Trades I Can't Account For

[jeremymgp]

Today I opened NT to discover an open trade on my demo account, which had clearly been sitting open all night. I readily admit this was one way or another almost certainly my error, but this is now the 3rd trade that has been outside my control, and due to my previous experiences it is my habit to "Flatten Everything" on both my live and demo accounts before closing the software, even if as in this case I was only demo trading.

This I did according to my log as follows:

2/28/2008 0:29 Connection Primary connection=Disconnected Price feed=Disconnected
2/28/2008 0:28 Position Flatten account='Sim101'
2/28/2008 0:28 Position Flatten account='LiveAccount'
2/28/2008 0:28 Strategy Terminating any NinjaScript strategies invoked by Flatten Everything command
2/28/2008 0:28 Position Flatten account='Sim101'
2/28/2008 0:28 Strategy Terminating any NinjaScript strategies invoked by Flatten Everything command
2/28/2008 0:28 Order Cancel all orders account='Sim101'
2/28/2008 0:28 Position Flatten account='Sim101'
2/28/2008 0:28 Strategy Terminating any NinjaScript strategies invoked by Flatten Everything command

You'll see I flattened my accounts & cancelled all orders. I then closed my connection.

My log tells a similar story:
YM 03-08 Buy Market 1 0 0 Filled 1 12611 0 Close Day Sim101 2/28/2008 23:02 + - X
YM 03-08 Buy Market 1 0 0 Filled 1 12672 0 Close Day Sim101 2/28/2008 0:24 + - X
YM 03-08 Sell Market 1 0 0 Filled 1 12663 0 Day Sim101 2/28/2008 0:23 + - X
YM 03-08 Sell StopLimit 1 12637 12657 Cancelled 0 0 1 Stop1 Day Sim101 2/28/2008 0:00 + - X

The times show no trading activity between 0.24 am and 11.02 pm the next day.

Accounts were flattened at 0.28 after the last trade.

When I closed my connection, no positions were open.

When I opened it the next day - there was an open demo trade right there in front of me.

My guess is maybe I executed a StopLimit order somewhere the previous day I didn't account for - but once again I just have no idea about this.

My understanding is that "Flatten Account" and "Cancel All Orders" BOTH cancel ALL orders of ALL types. Is this somehow incorrect?

How can this order have occurred, and how can I perform the simple operation of closing NinjaTrader and closing all orders, everything - period - so I don't wake up to more surprises like this? If every time I close NinjaTrader I Flatten all accounts and Cancel All Orders multiple times, and then I see open orders with no stop loss 24 hours later, I'm effectively wondering 24/7 when the next unexpected trade will occur.

Again, I readily agree this is my human error. What I want to do is stop the program from trading when I'm not there. What can I do?

Thanks for understanding,
Jeremy

[NinjaTrader_Eamon]

Today I opened NT to discover an open trade on my demo account, which had clearly been sitting open all night. I readily admit this was one way or another almost certainly my error, but this is now the 3rd trade that has been outside my control, and due to my previous experiences it is my habit to "Flatten Everything" on both my live and demo accounts before closing the software, even if as in this case I was only demo trading.

This I did according to my log as follows:

2/28/2008 0:29 Connection Primary connection=Disconnected Price feed=Disconnected
2/28/2008 0:28 Position Flatten account='Sim101'
2/28/2008 0:28 Position Flatten account='LiveAccount'
2/28/2008 0:28 Strategy Terminating any NinjaScript strategies invoked by Flatten Everything command
2/28/2008 0:28 Position Flatten account='Sim101'
2/28/2008 0:28 Strategy Terminating any NinjaScript strategies invoked by Flatten Everything command
2/28/2008 0:28 Order Cancel all orders account='Sim101'
2/28/2008 0:28 Position Flatten account='Sim101'
2/28/2008 0:28 Strategy Terminating any NinjaScript strategies invoked by Flatten Everything command

You'll see I flattened my accounts & cancelled all orders. I then closed my connection.

My log tells a similar story:
YM 03-08 Buy Market 1 0 0 Filled 1 12611 0 Close Day Sim101 2/28/2008 23:02 + - X
YM 03-08 Buy Market 1 0 0 Filled 1 12672 0 Close Day Sim101 2/28/2008 0:24 + - X
YM 03-08 Sell Market 1 0 0 Filled 1 12663 0 Day Sim101 2/28/2008 0:23 + - X
YM 03-08 Sell StopLimit 1 12637 12657 Cancelled 0 0 1 Stop1 Day Sim101 2/28/2008 0:00 + - X

The times show no trading activity between 0.24 am and 11.02 pm the next day.

Accounts were flattened at 0.28 after the last trade.

When I closed my connection, no positions were open.

When I opened it the next day - there was an open demo trade right there in front of me.

My guess is maybe I executed a StopLimit order somewhere the previous day I didn't account for - but once again I just have no idea about this.

My understanding is that "Flatten Account" and "Cancel All Orders" BOTH cancel ALL orders of ALL types. Is this somehow incorrect?

How can this order have occurred, and how can I perform the simple operation of closing NinjaTrader and closing all orders, everything - period - so I don't wake up to more surprises like this? If every time I close NinjaTrader I Flatten all accounts and Cancel All Orders multiple times, and then I see open orders with no stop loss 24 hours later, I'm effectively wondering 24/7 when the next unexpected trade will occur.

Again, I readily agree this is my human error. What I want to do is stop the program from trading when I'm not there. What can I do?

Thanks for understanding,
Jeremy

Hi Jeremy,

Thank you for your post.

Sometimes when you experience a crash or your computer is shut down improperly. The sim account will experience a 'ghost order' that cannot be removed from the program. To resolve, you will need to reset your Sim101 account. To do this from the Control Center --> tools --> options --> Simulator tab --> click the 'reset' button. This should remove the ghost Sim101 order from NinjaTrader.

[jeremymgp]

Thanks Eamon for dealing with my question in typically prompt and direct fashion, I really appreciate this and is one of the key reasons I like trading with NT so much.

The ghost order scenario you mention sounds likely, is there any precedent or likelihood of this occurring on a live account trading real funds?

Thanks again,
Jeremy

[NinjaTrader_Eamon]

Thanks Eamon for dealing with my question in typically prompt and direct fashion, I really appreciate this and is one of the key reasons I like trading with NT so much.

The ghost order scenario you mention sounds likely, is there any precedent or likelihood of this occurring on a live account trading real funds?

Thanks again,
Jeremy

Jeremy,

Thank you for your kind remarks.

A ghost order in your live account is a rare occurrence but, it can occur. Ghost orders in your live account are generally flushed out after your brokers server reset period. If you experience a ghost order in your live account, you should contact your broker to ensure that this order is not live or working. Then send us a note to Support at NinjaTrader dot Com for further assistance.