Keyboard control for Enabling Autotrading

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brendanh
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Keyboard control for Enabling Autotrading

Postby brendanh » 06 Mar 2009

Please can you spend 10 minutes adding keyboard control for the Format, Automate Order Execution menu item in time for the next beta. See attached, it is the only item on this menu without keyboard control as denoted by an underlined letter.
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TJ
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Postby TJ » 06 Mar 2009

yes, for the old geezers like us, keyboard short cuts are very convenient.



p.s. keyboard short cuts should be applied to all the most often used operations.




(thanks to old habits acquired while using WordStar)
Last edited by TJ on 06 Mar 2009, edited 1 time in total.

brodnicki steven
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Postby brodnicki steven » 06 Mar 2009

Maybe they don't want to risk it accidentally, being turned on with a keyboard shortcut. That could get very expensive very fast.

brendanh
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Postby brendanh » 06 Mar 2009

There is still a Yes button to press after that, so no danger.

brodnicki steven
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Postby brodnicki steven » 06 Mar 2009

Good to know a "yes" is required to confirm it. - I haven't tried autotrading yet.
In 20+ years of trading, I've never seen a strategy stable enough, to autotrade with.
Must be some great traders-programmers here.

bowlesj3
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Postby bowlesj3 » 08 Mar 2009

Keyboard shortcuts are nice (fast). For me even if there is at least a menu based keyboard sequence to get at the command I can use it by programming send keys in the database program I use. This is better than a right click menu which the database program can not use. As an example, I switch snap mode on/off with a single button click in the database program. I could make it a single key stroke if I wanted but I have them all used up now. Besides the button shows red when snap mode is on and black when snap mode is off and this allows me to avoid having to look up the current snap status in the MC menu. This is a time saver since some tools need snap mode on and some need it off. Even better if a shortcut is available.
In 20+ years of trading, I've never seen a strategy stable enough, to autotrade with.
Must be some great traders-programmers here.
(at the risk of getting off topic) I agree Steven, I have been programming 25+ years and trading about 22+ (although only daytrading pure chart patterns about 8 ) and although I now call the chart patterns very well, I can't imagine ever programming what I do (seriously it is miles beyond my programming ability and why bother if I can see it quickly anyway). Having said all that, if memory serves me correctly, Larry Williams once wrote that he knows of a fully automated trading system that runs at 95% win/loss (not sure if it auto-trades). I sure would like to know the person/people who pulled that off. I am sure there are many discretionary traders able to beat that but I doubt there are many fully automated systems that can do it let alone beat it. Of course I have not studied a lot of systems so it is a speculation on my part. Its my limited view based upon the difficulty I envision in programming my approach which is very complex in many ways.

John.
Last edited by bowlesj3 on 09 Mar 2009, edited 3 times in total.

brodnicki steven
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Postby brodnicki steven » 08 Mar 2009

"Larry Williams once wrote that he knows of a fully automated trading system that runs at 95% win/loss (not sure if it auto-trades)."

* I could write a system that approaches 90-95% by taking quick scalps but the losses would swamp the profits and be untradable.
I think most good automated systems are more like 40%-50% accurate and make money over time, using sophisticated money management techniques.
Trading systems must be adaptive to changing market conditions and I think that's where most system developers fail. The system works for a while, being "optimized" for current and recent past markets but don't hold up well for too long in the future.
That's why I look forward to MC having "walk Forward" capability in future versions, that is the only way, to tell if the system will hold up with "unseen" data.

bowlesj3
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Postby bowlesj3 » 08 Mar 2009

Hi Steven,

I don't know if you trade the e-mini S&P 500 but if you do, in that market, for one contract what do you consider a quick scalp in terms of number of smallest units (that being $12.50 before commissions for a 1 unit move) . For me it is anything from $50 to $100 of profit per contract which typically is 3 to 9 minutes.

I think systems that make good money take trades that match the implied direction of more than one level of wave and hold based upon that too (and not just trend trades either). They also spot wave boundaries and get good entry points and maybe even equivalent exit points. Because waves are constantly shifting, contracting, expanding at multiple levels all at the same time this is very hard to program. Mix in the boundary bounces and I am tempted to say impossible. A good discretionary trader can spot any one level here to trade very quicikly and set its target too plus adjust the target if needed on the fly.

John.
Last edited by bowlesj3 on 08 Mar 2009, edited 1 time in total.

brodnicki steven
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Postby brodnicki steven » 08 Mar 2009

If you had a system that gets in and exits as soon as profit hits 1/2 point (ES-$25), it would probably get close to 90% accuracy, but 1 loser would kill the profits from several winners, so it wouldn't be tradable. Accuracy <> tradable was my point. Money management is more important than accuracy.

bowlesj3
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Postby bowlesj3 » 08 Mar 2009

If would be interesting to reread the Larry Williams book and see if he mentions $profit/$loss ratio as well as win/loss ratio. It has been many years since I read it.

rondot samuel ws
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Postby rondot samuel ws » 09 Apr 2010

+1 for the suggestion.


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