I have 2 bots that I mainly use, both with indicators I wrote and integrated into Funyoo's advanced
EA template from
TSF. One is based on an enhanced Bollinger Bands strategy for range trading. The other is based on a modified Heiken Ashi indicator, for trending markets. Both are great, so long as the market matches the bot strategy. Both suck, if the market does not match the bot.
I have gotten better at telling the difference between those different market conditions, although at some considerable cost.
Because Funyoo already has a working order management system in his template, creating EAs that trade a given system is relatively easy. Still, trading systems based on technical indicators are NOT universal money making machines. Either they range trade, or they trend trade. I haven't found one (or written one) that can do both. I can do both.... but I can't seem to be consistent enough. Bots are very consistent.
What I can do consistently is look at the market, check the news calendar, and say "This is a ranging market!", or "This is a trending market!", and select the matching bot. Then, when the market shifts and the bots trades go sour, I can turn off the bot and trade my way out of the woods... usually.
This morning I had one of those incidents. My Bollinger Band bot was
scalping USDJPY on the M5 chart, selling the tops and buying the bottoms. A little before the London fix, I got distracted. What I usually do is turn off the bots before things like the fix, or a big news event, but this time I returned to the computer to find that the bot had been selling into an uptrend that developed after the London fix. Ouch! I turned off the bot and took over.
At first, my thought was to start buying the trend. If the trend continues, I could trade higher lots and make up the losses on the short positions the bot had taken. As it turned out, the trend began to weaken, so I abandoned the buy strategy and started selling the tops of
bullish candles. By the time I was done, I had taken the same range of pips out of the market several times. In the end, the trend
retraced until the bot positions were also into profit -- just a little excitement for my morning trading session.
It's been a good 2 days -- about 600 pips, and all from the bots except for this morning. I can't wait until after New Years!
MM