MagicDots FAQs

	MagicDots Visual Exact trade entry signals
	MagicDots Mechanical 100% automatic trading
	MagicDots Automation Let us trade for you

	ABOUT US
	LEARNING CENTER
	DAILY CHARTS
	DOWNLOAD
	FAQs
	CLIENTS
	PRICING
	TERMS & CONDITIONS
	BUY NOW

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Why do you recommend that Magic-Dots only be used on an SP chart and not on an ES chart?

A. There is no problem trading the e-mini. The issue is which chart to use to generate the signals. The reason an S&P chart is strongly recommended is because one of the key features of Magic-Dots is its ability to read price patterns. And since SP price bars have 10 ticks per point vs. 4 for the ES, price patterns form quite differently on an SP chart than they do on an ES. The result is that Magic-Dots generates very different (and much less reliable) signals on the ES chart.

Q. How can I trade Magic-Dots automatically?

A. If by "automatically" you mean using TradeStation's Strategy Automation to execute orders directly to your account with little-to-no human intervention, then there are two ways: 1) the recommended way, and 2) the not recommended way.

The recommended way is to apply Magic-Dots Mechanical system to a 5-min S&P chart (not an ES chart) and then use TradeBolt to send orders automatically to a broker that interfaces with TradeBolt, like Interactive Brokers or Global Futures for instance. I have used TradeBolt in this manner and it is easy to use and keeping track of order flow is also easy and confusion-free.

The not recommended way can be done of course, but it just isn't, well, recommended. That is to apply Magic-Dots Mechanical system to a 5-min ES chart and let the system send orders directly to your TS account. This approach works fine in every way except one--the system is designed specifically to read SP price bars, which have 10 ticks per point vs. 4 for the ES, and therefore, it fires VERY different signals on the ES chart. The solution to this relies on TradeStation offering symbol substitution in Strategy Automation. I have heard that TS is considering this but how soon it will come is anybody's guess.

There is another good solution. That is to use the system in "semi-automatic." Here you apply Magic-Dots Mechanical system to a 5-min S&P chart and set it up so that it sends orders to a TradeManager window. Then just follow the system-generated trades by placing orders yourself. When the system enters, you enter. When it covers, you cover. When it stops and reverses, you stop and reverse, etc. I have also used this method myself and it works quite well.

Q. Why does the performance report that I generate differ from ones I have seen in the past?

A. This is one of the inherent limitations with hypothetical systems and back-tested performance.

Every time I make a change to the system code, the results for the system change. I've made a number of programming changes over the last few weeks that have changed the specific profit performance, particularly on a day-to-day and week-to-week basis. However, I do strive to keep the overall system performance in the same ballpark from version to version.