Quote from eudaemon:
I'm big into signal failures, because a similar system I developed on my own usually had both spectacular catches and spectacular failures and very few in-betweens-do-nothings. Therefore I had to learn to minimize the losses in the failures. Afterwards I learned to turn them into small profits, etc. Win big, win small, and lose small, with lose small the lowest % occurrance, which happens when the market enters a small but lengthy in time trading range right after the signal, but it happens, so the best solution is currently a time stop.
MB's system always-in-the-market method seems radically different.
The always-in-the-market has it's difficulties when the range contracts. When a market is in a contraction phase, you have to trade it differently and there just isn't a lot to take. Mark may have refined his method to change during this time.
That's the difference between a system trader and one that trades on discretion. The key to developing trading systems is to get out of the way and let the numbers do their work. Most people have to have an opinion (me included) and I once read from a very good trader:
"Thinking isn't necessary and often times just gets in the way."
JC
That being said, the biggest detriment to an Automated Trading System is the human, ask Mark...I am certain he will tell you the same thing.
I developed a platform not based on charts, but numbers with methods based on math and statistics and I am in the process of implementing that. The markets are going to move and no one knows which way.

