Package: Manual Entry Automation (MEA)
for TradeStation
How
often have you wished you could eyeball the market
as it unfolds and issue an entry order at the exact
best spot (per your seasoned trader's judgment!),
and then rely on TradeStation to immediately take
over managing an automated exit for you -
unemotionally taking profits and cutting losses
according to your carefully chosen plan?
Not
being able to do this easily has been a major
frustration for many over the years.
CodeForTraders is pleased to offer our solution,
the Manual Entry Automation (MEA) package.
What It Is
The
MEA package consists of a Windows application and a
specially coded TradeStation strategy that speak to
each other through the TradeStation GlobalVariable
area.
The
TradeStation strategy acts as a "listener", and it
is meant to run with Automation ON, awaiting your
entry instructions which you provide via the Windows
application.
The
Windows application has been specially coded to
allow you to invoke it from inside TradeStation via
HotKeys at the moment you are ready to enter.
The
MEA package works on any TradeStation® 8 symbol
which accepts "normal" automation. Stocks,
futures, bonds, FOREX - all may now be entered
manually with precision timing, and exited
automatically with unemotional alacrity.
What It Looks Like
The
market entry form, eager to get you in after you hit
'Ctrl-4' (or other HotKey of your choice):
The
limit entry form, itching to get you a great price
after you hit 'Ctrl-5' (or other HotKey of your
choice):
The
stop entry form, preventing that train from leaving
without you, after you hit 'Ctrl-6' (or other HotKey
of your choice):
These boxes pop up and dismiss at your command,
practically instantaneously.
What It Does
When
you hit the Buy or Sell Short button, special flags
are written in the TS Global area specifying your
order -
then, the "Listener" strategy, on the
very next bar closure, reads your order specification and places
the order - in the automated environment.
Since your entry order is actually placed by the
Autotrader (and not via the Order Bar), your entry
is an automated entry in every respect - except that
you decided when that entry would take place!
The Implications
Some
of today's most famous and most successful traders
assert that the very best trades are often found
when systematic analysis is combined with
experienced discretion.
After a basic setup situation is found, the ability of the brain to visually integrate screenfuls of complex visual information, and
be aware of the general market environment, and
be aware of today's news, and intuit the
market's "shakes and fakes" is unsurpassed.
TradeStation, especially in the form of RadarScreen,
is capable of finding us many potential trading
setups each day - but there is perhaps no superior substitute for the
trader's judgment when it comes to weeding out the
truly exceptional setups from the ordinary or
misleading ones.
On
the Exit side though ...
Once you have a position on, dollar pressure,
time pressure, and ego pressure all combine to make
exits much more emotional and difficult to evaluate
well than entries. Also, timing can often be
critical with exits. If you have multiple
positions on, several positions can easily cream
your bankroll in the background while you are
sitting there desperately trying to decide what to
do about one.
The
human, far from being the perfect judge of exits, is
more often the very cause of a disastrous exit!
Therefore, NOT screening exits through our brains
may be an advantage. The mistake you prevent
could save your account.
In a
nutshell, the "Manual Entry - Automated Exit"
scenario puts the human to work where the human is
arguably best, and puts the computer to work where the
computer is arguably best.
I
think this is something that many of us have known
for a long time - but this "sweet scenario" has not
really been conveniently available - until now!
Imagine How You Could Trade
1.
You have RadarScreen showing you
Overbought/OverSold conditions and Breakouts on a
symbol list of your choice, for which you have
pre-prepared 1-tick automated charts. Based on the
Radar, you see a steady stream of setups throughout
the day.
With
one click, you choose a "primed" symbol and see
multiple-timeframe charts and all the indicators you
know and love. Your brain takes it all in, and
in a moment you think "Trade NOW!".
You
hit your HotKey and pop up the GV_Entry_Market box
(shown above).
You
verify the Symbol and Size you want. You click
on Buy or Sell Short.
You
are done. You go back to perusing the
RadarScreen for your next opportunity while your
favorite exit strategy (e.g. '_Stops & Targets', etc.) manages the trade.
No
nailbiting eyeballs-glued-to-the-screen watching of
every tick. No fumbling and cursing with
'_Historical Entry'. No perturbation of your
trader's cool. You are serene as you await the
outcome of all the trades you've chosen.
2.
You've got today's Floor Pivots and Fib Levels on
the screen. You see the price action getting
close to a key support or resistance point.
You decide you want to bet on a reversal, but you
only want the trade if you can get a good price.
You
hit your HotKey and pop up the GV_Entry_Limit box
(shown above). You verify the Symbol and
Size you want, and you type in your Limit Price.
You click on Buy or Sell Short.
You
are done. You move on to other things.
If the scenario plays out as you expect, you'll be
in, at the price you wanted. The Autotrader
will cash you out, win or lose, while you see what's
going on on the next chart.
3.
The market has wound into a tight range intraday.
Your analysis of the higher timeframes tells you
which side you are interested in betting on if a
Breakout were to occur.
You
hit your HotKey and pop up the GV_Entry_Stop box
(shown above). You verify the Symbol and
Size of interest, and you type in the Stop price
which would represent a Breakout to you.
You click on Buy or Sell Short.
You
are done. If the train leaves the station,
you'll be on it. If the Breakout turns into a
Fakeout, your automated exit keeps your loss small,
leaving you psychologically calm and ready to make a
clear evaluation of your next opportunity.
What You Get
