Markers System - Tutorial #2

Continued from Markers System - Tutorial

As we saw on previous post, Markers can detect objects painted on the Chart, like Arrows, Dots, Vertical Lines, etc ; most of the standard Ninja Objects used by Indicators to paint Entry or Exit Signals.

And when detected, Markers can issue ATM Orders.
An ATM Order includes not only the trade size, but also the number of positions ( 3 on Ninja 7 and unlimited on Ninja 8 ) and the corresponding Stop, Target, Trailing and Auto Breakeven for each position. Read More.

Now, let's compare the 2 versions of Markers ;

Features	Markers Lite	Markers Plus
Number of Objects Supported	9	19
Option to Close Positions	Yes	Yes
Manual & Semi Auto	Yes	Yes
Max Daily Loss/Profit	Yes	Yes
Time Windows	1	3
Entry Order Type	Market	Market / Limit / Stop
Option to Filter Signals	No	Yes
Tool to Create Signals	No	Yes

Both Markers Versions can be purchased on this link

The Main Differences are these :

• Markers Lite can automate signals painted by another indicator
  How can I check that my indicator signals are standard Ninja Objects and can be detected ? Read the end of this post to learn about.
• Markers Plus include several Tools, with which we can create our own Signals and also our own Filters.
  This allows the option to create an unlimited number of trade setups and save them as templates.
  Markers Plus includes a shared library of templates constantly improving and growing.

How can we know if the signals painted by our indicator are standard and can be detected by Markers ? . . . . Just doing double click over the object ; 

If we get the Object Properties Dialog, then it is a Standard Ninja Object and can be detected by Markers.

Example :

If after doing the double click we dont get response or we get the indicator properties window, then this object is not compatible with Markers.

On the following Post, we will cover the features of Markers Plus

Markers System - Tutorial

Welcome to this New Series of Publications about Markers System for Ninjatrader

Markers is a System that allows to automate Signals converting them into Orders.

Example ; if we have an Indicator that paints an Arrow Down on a Short Signal, like this ;

We can use Markers to detect and automate those Red Arrows.


There are 2 versions of Markers ; Lite and Plus

This is what Markers Lite can do ;

We can select 2 different objects with specific Colors ; one to Enter Long, and the other to Enter Short.

Optionally we can also select 2 other objects to close long & short positions

Select an Account where to execute the Orders

Limit the Daily Loss and Daily Profit

All other inputs ( Enable Long, Short, Exits, Manual or Automatic ) can be managed from the Chart Toolbar

We can specify a Time Window inside where we allow trading.
Outside this time window all signals are ignored and current positions are closed.

Continued on Next Post...

How and Why We Must pay attention to Volatility

Hello Traders

When we analyze a market, it is very important to take into account its volatility for the different time frames and times where we plan to trade.
If volatility is too low we may have little or no chance at all of entering and leaving the market in a timely way with our expected targets and stops.
If volatility is too high, we will surely have many opportunities for trades, but possibly the Stop needed will be much higher than expected.

Let's see now how to measure volatility using the ATR (Average True Range) indicator

The Range of a bar is the distance between its maximum and minimum price.

The True Range includes the gap that may exist from the previous bar, therefore the True Range is equal to or slightly higher than the Range.

The ATR is the True Range Average in the last N bars.
In this example we see the ATR (14) on a Crude Oil & Euro Futures 5 Minutes Charts.

   

As we see, the ATR is a number expressed in terms of price, so we can not compare the ATR of 2 instruments.

Unless We express it in Ticks, with the custom indicator TIS_ATR_Ticks ;

Now we see that even though both instruments have very different ATR values, its volatility expressed in ticks is very similar (6 to 20 ticks).
Overall we have to keep in mind that the minimum necessary stop should be between 1.5 to 2 times the 1 minute ATR.

Example ; with a maximum ATR of 10 ticks, the minimum stop is 15 ticks .

If we look at this 1 minute chart, we can also observe areas with low volatility where we should not participate.

In practice I always try to avoid trading a market where the ATR is less than 4 ticks or more than 15 ticks, so it is clear the time windows where we can trade;

Same procedure should be done with the volume, as a general rule We must operate liquid instruments that trade several times our size trade per minute.
When we analyze several instruments together, it is important to convert the value of ATR scale from Price to Ticks or its currency value as shown in the following table;

This is a Market Analyzer NinjaTrader table, where I have added my preferred instruments and 3 columns; the classic ATR, showing the volatility in price scale for each instrument, and 2 copies of the indicator TIS_ATR_Ticks , one configured to show ticks and the other to show $ in the corresponding currency.

The table is sorted by cost, and allows us to know what instruments are within reach of our maximum stop size  (the stop should be 1.5 to 2 times that value)

The Market Analyzer allows us to perform various functions, such as highlight values (in this case are highlighted in blue ATR> = 4 ticks and in Red greater than 15), filter rows and generate alerts.

More info about Market Analyzer on this YouTube Video

Trading Overbought and Oversold Bars with Stochastics

Defining a Trade Setup using Stochastics

Using the Stochastic Indicator we can define several simple and easy Trade Setups.

With the Ninjatrader Stochastics Indicator we can define Overbought and Oversold Bars when the K line is above or below these levels.

The D line is an average of the K line, so the closest is its period to 1, the closest this line will be with the K. With a period of 1, both lines overlap one each other.

We can use 2 different methods to trade with Stochastics ;

• Using both K and D lines ; we watch for Crossover of these lines, and take an entry depending where the crossover happened ; if it was on the overbought, we have a sell. If it was on the oversold, then it is a buy signal.
• Using only the K Line ; we wait for the K line being on the overbought/oversold area and trying to get out...

Example using Method 1 ( K vs D Crossover : TIS_STO_XO )

Example using Method 2 ( TIS_Reversal )

Watch this YouTube Video for more information

2016 Live Trading Webinars

2016 New Trading Webinars

Session #1 ( EMA Crossover ) August 18, 2016

On this 1st webinar we start explaining a classic and easy Setup ;

• The Crossover of 2 Moving Averages

To trade this Setup you only need an EMA, an indicator present on all Trading Platforms.
On this video we learn how to select a pair of moving averages and how to use the threshold to avoid having fake signals on slow moving markets or sideways conditions.

This Setup can be Created, Visualized and its Signals automated with Markers Plus for Ninjatrader.

Learn More about Markers Plus :

Trade Setup using 3 Exponential Moving Averages

Hello! Friends!

We meet again to share 2 easy Setups using 3 EMA's:
 ( valid also for other averaging lines like HMA, SMA, etc) .

We know that the EMAs are the most basic indicators

They can have a  Slow ( S) , Medium ( M) and Fast ( F) Period

Example:   F 10  /   S 50 / M 20

1) Set Up: Enter the Market when the 3 lines align in same direction and order.

2) Set up: The Crossover of Lines F ( Fast )  with M  ( Medium)
are filtered according to the  S ( Slow) line position.

Este cruce alcista esta filtrado porque esta por debajo de la linea negra.


Find more details on this YouTube Video :

Trade Setup Examples : Defining Entry Signals

Entry Signals


There are different ways to Trade a Market, no matter what Instrument or Time Frame, we must analyze which works best ;

I would classify the possible Setups in 2 Ways ;

1. Trade Breakouts
   We must define a rule to specify an area ( over and below the market ) that once broken will trigger an entry signal ; a long when the area is broken to the upside, and a short when broken to the downside.
2. Trade Pullbacks
   We must define a rule to calculate the Trend.
   When it exceeds a threshold, then we are trade ready to enter on a retracement

Some instruments can be traded better on one mode than the other.
The combination of instrument and timeframe is also important, because the same instrument can perform better with breakouts on one time frame while working better with pullbacks on other.

Examples :

This is a 5 Minutes EURUSD Forex Chart


If we use the last 8 Bars Pivot ( we can use the Swing(8) Indicator) then we can define our breakout area by the last detected upside pivot and last detected downside pivot.
The Breakout Entry method could then be placing bracket Orders at those levels ;

• Buy Stop at Green Line Level
• Sell Stop at Orange Line Level

As we can see, when the market is very volatile the results are excellent.
But when it moves sideways, like at the end of the session, we start having some fake breakouts, like at the end of the day, between the 2 blue arrows, there was a failed breakout to the downside ( orange line just moved a few ticks lower )


On the next picture we have the same Chart with an example of a Pullback Entry ;
We use 2 lines ; a fast (bue) and a slow (black) moving average.
When the blue crosses below the black we start looking for a short at a retrace to the black line.
We can trade only first, second, or N retracements.
Until the blue line crosses above the black, and then we start looking for a long at a retrace to the black.



Here we have an example on Crude Oil ; only 2 trades with a pullback entry ;




Using the breakout entry doesn't looks good on this Chart ;


( each time we see a lower orange line there is an entry, but the available profit is too small)

But if we change the time frame for the same day, now the setup looks much better ;



With these concepts, we can identify on our preferred Instrument and Chart Combination
which is the best Setup Mode to Use.

On the following posts I will cover different ways to configure both Setup Modes ; Breakout and Pullback

Please post any question or comment below this post.

Pablo Maglio | The Indicator StorePablo@TheIndicatorStore.Com  Skype id : pmaglio

Trade Setup Examples : High Time Frame Filters

High Time Frame Filtering

Filtering our signals taking into account the trend defined on a Higher Time Frame is one of the most important factors to take into account.

We can see on these Charts some Examples :

This is a High Time Frame Crude Oil Chart, very slow for Day Trading, where each bar has a Size of 18 Ticks, too big for the precision of an average day trading trade, where we use targets and stop near or lower those 18 Ticks.

But if we go back to our Trading Chart, much faster than this one, where we can have several Up and Down signals during one single bar of this slow Chart, which of these trades will have more Odds to Succeed ?

It is evident that we can get much better targets and less losers if we filter these signals using the higher timeframe trend.

Now, How we define the Trend ?

1) OpenClose
The example shown here ( 1st Chart ) is the easiest way ; while bars are closing up (green), the Trend is Up. When bars are closing down (red), the Trend is Down.

This is the faster and easier way to define the trend, and using some kind of fine tuning with Renko Bar we can avoid having noise or fast trend changes on sideways

• We can see an example on Gold on this post

There are lot of other ways to define a trend ;

2) Moving Average Slope ( We can use SMA, EMA, HMA, etc )
Looking at the slope of a moving average is the 2nd fastest way to define a trend, and we can add a threshold to filter out noise.
On this example I'm using an EMA(34) and we can see that we get the same trend signals than on the OpenClose

Using the Markers Tool Slope we can measure this Trend and have it available on any other Chart, no matter what time frame or instrument.

Now, on our working chart we can specify a Markers filter for long and shorts this way ;

Markers will automate any detected signal only if the corresponding side filter is in agreement.


3) Relative Position of 2 Lines ( We can use SMA, EMA, HMA, etc )
We use 2 lines ; a fast moving average and a slow moving average.
When fast is above the slow the trend is up, when it is below, the trend is down.
The faster the periods and the closer the fast and slow periods, the fast the signal we get.
On this example, we have an EMA(36) [blue] and an EMA(34) [red]
We can see that the signals ( Arrows ) have some delay and filtering in relation to the OpenClose trend direction

To apply this method using Markers Tools, we need to copy both lines and then use the XO Indicator to calculate the distance between them ;

In total we use 3 indicators ; 2 Copy instances and one XO.
The variable defined on XO ; ema34vs36 is available on all charts and can be used to filter our signals as on previous method.
We can filter longs when ema34vs36 is greater than zero or a positive threshold.
...and shorts when it is smaller than zero or a negative threshold.


Having defined the Trend ( on current or higher time frame chart ) now we can focus on the signals of the work chart, usually the fastest time frame.

We will see some examples on the following posts.

​

Best Regards,

Pablo Maglio

Pablo Maglio | The Indicator StorePablo@TheIndicatorStore.Com  Skype id : pmaglio

Defining a Trade Setup

Beginner's Guide to Define a Trade Setup

Hello Everyone !

On this Article I will explain the basics on defining and executing a Trade Setup.
It doesn't matters if we are analyzing Forex, Futures, Stocks or any other instrument, the rules are the same and they work anywhere.

An important step we must follow to document what are we doing is to write the rules in a way that anyone can understand and trade in the same way.

As a suggestion, try to avoid long and complex conditions and try to differentiate the setup into these 3 different items :

1. Entry Trigger
   A group of conditions that when all in agreement trigger an Entry Signal
2. Filter Conditions
   A group of conditions that must agree to accept an Entry Signal
   Usually we can put all these conditions together with #1
3. Exit Trigger
   A group of conditions that when all in agreement trigger an Exit Signal.
   Any remaining position is closed when this happens.

Examples of #1) Entry Trigger

• Fast Line crosses above Slow Line to Enter Long
• Oscillator leaves oversold area to Enter Long

Examples of #2) Filter Conditions

• System is already Long ( so we dont add more position )
• System is Short ( so we wait this position to finish at target or stop )
• Higher Time Frame Filter is not aligned

Examples of #3 Exit Trigger can be similar to #1

With Markers Plus, now we can Create, Visualize and Auto Trade any Logic that we define :

On the Following Post I will show several Trade Setup Examples and its implementation using Markers Plus Tools

Best Regards,

Pablo Maglio

Pablo Maglio | The Indicator StorePablo@TheIndicatorStore.Com  Skype id : pmaglio