed no “idea” – no opinion. Since you deal in opinions, it is my opinion that “the best platform” for an individual will vary with that individual’s different market, trading style and needs. 5) Apparently you use or formerly used and recommended both TS & IB which were the top 2 winners in most of the categories in my original post. So you are or were using the same tools that the so-called 90% losers recommended. “I use both. If you want the charting platform use TS otherwise I would use IB.” http://www.traderslaboratory.com/forums/f92/beginning-trader-needs-imput-ib-tradestation-2422.html If you can show that I’m factually incorrect in these 5 statements, then by all means do so. I’ve read some of your postings and you seem fairly knowledgeable. In this case you were both rude (sarcasm is considered rudeness) and wrong.

The 2009 Barrons Broker article link didn't work. Here it is: Best Picks as Brokers Consolidate - Barrons.com correction: The Broker table pdf file is from 2007.

I ordered it off Amazon last week. Here's his webinar from last week, based upon his new book: MoneyShow.com: Video

Hi Diablo: The IB feed didn't beat out Bloomberg, etc. The IB brokerage was voted #1 but the data feed wasn't even honorable mention. Here's the complete list of survey winners for RT data: Winner: TS First Runner-up: eSignal Finalists: Bloomberg MetaStock QuoteCenter TeleChart Platinum Semi-Finalists: Genesis Financial Reuters Data Honorable Mention: DTN.IQ Here's the complete list of survey winners for Institutional Platforms: Winner: TS First Runner-up:: IB Finalist: eSignal Semi-Finalists: Bloomberg Honorable Mention: NinjaTrader Reuters If memory serves correctly, TS is only about 10% as large as IB in terms of its client base. TradeStation can be used as a platform without using the brokerage ($250/mo.). CQG, MetaStock QuoteCenter and RealTick were listed as top contenders in 2008, but dropped off the list in 2009. TeleChart, MetaStock, VectorVest Pro, and Amibroker, etc. were listed under the Standalone Analytical Software. I watched a Linda Raschke webinar last night promoting her execution/charting platform Photon Trader (futures and CME currencies currently). She also uses TS and CQG. She uses TS for charting and back testing, etc., but not for execution. She said that she sometimes uses CQG for execution occasionally (as she has for years). PhotonTrader has drag and drop chart ordering like NinjaTrader. I've also read that LightSpeed Trading is good, except with volume spike days (like TS). Here's Barron's Broker table for 2009 (stock oriented): http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/barronsbroker-final2.pdf Tools of the Trade - Barrons.com[/media]

Here's a portion of the ballot:

Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities mag. 2009 annual poll results Stock Brokerages: 1) IB 2) TS Futures Brokerages 1) IB 2) TS Forex Brokerages 1) IB 2) TS Real-Time Data 1) TS 2) eSignal Institutional & Professional Platforms 1) TS 2) IB Options Analysis Software 1) IB 2) TS Options Trading Systems 1) TS 2) Optionetics Futures Trading Systems 1) TS 2) eSignal Stock Trading Systems 1) TS 2) eSignal (Advanced GET)

Hi daedalus: I understand your thinking on this, having chased ADX trades. It really is crucial to get in early. Your ADX-Mod idea seems to me to have merit. I would add that a Bollinger Band-Keltner squeeze can confirm your theory. Thanks for your insight. The "ADX Modified" seems easy enough to code, even I could do it. It's the first time that I've heard this idea.

"Control R gets rid of that bad tick in a heartbeat" Yesterday, it didn't help, the problem was internal to TS's servers not my platform. TS released an update to solve the problem today.

Hi Angela: My data was off today as well at TS. CME was $1.6 million per share at one point. I was trading AAPL when my screen re-set and and the price was replaced by what appeared to be volume bars. Another alternative platform is NinjaTrader/IB. From what I've seen, and I'm not all that seasoned at trading, all of the data providers and platforms have bad days from time-to-time. LightSpeed is also supposed to be good except under volume duress. As previously stated, you can use your TS indicators, etc., in Multicharts.

The book "Day Trader's Survival Guide," written by Christopher A. Farrell talks about this in some detail.

dovetree: Da te should be Date.