Noob with Strategies...Pointers?

[dniezby]

So I'm new to writing strategies. What if I don't actually use a strategy? I tend to usually look at some indicators but then I trade by feeling. I do use a set of rules. I look at three indicators and decide whether the trade feels good or not. How do you write up a strategy like that? My success rate for the last month has been 87%. though I think I'm taking too many trades because the fees are cutting into my profits. I trade micros, so I'm only trading one contract at a time and I'm not making huge profits between $20 and $60 a trade but as I said, I have a winning trade 87% of the time. I always 100 percent of the time set a stop loss. I do not set a take profit because I'm watching, and I take as much as I can. I will move my stop loss once I hit a $10 profit to continue up until the profit ends. Is this a strategy? I guess I'm really just doing a manual trailing stoploss?

Thoughts?

[Zigfried]

If you are going to trade manually with micros I suggest watching the NinjaTrader YouTube channel livestreamed Opening Range and Bars Closing shows...those guys know their stuff and do exactly what you are describing.

Automated strategies are mechanical in nature, so writing one that "feels" the market would be a challenge, but with a lot of time and patience, you can get something close.

[dniezby]

If you are going to trade manually with micros I suggest watching the NinjaTrader YouTube channel livestreamed Opening Range and Bars Closing shows...those guys know their stuff and do exactly what you are describing.

Automated strategies are mechanical in nature, so writing one that "feels" the market would be a challenge, but with a lot of time and patience, you can get something close.

I watch Jim and the gang almost every day. So, as far as strategies in the software, those are automatic trades??? Like, you set it up, then it will enter a trade for you?

[Zigfried]

The NT platform is based on C#, so yes, you can do pretty much anything you want for an automated trading strategy. The sky is the limit.

There are unlimited strategies you can attempt by just using the NT off-the-shelf indicators, or you can develop your own indicator-like logic.

But there is much more to it than just entering a trade. There is entry management (e.g. adjusting/cancelling entry orders), position management (e.g. adjusting/cancelling Profit Target and Stop Loss orders), and account management (e.g. limiting daily loss). The ultimate automated strategy will mirror the way you think, and the way Jim/Tom/Mike talk.

As a newbie I suggest getting your feet wet by using the NT Strategy Builder to build some simple strategies with their off-the-shelf stuff, and test them using the Simulation Account and the BackTesting/Optimization tools. The Strategy Builder has its limitations, but once you get acclimated to NT/C#, you can move on to writing more complex code without it.

Just remember that, just like everyone can't be a good painter, plumber, musician or artist, not everyone can be a good programmer either...it takes a certain mindset, and skills developed over many years.

[NinjaTrader_BrandonH]

Hello dniezby,

Thanks for your post.

NinjaTrader utilizes the C# programming language for developing indicators and strategies as Zigfried noted.

The best way to begin learning NinjaScript is to use the Strategy Builder. With the Strategy Builder, you can set up conditions and variables and then see the generated code in the NinjaScript Editor by clicking the View Code button.

Below is a link to a forum post with helpful information about getting started with NinjaScript.
https://ninjatrader.com/support/foru...040#post786040

I am also linking you to the Educational Resources section of the Help Guide to help you get started with NinjaScript:
https://ninjatrader.com/support/help..._resources.htm

If you are new to C#, to get a basic foundation for the concepts and syntax used in NinjaScript I would recommend this section of articles in our help guide first:
https://ninjatrader.com/support/help...g_concepts.htm

And the MSDN (Microsft Developers Network) C# Language Reference.
https://ninjatrader.com/support/help...erence_wip.htm