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I have to agree, setting daily profit targets (or really anything) based on backtesting is just curve fitting in the worst way. Been there, done that. Doesn't matter how much data you have. I didn't believe it until we did it. Our older (failed) systems were based on backtesting data and...

Not to discourage you but we tried similar systems a while back and while they were profitable for a little bit, they almost all required too much curve fitting and started losing money a few months after implementation. We switched to a different system that doesn't use emas and have had...

Honestly common technical problems are solvable and should not impact trading except in extreme situations. You have relocated to a data center, which solves most problems however for those who have not: a) buy a dual-wan router and subscribe to two isps b) buy a battery backup Unless...

In between - we're using an API and building our machine based around that. So not completely from scratch, but not an existing 3rd party app either. Three to five years is laughable. Unless you're just coding in your spare time, if something takes you that long you should probably learn to...

It took us about 6 months for our first one, and our second one only took 2 months. After you've developed the infrastructure it's a lot easier.

The thing is, unless you used a hedge you could only do that once - the next time you will be CAUGHT in the drawdown. I would think that the bot performs well after earnings because the stocks have more direction and movement. After that as time passes more confusion = more chop. That's one...

I asked the same thing and never got a response. I've got a feeling that the drawdown was not significantly higher than expected, but the account was underfunded to begin with and emotion took over. Could be wrong, but that's just the impression I got.

We did it, so yes it is possible. It may depend on your broker - perhaps they may limit trades to a minimum of 100 but I don't think that is popular. We did get charged steep fees and commissions, but on 1 share they are still tiny (only a couple cents per trade).

Hmm I honestly thought that we were about on par with the kind of work the amateurs (like us) are putting into things. Though we have a great system that makes good money I still consider our little group fresh blood. I can leave the bot for hours on end and not be concerned. I'll often go...

While that's true, I think the timeframes depend on different situations. For example, our system took about 3 months of dedicated work once we had developed our algorithm, which took about 10 months of on again off again testing and research. However, right now the system is running...

Sorry, I wasn't referring to 24/7. What I meant was 24/5 ;P

I was under the impression that he was originally a discretionary trader....?

Frosty, what was your historical drawdown expectation based on backtesting? (days and total dollars)

I also agree with Kohanz - how about another huge advantage: the ability to trade 24/7? Brownsfan: why the need to isolate automated development from manual trading? I don't believe they are mutually exclusive. The way my group developed our system was by trading during the day and then...

Hmm, good points. Looking back I made some assumptions based on our bot that would not apply in other scenarios. I would think that 40% vs 50% is almost identical, I was talking about using a 10% system to pad a 50% system and saying that the risk of cannibalization was too high. I...

That's a noble idea, but the problem is unless they are equally profitable it makes no sense to run both systems. Whichever is most profitable should receive all of your buying power. Only when you can't put any more money into a system due to slippage or other factors does it make sense to...

Does IB have a gui or a demo piece of software to interact with their servers? We used Genesis and they had an example using their API and it greatly decreased development time. It only took our programmer about 3 months to get something up and running (not bug free of course, but able to make...

Good idea. I have to learn (even now) that the bad comes with the good. For example the bot position was $2000 in his favour and now it's about $1600 - in my heart I say "why didn't you punch out at $2000!!" but my mind knows that picking tops and bottoms is almost impossible. So I have to be...

#1 Rule - do not touch the bot. Today for us there was a position where the bot was up $800 and I almost covered because it's been really slow the past 2 weeks and I wanted a big winner. As of right now it's over $1600 in our favour. Time and again I am proven that I know nothing and the...

Just make sure in the future, when you build the actual robot you make it 2/3's scale - that way when it turns on you it will be easier to defeat.