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Straddle trading EA

  • #481
  • Mar 25, 2013 10:17am Mar 25, 2013 10:17am
The approach of if the SL goes extra wide the trade is cancelled is a fabulous idea.
If the spreads go extra wide, it will affect the stop loss

After that, For me personally I would like it to be based on the opposite entry or I will probably use decent size hard stops.

So if one entry is at top of candle + 5 and other is at low -5 then if buy gets triggered OCO the other side and use that as the stop, or 30, whatever is biggest.

If you use same for Pointsaway and SL, should be close enough depending on the spread

I can close it if I don't like it, 30 ensures I keep in the trade. I'd rather a few 30 pips SLs that several trades getting stopped out like last week where I lost 15 pips in a blink, a giveaway which bigger SL would've saved. Sorry PG, that was probably due to the SL bug

My logic is this, if upper order opens then its into OCO and trailing stop. A wide enough stop will stop me being closed out milliseconds later.

Then I read 40 to 50 pip slippage, man that sucks big time. Slippage is always a problem but that's not on. Is that purely down to the broker, is it the time the trade was taken or is it related to a certain news event (NFP anyone !!)? Broker or their Bank

I think you said 42 SL 42 pips was my best result ever as in profits not stops in an earlier post, I'd live with 30 to start (get me in) then tighten it, the trailing stop would do the job.

Lastly I would add regarding the excel spreadsheet trades not to take. Avoid speeches, votes, auctions etc, you don't know when the result will hit. Even Interest Rate decisions are bit dodgy these days

PG

That didn't work, eh. Try again. Hey pg see the edits above. Alan
  • #482
  • Mar 25, 2013 10:36am Mar 25, 2013 10:36am
If the spreads go extra wide, it will affect the stop loss

of course, my mistake doh .

42 pip profit. Not bad, its a marker :-). I'll be hoping to better that
  • #483
  • Mar 25, 2013 12:48pm Mar 25, 2013 12:48pm
Hi Allan
Thanks for the explanation. On interest rate NZDUSD,14-3-2013 both my Pending Orders(SellStop and BuyStop) were hit although I use OCO = true due to widened spread and the EA didn't have enough time to cancel the other order due to high volatility. Next time I'll try to use CTCBN = 1 and Pipsaway > 80 as you suggest.
Best regards,

Ubeta
Attached Image (click to enlarge)
Click to Enlarge Name: interest rate,nzd, 14-3-2013, pk 0.30 wib(20.30 thf 3-13-2013).png Size: 48 KB
  • #484
  • Mar 27, 2013 2:40am Mar 27, 2013 2:40am
Stop Loss Code Update

OK I've been working on and testing the SL code. It was good that USD Durable Goods Orders was quite a bad trade because I could test the SL code and it worked perfectly. I was using my demo and I set MaxSpread to 50 points and the actual spread reached 49 points , there was slippage of 9 points (0.9 pips) but I still got out for a loss of about 8 pips. My SL was set to 50 points (5 pips).

After looking at the logs though, I am not entirely happy with how it will work. As the spread reduces after news the SL will be tightened. What if the spread widens again?

Today, I have arrived at a crossroads and I need some input from you guys:-

1) SL setting doesn't include the spread - the code adds it on. New EA version is setup on this setting. Advantage is the SL can be quite tight and will shrink when spread reduces. Disadvantage is variable risk, multiple updates to stops. e.g. set SL=50 (5 pips) and spread is 150 (15 pips) so initial risk is 200 points, but SL will shrink. Can still use Maxspread to control maximum spread.
2) SL setting should be wide enough to include the spread - the user adds it in themselves based on what they are ok with and controls extremes using maxspread setting e.g. set SL to 200 and maxspread to 150. Advantage is fixed risk (except for slippage on SL) and not many trade updates. Disadvantage is once spread calms down, will still have a big stop loss setting.
3) 3rd option is that the trades don't initially have SL or TP applied. But if one goes live, it is checked initially to see if SL has already been hit. If not, the SL and TP is applied based on the actual fill price of the trade.

Which do you prefer?

Alan
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Click to Enlarge Name: Screenshot2.png Size: 209 KB
  • #485
  • Mar 27, 2013 8:08am Mar 27, 2013 8:08am
Quoting Alan111S
Stop Loss Code Update

OK I've been working on and testing the SL code. It was good that USD Durable Goods Orders was quite a bad trade because I could test the SL code and it worked perfectly. I was using my demo and I set MaxSpread to 50 points and the actual spread reached 49 points , there was slippage of 9 points (0.9 pips) but I still got out for a loss of about 8 pips. My SL was set to 50 points (5 pips).

After looking at the logs though, I am not entirely happy with how it will work. As the spread reduces after news the SL will...
Hi Alan

Just trying to digest what you are saying here give me a bit and I will get baCK TO YOU ASAP.

jUST WANTED TO POST QUICKLY SO YOU KNOW YOU ARE NOT BEING IGNORED FOR ALL THE HARD WORK YOU ARE PUTTING IN.

maybe a quick chat would be better too to clarify a few pionts???

Cheeers clive
Feel the Fear and do it anyway!!!
  • #486
  • Mar 27, 2013 8:54am Mar 27, 2013 8:54am
Guys i have observed , when a medium or high impact news comes , 1st rates move in the direction expected than spike in opposite , and movement is usually 10-12 pips in expect direction and 4-5 pips in spikes move , why not change this EA to catch both sides of the pair?
  • #487
  • Mar 27, 2013 9:37am Mar 27, 2013 9:37am
Hi Alan,

great work as always. I think it might be worth considering what is required with the EA. Its a straddle place trade EA, not a manage SL (or manage trade) EA.

It does the place trade bit perfectly, so the problem now is how to manage it, more specifically the SL.

The thing with news trading is its so fast and volatile, you could reduce spread just to get a sudden kick. I think its better to take a bigger SL on a trade than lose (get stopped out) on many smaller SLs. I don' think I would use a variable SL feature, I will always set my SL wider than normal and look to tighten them afterwards using a trade manage EA like the one I attach (which compiles with an error but its not, I checked with the developer)

So "'oType' - comparison expression expected" ignore that, if you change the code thinking you fix this it has unexpected results because the code is right.

Trade scenrios

So logic is.
1. Trade goes on, SL is wide enough to cater for whips
2. News comes out, price and spread go a bit crazy.
3. It shoots up the right way for me, BE routine locks in profit at x pips, a trailing featurebreak evenclose partial starts to lock in profit (i.e moves the SL).
4. Whatever happens at this point the SL is irrelevant, the main point is I didn't get stopped out.

Scenario 2
1, 2 same
3 it shoots wrong way, I'm open with a bigger SL BUT i'd already calculated my SL and trade % so I accept it so....
4 Stopped out

Scenrio 3
1,2 same
3 it shoots wrong way then comes back, my SL was big enough to keep me alive in the trade.
4 I sit and let price carry on, SL becomes irrelevant.

Sure i read once, set stops first then trade. If set too tight we will get into trouble. I'm not sure how you can code out of it.

Trade manager attached. I like this one because it allows partial close on MT4.

PG


edit: so my preference is your option 2
Attached File(s)
File Type: mq4 #luktom-adjuster.mq4   17 KB | 444 downloads
  • #488
  • Mar 27, 2013 10:10am Mar 27, 2013 10:10am
Quoting pgtips
Hi Alan,

great work as always. I think it might be worth considering what is required with the EA. Its a straddle place trade EA, not a manage SL (or manage trade) EA.

It does the place trade bit perfectly, so the problem now is how to manage it, more specifically the SL.

The thing with news trading is its so fast and volatile, you could reduce spread just to get a sudden kick. I think its better to take a bigger SL on a trade than lose (get stopped out) on many smaller SLs. I don' think I would use a variable SL feature, I will always...
Thanks for the comments PG. I hear you about setting a wider SL and preventing Stop outs. The reason I have got interested in this is for a couple of reasons.

When I have used the EA in the past and I suffered slippage and/or the move wasn't strong enough to hit breakeven or it reversed, then I found that I could take much bigger hits than what I was expecting. I suppose it's about having confidence that the level I have gone for is roughly what it will be.

Since some people want Option 1 and others want Option 2, I have actually coded all 3 options into it

But thanks for the input.....

Alan
  • #489
  • Mar 27, 2013 10:23am Mar 27, 2013 10:23am
Quoting Alan111S
I have actually coded all 3 options into it
Alan
Wish I had your code skills

Quoting Alan111S
I suppose it's about having confidence that the level I have gone for is roughly what it will be.
Once the order is sent we're all at the mercy of the broker. What does frustrate me if thats the right word, you can never see the spreads historically so what might look like a neat trade on say NFP can actually be a disaster and its quite hard to work out why.

I don't mean spreads as in VSA I mean spreads that widen at news time etc. Does everyone get caught with spreads, institutions etc?.

PG
  • #490
  • Mar 27, 2013 10:24am Mar 27, 2013 10:24am
New Version 2.0.0 Released

I wanted to get this out before all the News trades coming up next week. A lot of work has gone into improving it. So I had to call it Version 2.

26-Mar-2013
Version 2.0.0 Modified by Alan Prothero
Fixed Stop Loss Issue from Original Amazing EA 1.1.8 ( included spread but wasn't aligned with CTCBN)
Fixed Issue with Stop Loss Reset Code introduced in 1.2.3 (spread not included, SL could be set too tight)
Adjusted Trade Comment to show CTCBN and OCO settings (but removed BE and Trail settings from the Comment)
New Setting CloseTrades - change timeframes closes active trades for that chart
New Setting MaxSpread - disables pending orders if spread goes over this value
New Setting TrailOffset - by like BEOffset, starts Trailing from this level on
New Setting AddSpreadToSL - whether to include spread in SL or not, if true the EA adds the spread onto any SL you have set.
New Setting StealthMode - Hide SL and TP from your broker
Renamed TrailingStop setting to TrailPoints (to go with TrailOffset)
(See Readme for details of new settings)
Some minor logging improvements.

Feel free to ask questions but since it is 2:20am here, I'll answer in the morning....

Alan
Attached File(s)
File Type: zip Amazing EA 2-0-0.zip   11 KB | 505 downloads
  • #491
  • Mar 27, 2013 10:29am Mar 27, 2013 10:29am
Quoting pgtips
Wish I had your code skills



Once the order is sent we're all at the mercy of the broker. What does frustrate me if thats the right word, you can never see the spreads historically so what might look like a neat trade on say NFP can actually be a disaster and its quite hard to work out why.

I don't mean spreads as in VSA I mean spreads that widen at news time etc. Does everyone get caught with spreads, institutions etc?.

PG
Hey pg

Thanks for the compliment.

Have a look at this for spreads over the last 7 days http://fxtrade.oanda.co.uk/why/spreads/recent

and on this, click the chart links and change the timeframe down to 1 second intervals

http://www.fasteconomicnews.com/fore...th_charts.aspx

Alan
  • #492
  • Mar 27, 2013 10:29am Mar 27, 2013 10:29am
Thank you Alan, will put it to work tomorrow.
  • #493
  • Mar 27, 2013 10:38am Mar 27, 2013 10:38am
and thanks for the OANDA spread info, that's quite scary.
  • #494
  • Mar 27, 2013 11:23am Mar 27, 2013 11:23am
Hi Alan,
I would prefer option 1 as it would account for the spread value and eliminate getting stopped if spread widens than initial SL. In addition, we are guarded by maxspread that we can place orders within it , so when placing orders and being filled we would be in a safe zone to an extent but not 100% , the bottom-line is to keep away our stop with accomodation of spread variations, and being able to give a chance to manage trade to BE or small loss rather than getting hit in millseconds by spread widening that inital SL set which is in option 2
Option 2 is prone to being stopped if trader didn't evaluate the spread maximum value, and no chance to manage trade to safe shore.
Option 3 is a bit risky , as we are unprotected initially and if trade went wrong u would check SL and then apply it , there might be a race condition of placing SL and the value that the trade will be actually stopped at... on another hand, we might loose a pin to a certain TP target that would be nice to catch if the spike is strong ...
Thanks for all ur development efforts, and it is great to allow user the three options and it would be clear while practice which one is fitting which type of trade... Each trade has its own characterestics and it is good to have flexibility to manage it accordingly.
Thanks
Mohamed


Quoting Alan111S
Stop Loss Code Update

OK I've been working on and testing the SL code. It was good that USD Durable Goods Orders was quite a bad trade because I could test the SL code and it worked perfectly. I was using my demo and I set MaxSpread to 50 points and the actual spread reached 49 points , there was slippage of 9 points (0.9 pips) but I still got out for a loss of about 8 pips. My SL was set to 50 points (5 pips).

After looking at the logs though, I am not entirely happy with how it will work. As the spread reduces after news the SL will...
  • #495
  • Mar 27, 2013 12:13pm Mar 27, 2013 12:13pm
Once the order is sent we're all at the mercy of the broker. What does frustrate me if thats the right word, you can never see the spreads historically so what might look like a neat trade on say NFP can actually be a disaster and its quite hard to work out why.

I don't mean spreads as in VSA I mean spreads that widen at news time etc. Does everyone get caught with spreads, institutions etc?.

PG
Hi PG , I have a free indicator (spread and session) that can save the history of spread all the time as seen on my post 369.
Best regards,
Dr. Ubeta A.
  • #496
  • Mar 27, 2013 12:38pm Mar 27, 2013 12:38pm
Hi Allan
I used to have a bad experience with big SL. I got a bad fill at the end of the spike, and I didn't have time to tighten the SL manually(the previous SL = 250 pip on Gold) , the slippage was 880 pip and I lost (250+880) pip on NFP 5-10-2012. So I myself prefer option 1 to keep the loss risk small as I have predetermined before because I don't have enough time to move it manually.
  • #497
  • Mar 28, 2013 12:19am Mar 28, 2013 12:19am
Quoting drBBMM
Hi Allan
I used to have a bad experience with big SL. I got a bad fill at the end of the spike, and I didn't have time to tighten the SL manually(the previous SL = 250 pip on Gold) , the slippage was 880 pip and I lost (250+880) pip on NFP 5-10-2012. So I myself prefer option 1 to keep the loss risk small as I have predetermined before because I don't have enough time to move it manually.
Precisely Doc, that is why I am going down this route. I know it works, but I think what I am learning is that if your SL stays tighter to current price, one has to make it a bit bigger to cope with reverse spikes. That is why I've increased the default SL to 100. When I am using it I'm going to monitor for situations where I am unhappy with SL placement and update the algorithm accordingly.

I too am going to use Option 1 which adds the spread to your SL plus it will use the high and low of the previous M1 candle (if you set CTCBN=1).
  • #498
  • Mar 28, 2013 12:36am Mar 28, 2013 12:36am
Hi Alan, Can you upload the new version ?
Thanks
  • #499
  • Mar 28, 2013 10:44am Mar 28, 2013 10:44am
Quoting drBBMM
Hi PG , I have a free indicator (spread and session) that can save the history of spread all the time as seen on my post 369.
Best regards,
Dr. Ubeta A.
Hi,

theres no attachment to 369, would you be kind enough to upload again if possible, I'd like to see just how bad mine is.

thank you,
PG
  • #500
  • Mar 28, 2013 10:47am Mar 28, 2013 10:47am
Quoting Alan111S
I too am going to use Option 1 which adds the spread to your SL plus it will use the high and low of the previous M1 candle (if you set CTCBN=1).
..... thats only if chart the EA is running on is M1 as well ?

I was fairly sure 15 was my chart but I'll run both this week for comparison.

Our week finishes today (easter) so have a good one guys

PG
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