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Attachments: Tools for forexhard's Stairstep Breakouts system
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Tools for forexhard's Stairstep Breakouts system

  • #1
  • First Post: Edited Jul 31, 2011 5:01pm Jul 19, 2011 6:13am | Edited Jul 31, 2011 5:01pm
SERIOUS WARNING

 

  1. Most Forex traders lose all their money.
  2. Using the tools posted here in trading Forex does not guarantee success.
  3. Trading with these tools could lead to serious financial loss.
  4. Trading with these tools without understanding its underlying trading strategies guarantees traders will lose their money.


Welcome to the thread with the most exciting prospects at FF.

forexhard has generously presented us with the best-yet breakout trading system. Read about this at http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=302007. Very warm round of applause and thanks to forexhard.

FxH's key posts
To all manual traders of this system, there are key posts to read at
http://www.forexfactory.com/showthre...45#post4800045.
http://www.forexfactory.com/showthre...71#post4804271
http://www.forexfactory.com/showthre...50#post4807750
fh provides us with invaluable information in these posts.

squalou is developing his dynamic box indicator to automate drawing the artifacts. This fantastic indi is attached (also see the new trade display indi in the list below - wow). sq is an unbelievable coder whose work make mine look like that of the amateur that I am. We are soooo lucky to have him around. Very warm round of applause and thanks to sq.

Here are links to posts where sq explains the features in the latest version of the indi:
http://www.forexfactory.com/showthre...15#post4808515

The function of this thread is to develop an EA and any other tools that will aid our breakout trading. I had originally planned developing the EA but sq has already coded everything I intended plus more, in his 3 Tier London Breakout EA. He has kindly agreed to develop the EA for this system.


My function is to ensure that this post remains up to date with information about latest developments, and to post latest versions of the indi and upcoming EA here so that they are easy to find.


Until sq's EA emerges, my Waiting version is available at http://www.forexfactory.com/showthre...76#post4803876


This is an unrestricted thread guys. There are just three rules:

 

  1. Be pleasant and constructive; I shall prevent from posting any who break this rule.
  2. Sq makes his code free for anyone to adapt and use for their own purposes. Any other EA's, Indicators or Scripts that include his code and are released publically must be free of charge to the user. It cannot be used commercially without sq's permission.
  3. Posters of irrelevant bollocks will be banned from posting in any of my threads. I decide what constitutes irrelevant bollocks.


Have fun everyone.







Useful utilities/EA's/scripts

 

  1. MaryJane has posted a fabulous utility to allow us to resize EA input windows: http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=299017
  2. Multi purpose trade manager: http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=89371
  3. Account equity analyser: http://www.forexfactory.com/showthre...16#post4693716 Also at http://www.forexfactory.com/showthre...98#post4709098, which includes a template for both USD and the Euro.
  4. Past-trades display indi by squalou; shows a graphical display of the success/failure of trades in your History tab. Breathtaking piece of work. http://www.forexfactory.com/showthre...10#post3830610




Most promising trading EA's

 

  1. Rip: http://www.forexfactory.com/showthre...98#post4777998
  2. The Beast: http://www.forexfactory.com/showthre...=1#post4135863
  3. Pippo: http://www.forexfactory.com/showthre...96#post4675196
  4. Reversi: http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=294255
  5. Ibuks: http://www.forexfactory.com/showthre...88#post4656888
  6. FTLR: http://www.forexfactory.com/showthre...85#post3831885

Attached File(s)
File Type: mq4 sqDynamicBreakoutBox.mq4   26 KB | 3,132 downloads | Uploaded Jul 25, 2011 4:22pm
  • #2
  • Jul 19, 2011 6:21am Jul 19, 2011 6:21am
I forgot to add the post-trade send robot suspension code for the safety feature. This is fixed in post 1.

  • #3
  • Jul 19, 2011 1:43pm Jul 19, 2011 1:43pm
Steve,

Thanks for the vouch, and thanks for starting this thread. When I started my Stairstep Breakout thread I never imagined it would have sparked the interest of the top drawer traders that it has. I am humbled by the many positive responses I have had.

RE this EA, is it ready to take trades yet, or does it only show the consolidation artifacts? I ask, because so far mine is ignoring it's trades on the demo chart. Or with the tester, either. Whereas your Awesome EA is pipping away like mad.

FxH
To improve is to change. To perfect, is to change often.
  • #4
  • Jul 19, 2011 2:07pm Jul 19, 2011 2:07pm
Quoting forexhard
Steve,

Thanks for the vouch, and thanks for starting this thread. When I started my Stairstep Breakout thread I never imagined it would have sparked the interest of the top drawer traders that it has. I am humbled by the many positive responses I have had.
You are most welcome. You deserve it for being so knowledgeable and sharing.

Quote
RE this EA, is it ready to take trades yet, or does it only show the consolidation artifacts? I ask, because so far mine is ignoring it's trades on the demo chart. Or with the tester, either. Whereas your Awesome EA is pipping away like mad.

FxH
As yet, it is rubbish. I have spent the afternoon going nuts over it. It should be the simplest thing in the world, but I cannot get the damn thing to work properly. The figures it displays and those represented by sq's indi lose touch with each other.

I will get there eventually.

  • #5
  • Jul 19, 2011 2:14pm Jul 19, 2011 2:14pm
Oh OK:-) ..thought it was me doing something wrong..trying to adjust a few things here ...playing with the code atm..took me the entire day:-)
  • #6
  • Jul 19, 2011 3:19pm Jul 19, 2011 3:19pm
Quoting SteveHopwood
You are most welcome. You deserve it for being so knowledgeable and sharing.

As yet, it is rubbish. I have spent the afternoon going nuts over it. It should be the simplest thing in the world, but I cannot get the damn thing to work properly. The figures it displays and those represented by sq's indi lose touch with each other.

I will get there eventually.

It does trade properly with me

Note that the EA has AutoBoxRange set to true by default in the EA, so it will NOT use the same boxes as the indicator as it is now.
But it certainly trades.

I will post a new version of the indicator that has those inputs in it (and more...).

I still have to look at the "immediate re-entry" issue in the EA...

Sq
  • #7
  • Jul 19, 2011 4:08pm Jul 19, 2011 4:08pm
Quoting squalou
I still have to look at the "immediate re-entry" issue in the EA...

Sq
I think the cause is losing an accurate return from the indi. The trade closes, so the bot thinks, "Aha; a breakout. We can trade. Yippee."

Damned if I can work out why.

  • #8
  • Edited 4:52pm Jul 19, 2011 4:42pm | Edited 4:52pm
I will throw in my two cents with regards to the stop and TP levels. As you all know I have always been a strong proponent of Fibonacci extensions as my targets (see 3 tier London Breakout). I think that because we are seeing strong breakout moves and we are seeing the boxes close to using the actual hi/lo points of the consolidation, using fib targets should be a no brainer (see pic below). Using the MT4 Fib tool, I'm using 61.8, 161.8, 261.8, 361.8, and 423.6 levels on both sides as my 5 target extension. Obviously, this is my personal choice and is totally up to that particular trader's discretion. The stop I use initially is the opposite side of the box and is first moved to the "First Target Stop" which is triggered at the first Target at the 61.8 level, and then moved down a level at each new Target Level we breach. Again, this is just what I'm experimenting around with at the moment and I have talked to sqaulou last week about adding these adjustable target levels to enhance the indicator even further, whether they are fib targets or fixed levels. Hopefully, when the indicator is fully completed with all the bugs worked out, my 3 tier London breakout EA can become even better thanks to the work of Steve, sqaulou, forexhard, and others. This is why putting all of our collective thoughts together can produce amazing results.
Attached Image (click to enlarge)
Click to Enlarge Name: entry and stop.jpg Size: 140 KB
  • #9
  • Jul 19, 2011 5:16pm Jul 19, 2011 5:16pm
Quoting mer071898
I will throw in my two cents with regards to the stop and TP levels. As you all know I have always been a strong proponent of Fibonacci extensions as my targets (see 3 tier London Breakout). I think that because we are seeing strong breakout moves and we are seeing the boxes close to using the actual hi/lo points of the consolidation, using fib targets should be a no brainer (see pic below). Using the MT4 Fib tool, I'm using 61.8, 161.8, 261.8, 361.8, and 423.6 levels on both sides as my 5 target extension...................
I am a fib fan and this is a superb application of them. Thanks.

We have the fib code already in FTLR, so the EA side is easy.

  • #10
  • Jul 19, 2011 6:31pm Jul 19, 2011 6:31pm
Hi traders and awesome programmers. I am pleased to see another box breakout strategy (and indi/ea combination). I trade EURUSD using an EA I have slowly developed over the past few years so am pleased there are people I can learn from. Unfortunately I am in NZ so my participation is likely to be at very strange hours. Also, I am a dreamer so please tell me to shut up if I start going off topic.

My contributions as follows:
-have you thought about straddling the breakout high/low. I do it and it works OK becos I pull the untriggered order after each hour and start the box again.
-no takeprofit. I look for price action. Specifically if price gets near MurreyMathLine or SweetSpot (you mentioned fibo and ??) then I shove a speeddependent trailstop at the line which gives the price the chance to breakout further if its moving fast enough or closeorder if it retraces back.
-in slower time I use the other side of the box for SL, and move the SL to the next box if the price breaks out again
-after many painful lessons I now also use a breakeven stop when price reaches any of 7pips up, MML or SweetSpot. I dont care if I miss a big move after a small retrace because I would rather not lose anything and wait for the next trade.

I should add that I use M15 MurreyMathLines, H4 and H1 swinghi/lo for general direction, and monitor the M1 swinghi/lo for triggers.

Thats all from me. Hope this helps. Have lots of other ideas (mostly lessons learnt the hard way) but just as happy to keep them to myself.

Two completed trades since I started this (7pips up, 3pips down). Pretty much the usual. Have 3 buystop and 3 sell stop orders atm.

Do you also want coding ideas about problems that crop up? I usually just hammer away at a bug till I solve it but sometimes fresh ideas have helped. I dont want to butt in if you prefer to solve bugs.

Thanks for the thread (there have been so few). The last similar strategy was Karthink's control bars but I dont think he has advanced his ideas beyond the very basic level and he doesnt seem to like idea contributions.
  • #11
  • Jul 19, 2011 6:41pm Jul 19, 2011 6:41pm
Quoting ShoppingGuy
Do you also want coding ideas about problems that crop up? I usually just hammer away at a bug till I solve it but sometimes fresh ideas have helped.
Hehe. That is my method too - beat the damn thing into submission.

I never object to someone else solving my problems for me.

  • #12
  • Jul 19, 2011 6:46pm Jul 19, 2011 6:46pm
Steve,

Change:

Inserted Code
tHigh = iCustom(NULL, 0, "sqDynamicBreakoutBox", BoxLength,BoxTimeFrame,BoxRange, BreakoutBoxColor, [i][b]2[/b][/i], 0);
tLow = iCustom(NULL, 0, "sqDynamicBreakoutBox", BoxLength,BoxTimeFrame,BoxRange, BreakoutBoxColor, [i][b]3[/b][/i], 0);

to:

Inserted Code
tHigh = iCustom(NULL, 0, "sqDynamicBreakoutBox", BoxLength,BoxTimeFrame,BoxRange, BreakoutBoxColor, [i][b]0[/b][/i], 0);
tLow = iCustom(NULL, 0, "sqDynamicBreakoutBox", BoxLength,BoxTimeFrame,BoxRange, BreakoutBoxColor, [i][b]1[/b][/i], 0);
  • #13
  • Jul 19, 2011 7:00pm Jul 19, 2011 7:00pm
Quoting the-game
Steve,

Change:

Inserted Code
tHigh = iCustom(NULL, 0, "sqDynamicBreakoutBox", BoxLength,BoxTimeFrame,BoxRange, BreakoutBoxColor, [i][b]2[/b][/i], 0);
tLow = iCustom(NULL, 0, "sqDynamicBreakoutBox", BoxLength,BoxTimeFrame,BoxRange, BreakoutBoxColor, [i][b]3[/b][/i], 0);
to:

Inserted Code
tHigh = iCustom(NULL, 0, "sqDynamicBreakoutBox", BoxLength,BoxTimeFrame,BoxRange, BreakoutBoxColor, [i][b]0[/b][/i], 0);
tLow = iCustom(NULL, 0, "sqDynamicBreakoutBox", BoxLength,BoxTimeFrame,BoxRange, BreakoutBoxColor, [i][b]1[/b][/i], 0);
Because sq puts EMPTY_VALUE in the consolidation buffers 0 & 1 once the box is complete and all is needed are the continuation values in buffers 2 & 3. I already tried this. Thanks anyway. Sing out if I am being dormant and missing something obvious.

  • #14
  • Jul 19, 2011 7:06pm Jul 19, 2011 7:06pm
You are correct

I have noticed that the 2 & 3 buffers are cleared on the shift before the continuation lines are drawn.

To see what I'm talking about pull up your data window and hover your mouse on the bar just before the purple lines are drawn.
  • #15
  • Jul 19, 2011 8:42pm Jul 19, 2011 8:42pm
As the originator of this method, I need to remind everyone that Fibs and MM lines are not needed here. I don't use them, and I still bank plenty of pips. If individual users want to add them on their own of course I have no say-so over that, but as far as threads dedicated to my methods go, I would like them to remain as free of indicators as my own charts are.

The key to my system is NOT the breakout, but what comes BEFORE: The Consolidation Zone. Get the CZ right, and the pips just fall into your lap like candy.

FxH
To improve is to change. To perfect, is to change often.
  • #16
  • Jul 20, 2011 1:41am Jul 20, 2011 1:41am
Quote
As the originator of this method, I need to remind everyone that Fibs and MM lines are not needed here. I don't use them, and I still bank plenty of pips. If individual users want to add them on their own of course I have no say-so over that, but as far as threads dedicated to my methods go, I would like them to remain as free of indicators as my own charts are.

The key to my system is NOT the breakout, but what comes BEFORE: The Consolidation Zone. Get the CZ right, and the pips just fall into your lap like candy.

FxH

No disrespect here, but I think that is why Steve opened a secondary thread so the original thread does not get too diluted with changes to the original strategy. I agree that the CZ is the key and all I'm using the fibs for is for profit targets which has no correlation to the CZ except for using upper and lower parameters of the box.
  • #17
  • Jul 20, 2011 4:18am Jul 20, 2011 4:18am
Quoting mer071898
No disrespect here, but I think that is why Steve opened a secondary thread so the original thread does not get too diluted with changes to the original strategy. I agree that the CZ is the key and all I'm using the fibs for is for profit targets which has no correlation to the CZ except for using upper and lower parameters of the box.
Yes, this thread is about developing tools to help us in our trading. We all know that getting into a trade is easy but that getting out at the right time is the hard bit. Anything that helps us with that is a good thing, and I can see a use for fibs here as the EA develops.

The latest version of the EA is in post 1. I left it running on EU and EG overnight and it did its thingy, sending the trade as appropriate and shutting up shop as required. I have just repeated the process on EG. There were no re-entry issues.

Coders, you will see a lot of messy code with a lot of conditionals etc commented out. This was all part of my thrashing around yesterday trying to fix thingies that do not appear to have needed fixing. It looks as though I got my knickers into an unnecessary twist. I will tidy this up later.

I notice with sq's indi that the continuation lines are not always drawn, so the ea draws them instead. I am not tinkering with the indi; sq is updating it and the results of his tinkering will be awesome and we await it with bated breath. No pressure sq.

Here is the plan I have in mind:

 

  1. develop the Waiting ea until we are certain that it does the basics correctly.
  2. add flexible exit routines such as fib, MM, ritual chicken slaughter etc.

Once done, we will be able to use the ea as a one-off entry generator, or as an always-on auto-trader by setting UseSafetyFeature to false.

Do not use the ea on your live accounts yet guys. I will confirm when it is ready for this.

  • #18
  • Jul 20, 2011 4:45am Jul 20, 2011 4:45am
Steve, any thoughts on my last post?
  • #19
  • Jul 20, 2011 5:53am Jul 20, 2011 5:53am
sq, I see in a thread-notification email that you briefly posted a version of the ea that brings the indi code in-house, then removed it. I assume you spotted something and will re-post later. Fantastic.

If it isn't too much trouble, do you mind slotting the code into the attached, please? Not to worry if you are busy, I can always do the updating later.

Cheers.

Attached File(s)
File Type: mq4 forexhard Waiting EA by Everyone.mq4   12 KB | 861 downloads
  • #20
  • Jul 20, 2011 5:54am Jul 20, 2011 5:54am
Quoting the-game
Steve, any thoughts on my last post?
Sorry, I missed it but it looks as though sq has this in hand anyhow.

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