tradermike | Hi Greg, When it comes to live trading vs simulated trading results with OT, you really need to exercise caution. I have learned some very (emotionally & technically) painful lessons in this area. In fact, there has been more than one instance where I have created the holy grail trading system, analyzed it upside down and sideways to “prove” that everything was correct, only to eventually learn that there were significant differences with OT’s behavior. He’s one example of such a problem: multiple timeframe indicators http://www.omnitrader.com/omnitrader/proforum/thread-view.asp?threadid=1550 One step that I learned to take was to scrutinize trades from the back test period. For example, if you run a Portfolio Simulation, save off a copy of the Trades pdf file somewhere. Then go through each trade and analyze BOTH the entry and exit times AND prices. Compare this with the chart(s) and the Vote Line, looking for confirmation or inconsistencies. This will give you a much better idea of how OT is handling your Strategy (and Trade Plan). Then, after you have a good understanding of OT simulated behavior, you must then compare that to actual live trading results – trade by trade. I know this is a painful and tedious process, but I believe it is very important. Think about it this way, either you will uncover a problem…or gain confidence that things are working correctly. Both of these are good things! Perhaps the main point here is that while OT is a powerful tool, it does have it’s limitations. Understanding how OT works, it’s strengths AND it’s limitations are crucial to getting it to do what you want. And while you can say things like “well shouldn’t OT do this” or “behave that way” are certainly valid statements, what truly matters is how OT actually behaves right now. Then you must learn how to operate within and/or around it’s limitations. (Submitting feature requests is fine, just don’t expect anything soon.) ============================== As for coding help, my pleasure. There are actually quite a few good programmers on the Pro forum. Not only that, but most of them are very friendly and happy to help others. So if you ever have questions or problems, just post and there’s a good chance someone will reply. By the way, if you look at one of my stops (referenced in that post), you will see the answers to the things I pointed out. (i.e. how to make your’s a trailing stop, how to make it plot’able, etc.) And if you’re the kind of coder that benefits from looking at sample code created by others, then there’s a few other stops that I have published that may (or may not) be of reference benefit. Just do a search on my username…or I can provide links if you prefer. ============================== In case you’re interested, here’s a few other related posts that touch on some items related to this thread. Can new trade entries be aborted? http://www.omnitrader.com/omnitrader/proforum/thread-view.asp?threadid=1662 Help with Mult-Step Trade Plan http://www.omnitrader.com/omnitrader/proforum/thread-view.asp?threadid=1542 TradePlan Problems http://www.omnitrader.com/omnitrader/proforum/thread-view.asp?threadid=1488 Mentions some observations on Broker Stop requirements / limitations in Trade Plans Who manages the Trade Plan - OT / OP ??? http://www.omnitrader.com/omnitrader/proforum/thread-view.asp?threadid=1319&posts=8 Also, Jeff Drake published a really good (28min) seminar - Getting Started With Integrated Brokerage. http://www.omnitrader.com/intbrokergettingstarted/ This may or may not be helpful to you as well. ============================== And if you’re really interested in reading, here’s rather lengthy post covering all sorts of topics related to Trade Plans and OT behavior in general. Lessons on Automated Trading using OT Pro http://www.omnitrader.com/omnitrader/proforum/thread-view.asp?threadid=1442 ============================== Alright, well I apologize if I’m flooding you with too much info, or if I’m somehow deviating from your desired topic. But I’m just trying to help out a little. Regards, --tradermike | |
