Search found 69 matches

by blueberrycake
Tue Jul 26, 2011 6:40 pm
Forum: Testing and Simulation
Topic: Traders, learning to write computer programs
Replies: 20
Views: 13197

As a novice in programming where would you begin - c++ for dummies ? A script based language is much easier to learn and also much faster to write code in. You only need languages like Java and C++ if you need ultra-high performance code. I recommend either using the R statistical package (it uses ...
by blueberrycake
Sat Jun 18, 2011 1:23 pm
Forum: Forex
Topic: Obtaining forex intraday data
Replies: 8
Views: 10855

Update for anyone else interested in this: If you sign-up for SierraChart, it lets you download and export a few years worth of FXCM forex data with 1 second resolution for free. SierraChart's own costs are pretty minimal. For anything longer term (or more authoritative), Jez Liberty's recommendatio...
by blueberrycake
Mon May 23, 2011 7:33 pm
Forum: Testing and Simulation
Topic: Has anyone tried using Fractal properties for testing?
Replies: 5
Views: 4050

In my experience different timeframes are similar in the sense that prices move up, down and sideways on a chart of any time resolution. However, once you get to the point of actually exploiting a particular price behavior via a trading system, you find that the similarity is often purely superficia...
by blueberrycake
Fri May 20, 2011 4:31 pm
Forum: Testing and Simulation
Topic: Anyone using MatLab, Octave, SciPy, the Language R
Replies: 22
Views: 19056

Since you write your strategies in R & graph in SierraCharts, what and how do you use TBB? Is R for trying out concepts and TBB for day to day operations? I don't use TBB. Long time ago I went through phases of using AmiBroker, TradeStation and WealthLab, and while all had their advantages, I f...
by blueberrycake
Thu May 19, 2011 6:37 pm
Forum: Testing and Simulation
Topic: Anyone using MatLab, Octave, SciPy, the Language R
Replies: 22
Views: 19056

I've been using R for all of my trading model development and analysis and have been very pleased with it. One major caveat: if you use looping in your code, then as with most scripting languages, this is going to be slower than molasses. R is only fast if you are able to vectorize your code. Fortun...
by blueberrycake
Sun Jan 16, 2011 4:51 pm
Forum: Forex
Topic: Obtaining forex intraday data
Replies: 8
Views: 10855

Another option (which I have used) is to download historical data from the forex trading company they are associated with: OANDA. How was the quality of the Oanda data? I had previously looked at FXCM data and saw some unexplained time gaps in their data. I've also seen that some providers (both FX...
by blueberrycake
Sun Jan 16, 2011 1:46 am
Forum: Forex
Topic: Obtaining forex intraday data
Replies: 8
Views: 10855

Obtaining forex intraday data

Does anyone know of a good source to purchase quality intraday (1 min resolution or less) historical data for the various forex pairs? I've been using Tickdata as my primary intraday data source, however, they only have currency futures and not spot forex. Currency futures have historically been pre...
by blueberrycake
Sun Feb 05, 2006 4:24 am
Forum: Data Providers and other non testing software
Topic: ;-)
Replies: 2
Views: 4337

Have you had any issues with their accuracy (ie late prints, missing trades, etc)?

-bbc
by blueberrycake
Wed Oct 19, 2005 1:35 pm
Forum: Stocks
Topic: Short SPYders or the SP 500 futures?
Replies: 4
Views: 7604

If you pay US taxes, the tax treatment of futures is considerably more favorable, unless you plan to hold long enough to qualify for long term capital gains.

-bbc
by blueberrycake
Thu Apr 21, 2005 3:49 am
Forum: Testing and Simulation
Topic: 20/10 Channel Breakout Results In Mechanica
Replies: 5
Views: 6253

That's a lot of reports! Do you have a link to learn more about this software?

-bbc
by blueberrycake
Wed Mar 16, 2005 8:15 pm
Forum: Testing and Simulation
Topic: Encoding geometric patterns
Replies: 5
Views: 5489

Let's put it that way: it is probably as easy for the eye to spot the patterns you mention, as it is for the same eye to miss the crucial "anti-pattern" that voids the first ... That's very true. Hence the need to give a mechanical definition to some of these concepts so that they can be ...
by blueberrycake
Wed Mar 16, 2005 6:27 pm
Forum: Testing and Simulation
Topic: Encoding geometric patterns
Replies: 5
Views: 5489

Encoding geometric patterns

Has anyone seen any good algorithms for identifying various geometric formations on price charts? In particular, things like spotting minor/major support and resistance levels, identifying consolidation channels, etc. Basically things that are pretty easy to spot on a chart through visual inspection...
by blueberrycake
Wed Mar 02, 2005 4:42 am
Forum: Data Providers and other non testing software
Topic: SierraChart and SCMagic
Replies: 0
Views: 3885

SierraChart and SCMagic

Does anyone have experience with the "tick data" backfill service from SCMagic for SierraCharts? The actual data they provide is just basic OHLC-volume with 2 second resolution, which is not exactly tick data. I'm curious if anyone has compared the resulting chart with real tick charts, to...
by blueberrycake
Fri Feb 25, 2005 2:56 am
Forum: Testing Software
Topic: Charting historical intraday data?
Replies: 2
Views: 4543

Thanks for the Amibroker suggestion. I've been using it pretty extensively for a few months now, in conjunction with some of my custom software, and I've grown quite fond of it. I would definitely recommend it for the price.

-bbc
by blueberrycake
Sun Sep 19, 2004 10:57 pm
Forum: Money Management
Topic: Optimal f
Replies: 87
Views: 148283

Also, if I may indulge with a follow-up, assuming that the oft-quoted statistic that 90% of options expire worthless is broadly correct, This 90% number strikes me as entirely meaningless unless we know the net value of those that expire worthless vs those that are in the money. Imagine an option s...
by blueberrycake
Sun Sep 19, 2004 12:14 am
Forum: Testing and Simulation
Topic: Historical tick-by-tick stocks data
Replies: 3
Views: 4544

I've been quite satisfied with Tickdata.com

-bbc
by blueberrycake
Thu Aug 26, 2004 5:02 pm
Forum: Testing and Simulation
Topic: Toby Crabel's methodology
Replies: 8
Views: 14292

One observation I've made while testing patterns, is that when you dont have a very large sample size to work with, it's sometimes better to simplify your data rather than looking at raw trade results. For instance, initially I spent some time algorithmically searching for patterns on one sample set...
by blueberrycake
Thu Aug 26, 2004 3:07 pm
Forum: Trend Indicators and Signals
Topic: has anyone studied Toby Crabel's ideas?
Replies: 6
Views: 9056

One of the main challenges that I see with Crabel's methodology, is that he looks to create a list of price patterns, that he in turn uses to confirm his main setup. However, many of the patters have so few trades, that it's not clear how anyone can verify them statistically with any degree of certa...
by blueberrycake
Tue Aug 24, 2004 2:33 am
Forum: Testing and Simulation
Topic: Toby Crabel's methodology
Replies: 8
Views: 14292

Toby Crabel's methodology

I was recently rereading Toby Crabel's book, and here's how I see his methodology. 1) Identify a relatively common trade setup with a positive expectation (in his case Opening Range Breakout) 2) Analyze the preceeding price action to see if some price patterns are more likely to result in the primar...
by blueberrycake
Tue Jul 20, 2004 3:34 pm
Forum: Money Management
Topic: portfolio management
Replies: 2
Views: 4523

Figure out the correlation between your two strategies, and then you can figure out the proper size allocation. Of course all stock indexes are highly correlated during extreme moves, so if your systems tell you to go long in both at the same time, I would reduce the amount allocated. As to how much...