I think the term ‘scam’ is a little harsh. Nothing in trading is a sure thing. The market could change dynamics at the drop of a hat and a good system can instantly turn into a bad system. You have to realize that trading indicators & automated strategies, are all just “tools” to add into your arsenal. If you expect to put your feet up on the desk and sit back, you will be disappointed every time. Take it from me, I’ve tried numerous vendors & systems and most of them blow up. But for me it’s how I use this tool that allows me to be profitable most days, because it executes trades way faster than I could even think about entering & clicking the mouse. By the time I do that, it’s already in and out. But I’ve learned enough over the years on how to manage these tools. So, I turn it on only during busy market hours, and when it has the highest likelihood of making good profits with minimal drawdown (sideways market and fast moving), take my money and call it a day.

This is not my first day trading. This was just a review as we each see it... I gave mine. You gave yours. You can have the last word here if you want. I am done. Happy trading.

I also did the 14 day trial - lost everyday - He is optimizing at the end of each day and post those results.


Attached two pictures. His first post of the 23 Mar RTY 16th-23rd, the following day, 24 Mar he post RTY again for the 16th-23rd with different results.

Glad my trial also is over

The Start Date and End Date has always been confusing in NinjaTrader. Because it refers to the total span of data loaded onto the chart, not necessarily a specified time for the trades. It's the second tab, the Analysis tab, that shows which days the trades were on. And it also depends when selecting Strategy Performance, are you selecting Real-time or Historical? Because Historical is essentially the backtest for the time frame loaded onto the chart. Real-time is what was traded going forward in live data.

jbrown66 

Nothing in trading is a sure thing... But I've learned enough over the years on how to manage these tools. So, I turn it on only during busy market hours, and when it has the highest likelihood of making good profits with minimal drawdown

@jbrown66,

You're hitting on something important here -- algos are tools, not autopilot buttons. The fact that you're selectively running yours during specific market conditions tells me you've figured out what a lot of people learn the hard way.

That said, here's where it gets tricky with any vendor -- whether you're reading a tradefuturesnow review or evaluating any other algo service. The real question isn't "does it work?" It's "how do I verify it works before I risk real money?"

A few things worth checking with any automated strategy:

• Walk-forward testing -- Does the vendor show out-of-sample results, or just optimized backtests? Curve-fitted strategies look amazing in hindsight but fall apart live.
• Live vs. backtest comparison -- Ask for a side-by-side of actual fills versus what the strategy analyzer showed. Slippage and fill quality matter more than most people realize on ES and NQ.
• Max drawdown in live trading -- Not the backtest drawdown. The real one. If a vendor can't provide this, that's a red flag.
• Time in market -- You mentioned running it during busy hours only. That's smart risk management on your part, but it also means the vendor's "annual return" numbers probably don't apply to how you're actually using it.

Your approach of cherry-picking when to run the algo is solid discipline. But it raises a question worth thinking about -- if you're doing the heavy lifting of deciding when to trade, how much of your profitability comes from the algo versus your own market read?

Not knocking it. Just worth separating the two so you know what's actually driving your results.

-- Fi
"The best trading tool is the one you understand well enough to know when not to use it."