Hanover replies to PMs

Thanks, Hanover. It is much appreciated!

I read all the first post and i have read also all those threads.I just asked maybe you have some more.

@scalper.exp

You asked:

i would like to contact you regarding a simple doubt, but i cant able to send the pm to you, please let me know how can i contact you
I disabled private messages several months ago , because I was getting too many requests from people expecting free programming.


my doubt is simple, can we able to differentiate the ticks recieved from mt4 as bull and bear ticks,
my problem is i am trading with renko, though the renko show the trend, it lacks on current bull and bear situation, so i decided to outcome this situation.
we have to take the ticks
for example,
the opening value of a new bar is the value of n.
now n=1,

if the bar rises up by one tick then
bull tick y= n+1
if the bar rises down from the point y by one tick then
bear tick z=n+1

like same ways until the bar close at renko, we will take take calculation of the ticks.
at the end of the candle we will have the values of y and z. at the next candle open all y,z reset to 0 and n will be the same for all candle open

by calculating this ,
it will help on two ways,
1] we will able to predict the power of buyers and sellers at the particular candle.
I don't believe that it is possible to accurately predict the power of buyers and sellers. Spot forex is not a centralized exchange; MT4 volumes are nothing more than a count of the number of ticks processed by your br0ker.


2]then if we took a five pips block, for example gbp/jpy,
172.50 to 172.55, the calculate the total number of y and z, we will able to find the accurate supply and demand of that zone

with all respect, i dont know whether i am right or wrong, is there any way to program it?
I recently quit using MT4, because I am unfamiliar with the new MQL4 that was released with build 600. I can only suggest that you ask the question on the Platform Tech forum. Maybe somebody else knows the answer.

I watch the tick screen too, from time to time but take it seriously as an indicator only when it is roaring up or down with almost every heartbeat.
Then one can assume the broker is probably being swept away in a move of real consequence.

I can usually see such movements in the current bar on the hourly time frame.

You can get so busy with calculations that you miss what is happening in front of you. It is best to figure things out during quiet times, then just watch occasionally, breathe deep, and relax.

It helps to bear in mind what exchanges are presently open and which pairs they are likely to be concerned with.

hanover , a question for you, sir.

first , I want to thank you for all the indicators you wrote and for the patience on describing the people how they work.

second, yes, I did look for the indicator that I am going to ask you about, went through hundreds of posts but couldn't find it. so please , take a look.

I am looking for the indicator that shows average hourly (or min. adjustable ) range in pips of resent bar on previous day/s...
FOR EXAMPLE , if I need to find out ATR 5 , then under candle 10 am is a number 50 ...that means , 10 ams candle on average moved 50 pips for the 5 days.

do you have this indicator or similar one ?

thank you.

Hi Dear,

The MTF version of awesome oscillator, when I attach with certain platforms, it works ( demo platforms ).

When I attach to any chart in live platforms ( FXDD, Go markets ), it freezes.

Can you help to solve this problem. Thanks.

not sure if this one is better, pls. try

It works dear, Fantastic. Thanks a lot.

Since I was last active on FF, I’ve been asked a few questions. I’ll attempt to answer them here.


Why have I given up MT4 coding?

Perhaps I should first explain that I’m a retired investor. I got interested in active trading back in 2001, and spot forex in 2006, when a friend introduced me to MT3/MT4. My goal has always been to look at ways of diversifying my investment portfolio, risk management is paramount over get-rich-quick returns. I’d hoped that spot forex would provide one possible avenue, and as a programmer (who also lacks the patience to watch price charts all day) I decided to teach myself MQL4 back in 2007, in the hope of writing an army of profitable EAs. Long story short, I never completely reached the point where I was satisfied with the result, risk/return wise. The changes in MT4 build 600 brought things to a head: either I re-train myself to code using the new MT4, or quit. As I’d already discovered stock options as an alternative solution, I decided to quit MT4. I haven’t entirely given up the idea of returning to forex in some way at some future point, however.


What are stock options, and how do they differ from spot forex?

Firstly, they involve a huge learning curve! In forex, you merely buy or sell. With options, there are calls and puts, and you can buy or sell either of them. You can sell naked or covered. You can buy or sell at a strike price that’s in the money or out of the money. Option prices consist of intrinsic value and time value (the latter decays with time; decay accelerates exponentially as the expiry date approaches). There are multiple expiry alternatives: weekly options, monthly options, quarterly options. Contracts may or may not be assigned prior to an expiry date. Then there are many option combos like collars, spreads, condors, butterflies, straddles and strangles, to name just a few. There are strategies that involve ‘rolling’ your positions up or down during the contract period. Also, having bought an option, you can on-sell it at any time prior to its expiry date (options are a separate derivatives market in their own right). With forex, there are a handful of major pairs; with options, there are hundreds of stocks, indices and ETFs that you can potentially trade. Finally, to understand options fully, you need to understand the ‘Greeks’: delta, theta, gamma, etc.

The options strategy that I’m beginning with is selling covered calls. Covered means both buying the stock, while also selling an equivalent number of option contracts. Selling the contract means that I get paid a known premium up front; an equivalent in spot forex might be if the br0ker paid you 50 pips worth of swap, just for entering a trade, regardless of its eventual outcome, thereby giving you an immediate edge. However, by way of compensation, your upside is effectively capped (but you can write a distant out-of-the-money call, which gives you greater potential capital gain, if the stock appreciates; or a deep in-the-money call, which provides further downside protection, if the stock falls in price; or anything in between that suits your risk/return assessment). Then you basically sit out the rest of the month, although you can possibly squeeze out some more profit by rolling up to a higher strike price (this means buying back the option you sold, and selling another one) or rolling down to a lower strike price.

One big plus for me personally is that, having completed my stock selection process, it takes less than 10 minutes each night to analyze my positions (usually 5-10 different stocks per month; obviously I try to diversify across multiple sectors, to mitigate risk). The only major downside risk is that the stock plummets in value prior to expiry, which can be averted somewhat by either selling deep in the money, and/or buying a put option, which effectively acts as a stoploss (a covered call + a protective put is termed a ‘collar’), but its cost reduces the profit on the premium received on the original option sale (which can range in anything from 1% to 5% for the month). At the end of the day, that’s no more risky than merely trading stocks; the premiums received create a lower effective breakeven point, making it significantly less risky. Although your upside is capped by the strike price, you can always sell the stock and buy back the option prior to expiry, if the numbers stack up.

Basically it’s a case of finding stocks whose FA and TA are appealingly bullish, and then looking for options that pay the highest percent premiums. Similar to forex, you can enter both stock and option positions at market, or create limit orders that ensure that you are paid a specific premium, but at the risk of missing the trade if the option never reaches your nominated price. Covered calls is arguably something of a rich man’s game, as there’s no leverage available when it comes to buying the stocks. Hence generating a decent income requires a 6 figure sum in one’s trading account. Having said that, a relatively safe 1% to 4% return each month is way better, risk/return wise, than any other investment/trading opportunity that I’ve seen.

For those who are familiar with stock market basics, the premiums generated by selling options are rather like being paid a dividend, except that you can write yourself a premium ‘paycheck’ any time that you wish.

And for those seeking the big, forex-like returns, there are plenty of other options, and option combos, that offer massive leverage, but of course the risks are commensurately greater also. For example, if a stock appreciates from $50 to $55, its associated call option (for a given strike price, expiry period, etc) might rise in value from $1 to $3. Hence the $5 rise on the stock represents a 10% gain; while the $2 rise gives the option buyer a 200% gain, possibly in just a few days! Like forex, it all comes down to having a good MM plan, and scouting out opportunities that the trader feels comfortable with. There is a huge amount of mixing and matching available, once you know what you’re doing. You can effectively bet that a stock will rise, fall, stay within a certain range, move outside a certain range, etc (anybody familiar with binary options will know exactly what I mean). For anybody who’s interested in having a look at different option combos that are available, and the risk/return profiles that they offer, see:
http://www.optionsplaybook.com/option-strategies/
http://www.theoptionsguide.com/optio...trategies.aspx
Of course, these can be further tuned by the strike price values: how far in or out of the money they are, the width of the spread, etc.

If you’re interested specifically in covered calls, you might like to check out Alan Ellman’s free videos, starting here:

or simply perform your own internet search. There’s a wealth of free information available.


In summary then, if you have a spare $100k+, are happy averaging 1%–4% return per month, and aren’t fazed by a steep learning curve, then IMO selling covered calls is definitely worthy of consideration.

Cheers,
David

Hanover, you stated here that there are ways to distinguish between professional vs. non-professional activity but you didn't elaborate because you considered it off-topic. May I ask, based on your knowledge, how can you do that if you're willing to share? Thank you.

Hi Pollux,

Must admit you've caught me with my pants down.

If I recall correctly, I posted those setup examples just after watching a webinar --- but I can't remember who the presenter was, now. I tend to watch lots of videos, and my poor ageing brain suffers memory lapses, LOL.

But just off the top of my head — and in addition to what I already posted at the other link — the presence of pro money is frequently characterized by:

1. Pro money is frequently attracted to long moves to key S/D levels on longer timeframes.
2. Pro money increases liquidity, causing spreads to narrow.
3. Commitment of Traders reports can provide further confirmation.

I think there were 3-4 other symptoms mentioned, but I'm afraid I can't find my notes now.
Perhaps somebody else could add to the list.

Sorry I can't be more helpful. If you use Google or YouTube's search to find videos by Martin Cole or Mark Chapman --- they are two names that I can remember, who discuss smart money/dumb money concepts. But I have a feeling that the webinar presenter was somebody else.........

David

You're whole contribution to FF is a genuine help. What exactly made you quit forex (at least for now)? Do you find stocks more 'predictable' or more volatile? Searching through your posts from 2006 it seems to me that while the time has past you've got a dimmer view on forex.

Hi Hanover
I am trying to find a way of keeping my S/R lines on my charts when I close the computer (ready for next time I look at the charts )
I usually have 8 charts open on one page and would like to put all S/R lines and zones on all 8 and leave them there , but when I open my charts they are gone .I've tried using save template or save profile , without success.
I would really appreciate some help with this as it takes ages to keep putting the lines on , and I'm getting so frustrated.
Thanks in anticipation , I hope you can help.
ROB

Which indicators, ea or scripts do you run on that charts (can you attach the .mq4 files?)? I assume that at least on of them uses the command ObjectsDeleteAll() in the deinit()-part. That would be easy to fix ...

Hi FXdaytrader, Thanks very much for your reply ,I think I only use indi's , haven't got into Ea's or scripts yet and don't really know anything about them,I willtry to post screenshot of my indi's (sorry , I am the oldest noobie in the world , I think )[attach]1448130

load your chart with the indicators you use.
right click with the mouse on the chart. on the popup which opens click indicators. now you should see which indicators you have loaded.

pls. attach the mq4-files of these indicators.

Thanks , I have done the first part , that is a screen shot of the indi's I have on the charts

Could you pls give me a step by step of how to find the mq4 files?

pls. read this thread -> http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=470340
it should be explained there ...

Thank You for trying to help me .

@Pollux: I quit forex because I can no longer code in MQL4. Explained more fully in post #129.

@robuk: Sorry, can't help you as I no longer code in MQL4.