- #2,031
- Jan 19, 2009 2:33pm Jan 19, 2009 2:33pm
This is a simple EA I wrote that does just two things...
1) If an open order is missing a stop the EA will add a stop to the order.
2) When an open order reaches a specific target the EA will move the stop to BE (or to BE+proft).
Example
Open Navigator window and attach it to a chart. It should show a smiling face in the upper right corner of the chart window. Check the Experts tab in the terminal window for status messages. It will immediately start monitoring all open orders. It ignores all pending orders.
Trial it on a demo account first until you are familiar with it. As with all EAs if you close the chart, or logout, or lose connection then it cannot do it's job. So with this EA I only use it to assist me. It let's me walk away and do something else for a little while knowing that the EA will take care of the stop for me.
This version of UpdateStops.mq4 is 20090120
1) If an open order is missing a stop the EA will add a stop to the order.
2) When an open order reaches a specific target the EA will move the stop to BE (or to BE+proft).
Example
I might move a pending order 2-3 times to catch a trade entry. I can ignore the stop value setting because as soon as the pending order is filled the UpdateStops EA immediately adds my standard stop loss to it.
I don't have to keep watching constantly, when my open order reaches +20 the EA immediately moves the stop to BE. This is a one time move not a trailing stop.
HardStop = 20 (how many pips to use for a SL if there is no SL)
MoveStopTarget = 20 (move the SL when this target is reached)
MoveStopProfit = 0 (when SL is moved the pips profit to lock in)
Open Navigator window and attach it to a chart. It should show a smiling face in the upper right corner of the chart window. Check the Experts tab in the terminal window for status messages. It will immediately start monitoring all open orders. It ignores all pending orders.
Trial it on a demo account first until you are familiar with it. As with all EAs if you close the chart, or logout, or lose connection then it cannot do it's job. So with this EA I only use it to assist me. It let's me walk away and do something else for a little while knowing that the EA will take care of the stop for me.
This version of UpdateStops.mq4 is 20090120
- #2,032
- Jan 19, 2009 9:09pm Jan 19, 2009 9:09pm
After the big bear drop (260 pips down from 3380) we were expecting a quiet holiday session for US with some retracement around London Close.
Session started dead slow but 1.5 hrs after the London Close there was a good looking reject from an existing upper TL combined with a basic sell signal. This gave an entry at 3152 with bears finally achieving a follow through an hour later. 40 mins after that the first 40 pips was banked just above the 3100 psych level.
Price drifted sideways for more than an hour and rejected when it again reached the existing upper TL. This gave an expert entry at 3104 delivering another 40 pip run down to a supporting double bottom on daily S2.
Price then retraced back up to the 3100 psych level just before the end of the day.
Lessons I learned...
Patience is tested when price action is slow. However waiting for solid rejects from existing TLs was the key to this session. In a strong bearish trend the undercurrent is still there even when it looks like it has gone dead, them bears are just waitin' for the right place for an ambush!
ForexJedi your system works in all kinds of market conditions.
Session started dead slow but 1.5 hrs after the London Close there was a good looking reject from an existing upper TL combined with a basic sell signal. This gave an entry at 3152 with bears finally achieving a follow through an hour later. 40 mins after that the first 40 pips was banked just above the 3100 psych level.
Price drifted sideways for more than an hour and rejected when it again reached the existing upper TL. This gave an expert entry at 3104 delivering another 40 pip run down to a supporting double bottom on daily S2.
Price then retraced back up to the 3100 psych level just before the end of the day.
Lessons I learned...
Patience is tested when price action is slow. However waiting for solid rejects from existing TLs was the key to this session. In a strong bearish trend the undercurrent is still there even when it looks like it has gone dead, them bears are just waitin' for the right place for an ambush!
ForexJedi your system works in all kinds of market conditions.
- #2,033
- Jan 19, 2009 9:26pm Jan 19, 2009 9:26pm
This is a simple EA I wrote that does just two things...
1) If an open order is missing a stop the EA will add a stop to the order.
2) When an open order reaches a specific target the EA will move the stop to BE (or to BE+proft).
Example[indent]I might move a pending order 2-3 times to catch a trade entry. I can ignore the stop value setting because as soon as the pending order is filled the UpdateStops EA immediately adds my standard stop loss to it.
I don't have to keep watching constantly, when...
- #2,035
- Jan 20, 2009 2:45am Jan 20, 2009 2:45am
I trade three sessions a day. Each session is 4 hours long. That's 12 hours online per day.
I allow myself to skip three sessions during the week to take care of the rest of my life. That's one whole day worth of trading I miss out each week. I really don't know when that's going to happen but big news days are obvious ones to skip. I need that flexibility in my week so I don't feel bad about missing some sessions.
I end up trading 12 sessions per week, I look for two good trades per session. So that's a total of 24 trades per week. That is more than enough!
I know in advance how many lots, the profit $, and the risk $ for each of those 24 trades. I then keep a log of what I actually did on the right hand side as shown in the screenshot below. Having to write in my actuals makes me think twice before doing some silly 'stunt' trade that's gonna mess up my plan. This keeps me on track much better than keeping it all in my head.
I allow myself to skip three sessions during the week to take care of the rest of my life. That's one whole day worth of trading I miss out each week. I really don't know when that's going to happen but big news days are obvious ones to skip. I need that flexibility in my week so I don't feel bad about missing some sessions.
I end up trading 12 sessions per week, I look for two good trades per session. So that's a total of 24 trades per week. That is more than enough!
I know in advance how many lots, the profit $, and the risk $ for each of those 24 trades. I then keep a log of what I actually did on the right hand side as shown in the screenshot below. Having to write in my actuals makes me think twice before doing some silly 'stunt' trade that's gonna mess up my plan. This keeps me on track much better than keeping it all in my head.
