From: EA > Backtesting > Automation (MT4)

We are a group of friends coming together to automate a strategy that we are comfortable with.
I know my forex, but do it manually, and have recruited friends who know code (but not forex)
- together we hope to make a decent robot
If you do not know me personally; welcome, hope this helps! and who knows, you can help us!
(If you are new to FX please be advised this is not an educational forum - It has a specific purpose/ end result in mind.)

Hi Luigi,

Well I'm in, just leaving a message so you know im here, I'm back to MT4 for now.

Ok thats 3 of us - 2 still to come. pjesus is a friend at nokia who has experience with forums and code. popocholi (cant see the name at mo - think its right) is a friend from Bristol who has had the first intro to forex and works with code at work in the uk.

The first step is to figure out how to put an EA (expert advisor) on MT4 - and backtest it

I´ll pick one for us to start with and put it on here. once we are all proficient on evaluating EAs on MT4 then we can move on to tweaking parameters and optimizing.

be back soon with the EA and the link

Ok I found one - since Ive done a lot of manual backtesting on this indicator and know it works I figured its a good place to start - http://www.pointzero-trading.com/Pro...w/PZIchimokuEA

Its free to download and for MT4.

Ill go look for some educational material on IKH (Ichimuku Kinko Hio) just in case someone is desperate to know more - but be advised NO NEED
- Ill teach that part no probs and we might not even work with it in the end

http://www.babypips.com/school/eleme...kinko-hyo.html
Babypips.com school section is one of the best sources out there - simple and complete

Note - On the manual backtests we simplified the Japanese names to the colors of the lines as in this article -
Kijun: blue
Tekan : red
Chikou : green
Senkou : cloud, orange

so term Term "PRB" - "Price Red Blue" is "Price Tenkan Kijun"
To simplify change the settings on the platforms so the colors match - makes communication a LOT easier

this is a 1 hour tutorial that's very good on IKH if anyone is really bored or does not like reading

Back to where we are trying to get to;

I suggest someone ask PzTrading advice on set up of the EA

Also found a forum that will probably have a lot of helpful info - https://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=166758 - "I will code your EAs and Indicator for n charge"

Hey guys!!!!

Just to say that I am also in, thnx for pulling me in, luigy!

As for MT4, I installed it initially but have always been a fxtrader (Oanda) hound so, I will have to check it out.

Also I started messing with the Oanda API some months (years?) ago and created a custom trading interface in Excel (through VBA) which lets us define multiple strategies and test them against historical results. My purpose was to be able to apply these strategies in real-time, sending requests to the server to get candles and then take actions dependent on our strategy "AI". This was going full throttle but a year ago by baby girl was born and I had to slow down and come to halt...
So, no real-time issueing of orders and trades (for the time being).
But we have a simple tool that, with some tweaking, we can define and test several strategies against any timespan in the past.
Anyway since the focus is on MT4, I will take a deep look into it (baby girl and daytime job allowing) and see how we can use automation and customization. Who knows, maybe it may be possible to use the excel interface to access MT4 and program its EAs?. Or perhaps my previous experience developing the excel tool may be of some help for us with MT4...

Cheers!!!

thats 4 now only waiting on Nuno now and we are all in. Welcome xinablak

Whats Oanda API? have you figured out how to backtest? If so and if so on Oanda thats great - we can work with both platforms and make good of your progress. result comparison will be interesting too.

Our first task is to install an EA (strategy) on a platform (MT4 ideally) and backtest it to scrutinize the results for ourselves. - can you do this on Oanda API?

I think the one we picked only works on MT but don't worry because if the answer to the previous question is "yes" we can start testing a few ideas I came across over time

pjesus - here is the link: http://www.babypips.com/blogs/art-of-automation

for the others: instead of 3 people working on the same issue pjesus will scour the link above for tried and tested EAs - they do montlhy competitions and backtest ideas. It goes back a few years but he does have posts of the best of each year (dont despair pjesus) which will make it easier to narrow down to 2 or 3.
Also I know EA files are available to download and suspect code visible for us to tweak

will meet up with popocholi tomorrow and xinablack on Saturday

Hi Guys,

I downloaded the EA from PzTrading and was able to install it on to MT4.
- Fairly easy process.

Was able to test it on historical data using the default settings
- Again easy.

The difficult part for me is interpreting the results of the testing, needs someone with more than my 5hrs of forex knowledge.

It does not seem like a difficult process to download an EA from the internet, install it and test it on historical data.

The next thing I will do is look at some of the settings on the strategy tester.

[quote=luigy;9791078]Ive done a lot of manual backtesting on this indicator/quote]

Hi, im interested in knowing more about how and for how long did you manually backtest and couldn't you find a decent backtester to do this automatically? im in the same situation now backtesting manually and its taking a bit long

We are rolling! popocholi has installed the IKH EA in MT4 and the first backtest results are in

For the next week he will pick an EA from babypips to try and get the same results as robopip to make sure we are set up correctly
I will look into the backtest result table to make sure we understand every variable

when we sorted that out we can start work on an EA selected by pjesus (best results in robopip forum over the years)

back in a week with progress

[quote=followthroug;9806094] I did manual backtests on 4H going back 22 months on 9 pairs and 1D on 16 instruments going back 5 years... yes it takes a long time. but you get a real feel for your system. MT4 does it automatically if you get your head round it. We are trying to. you are asking a good question but not the right people... yet!
good luck and yes, automatic is the way

[quote=luigy;9806167] Thats a comprehensive answer, im backtesting on 1H charts down to 1m 4 months back in time, thats almost 1280 bars, now know where i stand lol

Wish i can take part in this topic since manual testing is a pain in the neck, i used forex strategy builder for a while to build an EA and backtest it, then switched to MT4 trade simulator pro

Thanks, best of luck to you too

[quote=followthroug;9806284][quote=luigy;9806167]{quote} "... i used forex strategy builder for a while to build an EA and backtest it, then switched to MT4 trade simulator pro..."

I didnt know about those two programs; it seems the perfect combination (just had a look) - forex strategy builder to optimize + code, and trade simulator to run on live historical data - why are you backtesting manually now!?!? why did you not manage to set up your system? Is it auto execution/ robot that you got stuck?

Well first i didn't know about MT4 trade simulator except last week or so, but im more than happy to use it only wish it has a rewind button then it will be a trader's dream


As for the forex strategy builder im using a scalping strategy that depends on MACD crossing on the 1m chart, this specific entry is not currently available in the program, also for some reason when i put the rules i always find the program enter in the second candle on the 15m chart or the 30m, 1H chart which means that its confused since i try different types of entries which i would assume it will replace the 1m entry that im using, but it seems that it can't be a good replacement.

To my own experience of the program it is good in the long term trading but not for scalping, it has lots of specific rules and "almost" got every move of any indicator.

Also Forex Tester 3 might be interesting, works as MT4 simulator and it can rewind even though it has its limitation "demo gives you only one month of testing then resets"

Maybe it helps to look at this indicator:

https://www.mql5.com/de/market/product/20468

If set on chart you can start automation and the indicator looks itself for the best setting.

Very fine technique.

found a file that might come in handy

looks like our quest just got simpler.

I´ll have a chat with jesus tomorrow so we can start looking for 2 complementary strategies - one good for trend and one good for range

looking good