Q A M Trading Strategy

I am your student.. Learnt alot from this QAM method... Carry on Sir..

Pleased to hear it.

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... A few of those trouble makers have been placed in the QAM sinbin for an undisclosed period of time ...
... Masterrmind may offer a royal pardon allowing them to post in this thread once again but maybe not ...
...The paperwork to make that happen and the channels I have to go through are very long and arduous ...

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The quest is still in action and be sure that every effort will be made to hit that elusive goal I have set ... the big 1M.

I'm not saying it will happen or that it will not happen but many trading ideologies will be explored along the way.

The 2 currently running demo accounts are far too young to show anything of a longer term possibility with QAM.

Yet I smell progress in the development pipeline and this is a good thing.

Enjoy the journey,

Masterrmind...........

I too am following with interest.

While I am not trading full time like I was in the past few months, I still manage a microscopic live account where I trade the concepts that I learned here. I have personally learned a great deal from this thread (directly and indirectly) and I cannot honestly say that about 99.9% of the rest of the threads out there. That is not to say that there aren't other good ones but this is the one that has led me to discover stress free trading among a lot of other concepts that I now wonder how I ever got along without. Of course, your mileage may vary. I traveled my own path and each must do the same.

What you are doing now, Masterrmind, is next level stuff and I can't wait to see more!

You are quite right in stating it as being next level stuff ... quite true.
I'm not saying that the goal could not have been met using the cent account however there were so many nasty factors against me that I had endured enough especially after those nasty fills on the GU trades. An ECN broker showed none of the upward swings in negative fill but the cent broker spiked violently to the upside (the post has been included in amongst my threads and I have elaborated on it).

After all those terrible trading conditions I decided to rethink my attack and so I needed to come up with another QAM concept that could potentially be run on a standard ECN type account with a small 1K startup.

Ideally I seek an ECN broker with super tight spread and the ability to trade an EA using smaller than 0.01 lots for example 0.001 lots.
If this could be satisfied my journey would be so much easier but still not guaranteed ofcourse.

So a new phase begins and after plenty of demo run tests and some tweaks here and there based on flaws in the system that pop up then I will load up the live account at 1K and trade to its end wherever that might be.

The full system however will be a few months away since it is rather involved with the design I made for it.

So it is possible that I may end up applying a similar but slightly modified version of what I'm currently trading in these demo accounts.

Still plenty of testing to go so lets see where these demos end up before making other plans.

I'm waiting for the huge pullback in the equity curve to catch me out which it can because I simply turn the EA off before rest time and turn it back on again very close to London Open.

It really is that simple at the moment .... select number of pairs, apply PLS, apply settings for SLs and TPs so every trade is covered. provide a magic number per chart and set the EA going from smack on London Open .... let the trades that do not close out before rest time simply trade unaided over-night.

Ofcourse my final system will control the trades and cycles throughout which will again make a huge difference in the movements of the equity curve but for now I have to trade without it.

ps. ofcourse there is 1 hugely important parameter (secret sorry) that makes an incredible difference yet it is so simple its ridiculous.

Masterrmind............

Calling it an early night.

Will update charts at London Open tomorrow.

Masterrmind..........

London Open

Day 12



Current Equity is $2053.19
Current Balance is $2666.62

Masterrmind...........

Both demo test accounts 1 & 2 show multiple entries open and equity curves that are struggling to push up higher.

Therefore, EA's will not be made active until trade closures occur or the current floating DD reduces.

Demo Test #1 Chart at London Open Day 13



Demo Test #2 Chart at London Open Day 8



Updates for both charts can be expected around NY Open.

Masterrmind..........

Updates at 30 minutes inside NY session




Masterrmind.............

Updates will be given for both accounts after the market closes.

Enjoy the weekend.

Masterrmind...........

End of the week and end of Day 14 - demo test #1


End of the week and end of Day 9 - demo test #2



Demo Test 1 suggests at least a potential strategy that could be applied live.

1. As always a lower DD would be nice however looking at the equity curve and the current gain on the account at which a larger DD occurred is not that much of a concern to me.

2. If on the 1st day of trading the DD hit these higher levels then I would be more inclined to take drastic measures.

3. Keep in mind that this account setup is still tracking at greater than a 5% daily compound rate and that is quite impressive IF it continues.

4. The max trades in total and max trades per pair can be limited so that DD can be contained. The test so far has had no such limits applied and the lot range has been from 0.01 to 0.03 and not more.

5. On a live run especially in the early stages the trades will be limited, the max DD limit set and perhaps a CLS @ 0.01 will be used.

6. Interesting the majority of the trades in this demo test run have been only 0.01 lots with a few at 0.02 and 0.03 lots.

7. When the Equity Curve Trade Management (ECTM) System is used the equity curve should be far smoother but we'll have to wait to see.

Demo Test 2 suggests a strategy that needs vast improvement due to high DD issues and an Equity curve that continues to struggle.

1. DD has been and continues to be a major issue. The lot range on this account are from0.02 to 0.04 and not more.

2. For the 1st 5 trading days the equity curve looked very promising both in terms of acceleration, reasonable DD at the time and an explosive gain.

3. But from Day 6 onwards the system could not cope and the Equity curve is shown to continue a downward trend including a number of stops being hit resulting in a big drop in the Balance curve.

4. One observation that I do not like to see is when the Equity curve drops under the Deposit line (the $1000 start in this case). Trading Day 9 shows roughly a $200 drop below the deposit line at this time. The only acceptable time that this could be tolerated is on the 1st or maybe into the 2nd day of trading when an initial DD of some magnitude is always expected on a new account since the moment new positions are opened in FX there will always be a draw (used margin) on the deposit resulting in at least some DD also shown in the Equity curve.

5. As trading days increase so too should the account growth but NOT an event where the Equity curve drops below deposit line.

6. A limit needs to be set on how far below the initial deposit the Equity curve is allowed to fall. An ultimate limit might be 25%, 30% up to 40%.

7. In this Demo Test 2 I will set the ultimate limit at 30% which means that if the equity drops below $700 I will terminate the test run.

Lets see how these 2 tests turn out and what we can all learn from them both good and bad.

If these DD levels are an issue (and yes they are in Test 2 IMHO) then max trades @ a given lot size will need to be applied.

Any changes being made will be applied to a new test so that the data can be more easily analysed although the first thing I look at in terms of the quality of a trading strategy is if I could live with the tracing out of the Equity curve on one of my larger trading accounts.

If the answer is no then I most likely will not trade it even on a small $1000 account.

Demo Test 3 will be started say on either Monday or Tuesday this week with some changes being made.

Additional demo tests wil also be started when needed.

Unfortunately on MT4 multiple pairs are not easily tested in the strategy tester and hence the need for demo forward tests.
MT5 can offer additional analysis but it too is also limited to some extent.

Since the MT5 Expert Advisor and design process is still in progress in the background it is of no consequence to me that I spend the time using the demo tests.

At least by providing screenshots of demo runs and a bit of commentary those traders interested can see what might be working, what is not working and apply the information to their own systems if they wish.

Note 1: Test 1 Equity curve looks ok but I would prefer a tighter alignment with the balance curve (we can always wish).
Note 2: Test 2 Equity curve is horrendous since Day 6 so it is unlikely to be used live but I'll let it continue longer just to see if it can recover.
Note 3: Important point to be made is that at this stage it is clear that 0.01 lots per 1000 balance is the max unless trades are limited in number.
Note 4: remember that this is a DD intensive method.

Asking questions is also welcome.

Good trading,

Masterrmind.............

END OF THE WEEK AND END OF TRADING DAY #19

Demo Test 1




Notes:
This account has been testing multiple pairs on the one account at the same time.
The EA is active generally at London Open and turned off anytime between NY Open and London Close.
The remaining trades still open are simply allowed to run on but they do have SLs (large) and TPs (small) applied.
If the DD is seen to be higher than preferred then the next day the Expert is not turned on.
If the DD is reasonable then the EA is turned on again at London Open where a series of new trades may be generated.
Then from about NY open through to London close the Expert is simply turned off again and the trades play out without any intervention.
There is no other Expert interference or manual intervention in the cycle of trades whatsoever.

If the DD is viewed as ok but the account has numerous orders open then the EA may not be restarted the following London session.
Over the multiple pairs being traded on the small 1K account quite often 100 or so trades are open.
It is quite clear that a lot size greater than 0.01 per 1000 balance can lead directly into an eventual major DD issue that will end the account.
Demo Test 2 provided the answers and although it traded identical pairs albeit a different starting date which can make a difference it is easy to see a trend developing meaning that by applying 0.02 lots per 1000 balance with a freedom of the EA to open as many trades as it wishes the account will struggle to survive and certainly can make huge gains initially over several days but eventually as the market turns against the current cycles of trades there is too much pressure on the small account and the life gets squeezed out of the available margin.

A CLS strategy is seen to be ideal when running multiple trades over multiple pairs on a small account balance especially in the early phase of development.

A CLS cycle was actually used in Demo Test 1 for the majority of entries however some 0.02 lot entries were also made at greater trade count levels.

The gains made using an almost CLS sequence were very good in my view and will be used on the live QAM account and then progressed to a PLS setup as the account develops positive growth over time.

I must say that I am surprised by the current results.
The Equity Curve in the screenshot shows nice resilience and the ability to recover and remains well above the Deposit line ($1000 level).
However, the Equity Curve has struggled to remain or indeed continue to grow above the 100% gain in Equity Level which is a concern.

In unaided mode the account needs to show that it can make a full recovery.
Indeed the account over the last week did not have an EA active nor was there any interference with any of the trades it was simply allowed to fend for itself at the mercy of the market (but TPs were in place and so too the stops).

The TPs are low but not too low and so what happens is they get closed out for profit as the market cycles favorably within the limits of a predefined trading range (per pair) including a calculated buffer zone (missing the larger stops ofcourse).

Ultimately if the outer bounds plus buffer are broken then stop out of a given trade may occur.

Imagine at 0.01 lots a stop out per trade at 100 pips is about $10 and 200 pips is about $20 etc.
Quantity of trades open at the same time therefore should be accounted for and limits put in place.

Simple strategies will eventually be implemented such as:
1. Setting limits for maximum open orders on the account
2. Setting limits for maximum open orders per instrument
3. Setting limits based on 'type' of instrument (eg turtle, major or volatile)
4. Consider volume per pair and in total currently active in the account
5. Maximum floating DD limit (initially set high but as growth occurs on the account this value may be reduced over time)
6. other factors as deemed necessary to preserve the account.

Ofcourse, it could be possible to setup a very high leveraged high gaining live account and simply hope to get to the 10K mark as fast as possible taking on major risk in the process and actually succeeding.

But what use would this be if it is highly unlikely to be repeatable.

In the QAM Method it is one thing to hit the ultimate goal but it is another thing entirely to make the process at least somewhat repeatable.

In all fairness though realize that I will be attempting to accelerate a 1K account to about the 10K level as fast as possible (applying sound DD trading techniques outlined in advance) and then trade a slightly different strategy mostly in the Asian session but with some other trading window slots as seen appropriate at the time.

One statistic I'll be keen to know is how much time it takes to complete each growth range.
How long to go from 1K to 10K, then 10K to 100K and finally 100K to 1M.

Plenty of work to do yet but the goal is alive.

Masterrmind............

END OF THE WEEK AND END OF TRADING DAY #24

Demo Test 1



Equity Curve making a recovery and maintaining a greater than 100% gain in equity level.

EA will be applied again somewhere in the early stages of this coming week.

Masterrmind............

Test 1 end of the week and end of 29 trading days



A tapering off in both the equity and the balance curves as trades were closed out due to stop losses being hit.

Gain in Equity of about 94.7% but with a DD of just over 40%.

DD might look nasty however, it needs to be put into context and in my view (and yes I tend to not like a DD over even 20-30%) it does depend on where it occurs in terms of the strain applied to the initial balance.

For example, had the DD occurred at the start and drove the balance curve down to 600 then in my view this is far worse than if it occurs at say the 1700 or 2000 level.

DD will still need to be managed though.

This will probably be the end of this short demo test.

Masterrmind...........

A live account named QAM-1000-Live will commence the journey starting April 3 2017.

Progress can be tracked at https://www.forexfactory.com/showthr...585458&page=20

Most likely traded on the MT5 platform such that when the MT5 Expert is completed it can be applied in a smooth and seamless manner.

The entire trading journey will be tracked on the same account meaning no swaps and changes between brokers.

This will provide a clean trading history.

Good Trading,

Masterrmind............

MT5 Templates

The QAM-1000-Live MT5 account will commence early this coming week (Monday or Tuesday subject only to the wire transfer)

Cycles will come from many different TF setups and Quantum values.

The QAM Method will be applied by manual trading only in the early stages (No Expert Advisor).

Trade management experts may be applied though if and when they become necessary.

A taste of the MT5 template on H4 is shown in the screenshot:

AUDUSD [H4; 360 - 360/manual]



Notes:

1. Thick horizontal yellow lines are the highs and lows of Q1
2. Vertical yellow lines represent the bounds of Q1 by date (1st trading day in 2017 through to last trading day in March)
3. Blue solid circles are Quantum Buy signals
4. Red solid circles are Quantum Sell signals
5. Dashed colored lines represent monthly pivots (green) and the support and resistance levels m/m
6. Dotted white lines (not visible in this chart) represent the monthly highs and lows

Major currency pairs will be traded initially followed by any instrument offered on the trading platform.

Several different TFs will be used to trade this account.

Masterrmind...........

Here is an interesting update on the same demo account that I have allowed to keep running in the background.



Quite the wild ride to glory.

If anything, what I find appealing is the minimum fall of DD below initial balance meaning the account was 'never' really in danger however, market could have certainly dished out a nastier DD curve but in this case the trader would need to step in and manage the account.

Gain stands at greater than +200%.

No trades are currently open so the gain is all 'demo' equity.

ps. I may also start a QAM-HighRisk-Gainer account from the start of May.

Masterrmind............

For those wondering what is happening to this new MT5 QAM-1000-Live account here is an annoying little update.

I opened up a specific NAB Bank account and have transferred via bank wire an amount of US$1000 into XM's NAB account.

NAB confirms that the funds have already hit XM's account.

However, the new MT5 account still fails to show this update and currently rests at $0.

I have contacted XM about this issue and they are looking into it.

Almost 3/4 of the way through April.

I tend to like new trading activity to start from the beginning of a new month so what is likely to occur now is a May 1 start date.

Apologies for the inconvenience (and yes I am very frustrated with XM).

It is possible that 2 QAM Live accounts will commence from the start of May, one carefully traded and the other at a much higher risk.

When this is all sorted out it will be posted here but the journey of potentially 2 QAM accounts will be documented in my Trading Journal thread.

Masterrmind............

The EA has again been turned on so that this demo account can continue on its own journey.

A keen observer would have noted the TE for this demo account which is now public under my profile.

The pairs that I have been trading are as follows:

AUDUSD
EURUSD
GBPJPY
GBPUSD
USDCAD
USDCHF
USDJPY

Note 1: pair choose is simplistic being the major currency pairs + GJ.
Note 2: DD can be reduced by simply limiting the number of trades per pair or for a given pair such as GJ (ADR pips can be considered here)

You'll also notice the multiple closure of USDCHF trades which was not necessary however being a demo account I simply wanted to show a 200% plus gain in equity with no open trades and to start the next 7 pair cycles of trades.

The new live account starting May 1 will be called QAM-HighGainer7-Live and perhaps traded on the MT4 platform.
This is not to be confused with the new MT5 account named QAM-1000-Live which is also to start from May 1.

Enjoy the journey.

Masterrmind...........

MAY 1, 2017

QAM-1000-Live MT5

Live Trading account with XM brokerage is now finally active.

Start Balance = US$1000
End Balance = UNKNOWN (goal is to hit 1M)

Manual approach will be adopted initially.
MT5 QAM Expert Advisor currently in development and will be applied when completed, tested etc.

Trade Management and Risk Management applied.

Trader discretionary approach adopted.

TE not available for the MT5 platform so myfxbook and FXBlue Live will be provided

myfxbook available from here:

https://www.myfxbook.com/members/MAS...ve-mt5/2097130

FXBlue Live: PM for password access.

Account progress will be as transparent as possible with information posted here.

Progress reports initially often (but later on a monthly basis) will be posted on my QAM Trading Journal thread available from here:

https://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=585458

Enjoy the QAM journey but note that the ride might get a little rough at times.

Further information about my initial manual approach will be posted later.

Please use this thread for your questions and discussions about QAM.

Masterrmind...........

Later I will trade a live QAM-High Gainer account starting at 1K but not until this current account gets mobile.

The current demo account named QAM_High_Gainer_v1 is very similar to how the live account will be traded but with some additional controls over the rolling DD.

Look out for this High Risk QAM account ... coming soon (several weeks).

Masterrmind...........