my RULES

1. "MUST" take every signal shown by system
2. "NEVER" invest > 30% out from capital, balance capital for backup
3. "INCREASE" position only after 20-30% increase in capital

*Futures Crude Palm Oil: current position for GT2
Step 1: Holding> February contract LONG 3053 (01.12.11)
Step 2: Stop> i dont use STOP!!
Step 3: Entry> No SAR signal yet..

*Futures Kuala Lumpur Index: current position for RJ1
Step 1: Holding> LONG 1436 November (24.11.11)
Step 2: Stop> i dont use STOP!!
Step 3: Entry> No SAR signal yet..

*will be updated after market

*PLEASE SCROLL DOWN DOWN DOWN TO VIEW MY GT2 SYSTEM PERFORMANCE

Wise Words from Ed Seykota

If I am bullish, I neither buy on a reaction, nor wait for strength; I am already in. I turn bullish at the instant my buy stop is hit, and stay bullish until my sell stop is hit. Being bullish and not being long is illogical. ~ "Market Wizards, Interview with Top Traders - Jack D. Schwager"

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

What Is A Trading System And How Do I Get One Working For Me?

By Michael Levin

  1. A Trading system is a defined set of rules that trigger entries and exits in a particular market or group of markets.

  2. Most systems use algorithms, setups or "situations" that occur in the market that trigger an entry (long or short).

  3. An example of a simple system called an "Opening range Breakout" would be to wait until a stock or index has opened for the day and after the first 30 minutes of trading, if the market being tracked breaks above or breaks down below that 30 minute range, the "system' would enter a buy order if breaking above or a sell/short order if breaking below.

Here is an example - S&P 500 ETF Friday December 17th

  1. Opening range established between 9:30 am EST
  2. Low 123.91 - High 124.11
  3. A break of the high will trigger a buy and a break of the low will trigger a low.

    S&P Price Overview
    If you cannot view the above chart, go here.

  4. Notice the breakout "A" was just by a few ticks or so. Some systems will buy a breakout by even the smallest of increments, other systems have rules that further trigger, such as volume, Stochastics, MACD, Relative strength, CCI, etc.

    S&P Chart1
    If you cannot view the above chart, go here.

  5. Notice that there was no follow through on this breakout and it went and broke through the lows by just a bit soon after in area "B"
  6. If a system isn't robust enough it will be buying breakouts that aren't strong and then get washed out on the subsequent pullbacks that break to new lows.
  7. Notice that on this day, that "washout" of area "B" had a nice recovery and moved up again to a brief new high at area "C", traded sideways and then had a "real" breakout in area "D"

    S&P Chart2
    If you cannot view the above chart, go here.

  8. I drew a trendline under the range of the breakout in area "D" that proved to be the "tipping point" at which the bulk of the move was over that area "E" shows as the breakdown of the days move and also gives a chance for late day reversal signals to take place as another type of stand alone system.

The point I want to make here is that there are so many types of trading days that can occur. In an article I wrote for www.FutureSource.com in early December 2010 ( go here to read the article) I talk about how easy it is at the END of the day, to look back and see what one could have done, than it is to be trading well AS the market is open and trading.

By using a system that is programmed to take advantage of "certain" moves in the market, WITHOUT the human emotions that usually have a bias associated with it that often are triggered by greed or fear (should I buy before I miss this move or should I not sell because I don't want to get stopped out) a system is more reliable over time and has the added advantage of waiting until all the signals (metaphorically) are green (for a buy) or red (for a sell).

Systems that trade for a client directly into their own account are highly valued by those that havemoney and know how to make it work for them . Those who have never had a system working for them; seem suspect these days, as I speak to literally hundreds of investors per month and because of the Bernie Madoffs of the world and other "scammers" that exist on the internet, they can be reluctant to try one.

One particular person wanted to "watch" the system over time and see if he liked it. He saw a track record of 4 years with returns averaging 60% per year Net and yet that wasn't good enough for him, he was too skeptical.

After 4 months of watching the beginning of 2010, the system was up almost 28% (that he missed) and begrudgingly he set up his account, only to see the system draw-down 20% in 45 days after he got in. He jumped out and closed his account swearing that he always loses when he does things like this.

I'm sure you know what happened right after he got out; the next 3 months the system went up 55% without him, giving the best 3 month performance stretch in over 2 years. Had he started when he was presented with the system, he would have been up a Net 67% on his account, instead, because of HIS EMOTIONS (which is why we use systems) HE stepped out of a winning system and wound up with losses of 22% (right at the lows I might add).

Summing up systems; Find a system with a verifiable track record that you can live with over the course of a few YEARS. Define the worst draw-downs and fund your account so you don't get scared out when a draw-down occurs, because they WILL happen to everyone. Lastly, let it ride, compound your gains and you may find as I have that trading systems are the way to go for a portion of a smart portfolio.

I adjusted these lines from the movie the Terminator to fit with how I view automated systems trading.

Here are the original lines from the Terminator:

That Terminator is out there. It can't be bargained with, it can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear and it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.

My version:

This system is traded for you; it hasn't been optimized or changed since it was invented. It trades whether you are sleeping or working or driving on the highway and it doesn't stop crunching the numbers until the trading day ends. It has no fear, no greed, it doesn't care what Ben Bernanke or Barrack Obama or China does. It doesn't argue with the boss, it doesn't have a bias of where the market is going and it doesn't take coffee breaks. It just keeps on spitting out results day after day after day and it will not ever stop until you tell it to.

Systems are your designated hitter; you can stay in the stands and watch them do the heavy lifting... Just don't sit there and watch these systems winning for others while you are still "thinking about it".

Featured Article from FutureSource.com


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CPO 2011 (GT2 System Performance)

MAY 2011 contract
1)17.02>LONG 3729-SELL 3623 = -106 (21.02)

2)21.02>SHOT 3623-BUY 3538 = +85 (23.02)

3)23.02>LONG 3538-SELL 3518 = -20 (28.02)

4)24.02>SHOT 3506-BUY 3413 x 2lots = +186 (24.02)

5)28.02>SHOT 3518-BUY 3525 = -7 (01.03)

6)01.03>LONG 3525-SELL 3625 = +100 (08.03)

7)08.03>SHOT 3625-BUY 3598 = +27 (09.03)

8)09.03>LONG 3598-SELL 3406 = -192 (11.03)

9)10.03>SHOT 3501-BUY 3473 x 2lots = +56 (10.03)

10)11.03>SHOT 3406-BUY 3347 = +59 (14.03)

11)14.03>LONG 3347-SELL 3371 = +24 (15.03)

JUNE 2011 contract
12)15.03>LONG 3360-SELL 3434 = +74 (21.03)

13)21.03>SHOT 3434-BUY 3347 = +87 (23.03)

14)23.03>LONG 3347-SELL 3425 = +78 (11.04)

15)24.03>SHOT 3287-BUY 3249 x 2lots = +76 (24.03)

16)31.03>SHOT 3302-BUY 3343 x 2lots= -82 (31.03)

17)05.04>SHOT 3368.5-BUY 3365 x 2lots= +7 (05.04)

18)07.04>SHOT 3339-BUY 3342 x 2lots= -6 (07.04)

19)11.04>SHOT 3425-BUY 3344 = +81 (13.04)

20)13.04>LONG 3344-SELL 3307 = -37 (14.04)

21)14.04>SHOT 3307-BUY 3269 = +38 (18.04)

JULY 2011 contract
22)18.04>LONG 3253-SELL 3355 = +102 (25.04)

23)19.04>SHOT 3220-BUY 3240 x 2lots = -40 (19.04)

24)25.04>SHOT 3355-BUY 3334 = +21 (26.04)

25)26.04>LONG 3334-SELL 3290 = -44 (27.04)

26)27.04>SHOT 3290-BUY 3320 = -30 (28.04)

27)28.04>LONG 3320-SELL 3243 = -77 (04.05)

28)04.05>SHOT 3243-BUY 3277 = -34 (05.05)

29)05.05>LONG 3277-SELL 3175 = -102 (06.05)

30)06.05>SHOT 3175-BUY 3203 = -28 (09.05)

31)09.05>LONG 3203-SELL 3264 =+61 (10.05)

32)10.05>SHOT 3264-BUY 3252 = +12 (13.05)

33)13.05>LONG 3252-SELL 3370 = +118 (19.05)

AUGUST 2011 contract
34)19.05>LONG 3339-SELL 3388 = +49 (23.05)

35)23.05>SHOT 3388-BUY 3385 = +3 (24.05)

36)24.05>LONG 3385-SELL 3370 = -15 (25.05)

37)25.05>SHOT 3370-BUY 3386 = -16 (25.05)

38)25.05>LONG 3386-SELL 3418 = +32 (26.05)

39)26.05>SHOT 3418-BUY 3439 = -21 (26.05)

40)26.05>LONG 3439-SELL 3405 = -34 (26.05)

41)26.05>SHOT 3405-BUY 3442 = -37 (27.05)

42)27.05>LONG 3442-SELL 3440 = -2 (30.05)

43)30.05>SHOT 3440-BUY 3373 = +67 (02.06)

44)02.06>LONG 3373-SELL 3441 = +68 (03.06)

45)03.06>SHOT 3441-BUY 3254 = +187 (13.06)

46)13.06>LONG 3254-SELL 3256 = +2 (16.06)

SEPTEMBER 2011 contract
47)16.06>SHOT 3254-BUY 3215 = +39 (20.06)

48)20.06>LONG 3215-SELL 3212 = -3 (22.06)

49)22.06>SHOT 3212-BUY 3178 = +34 (23.06)

50)23.06>LONG 3178-SELL 3144 = -34 (24.06)

51)24.06>SHOT 3144-BUY 3121 = +23 (24.06)

52)24.06>LONG 3121-SELL 3076 = -45 (27.06)

53)27.06>SHOT 3076-BUY 3080 = -4 (28.06)

54)28.06>LONG 3080-SELL 3113 = +33 (30.06)

55)30.06>SHOT 3113-BUY 3071 = +42 (04.07)

56)04.07>LONG 3071-SELL 3054 = -17 (04.07)

57)04.07>SHOT 3054-BUY 3046 = +8 (06.07)

58)06.07>LONG 3046-SELL 3074 = +28 (08.07)

59)08.07>SHOT 3074-BUY 3045 = +29 (12.07)

60)12.07>LONG 3045-SELL 3115 = +70 (15.07)

61)15.07>SHOT 3115-BUY 3134 = -19 (18.07)

OCTOBER 2011 contract
62)18.07>SHOT 3125-BUY 3082 = +43 (19.07)

63)19.07>LONG 3082-SELL 3140 = +58 (21.07)

64)21.07>SHOT 3140-BUY 3100 = +40 (25.07)

65)25.07>LONG 3100-SELL 3115 = +15 (28.07)

66)28.07>SHOT 3115-BUY 3123 = -8 (28.07)

67)28.07>LONG 3123-SELL 3086 = -37 (29.07)

68)29.07>SHOT 3086-BUY 3100 = -14 (29.07)

69)29.07>LONG 3100-SELL 3120 = +20 (02.08)

70)02.08>SHOT 3120-BUY 3137 = -17 (03.08)

71)03.08>LONG 3137-SELL 3116 = -21 (04.08)

72)04.08>SHOT 3116-BUY 3050 = +66 (05.08)

73)05.08>LONG 3050-SELL 3033 = -17 (08.08)

74)08.08>SHOT 3033-BUY 2959 = +74 (09.08)

75)09.08>LONG 2959-SELL 3004 = +45 (12.08)

76)12.08>SHOT 3004-BUY 3054 = -50 (15.08)

77)15.08>LONG 3054-SELL 3057 * = +3 (15.08) *sell because chart hang from 3pm.

NOVEMBER 2011 contract
78)16.08>SHOT 3019-BUY 3025 = -6 (17.08)

79)17.08>LONG 3025-SELL 3003 = -22 (19.08)

80)19.08>SHOT 3000-BUY 3045 = -45 (23.08)

81)23.08>LONG 3045-SELL 3051 = +6 (24.08)

82)24.08>SHOT 3051-BUY 2978 = +73 (26.08)

83)26.08>LONG 2978-SELL 3037 = +59 (05.09) #NO TRADE because raya holiday!!

84)05.09>SHOT 3037-LONG 3007 = +30 (06.09) #NO TRADE because of Bursa feed problem!!

85)06.09>LONG 3007-SELL 3032 = +25 (08.09)

86)08.09>SHOT 3032-BUY 3055 = -23 (09.09)

87)09.09>LONG 3055-SELL 3021 = -34 (13.09) *

88)13.09>SHOT 3021-LONG 3023 = -2 (14.09)

89)14.09>LONG 3023-SELL 2993 = -30 (14.09)

90)14.09>SELL 2993-BUY 3009 = -16 (14.09)

91)14.09>LONG 3009-SELL 3038 = +29 (19.09)

DECEMBER 2011 contract
92)19.09>LONG 3038-SELL 3028 = -10 (22.09)

93)22.09>SHOT 3028-BUY 2915 = +113 (26.09)

94)26.09>LONG 2915-SELL 2886 = -29 (28.09)

95)28.09>SHOT 2886-BUY 2898 = -12 (29.09)

96)29.09>LONG 2898-SELL 2826 = -72 (04.10)

97)04.10>SHOT 2826-BUY 2775 = +51 (06.10)

98)06.10>LONG 2775-SELL 2783 = +8 (07.10)

99)07.10>SHOT 2783-BUY 2866 = -83 (12.10)

100)12.10>LONG 2866-SELL 2838 = -28 (13.10)

101)13.10>SHOT 2838-BUY 2876 = -38 (14.10)

102)14.10>LONG 2876-SELL 2824 = -52 (18.10)

JANUARY 2012 contract
103)18.10>SHOT 2832-BUY 2874 = -42 (19.10)

104)19.10>LONG 2874-SELL 2986 = +112 (27.10)

105)27.10>SHOT 2986-BUY 2947 = +39 (02.11)

106)02.11>LONG 2947-SELL 2937 = -10 (03.11)

107)03.11>SHOT 2937-BUY 2970 = -33 (03.11)

108)03.11>LONG 2970-SELL 2993 = +23 (04.11)

109)04.11>SHOT 2993-BUY 3018 = -25 (04.11)

110)04.11>LONG 3018-SELL 3030 = +12 (09.11)

111)09.11>SHOT 3030-BUY 3085 = -55 (10.11) ##

112)10.11>LONG 3085-SHOT 3163 = +78 (14.11)

113)14.11>SHOT 3163-LONG 3199 = -36 (15.11)

114)15.11>LONG 3199-SELL 3188 = -11 (15.11)

FEBRUARY 2012 contract
115)15.11>SHOT 3188-BUY 3230 = -42 (16.11)

116)16.11>LONG 3229-SELL 3239 = +10 (17.11)

117)17.11>SHOT 3239-BUY 3261 = -22 (18.11)

118)18.11>LONG 3261-SELL 3216 = -45 (21.11)

119)21.11>SHOT 3216-BUY 3182 = +34 (22.11)

120)22.11>LONG 3182-SELL 3147 = -35 (23.11)

121)23.11>SHOT 3147-BUY 3130 = +17 (24.11)

122)24.11>LONG 3130-SELL 3080 = -50 (25.11)

123)25.11>SHOT 3080-BUY 3053 = +27 (01.12)

124)01.12>LONG 3053-SELL ?? =


TOTAL POINTS = From 1st Jan 2011>> +1273 points