Quote from intradaybill:
It is amazing that you select a smal cap stock where a method works after numerous optimizations and you want me to take you seriously. I suspect you do not even know that the short positions your system executed and contribute to your hypothetical profits cannot be entered possibly in real trading due to the low price of the stock and unavailability of shares to short.
You are also fired due to your 25% or more drawdown in 2010 - 2011
I think you perceive trading as an arcade game. With this drawdown you would not make it as a professional. Before playing with naive tools like tradestation and OPTIMIZATION^n you should first understand what trading is all about. This is an advice to you. For your own good. I gain nothing from wasting my time with you.
Any form of optimization, whether backwards or forwards is cheating and only deceives naive users like you. TS users could not find systems that work and the tool they gave them deceives then after continuously optimizing the equity line. However, the problem with such systems is more fundamental and structural.
Just when I thought intradaybill had learned something (i.e. hoping he had gained a small amount of humility) I am again proven wrong...
Let's get some facts straight about bill, and then I'll provide some facts about myself.
1. Bill is not a professional trader.
2. Bill uses data mining to "find" systems. He perpetually posts links to pattern search engines that IMO are worthless. Think garbage in = garbage out if you have any experience in neural networks.
3. Bill has no track record to speak of.
4. Bill flames anyone who presents arguments supporting traditional trading systems.
5. Bill starts threads about risk of ruin and implies that ruin is guaranteed for any systemic trader.
6. Can bill once and for all please inform us what "trading is all about"?
Does this shed a light on bill's bias and motivation? I hope so because the post of his I quoted above is filled with such incorrect horseshit its depressing.
I use TradeStation. I think it's a good tool. I have my own custom software as well. TradeStation offers a lot for the money, and they're relatively stable. API's change, software needs to change. To say I should be doing everything custom is naive. I am a cheapskate AND WHY WOULD I REINVENT THE WHEEL BILL???
I also use Excel, C++ and Amibroker (which is also a good tool). I've been trading a long time. I have my professional licenses and I have a lengthy track record. I've posted a portion of my track record here on this site if anyone wants to look. I challenged bill to post his after he called me out on similar issues and.... guess what, nothing outta bill. Zilch.
Optimization is also fine if done right. Nothing wrong with a 25% historical drawdown if the rewards justify it.
Per the original topic, I haven't upgraded to 9.1 yet. I'm hearing there are some bugs per the TS forums. I'd prefer to wait until that gets worked out.
I have to ask though, Amibroker is a such a good product for portfolio backtesting, why would anyone want to pay 60/month for Portfolio Maestro?
Mike