Why I Don't Use TradeStation
By Dave Mabe
Several years ago, I explored using TradeStation when I was trading a strategy with the ES futures contract (a strategy that worked, but I still ended up abandoning it - a story for another time...).
I created some code in EasyLanguage, did some backtesting, and then tried to figure out how to add my column library.
And I struck out. It wasn't possible to add custom columns to your backtest.
Not only that, but I couldn't backtest across the entire market - just a small basket of instruments.
I moved along and consolidated all my backtests in AmiBroker, which was 100% the right decision.
A few days ago, I got curious.
Given the fundamental flaws I ran into with TradeStation a decade and a half ago, surely they've made headway and added the critical features needed to turn a backtest into a profitable strategy.
Nope!
It's baffling to me that traders can even use TradeStation as a backtester and make any progress at all.
If you are, my hat is off to you, but I can tell you with 100% certainty:
YOU ARE DOING IT THE HARD WAY
This is why I love it when I talk to traders who are systematically trading futures and have had even the smallest amount of modest success (or crypto, or forex - anything with a small number of instruments).
Tomorrow I'll share a success story from a trader who was in this exact situation a few weeks ago, and he's now in the MabeKit Mastermind.
He's turned around years of trading struggles, and I got a Slack message from him a few days ago that said:
I just wanted to tell you that I've had the best few days of trading ever, by a large margin.
More on his story tomorrow...
Until then, are you systematically trading futures?
Hit reply and let me know because you are much closer to trading success than it probably feels like.
-Dave
P.S. Do you wish you had a strategy that actually made money? Create your own in minutes, not months with MabeKit Get Instant Access