tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2975004879229456942024-03-14T03:11:13.108-07:00Snapdragon TradingTips, tricks and resources for traders of the financial marketsAdam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-74239990358855983642018-11-26T10:39:00.002-08:002018-11-26T12:31:25.859-08:00Metatrader 101: How to Set Up Push Notifications in Metatrader<i>Push notifications in Metatrader can be a great tool - you can get alerts to your smart phone on the move and so always be in touch with what's going on. Setting it up is fairly straight-forward - here's how to do it.</i><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
1. Firstly you need to be aware of what a push notification is: it's a message which is sent to the Metatrader app on your smart phone. So in order for this to work you need to have a smart phone on which you can install the Metatrader app. Go to the app store and install the Metatrader 4 app in the usual way.</div>
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2. Once you have done this you need to get your Metatrader ID. This is a unique ID that identifies your app installation on your phone. You can find it under the settings icon on your app. It's going to be an eight digit/letter code that you need to make note of.</div>
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<a href="https://www.metatrader4.com/i/help/trading-platform/en/mq_id.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="322" src="https://www.metatrader4.com/i/help/trading-platform/en/mq_id.png" /></a></div>
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3. Next you need to go to your computer version of Metatrader which is going to be sending out the notifications. Go to the <b>Tools | Options</b> menu option to bring up the <b>Options</b> dialog box. Navigate to the <b>Notifications</b> tab.<br />
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4. Click on <b>Enable Push Notifications</b> and then fill in your Metatrader ID from step 2. Click on the <b>Test</b> button to try it out and you should get a message appear almost immediately on your phone.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4BudrH7sMqS45qwoQ6NyJ6LN3mMidk4hof3FvjtXBu1h7sYuLTYwksmPqoVQu12_mpqS4qzFJ1c2ziXfeKAlNEKkZpnnhFye1dKxPyCpNg1i0JXTVLszJJBwcki5SHFy-e-qWN1mb7Yw/s1600/notify.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="590" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4BudrH7sMqS45qwoQ6NyJ6LN3mMidk4hof3FvjtXBu1h7sYuLTYwksmPqoVQu12_mpqS4qzFJ1c2ziXfeKAlNEKkZpnnhFye1dKxPyCpNg1i0JXTVLszJJBwcki5SHFy-e-qWN1mb7Yw/s1600/notify.JPG" /></a></div>
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5. That's basically it! Notifications aren't always immediate as they depend on the network over which they're travelling but they're usually pretty fast.</div>
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<br />Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-219716596682214312018-11-26T02:39:00.000-08:002018-11-26T02:39:28.467-08:00Metatrader 101: How to Set-up E-mail Alerts on Mt4<i>E-mail alerts from Metatrader can be a very useful tool. Indeed our own Mt4 Alert Indicators rely on it (and also phone push notifications) for sending information to users when they are away from their desks. But how does one set it up? This post describes the process</i><br />
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1. From within Metatrader select the <b>Tools | Options</b> menu option which will bring up the <b>Options</b> dialog box.<br />
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2. There are many tabs on this, select the <b>Email</b> tab and click the <b>Enable</b> tick box at the top in order to activate the various fields.<br />
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3. The way that it works is that you need a "relay" e-mail account which is used to send the messages to any other account that you want. By far the easiest way to do this is to set up a new gmail account. So you'll need to have a new gmail e-mail address together with it's password. For the purposes of this article lets assume that it's called <b>relay_address@gmail.com</b> and that you eventually want to send these e-mails on to some destination address <b>destination_address@anything.com</b>. I've put <b>anything.com</b> as part of the destination address to emphasise that it doesn't need to be a gmail address (though of course it can be if you want it to be).</div>
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Once you've created this gmail address then fill in the fields below like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmne-esJv3WTqnmuC93WYibatmeOW8_CHIceFvmZH9UKTHrBxhv_9U2H4gyP9DDLZYgeC5VN0JMFWCnAeg2RhPKqMyiCguFeovHtQEgh19ZnRXjRYf_LWZVzW94LhlCt9z4d6e2TZmU4/s1600/Mt4EmailSetup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="590" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmne-esJv3WTqnmuC93WYibatmeOW8_CHIceFvmZH9UKTHrBxhv_9U2H4gyP9DDLZYgeC5VN0JMFWCnAeg2RhPKqMyiCguFeovHtQEgh19ZnRXjRYf_LWZVzW94LhlCt9z4d6e2TZmU4/s1600/Mt4EmailSetup.JPG" /></a></div>
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The SMTP password is the password for your e-mail address. You can see that the <b>SMTP login</b> and the <b>From</b> fields are the same as the alert e-mail is going to come from this relay address and to be sent to your <b>destination_address@anything.com</b> address.</div>
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4. Now click on the <b>Test</b> button and look at the <b>Journal</b> tab closely to see what it says.If it says:</div>
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<b>Mail: 'Test message' has been sent</b></div>
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or words to that effect then you know that it's all working and you can go and check in your destination e-mail box for your message. You've now finished the set-up and can stop here.</div>
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5. If on the other hand you get the message</div>
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<b>Mail: login to smtp.gmail.com failed</b><br />
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then (assuming that you've correctly entered your account details in the dialog box) you've got one more step to do. Google have security settings for their accounts which by default restricts access from non-Google accounts so you need to change this setting. Go to your Google Account and you need to find the <b>Apps with account access</b> section (this changes location from time to time so you will need to navigate around until you find it). Switch on the <b>less secure access</b> part.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5e5TmcIMpoaRD4EEJ2Yz-hf5ROUChVgq62JuIjoNTxs6ud-OuEyWf3wQl5_XpXBt4yjZS0hueJ50qBu3l1rb1RKlHZ7-E1TAiS0RCVNrXBsz8wVy0cujezLeeMxz74soXcXTQcJZ_s2Y/s1600/AllowLessSecure.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="205" data-original-width="611" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5e5TmcIMpoaRD4EEJ2Yz-hf5ROUChVgq62JuIjoNTxs6ud-OuEyWf3wQl5_XpXBt4yjZS0hueJ50qBu3l1rb1RKlHZ7-E1TAiS0RCVNrXBsz8wVy0cujezLeeMxz74soXcXTQcJZ_s2Y/s1600/AllowLessSecure.JPG" /></a></div>
Once you've done this try your Test message again. You should now find that it all works.<br />
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6. That should be it. You shouldn't ever need to access your relay gmail account again if you don't want to and it will faithfully keep forwarding your messages on for you. Now that you've configured all this, any e-mail notifications that your Mt4 indicators or EA's send will correctly work.Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-84199011700551245942018-09-12T10:08:00.001-07:002018-09-12T10:08:33.025-07:00Installing and Using Strategy DLL's in ForexTester<div style="text-align: justify;">
A ForexTester strategy will be supplied to you as a Windows DLL library, so a file with a <b>.dll</b> suffix.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">To install:</span></b></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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1. Shut down your copy of ForexTester<br />
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2. Find the folder where ForexTester is installed. This is usually something like<br />
<b>C:\ForexTester3\</b><br />
(or <b>C:\ForexTester2\</b> if you're running the older version)<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
3. Find the <b>Strategies </b>sub-folder (so <b>C:\ForexTester3\</b><b>Strategies</b><b> </b>for example) and copy the the dll file there.<br />
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4. Re-start ForexTester and bring up the Strategies List dialog box by using the <b>Testing | Strategies List</b> menu option (note there is also a toolbar button to do this as well).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwSl974B8XslYMNrjuiDE5_B5eFG6jL4aQOZaztN7t2s2ufOMtym3ntonhma2xhlTFTGZX9Pvg6QEidhchQYyWiKebvVAzCTLjRrs5uvmXC9IC_UxDX1oe2oBt_iflOXpxRDomcll6FwM/s1600/StrategyInstall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwSl974B8XslYMNrjuiDE5_B5eFG6jL4aQOZaztN7t2s2ufOMtym3ntonhma2xhlTFTGZX9Pvg6QEidhchQYyWiKebvVAzCTLjRrs5uvmXC9IC_UxDX1oe2oBt_iflOXpxRDomcll6FwM/s1600/StrategyInstall.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A typical Strategies List dialog box</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
5. Look for the strategy that you are choosing to install in the list. If you cannot see it then look on the <b>Journals</b> tab to see if there are any error messages explaining why it can't find or load the DLL.<br />
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6. Once you've found the Strategy, click on it to highlight it (it turns yellow) and then click on the <b>Properties</b> button to bring up the Strategy Properties dialog box for your strategy. Different strategies will have different parameters but please note that in general for a ForexTester strategy there will be a <b>Currency Pair</b> and a <b>time-frame</b> input. In order for your strategy to work you <b>MUST</b> ensure that both these inputs match the chart that you are working with otherwise the strategy will not work. Click the <b>Apply</b> button at the end to save your chosen input values and close the dialog box.<br />
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7. Back in the Strategies list dialog box, tick the box at the left-hand end of the line that lists your strategy to say that you want to activate your strategy. Please also ensure that the <b>Enable strategies execution </b>box is ticked at the bottom.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXnGIukg-ouwiqYcCYrt99RWKtUmkINCWewLLm8Uv0MRd4YOHkWPYyBqPLSPkUJn0gqL3VjPq-Z2zoKZ3dnYcBDZAOnQrzQyOccOTwrWwrB5nz2j9HIferfjn_yZeOpxzxeC4TVzsNdXg/s1600/StrategyInstall2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXnGIukg-ouwiqYcCYrt99RWKtUmkINCWewLLm8Uv0MRd4YOHkWPYyBqPLSPkUJn0gqL3VjPq-Z2zoKZ3dnYcBDZAOnQrzQyOccOTwrWwrB5nz2j9HIferfjn_yZeOpxzxeC4TVzsNdXg/s1600/StrategyInstall2.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Your chosen strategy after activation</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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8. Your strategy should now be activated and will start working as you play through your data. Please note that you can turn all strategies on and off using the <b>Testing | Enable/disable Strategy Execution</b> menu option or alternatively by using the toobar button. If you want to reset your strategy at anytime then go back to the <b>Strategies List</b> and remove and then re-apply the tick on the left-hand side. This will reset the strategy back to its initial state.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_b8RCGGCcsO8JPuIyaY5vkX4zj035qXk-fwysmSubvbRO6RUr3dLaKwnBf-attDYe_K7kEEX3olm-umfoajZb06jddTtMAsJkWbbTDZSrBIAQ4NpVgO3NVNENLrf3eO76ZWFlUDUgBDA/s1600/StrategyInstall3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="66" data-original-width="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_b8RCGGCcsO8JPuIyaY5vkX4zj035qXk-fwysmSubvbRO6RUr3dLaKwnBf-attDYe_K7kEEX3olm-umfoajZb06jddTtMAsJkWbbTDZSrBIAQ4NpVgO3NVNENLrf3eO76ZWFlUDUgBDA/s1600/StrategyInstall3.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Strategy Enable/disable toolbar button</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>Troubleshooting</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you have any problems with any part of this installation then one useful tip is to look at the Journal tab of ForexTester where helpful information is printed out. There you should see any error messages appear when ForexTester tries to load up the dll.<br />
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Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-90787072286104895742018-09-12T09:43:00.001-07:002018-09-12T09:46:53.639-07:00Installing & Using Script DLL's in ForexTester<div style="text-align: justify;">
A ForexTester script will be supplied to you as one or two Windows DLL libraries, so files with a <b>.dll</b> suffix.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">To install:</span></b></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
1. Shut down your copy of ForexTester<br />
<div>
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2. Find the folder where ForexTester is installed. This is usually something like<br />
<b>C:\ForexTester3\</b><br />
(or <b>C:\ForexTester2\</b> if you're running the older version)<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
3. Find the <b>Scripts </b>sub-folder (so <b>C:\ForexTester3\Scripts </b>for example) and copy the two dll files there.<br />
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</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
4. Re-start ForexTester and find the Scripts panel. This is usually on a tab next to the Data Window but if you can't find it then go to the <b>View | Show Panels | Scripts</b> menu option, making sure that there's a tick next to it. You should see your script or scripts listed there though you won't initially see anything in the Hotkey section<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGN_qGMcrbA93K72Z-EwblvLa2KESZvp8LYb6scxPFzV0j9L9JiAsRpSpzaFznxyS5x5s7z3kv9bzKx4F6oUtZT3CLgkEl0YXBtiyPxkWW208Jrn1P8VnaYvSIZ-IKERgqj8v3LV6cdmw/s1600/ScriptsPanel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGN_qGMcrbA93K72Z-EwblvLa2KESZvp8LYb6scxPFzV0j9L9JiAsRpSpzaFznxyS5x5s7z3kv9bzKx4F6oUtZT3CLgkEl0YXBtiyPxkWW208Jrn1P8VnaYvSIZ-IKERgqj8v3LV6cdmw/s1600/ScriptsPanel.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Scripts panel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<ol></ol>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
5. Right click on one of the scripts and select <b>Edit Script Properties.</b> This will bring up the script properties dialog box. Here you can set all the inputs for your script. The first entry in this list will be the <b>Hot key</b> value. Please note that you <b>must</b> set this value to a unique key combination that is not being used by any other script, otherwise it will complain. Please also note that in general for a ForexTester script there will be a <b>Currency Pair</b> and a <b>time-frame</b> input. In order for your script to work you <b>MUST</b> ensure that both these inputs match the chart that you are working with otherwise the script will not work.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Qfwy30J4JF70-4lxjQxNzW8azCHNCiXlsoatNsG3kAgGuAoKGCVqzitXvXulq4LJAhNwvJLZMzF0c1Cyn6UK7SU2O5uSqeIAGNhO7DZq4qY6Ov-ukVa5WWPO2Bbz_KYHMFE3vYQSv0c/s1600/ScriptInstall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Qfwy30J4JF70-4lxjQxNzW8azCHNCiXlsoatNsG3kAgGuAoKGCVqzitXvXulq4LJAhNwvJLZMzF0c1Cyn6UK7SU2O5uSqeIAGNhO7DZq4qY6Ov-ukVa5WWPO2Bbz_KYHMFE3vYQSv0c/s1600/ScriptInstall.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A typical script input selection</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
6. You can set the other inputs as required for your particular script.</div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Troubleshooting</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you have any problems with any part of this installation then one useful tip is to look at the Journal tab of ForexTester where helpful information is printed out. There you should see any error messages appear when ForexTester tries to load up the dll.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">To Use:</span></b><br />
<br />
When you want to apply the scrip to your chart you can either simply double-click on the script name in the Scripts panel or you can use the unique key combination. This will immediately run the script. Please note that a script is specifically designed to be a "run once" operation. To get it to run again you need to double-click again (or use the key combination again).</div>
<div>
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<div>
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Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-6755293810301669232018-09-12T00:34:00.003-07:002018-09-12T00:34:48.364-07:00Metatrader 101: Installing a DLL Library to your Mt4 Installation<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>This is the one in a series of Metatrader 101 posts, partly so that I can have something to give to clients who are new to Mt4. It will cover the basics so people can get up and running quickly.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Some more advanced Metatrader code that you'll come across will require a <b>DLL</b> (a Windows library file) to be installed as well as the actual <b>.ex4</b> or <b>.mq4</b> file. This is actually just as easy as installing any Metatrader code. Here's how to do it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
1. A <b>DLL</b> file will have a <b>.dll</b> name tag to it so you'll know that it needs to be treated differently from other Metatrader files.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
2. Unfortunately, the location on your hard drive of your Mt4 software is rather complicated as it's split up into two locations. The bit where you need to copy your new software to is hidden away deep within the <b>AppData</b> section and you won't easily find it by exploring the various folders. To help you with this there is a menu option which will open the location for you. From your Mt4 software go to <b>File | Open Data Folder</b> in order to bring up Windows Explorer opened at the correct folder location.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Xbb0aQeKb4UcqdxAH-CTr4Lvvj01gJBmJH7INnZQ5AFky4lRKg_noyexvokXdMpfgT9U6nBR4wqhCm_9rRax-sUFLNhkd87MFVz0iZn4QckPi0DohluwmOxa2WC_UnEpGxmCpMGMHww/s1600/_MQL4_folders.GIF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Xbb0aQeKb4UcqdxAH-CTr4Lvvj01gJBmJH7INnZQ5AFky4lRKg_noyexvokXdMpfgT9U6nBR4wqhCm_9rRax-sUFLNhkd87MFVz0iZn4QckPi0DohluwmOxa2WC_UnEpGxmCpMGMHww/s1600/_MQL4_folders.GIF" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">The folders within the MQL4 main folder</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
3. You'll see an <b>MQL4</b> folder which you should open to reveal a series of sub-folders (see image above). Unlike for .<b>mq4</b> or <b>.ex4</b> files, DLL's need to go in the <b>Libraries</b> folder so navigate there and drop the file in the folder.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
4. That's basically it! Unlike for .<b>mq4</b> or <b>.ex4</b> files there's no need to refresh or restart your Mt4 program explicitly for the <b>DLL</b> though if you've installed some code which uses the <b>DLL</b> then you'll need to refresh or restart for that part. See the instruction on <a href="http://snapdragontrading.blogspot.com/2016/04/metatrader-101-installing-new.html">installing new Mt4 code</a> for details on how to install <b>mq4</b> or <b>.ex4</b> files.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-73351194477159180492018-04-25T04:38:00.003-07:002018-04-25T04:51:54.678-07:00Importing Back-test Data in Metatrader4<div style="text-align: justify;">
Back-testing with Metatrader4 can be a bit tricky for the unwary as there are some quirks that you need to be aware of and if you're not careful you can end up back-testing with random data rather than the good quality data that you thought you were. In this blog post I go through how to ensure that your back-test is what you think it is. I also walk you through the necessary steps for importing and converting your data to different time-frames. This is particularly relevant if you want to use good quality back-test data of your own and are worried about it being "contaminated" by data from other sources. Incidentally, you may wish to take a look at the Snapdragon <a href="http://snapdragontrading.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/snapdragon-systems-historic-data-service.html">Historic Data Service</a> as a good source of clean historic data for back-testing.</div>
<br />
<b>Part 1 - Clearing Out Old History Data</b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The first thing to be aware of is that the data that is used in the Mt4 back-test is stored in the history folder. You can look at this folder by going to the <b>File | Open Data Folder</b> menu option which will bring up the Windows Explorer open at the root folder for your installation. If you then open the <b>history</b> folder and select your broker folder you will be able to see all the history files which will have names like <b>EURUSD1.hst</b>. These are the same files that you can see when you select the <b> File | Open offline</b> menu option instead, but in that instance they are all listed in a dialog box and you can't delete them. So that's where the data is stored. What you also need to know is that when Mt4 closes down, it writes out all the history data to this folder. So if you want to clear all your history data for example then you need to do it in the following way:</div>
<br />
1. Open up the folder in Windows Explorer by going to <b>File | Open Data Folder</b><br />
2. Now close down Mt4 (but leave Windows Explorer open)<br />
3. Now to delete all the data for EURUSD say, navigate down to the appropriate files and delete all the EURUSD*.hst files.<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
If you're importing your own data for a back-test then I recommend that you first clear out the old data using this method.</div>
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<b>Part 2 - Importing Your Own Data</b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To import some data of your own into the history folder then this is done using the <b>History Center</b> dialog box, which is brought up using the <b>Tools | History Center</b> menu option (or just the <b>F2</b> key). Once you bring up this dialog box you will see something like this </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDh_DZyosgNXX-VhLJqa_Yjy2sZcAD6ujdYMcRTi9CGBm_lO87gzt1YIRNrKwe-z9-Ms_x6-jyQacn8OG2RhrHfL9EDO5mngjJyVhA8jTfNIS36T35V7KfYv3YYcxkuLyD65CKjaXsmgE/s1600/HistCntr.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="810" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDh_DZyosgNXX-VhLJqa_Yjy2sZcAD6ujdYMcRTi9CGBm_lO87gzt1YIRNrKwe-z9-Ms_x6-jyQacn8OG2RhrHfL9EDO5mngjJyVhA8jTfNIS36T35V7KfYv3YYcxkuLyD65CKjaXsmgE/s640/HistCntr.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
You can see down the left-hand side are listed all the markets and by drilling down into them you can see sub-folders for each of the available time-frames. One important thing to note is that in order to select one of these sub-folders you need to <b>double-click</b> on it - just selecting it is not enough. If you look in the title bar of the dialog box it shows you which folder is currently active.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
A really important fact to note is that when you double-click on a folder Mt4 "helpfully" goes and populates it with some data of its own. So even after you've deleted all the history data for a pair as described in Part 1 it will still go and put some more in that it's downloaded from its servers. The best way around this issue is to double-click on the M1 folder, let it populate the list with its own data and then to delete it again. To do this, highlight the top element, hold down the shift key and then scroll to the bottom and click on the last element. This should now highlight all the elements in the list. Now click on the <b>Delete</b> button to delete them all. This deletes all the entries in the list. </div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
The next thing to do is to import your own data. You do this by clicking the <b>Import</b> button and then navigating to the file that you want to import. Once you've imported your own data, Mt4 won't overwrite it, but it will still add stuff beyond the end of your data. There's not a lot you can do about this but as long as you know what date your data goes up to and are careful only to test up to that point then it should be OK. You should now have your own imported data in the list.<br />
<br />
You should now see your data in the dialog box. Finally to make sure that it's saved to the history folder you should <b>close down Mt4</b>.</div>
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<br />
<b>Part 3 - Populating Different Time-frames</b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now, when running back-tests, the Strategy Tester sometimes pulls in data from different time-frames in order to construct the bar data that you are back-testing. The best way to ensure that you are only using your own data is to populate all the time-frames with your own data. Even if you're only back-testing one time-frame it is still recommended that you populate all the others just to be on the safe side. Now you may only have 1 minute data so you how do you create M5, M15 etc from this? The answer is to use the Period Converter script. Below are the necessary steps for doing this</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
1. The first thing that you need to do is to change the <b>Max bars in history</b> and <b>Max bars in chart</b> options in your Mt4 to ensure that you can load in all your data without any problems. Go to <b>Tools | Options</b> and then select the <b>Charts</b> tab from the dialog box. Set the Max bars in history and the Max bars in chart options to as big a number as you can fit in there: I just keep putting 9's in there until it won't take any more.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLs_0qGhU9U2cL7bsaSGxXwXe-SvO2ypHTbiC9pYhVwPkQ8E1tPChiU4GjcqEXRZKVbnfROt1sDKDZEb_45ztHLVUzYq1RmZYWav36PQfhynJrQTbhq7bl60-Uaqv2dLw9CcBM1h7yWGQ/s1600/MaxBars.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="587" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLs_0qGhU9U2cL7bsaSGxXwXe-SvO2ypHTbiC9pYhVwPkQ8E1tPChiU4GjcqEXRZKVbnfROt1sDKDZEb_45ztHLVUzYq1RmZYWav36PQfhynJrQTbhq7bl60-Uaqv2dLw9CcBM1h7yWGQ/s640/MaxBars.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
2. Next you need to go to the <b> File | Open offline</b> menu option which will bring up the dialog box showing all the history data. You should see the file for the symbol that you've imported already, so your <b>EURUSD,M1</b> file for example. Select this and click on the <b>Open</b> button. This will bring up a chart and because of your Max bars settings it will load all that it can into the chart.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
3. Next we will need to generate the other time-frames. To do this we can use the Period Converter script that comes with your Mt4 installation. Drop the script into the chart and set the <b>Period multiplier factor</b> to 5 first of all to generate the 5 minute data. Note that you won't see anything happen on the chart but in the <b>Experts tab</b> it will say X records written.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
4. Now repeat this process for all the time-frames that you are likely to need, so 15, 30, 60, 240 etc. I usually don't bother with the daily if I'm not testing a daily strategy but will do all the intraday time-frames.</div>
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5. Once you've done this then if you bring up the Offline Chart dialog (<b>File | Open offline</b>) then you should see all the different time-frames now listed there.</div>
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6. Finally, remember to set your two <b>Max bars</b> settings back to something moderate, otherwise it will slow your Mt4 right down.</div>
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7. The last step is to close down Mt4. This will write out all the history data to the folder so it's now backed up.</div>
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<b>Part 4 - Using Your Data</b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That should be it! You have now created all the history data that you want populated with your own data source and you can go ahead and do your back-tests with the Strategy Tester. Just make sure that you specify the end date from the test so it stops at or before your own data does. Otherwise you'll be using some data that Mt4 has provided.</div>
<br />Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-65189660473619687452018-04-19T07:32:00.001-07:002018-04-19T07:32:20.822-07:00Snapdragon Systems Historic Data Service<b>Clean financial market data for back-testing</b><br />
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Through our various trading platforms and data feeds we have accumulated a reasonable history of finanical market data over the years. What we have now done is to clean it up (where possible it's from a single reliable and tradeable source), and convert it into a format that can easily be imported either into ForexTester or into Metatrader4 for back-testing. Below are the key points of the service</div>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Spot forex: all pair combinations from the 8 major markets + some key CFD markets as well<br /></li>
<li> Goes back to the start of 2006 in 1 minute bars<br /></li>
<li> Comes in Ascii format for easy importing across a variety of platforms.<br /></li>
<li>Will load straight into the ForexTester back-testing platform and also into the Metatrader4 History Center for Strategy Tester back-tests</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Data is adjusted for the daylight savings difference between the US and Europe so you can either have the New York close always at the same time or the London Open always at the same time. Both sets of data are supplied.</div>
<br />
<ul>
<li> Price is GBP 100.00 to download all the data along with weekly updates for one month.<br /></li>
<li> Thereafter you can get weekly updates for GBP 60.00 per quarter. NB this is optional, so if you just want a one-off data dump then simply don't renew your subscription at the end of the first month.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
For more enquiries or to order please get in touch via the Snapdragon Systems contact page on our <a href="http://www.snapdragonsystems.com/">web-site</a></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
We can also source other markets and time-frames. If you have a particular requirement that isn't covered by the Historic Data Service then please ask.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Full List of Markets Convered</b></div>
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<b>Currencies</b></div>
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AUD_CAD</div>
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AUD_CHF</div>
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AUD_JPY</div>
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AUD_NZD</div>
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AUD_USD</div>
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CAD_CHF</div>
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CAD_JPY</div>
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CHF_JPY</div>
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EUR_AUD</div>
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EUR_CAD</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
EUR_CHF</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
EUR_GBP</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
EUR_JPY</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
EUR_NZD</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
EUR_USD</div>
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GBP_AUD</div>
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GBP_CAD</div>
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GBP_CHF</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
GBP_JPY</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
GBP_NZD</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
GBP_USD</div>
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NZD_CAD</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
NZD_CHF</div>
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NZD_JPY</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
NZD_USD</div>
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USD_CAD</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
USD_CHF</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
USD_JPY</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>CFDs</b></div>
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DAX30</div>
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S&P500</div>
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NASDAQ100</div>
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CORN</div>
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COPPER</div>
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NATGAS</div>
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PALLADIUM</div>
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PLATINUM</div>
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SILVER</div>
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GOLD</div>
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SOYBEANS</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
WHEAT</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
WTI CRUDE OIL</div>
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<br /></div>
Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-81263054581946777982017-11-02T00:21:00.000-07:002018-05-12T08:26:25.544-07:00Video on the Easy Order Entry Script for Forex Tester<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is a video on the "Easy Order Entry" script for ForexTester. It automates the entire position sizing calculation at the click of a button, making for much easier ForexTester back-tests! </div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pGK6B3GAlpc" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
<br />Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-6143333025581614672017-09-04T10:04:00.001-07:002017-09-04T10:08:12.171-07:00Riskfree Pyramid Addon Strategy for ForexTester<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For users of ForexTester (and if you don't then perhaps view our review <a href="https://snapdragontrading.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/forex-tester-forex-back-testing-software.html">here</a>), this is a strategy that can be used within the ForexTester software for aggressively pyramiding trades in a risk-free way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Basically it does three add-ons and at each one the stop-loss on the combined position is moved to break-even.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By doing this multiple times very aggressive returns can be achieved with no additional risk apart from that of the initial trade.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For more details please watch our video below</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xV2U51IA6J4" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Risk-free Pyramid Addon for Forex Tester</i></div>
Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-1841941526921377462017-08-29T09:56:00.003-07:002018-03-05T01:23:59.814-08:00Forex Tester - Forex Back-testing Software<div style="text-align: justify;">
Over the years there have been any number of back-testing platforms but one which I've recently come across and which I really like is ForexTester. This has been designed very much to look like MetaTrader 4, which is my preferred FX platform anyway so I feel very much at home with it. What it enables you to do is to step through historic data on a bar by bar basis (or even tick by tick if you really want) and to place trades on the chart using a simple right-click just as you would for Mt4. It has drag-and-drop for it's stop losses and take profit levels and you can trade multiple positions, trade hedged positions in fact everything that you would expect to do on Mt4. It will keep track of all your fills, positions and account equity so it feels just like the real thing. In this way you can back-test your approach across years of historic data, thereby gaining a huge amount of market experience at a much faster pace than you would otherwise be able to if just forward testing in real time.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDetgqMKrfWSNryw5YyiiF-v87VSX-pCG8u5qQxeMLJo_W7tohbT5686BTlt9jYXKcLCfm-4oKnM57VKN3ZlZAx-_MoM-fGlkYfwLk5T5AFEEzd-Urv89Ky8OETGQPDk3As2HRR4HJ0p0/s1600/ForexTester.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="1061" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDetgqMKrfWSNryw5YyiiF-v87VSX-pCG8u5qQxeMLJo_W7tohbT5686BTlt9jYXKcLCfm-4oKnM57VKN3ZlZAx-_MoM-fGlkYfwLk5T5AFEEzd-Urv89Ky8OETGQPDk3As2HRR4HJ0p0/s640/ForexTester.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ForexTester in action</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, what are the pro's and con's? Well, if you're looking for a programmatic testing platform then this isn't really the ideal platform. For sure you can code up indicators, scripts and strategies on it but if you have fairly simple back-testing requirements then something like TradeStation or MultiCharts is going to be much better. The one exception to this would be if your strategy involved hedged positions (so both long and short positions simultaneously) in which case the two previous platforms can't easily accommodate it. In such situations I generally use ForexTester, coding my strategy up into a dll "EA" ForexTester Strategy in order to do all my testing.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
So if this isn't a programmatic platform then what is it? Well, this is rather for more discretionary traders. If you trade using any method where there's an element of discretion or of "eyeballing the chart" then this is the perfect platform. Perhaps trend-line breaks, support or resistance or Fibonacci levels, all methods which are very hard to do programmatically, for all such approaches this would be the ideal platform. For those of you who are keen on indicators it has all the common ones at your disposal as well as various drawing tools such as Andrew's Pitchfork, wave counts, Fibonacci etc.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In fact I've become so enamoured with this platform that I've started to develop and sell some add-ons for it (see <a href="http://www.snapdragonsystems.com/forextester">here</a> for details) to make back-testing even easier and more hassle free. Think of it as the ForexTester equivalent of scripts and EA's. In addition I've also launched a simple historic data service whereby users can download historic data which can be imported into ForexTester.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'll leave you with this fact: of all the successful professional traders that I know (and I know quite a few these days), the vast majority of them swear by ForexTeser and attribute their success to using it.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Stop Press!</span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>I've now negotiated a special discount on the full price of ForexTester for Snapdragon Systems! Instead of the usual price of $299 it's now $269, so <span style="color: red;">$30 off!</span> To take advantage of this offer visit </b><br />
<b>this page <a href="http://forextester.com/special?partner=snapdragonsystems" target="NEW">here</a>.</b><br />
<br /></div>
Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-52287695160189028292017-08-22T02:21:00.000-07:002017-08-22T15:00:03.426-07:00FXStrategies Web-site<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://fxstrategies.de/">FXStrategies</a> is a great little web-site that I've just recently come across through my association with the trader behind it, Frank Walbaum. Originally from Germany, Frank now lives and trades from his adopted home in Singapore. I got to know Frank at a recent FX conference where we were both speakers and we've kept in touch ever since. Frank is a professional trader who started off working in a family office for three years before moving to managing other people's funds in 2014. He has a refreshingly simple "naked trading" approach with no indicators or bells or whistles: instead it's about candle patterns and support and resistance lines for him. Each morning (9 a.m. UK time) Frank runs a "morning call" where he goes through his trades and discusses what he's presently looking at in the markets. It's also a chance to ask him questions and learn about his approach to trading.</div>
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For subscribers who pay his modest monthly fee, his web-site has loads of content including numerous webinar recordings (include some by myself on trading psychology), tutorials, podcasts, Metatrader code and all sorts of other stuff. You also get access to his trade call updates many times a week via Twitter. As a subscriber you can also ask Frank questions directly via Skype or e-mail. He is happy for others to learn how to trade his style and this offers a great opportunity to have direct access to a top professional trader.</div>
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So all in all it's a great little site and well worth looking into.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvLGnD9QtEUwMuiwk0aHPEOTj3HZ87-pVo3L0FfKlOGe8-jsGG8xwE-WbkkwyTE8xHgTmuulZadxpiH3iHi-I6Tu_n95-iIo2u8rnISSqNM-QKcfImPRVECGOLOPxFO-FUt1HzNhNmNCA/s1600/FXStrat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="629" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvLGnD9QtEUwMuiwk0aHPEOTj3HZ87-pVo3L0FfKlOGe8-jsGG8xwE-WbkkwyTE8xHgTmuulZadxpiH3iHi-I6Tu_n95-iIo2u8rnISSqNM-QKcfImPRVECGOLOPxFO-FUt1HzNhNmNCA/s1600/FXStrat.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Just some of the tutorial content that's available on the site for subscribers</b></td></tr>
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<br />Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-54734141658657673202017-08-18T06:33:00.003-07:002017-08-18T06:36:14.560-07:00Free Metatrader 4 Trailing Stop EA<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here's a nifty little trailing stop EA that you can use for free. In fact in our Mt4 programming lessons we're going to be building it ourselves but for those who can't wait here's the finished article.</div>
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<b>The Legal Bit</b><br />
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Please note that this EA is supplied "as is" and no warranty is made, either expressly or implicitly as to its behavior. Please do your own due diligence on a demo account before using it on a live account and you use it at your own risk.</div>
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<h2>
<b>Inputs</b></h2>
The <b>TrailTypeOptions</b> selects which trail type to use.<br />
1 is an N-bar hi/lo trail - so e.g. 5 bar trailing low for a long position or 10 bar trailing high for a short<br />
2 is an SMA trail, so trailing at the price of a simple moving average<br />
3 is an EMA trail so trailing at the price of an exponential moving average<br />
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The <b>TrailLength</b> is the trail length to use. For the N-bar hi/lo trail this is the number of bars back for your trail. For the other options it's the moving average length<br />
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The <b>StopOffset</b> is how far beyond the calculated point to put your stop. So if you're running a short 10 bar trailing high stop then you might want to place your stop a couple of pips above the 10 bar high to allow for the spread etc. NB this is specified in points - the minimum price movement so if you input 20 then this is 2 pips (for a market that is quoted in pipettes).<br />
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If <b>StopOnClose</b> is set to true then the position will only be closed out if the market <b>closes</b> beyond the stop level. NB use this carefully as you don't have a stop in the market at all in this case and if you should lose your internet connection then the EA won't be able to close your position.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.snapdragonsystems.com/downloads/SnapdragonTrailingStop.ex4">Download here</a>.</span></b></div>
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For help on how to install it in Mt4 see this post <a href="http://snapdragontrading.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/metatrader-101-installing-new.html">here</a><br />
For help on how to apply it to your chart see this post <a href="http://snapdragontrading.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/metatrader-101-adding-ea-to-your-chart.html">here</a>Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-62718814675346348992017-07-14T03:36:00.000-07:002017-07-14T03:36:03.332-07:00Metatrader 101: How To Use Offline Charts<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;">This is the one in a series of Metatrader 101 posts, partly so that I can have something to give to clients who are new to Mt4. It will cover the basics so people can get up and running quickly.</i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;">In Metatrader you only have a limited choice of charts: bar, candle or line and a limited choice of time-frames. But if you want to use different time-frames more exotic charts such as Renko, Point and Figure etc, is this possible? The answer is yes using what are called Offline Charts.</span>
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The basic principle is that you run a script on a "driver" chart which generates the necessary data for your new chart whether it's something like a 3 minute chart or a Renko chart. This generated data is stored in the historic data folder in real-time as the driver chart updates. Then to see this generated chart you go to the <b>File | Open Offline</b> chart menu which shows all the historic data files. Scroll down to find your generated chart and select it and voila!<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;"><b>Step By Step</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;">Here are some step by step instructions. We'll use the PeriodConverter script to illustrate the process as this script comes with every Mt4 installation. We'll use this script to create a 3 minute chart.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;">2. For this example your driver market should be an M1 chart for the market that you're interested in. We'll use EURUSD as an illustration. So first bring up an M1 EURUSD chart. It doesn't need any indicators etc. and it doesn't matter what it looks like. You just need it to be up. The important thing to remember is that you need to keep this driver chart up the whole time that you are using the offline chart, otherwise the offline chart will stop updating.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;">3. Next find the PerdiodConverter script in the scripts section and drop it in your M1 EURUSD driver chart. The input dialog box for this script will appear with one input variable on the "Inputs" tab which is the Period multiplier factor. In our case we want an M3 chart so we want a multiplier factor of 3. Enter that in the input field and click OK. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;">3. At first glance nothing will appear to have happened. However if you look on the Experts tab of the Terminal window (Ctrl + T if it's not showing) then you'll see a message looking something like this:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;">4. Next we need to go to the <b>File | Open Offline</b> menu option which will bring up a dialog box showing all the history data files. Scroll down until your find the one which is labelled <b>EURUSD,M3</b> . Highlight this and then click on the Open button. This will open up the chart. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;">5. That's it! The new chart will update almost in real-time (it's programmed in the script to update every two seconds) and you can do all the usual stuff like add studies, EA's and trade off the chart etc.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished EURUSD M3 chart</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 13.2px;">Just remember, you need to keep the driver chart (EURUSD M1 in the example above) running for the Offline chart to update. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"><b>Different Time Periods</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.2px;">If you wanted something like an H8 chart, instead of using EURUSD M1 as a driver you would use EURUSD H1 and then a multiplier factor of 8 etc. So just work out what driver time period makes the most sense for the chart period that you are after and then use the appropriate multiplier.</span></span></div>
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</span>Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-51739354006273787962017-01-29T13:42:00.000-08:002017-08-29T13:43:13.446-07:00Metatrader Programming Lesson 4 a) - Student Question<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">I've been producing a series of Metatrader programming videos for a private forum which I thought that I would share here. They're designed to take people from scratch through to being able to program EA's, scripts and indicators. </i><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.2px;">Here's a quick video in response to a question from someone doing the programming course.</span></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SUxqin6LbH4" width="560"></iframe>Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-43368256607126715432017-01-22T10:29:00.000-08:002017-08-29T10:29:33.902-07:00Metatrader Programming Lesson 4<i>I've been producing a series of Metatrader programming videos for a private forum which I thought that I would share here. They're designed to take people from scratch through to being able to program EA's, scripts and indicators. </i><br />
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Lesson 4 - Homework Question<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BcBe5UAb_Zw" width="560"></iframe>Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-60749728093351761072017-01-15T10:08:00.000-08:002017-08-29T10:09:04.640-07:00Metatrader Programming Lesson 3<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">I've been producing a series of Metatrader programming videos for a private forum which I thought that I would share here. They're designed to take people from scratch through to being able to program EA's, scripts and indicators. </i><br />
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This lesson is on if statements and selecting orders.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/heW9TwvnMIw" width="560"></iframe>Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-75372006223175956562017-01-08T04:31:00.000-08:002017-08-29T10:06:57.910-07:00MetaTrader Programming Lesson 2<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">I've been producing a series of Metatrader programming videos for a private forum which I thought that I would share here. They're designed to take people from scratch through to being able to program EA's, scripts and indicators. </i><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.2px;">Lesson 2 of the programming series. This one is on variables and functions.</span></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mu83X2Lm13E" width="640"></iframe>Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-43925666768293788212017-01-01T02:54:00.000-08:002017-08-29T10:06:34.546-07:00MetaTrading Programming Lesson 1<i>I've been producing a series of Metatrader programming videos for a private forum which I thought that I would share here. They're designed to take people from scratch through to being able to program EA's, scripts and indicators. </i><br />
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<b>Lesson 1</b><br />
How to write your first script<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bHHyLrmZfbI" width="640"></iframe>
Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-65593735184832295372016-08-26T01:41:00.000-07:002016-08-26T01:41:16.753-07:00Naked Forex Now<div style="text-align: justify;">
The <a href="http://nakedforexnow.com/">Naked Forex Now</a> forum is a great forum that has been set up by Walter Peters, author of the book "Naked Forex - High Probability Techniques for Trading Without Indicators". His background is in psychology but he got bitten by the forex bug and has spent many years researching and developing his trading approach. His main idea is to throw away all those indicators and just to rely on price action itself, hence the "naked forex" in the title. What is so refreshing about his site is that he doesn't preach trading in any one style, rather the idea is that one should come to ones own method of trading that suits one's own personality and his site is all about going through that process. Firstly, I should mention that this is a private forum for which you pay a fee to access it. Whilst many wannabe traders may balk at this prospect I suggest that you at least read through until the end before dismissing it out of hand.</div>
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The site is set up in different sections. To start with there are the "house experts", currently Mr. Peters himself, Darren Littlewood and Jorge Espinosa who each have a different trading style. They each post their trades and answer questions on their trading approach and are generally very accessible. Walter uses support and resistance lines on daily and weekly charts for his set-ups, Jorge uses the "4E" strategy, a short term swing approach whereas Darren trades using his "Flow Method", an unusual form of stop and reverse trading which has a refreshingly unique philosophy behind it. Each expert posts regular video updates (Walter often doing two updates a day) on their trades. They are also very willing to answer any questions that you may have and will go out of their way to help.</div>
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As well as this there is also a whole host of teaching material from Walter. He's developed a vast number of courses over the years and all these are on offer as part of the membership of the site. These include the trading set-ups that Walter uses as well as a great psychology course that is a must-do for any trader (I can testify to this!). There are hundreds of hours of video material all available for members to view.</div>
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But what makes the Naked Forex Now forum stand out from others is the community feel. There is a supportive and encouraging atmosphere from the various members like nothing I've found anywhere else on the web. What's more these other members post some great content of their own. There are a number of trading journals from people, some of whom are really expert traders. "Rupin9999", a very successful trader who trades for a living, did a webinar for the forum a while back which blew people away and she now has a thread on the forum dedicated to followers of her methodology. "Martin" has taken some of Darren's ideas and made them his own with some very profitable tweaks that you can follow within his journal. "James" is a professional fund manager who has joined the forum and who kindly shares some of his many techniques within another thread. There are many others who have taken some of the basic ideas and have made them their own and then are only too happy to share their ideas with members. </div>
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This does illustrate the core idea behind the forum, namely that of finding something that suits your personality and then making it your own. The basic process is that you take a look at the many approaches that are on offer, have a go at trading them using ForexTester which is a great bit of software that allows you to back-test bar by bar, making your trading decisions and then seeing how they play out. Gradually you should start to adapt these approaches to suit your own psychology and to make them your own before trading a demo account, then a small live account and finally a full-sized live account. There is a lot of emphasis on the psychology side of things all the time, with constant mention of how important it is to find something that suits your personality otherwise at the first sign of trouble you're going to dump it.</div>
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One point I should mention is time-frames: most of the traders on here tend to be trading off at least 4 hour charts if not longer. Walter often has daily or weekly set-ups and whilst Darren has traded off 1 hour charts he's presently doing 4 hour as well. For short term traders or scalpers you might find relevant content rather thin on the ground. There has recently been a webinar on a short-term scalping approach and people have been doing journals on high frequency EA trading but the general focus does tend to be on slightly longer term stuff. This also applies to automated trading as well - there isn't a great deal of content on this though there are one or two people who are posting regularly about this.</div>
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To add to the mix, on the forum there are regular
webinars, sometimes from the house experts but often from either guest
speakers or from members of the community themselves who want to share a
trading approach. Walter also does a regular Non-Farm Payrolls trading
webinar where he uses a simple trading approach off 5 minute charts to
trade this news release. As an aside, if you want to learn more about what Walter and Darren think about trading then they post weekly podcasts under the title "The Two Traders", well worth a listen!</div>
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In conclusion, this is a fantastic site for supporting traders on their quest to becoming profitable and successful and I personally have been a member since April 2015. By way of full disclosure I should mention that I've been posting so regularly that Walter has promoted me to one of the regular "house posters" for which I get modest compensation and free membership. Having said that, I can definitely say that I would willingly pay for membership - it's one of the best investments a trader can make to help them on their way to becoming successful.</div>
Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-42855569743216832032016-06-29T07:20:00.001-07:002016-06-29T07:20:12.143-07:00Some Thoughts on the UK EU Referendum Outcome<div style="text-align: justify;">
I thought that I'd just take the time to post some thoughts on the whole EU referendum situation as it's really a huge deal here in the UK. Half the country is mortified at what we've voted to do and it feels like a very divided nation at present. Personally I think that there are several factors at play here in how we got to this point:</div>
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1. In my opinion this outcome all stems back to the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent austerity that has been imposed on the country. The conservative party have been preaching a "sound national finances" line and have imposed round after round of cuts in the public sector. Remarkably, the country seemed to take all this very quietly with no protests or riots or anything. However, this kind of austerity hurts the poorest the most and away from the affluent south of the country these poorer regions voter overwhelming to "Leave". In that respect it's very much a protest vote - if we'd been in the midst of a huge economic boom at the time then the outcome would surely have been different.</div>
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2. One of the most controversial aspects of the EU is the free movement of people within it. What it has effectively meant is that people from eastern europe have come over to the UK where they are more than happy to work for the minimum wage which to them is a pretty good amount. Now, here in the UK people probably wouldn't be prepared to work for this little but the migrants are effectively undercutting them and keeping wages down. That's how free competition in the job market works but it can be brutal when you introduce this migration factor. Incidentally, the even Conservative government realised that the working people were suffering when the raised the minimum wage quite a bit - most uncharacteristically generous for the Conservatives! Anyway, so when the down-trodden workers get a chance to vote down this whole free movement thing naturally they seize on it with both hands. Of course, whether they'll actually get rid of this economic migration as a result very much remains to be seen.</div>
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3. David Cameron, the British prime minister, has a lot to answer for. The Conservative party has been suffering for years from political in-fighting with the euro-sceptic right of the group and with Mr. Cameron only having a slim majority he decided for once at for all to lance this boil with a referendum, to have it out once and for all so that he could get on with governing the country. However, there were several areas where he went wrong:</div>
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i) His timing was very poor (for the reasons that I've stated in points 1 and 2)<br />
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ii) He meant to use the threat of the referendum to get a better deal from Europe which would give everyone an incentive to vote Remain. However Europe didn't take the Leave vote that seriously and called his bluff so he came away with next to nothing</div>
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iii) The campaigns on both sides were terribly negative with all sort of ridiculous claims which were complete speculation (or even down-right lies). I quickly switched off completely from listening to either of them. One of the worst things to see was George Osborne (the UK chancellor) threatening a "punishment budget" of tax rises and more austerity should we all not do as we were told. That man seems to have a real political blind spot about some of his actions and basically with this blunder (and the Leave outcome) he finished his political career.</div>
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The bottom line is that David Cameron bet the entire country on a gamble to sort out his party's in-fighting and he lost. He will go down in history as the man who drove the UK out of Europe and possibly even lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom with Scotland now almost certain to hold another independence referendum and this time they'll probably win (though quite how they'll balance their books now that oil is half the price it was at the last referendum is beyond me). Northern Island too is deeply unhappy about suddenly having an international border to police on its frontier and Wales will surely not stay united when everyone else has left. He might even become the man who breaks up the whole EU (see point 5).</div>
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4. Ed Milliband too has a lot to answer for though he can't really accept as much blame as Cameron. Had he not stood against his brother David, the Labour party might have been a more credible opposition. Who knows what the outcome of the election might have been with David not Ed at the helm. If we'd had another coalition government (as had been predicted) then this referendum never would have taken place.</div>
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5. Europe too must shoulder some of the blame. The truth is that the EU is very far from perfect. It's bureaucratic and unaccountable and doesn't seem to care at all what the people of Europe want but just keeps ploughing on with its grand vision of a united states of Europe. Now, don't get me wrong, I still think that on balance Europe is a good idea: the Single Market and the peace aspect are all real boons and in these troubled times it pays to stand together in larger multi-nation groups and for this reason I voted Remain. However, it is in desperate need of reform but because of it's lack of accountability, doesn't seem to see the need to do so. Any national government this unresponsive to its people would have long ago been kicked out but it doesn't seem possible to do that to the Eurocrats so nothing changes. Over the years there have been various national treaty votes and occasionally the people of one country have stood up and said actually enough is enough and we don't really share this united states of Europe vision. What do the Eurocrats do? Why they sidestep the vote, make the treaty change by the back door etc. This typifies their attitude. And as for the Euro, whilst it's great to have a single currency to conduct trade with, the whole point about a free-floating currency is that it can adjust to take up the slack in the rise and fall of the fortunes of a nation's economy. However with the one-size-fits-all Euro, Germany prospers whilst other countries go bust. There is of course no easy answer to this problem and for some reason the single currency seems to be inextricably tied up with the whole european identity but eventually something has to give and it will be messy when it does. Through this lack of reform, Europe has now lost one of its strongest economies and now that the genie is out of the bottle other countries are starting to talk about their Brexit as well. It's not impossible that the whole thing might unravel. One point of light in all this darkness is that one of the EU ministers said yesterday in the EU summit something along the lines of "perhaps we should actually start paying attention to what the people of europe want from now on". Let's hope it's not too late.</div>
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So that's my analysis of how we got to this point. What is going to happen next it anyone's guess and it's still not certain that Brexit will happen for sure. I might write some more on what might happen next in due course but it's been good to get all this stuff out on paper which has been rattling around in my head for days now.
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Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-72560213045022137202016-06-01T00:32:00.003-07:002016-06-01T00:32:46.964-07:00Choosing a Broker - Safety of Funds<div style="text-align: justify;">
There's one aspect to choosing a broker that often gets overlooked which is safety of funds. Sadly, when you place your money with a broker your money is at risk from the broker going bust. Now, you may think that this a very remote possibility and of course it is but during the 20 odd years that I've been trading (very much on and off) I've had two brokerage accounts go bust on me so it does happen. You only have to look at the "Francageddon" incident to see what can happen in extreme circumstances and quite a few brokers went bust when the Swiss Central Bank suddenly pulled the plug on their EURCHF line-in-the-sand that they'd been supporting for quite some time. The thing that you have to remember is that a broker takes on the liabilities of its clients so if a few clients get into serious trouble and go bust then the broker is suddenly dumped with those losses. Sometimes it's a rogue trader who racks up huge losses and keeps doubling down to try and make it back (à là Nick Leeson). If this person happens to be trading with your broker and they don't spot it then again the broker can go under. Now of course you'd expect that all brokers would have proper risk management in place to spot all this but sadly it does still happen. All scary stuff!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bigoption.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/safety-of-funds-banner-BigOption.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.bigoption.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/safety-of-funds-banner-BigOption.jpg" height="226" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How safe is your money with your broker?</td></tr>
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Fortunately, here in the UK we have the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) who oversee financial institutions. They have minimum capital adequacy regulations (basically each broker much have sufficient funds to cover such contingencies) and there is a compensation scheme which means that you'll get back the first £75k or so of your money should they go bust. This is a very re-assuring thing for UK investors and which leads me on to my general rule when choosing a broker that you should choose someone in a good jurisdiction where there's proper regulation and a reasonable chance of getting your money back should they go bust. I wouldn't personally invest in some small off-shore brokerage company in a country that I've not even heard of and quite frankly you're asking for trouble if you do this.</div>
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There's one more thing to consider, namely that some brokers are down-right dishonest. I've heard of one case of an off-shore broker that, when clients try to withdraw their money, they suddenly decide retrospectively to adjust all their fills, slipping each trade by a few pips on every trade they've done so that suddenly all the profit that was sitting in their account has vanished. All completely illegal of course but whether you can do anything about it depends on whether they're regulated at all. Again, it's worth looking at the broker's business model: if they're an ECN then they're not going to do something like this as they don't care about the trading as long as they get their commission. A bucket-shop type of market maker on the other hand is going to have more of an interest in you doing poorly. Of course such blatant dishonesty isn't a viable long-term business model and word does get around but you should be wary of reviews in public forums as they can be posted by the brokers themselves. A good sign of this is a broker review from a new member who's only done one post - very dodgy! </div>
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So, in conclusion, the safety of your funds in the worst case scenario is an important part of choosing your broker. </div>
Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-26937192370883432202016-05-16T02:34:00.003-07:002016-05-17T02:39:35.159-07:00FX Broker Review: LMAX<div style="text-align: justify;">
LMAX are a UK-based ECN broker that I have used and at the time of writing still do use. I first came across them via some promotional material and was blown away by how tight their spreads seemed to be. Up until now most of the retails brokers that I'd come across were Market-maker type of brokers but LMAX were an ECN operation with a very low cost of entry (see the post <a href="http://snapdragontrading.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/different-types-of-retail-forex-account.html">here</a> for the important difference between Market-maker and ECN brokers). I did further research and decided that I liked them and opened an account. </div>
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It turns out that LMAX are actually primarily (or at least originally) a platform developer and they have some super-fast technology for matching orders etc. so in a sense they are offering their own exchange. They also offer a brokerage service and their web-platform gives you access to their exchange with all the usual functionality that you'd expect. They offer all the major and minor FX pairs that you might expect with quotes from a number of different liquidity providers as well as some CFD offerings on the major indices and commodities etc. All well and good and I had no complaints about their service. After a
while I switched over to their Mt4 offering which too all worked fine. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbTAkCpN4n-ly5C1z1Qgjk0EPono26WlAp5DoPaaxuV0nOD4vvDzVTs2_9CWMi_Bi0w7cztGl-eXFHmtQKPMnZUrT043gUkAhHUKx_3oTkfR0p_pITVOUU07bUO3qi2eRRuWveFggxKeo/s1600/LMAXScreen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="489" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbTAkCpN4n-ly5C1z1Qgjk0EPono26WlAp5DoPaaxuV0nOD4vvDzVTs2_9CWMi_Bi0w7cztGl-eXFHmtQKPMnZUrT043gUkAhHUKx_3oTkfR0p_pITVOUU07bUO3qi2eRRuWveFggxKeo/s640/LMAXScreen.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The LMAX web platform - click to enlarge</td></tr>
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So how are LMAX compared to other brokers? Well, firstly they're an ECN broker which is important to me. Their pricing is pretty tight (though I've since come across tighter) which is what you expect and hope for from an ECN offering. During news releases the spread quickly reverts back to reasonable levels and there aren't any horrible "air pockets" of liquidity when you're trading. Commissions are reasonable and on the couple of occasions when I've had to ring them up they've been competent and dealt with my queries quickly and accurately.</div>
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So, is everything wonderful with LMAX? Well, sadly not. Firstly, their CFD offering are market maker driven and are therefore prone to the usual price manipulation. In fact the example of price manipulation in the Crude Oil CFD contract that I wrote about was on the LMAX platform (see original article <a href="http://snapdragontrading.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/blatant-price-rigging.html">here</a>). Fair enough - the CFD's aren't on their ECN and one knows what to expect from a market-maker broker. </div>
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Secondly, and this for me is the killer, LMAX overnight swap rates are outrageous - they're by far the worst ones that I've come across and for me they're a total deal-breaker when it comes to holding positions overnight. Now, I know that swap rates aren't the first thing that people think about when choosing a broker and that's precisely why brokers can be rather devious with these charges (see the article on swap rates <a href="http://snapdragontrading.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/swap-rates-hidden-cost-of-trading-forex.html">here</a>). I did query them with LMAX, kind of expecting that they'd reduce them for me since I'd actually pointed out how expensive they were - but they didn't seem to care.</div>
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So, in conclusion, they're a decent enough broker but only if you don't use their CFD's and you don't hold positions overnight.</div>
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<br />Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-48737579549064811182016-04-19T00:49:00.002-07:002016-04-19T00:49:48.687-07:00Metatrader 101: Installing New Metatrader Code in Mt4<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>This is the one in a series of Metatrader 101 posts, partly so that
I can have something to give to clients who are new to Mt4. It will
cover the basics so people can get up and running quickly.</i></div>
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One of the great things about Metatrader is the amazing range of free code out there for extending and customising your charts with no end of scripts, indicators and EA out there, many of them free. But one of the first things that you need to learn is how to install these third-party pieces of code within your set-up. Here's how to do it.</div>
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1. When installing code it will either be a <b>.mq4</b> file which is the source code, or an <b>.ex4</b> file which is the compiled code - with just the latter you won't be able to see the underlying code. If people supply both all you need is the .mq4 file as your software will automatically compile it. Sometimes there are additional support files such as DLL libraries which you'll need as well.</div>
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2. Unfortunately, the location on your hard drive of your Mt4 software is rather complicated as it's split up into two locations. The bit where you need to copy your new software to is hidden away deep within the <b>AppData</b> section and you won't easily find it by exploring the various folders. To help you with this there is a menu option which will open the location for you. From your Mt4 software go to <b>File | Open Data Folder</b> in order to bring up Windows Explorer opened at the correct folder location.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Xbb0aQeKb4UcqdxAH-CTr4Lvvj01gJBmJH7INnZQ5AFky4lRKg_noyexvokXdMpfgT9U6nBR4wqhCm_9rRax-sUFLNhkd87MFVz0iZn4QckPi0DohluwmOxa2WC_UnEpGxmCpMGMHww/s1600/_MQL4_folders.GIF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Xbb0aQeKb4UcqdxAH-CTr4Lvvj01gJBmJH7INnZQ5AFky4lRKg_noyexvokXdMpfgT9U6nBR4wqhCm_9rRax-sUFLNhkd87MFVz0iZn4QckPi0DohluwmOxa2WC_UnEpGxmCpMGMHww/s1600/_MQL4_folders.GIF" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The folders within the MQL4 main folder</td></tr>
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3. You'll see an <b>MQL4</b> folder which you should open to reveal a series of sub-folders (see image above). Now what you do next depends on what you're installing. If it's an EA then it needs to go in the <b>Experts</b> folder, a script goes in the <b>Scripts</b> folder and indicators go (you guessed it) in the <b>Indicators</b> folder. Sometimes if the code is complicated you might also need to install various support files such as Dll's etc which will go in the <b>Libraries</b> folder.</div>
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4. That's basically it but now you need to get your Mt4 program to recognise the new files. There are two ways of doing this. The easiest way is simply to shut down and re-start the Mt4 platform. You should then see the new code in the appropriate section of the <b>Navigator</b>. The other way of doing it is to refresh the appropriate Navigator pane. For example, if you've installed a new EA then you need to go to the EA section on the Navigator pane, right-click and select <b>Refresh</b>. This will re-scan for all available EA code and your new EA should now be listed. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjUa2EebSDSSsXjg3LaMn5MlzngMQMkCgZCrKZ7VYEfSg047dGx2zb0q7I8LMr9Q3Wm261YAg_cAdp81XNolQDOxAuQw5uI8JbSnD2w-_zi0iBn7tiiIAMNQdsgHQKw1UtE_7xv77U7Y/s1600/_Navigator.GIF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjUa2EebSDSSsXjg3LaMn5MlzngMQMkCgZCrKZ7VYEfSg047dGx2zb0q7I8LMr9Q3Wm261YAg_cAdp81XNolQDOxAuQw5uI8JbSnD2w-_zi0iBn7tiiIAMNQdsgHQKw1UtE_7xv77U7Y/s1600/_Navigator.GIF" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The various sections of the Navigator pane - right-click and select <b>Refresh</b></td></tr>
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That's it! You can now make use of all the amazing pieces of Mt4 code that are out there.</div>
Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-84327926670054560282016-04-15T01:51:00.002-07:002016-04-19T00:26:25.689-07:00Metatrader 101: Adding an EA to your Chart<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>This is the first in a series of Metatrader 101 posts, partly so that I can have something to give to clients who are new to Mt4. It will cover the basics so people can get up and running quickly.</i></div>
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An EA (Expert Advisor) is an automate trading strategy that will trade your account for you and hopefully make you money. In order to apply one to your chart you need to do the following:</div>
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1. Go to the <b>Tools | Options</b> menu option to bring up the <b>Options</b> dialog. On the <b>Expert Advisors</b> tab make sure that <b>Allow automated trading</b> has been ticked. You'll see that there are other options there which disable automated trading when either the account or profile have been changed. It's good to leave these on but it does mean that if you're changing accounts regularly then you'll need to check that automated trading is switched on each time you get started. Click <b>OK</b> once you've done this to close the dialog box.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMe43uf1RIy4FaS5rD7GjNyXjiPgnOLtY86kvf1i1AZZRDY1uepfknDWvyHKW8EwRnW6kg1Ec0lBwwtdNKZ4ytZDS872AtyTjyVhguCAhcRNq98Y4m6SfMbY7sjgYER5XbEvsFfYE7YE/s1600/_Tools_Options.GIF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMe43uf1RIy4FaS5rD7GjNyXjiPgnOLtY86kvf1i1AZZRDY1uepfknDWvyHKW8EwRnW6kg1Ec0lBwwtdNKZ4ytZDS872AtyTjyVhguCAhcRNq98Y4m6SfMbY7sjgYER5XbEvsFfYE7YE/s1600/_Tools_Options.GIF" /></a></div>
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Note, there is an alternative way of doing the above which you may prefer to use instead. Above the chart area there is space for some toolbars. Depending on what settings you have selected (View | Toolbars menu option to change these) you might have the "Standard" toolbar open. If you do then you'll see this button:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQfkcumBR8BboFuEX44C0QjSi-8JJTMbTwmDtqvDrRKGXWMK29XbY-htd0BboTH0v03Sgz94ICtcqq54-qdvLg9GJzogfrO9CP-QkmMwRInIcN9gbsnMHdTVb4wjEZBfzrEOkGcQVcSJQ/s1600/_EA_button.GIF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQfkcumBR8BboFuEX44C0QjSi-8JJTMbTwmDtqvDrRKGXWMK29XbY-htd0BboTH0v03Sgz94ICtcqq54-qdvLg9GJzogfrO9CP-QkmMwRInIcN9gbsnMHdTVb4wjEZBfzrEOkGcQVcSJQ/s1600/_EA_button.GIF" /></a></div>
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If there is a green arrow next to the "man in a hat" icon then your EA's are switched on. If there's a red square then they're switched off. Clicking this button toggles the EA's on and off.<br />
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2. To add the EA to the chart simply drag and drop it from the <b>Navigator</b> pane on the left-hand side. The EA will first show a dialog box so that you can set it's inputs. Once you've done this you should see a smiley face in the top right-hand corner of the screen which shows that the EA is active and working (see arrow in chart below).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXVbx5rd7KOTaor_I2IYrDKyEroudu9hlejvORN1IfjZlmWD2eMvezODJ4smbkTDp0pleIjsq8WR6KtFpLxK7pvwbki0ERLxIpHpKDhyphenhyphenBh3WI3d7piYsl8cHnZt5pNRIy7e646_fWol2I/s1600/_EAFace.GIF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXVbx5rd7KOTaor_I2IYrDKyEroudu9hlejvORN1IfjZlmWD2eMvezODJ4smbkTDp0pleIjsq8WR6KtFpLxK7pvwbki0ERLxIpHpKDhyphenhyphenBh3WI3d7piYsl8cHnZt5pNRIy7e646_fWol2I/s1600/_EAFace.GIF" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">EA smiley face in the top right-hand corner</td></tr>
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3. That should be it. If you don't see a smiley face then you need to remove the EA again by right clicking in the chart area and selecting <b>Expert Advisors | Remove</b>. The reason is probably because you've forgotten to do step 1 above so check that first and then repeat step 2. If it's still not working then you need to look at the <b>Experts</b> tab in the Terminal window where the EA will output any error messages.</div>
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4. Removing an EA: as mentioned in step 3 right click in the chart area and select <b>Expert Advisors | Remove</b>. The smiley face icon will then disappear.<br />
<br />Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297500487922945694.post-13380993945924654022016-04-12T01:48:00.000-07:002016-04-12T01:48:35.701-07:00The Gambler's Fallacy<div style="text-align: justify;">
I thought that I'd write about something known as the "Gambler's Fallacy" as it's something that crops up in trading (particularly FX trading) from time to time. The basic idea is that you can make money by betting cleverly and that somehow through doing this you can turn something that has no inherent edge into something that does. The clue as to whether this works is in the second half of the name - of course you can't do this but it can be packaged up in a very alluring way that can trick the unwary.</div>
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Here's how it works. Take any game of chance with a 50-50 win rate such as betting on black or red on roulette. Make a 1 unit bet on either and if you win then you simply collect your winnings and start again. If you lose then your P&L is currently -1 so this time you bet 2 units, one to cover your loss and one is the profit that you're looking for. Again, if you win you've ended up +1 so far on the session but if you lose then you're now -3 on the session. Once again if you lose you now bet 4 units to try and make back the 3 that you're down and 1 for your net profit. I'm sure that you can see that pattern here, you keep doubling your bet each time you lose, hoping to make back your losses and your 1 unit profit. Eventually of course you will win and then you pocket your net +1 unit profit and start the whole process again.</div>
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It sounds fool proof and the appealing thing about it is that most of the time it works. In fact my daughter used this method at a college ball on a play money casino to break the bank, cleaning them out entirely! However, before you start reaching for your wallet and heading to the nearest casino, the downside to the method is that eventually you'll hit a losing streak so big that you'll hit either the house limit (the maximum bet size that a casino will accept) or you'll run out of money. It's unlikely but of course eventually it will happen just as eventually it will come up ten blacks in a row on roulette. </div>
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You also have to be aware of how quickly the bet stake grows. Say you come to the table with 100 units.</div>
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After 1 loss you're left with 99 and betting 2<br />
After 2 losses you're left with 97 and betting 4<br />
After 3 losses you're left with 93 and betting 8<br />
After 4 losses you're left with 85 and betting 16<br />
After 5 losses you're left with 69 and betting 32<br />
After 6 losses you're left with 37 and betting 64<br />
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... except that you can't because you don't have enough money left! So with 100 unit table stake, 6 losses in a row will leave you with only 37 units left and unable to recoup your losses. What's more, this event will happen 1 in every 64 rolls so it's more likely than you think!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.onlineroulettefree.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Roulette-Wheel1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.onlineroulettefree.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Roulette-Wheel1.jpg" height="272" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't try this at a casino!</td></tr>
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<b>The Trading Equivalent</b><br />
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So what has all this to do with trading? Well, the other day I came
across a "foolproof" way of trading which was basically this concept though package up in a rather elaborate way.
You can download the pdf <a href="http://www.snapdragonsystems.com/GamblersFallacy.pdf">here</a>
if you want. It basically involves setting up a breakout strategy. If
it wins then you're done for the day, if it loses you take a trade in
the opposite direction and (you've guessed it) you double your size.
Keep doing this until you've made your money for the day or you've wiped
out your account.</div>
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<b>Grid Trading</b><br />
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There is one other area where this sort of concept comes up which is grid trading. This basically involves buying and selling at fixed intervals on a chart usually in a mean reversion way and hoping that the market reverses after trading. Usually these strategies are offered as an EA (Metatrader Expert Advisor) of some kind which promises untold riches. There are all sorts of elaborate variations on this theme, which generally involves doubling your stake size or at least taking on increasingly large positions in order to try and make back your previous losses and a little bit extra for your profit. They all suffer from the same Achille's Heel that the Gambler's Fallacy does, namely that eventually the market will keep going against you and will wipe you out.</div>
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A client of mine spent quite a lot of time testing out various versions of these, trying to find a combination of parameters that would somehow avoid the inevitable. I kept telling him that no variation on this theme was going to work but that wasn't what he wanted to hear. I don't know whether he saw the light in the end, I hope that if he did it wasn't at the expense of his entire account!</div>
<br />Adam Hartley, Snapdragon Systemshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855137569408916879noreply@blogger.com0