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Especially in an underlying like IDEX. OP, what is your strike price?

Your losses are definitely limited. I wonder if the scenario builder somehow just sees the contracts required to close the position, and reads them as opening a short position (which would have unlimited losses) rather than closing an open position.

Maybe? I'm seeing a 5k account (i.e., likely new trader) running a fistful of spread options. Bad for new trader's mental stability; bad for firm's risk management. I don't see a compelling reason to let a small-account trader open a ton of option spreads.

Because it can leave newbie traders suddenly short 5200 shares. On a run-of-the-mill stock like JPM, you're suddenly short over half a million dollars. Yes, you're hedged with the other side of the spread, but if (like OP) you're assigned at a time where you have to hold overnight before you can...

It's absolutely insane to me that anyone would let a $5k account write 52(!) calls, even in a spread.

I've had the same experience. I tend to set up my algos with some fundamental logic in mind, and parameters that match that logic. If backtesting doesn't show profit, I throw it out, because optimizing from there would likely overfit in ways that depart from my intended logic. If it shows...

I don't know if someone else already said this, but one option is to run a VPS (virtual private server) in an NYC or Chicago location, and connect via Remote Desktop to it. Depending on how much data flows through your trading software, it might be faster to do this -- your ship => VPS...

So you're using daily bars? Fundamentally, no screener can determine where your RSI level lands before the bar closes, because it doesn't yet have the HLOC information to calculate whatever indicator you use. You should be able to see that when you use let's say 15 min. candles and watch the...

That's in a real money account -- I find that coding 1 tick slippage in backtesting helps most closely approximate what I get for real fill in fast-moving markets. It may overestimate slippage a little, but that's better than underestimating it. This is for algo trading (so that tick of slippage...

That's nuts. I use a tick of slippage on each side in my backtesting -- basically, lose $25 on each $ES roundtrip (plus commission) before you account for any P/L. It's a bit conservative, but not by much. Any software (homegrown or bought) that doesn't include a slippage field is going to...

MultiCharts has built in MACD algos.

I know this isn't exactly what you're asking for, but before you get into the weeds of coding something, have you looked at pre-made solutions like the walk-forward optimization in multicharts (https://www.multicharts.com/features/walk-forward/)? It borrows from standard machine learning...

Don't most futures not start trading until Sunday evening? Either way, I do trade equity futures, and I'm staying out of the Sunday action. I found that for me, trading during regular market hours gives better results than trading the futures-only hours.

Exactly. Options isn't the zero-sum game people make it out to be. People that buy them for insurance or hedging *expect* them to expire worthless, but want to have them around just in case. Their portfolio *benefits* from the option expiring worthless, because that means their primary strategy...

At the same time, you may have a working strategy even outside these issues, if they’re contained to a small # of trades. I’d run it live at small size ... small enough that if you lose, it’s cost of training. I know people often preach the importance of sim, but I tend to prefer testing...

The instant profit part is odd. The demo isn’t letting you buy at bid and sell at ask, is it?

I’m not thinking riots. I’m thinking plexiglass barriers in shops, universities, public places, separating staff from clients.

Are you able to test with small lots using real money, and compare how the fills play out compared to your sim trades?

Interesting. What would be a pure plexiglass play?