Initial stop-loss and profit target with ATR

See, if you have MM to risk for example 5% of your account balance, it is computed from Stop Loss. So that you'll lose only 5% when your SL is hit.

This is why we need SL to be computed at the time when trade is placed, and it cannot be dynamically recomputed every bar.

Hello, Mark. I agree with you in the first half.

And in the TS/MC code now , the SL level and PT target is truly changed every bar when it hold position. You can print the SL/PT value in MC.  Please checked it again.                     

With Stop entry order, we know the entry price firstly.   A little trouble when using Market order. In bar by bar mode of MC, it can't compute the SL/PT with ATR at the same time of entry.  

We can assume that the entry price is the close of   previous signal bar.  

It now sets SL/PT only once, when order was opened - as same as in SQ 3.

I find that the bug have not been fixed yet.

date: 1180921.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=   9.73,sl=3373.00
date: 1180921.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=   9.86,sl=3372.80
date: 1180921.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=   9.87,sl=3372.80
date: 1180921.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  10.10,sl=3372.40
date: 1180921.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  10.03,sl=3372.60
date: 1180921.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  10.29,sl=3372.20
date: 1180921.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  10.38,sl=3372.20
date: 1180921.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  10.67,sl=3371.80
date: 1180921.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  10.54,sl=3371.80
date: 1180925.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  10.71,sl=3371.60
date: 1180925.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  12.12,sl=3369.80
date: 1180925.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  12.07,sl=3370.00
date: 1180925.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  12.12,sl=3369.80
date: 1180925.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  12.12,sl=3369.80
date: 1180925.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  11.91,sl=3370.20
date: 1180925.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  11.55,sl=3370.60
date: 1180925.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  11.36,sl=3370.80
date: 1180925.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  11.19,sl=3371.00
date: 1180925.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  10.95,sl=3371.40
date: 1180925.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  10.80,sl=3371.60
date: 1180925.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  10.86,sl=3371.40
date: 1180925.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  10.68,sl=3371.80
date: 1180925.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  10.43,sl=3372.00
date: 1180925.00,mp=   1.00,entryprice=3385.60,atr=  10.33,sl=3372.20

yes, we made it differently. 

we originally wanted to make it as same as MetaTrader has it, but then decided to leave it like it was - SL/PT will be computed and set every bar.

The reason is that in EasyLanguage you cannot store value to a gloval variable, so when you'll stop the strategy and then start it again you'd lose the values of SL/PT that were stored in memory and opened trades would have no SL/PT.

MC has global variables, gvsetnamedint and gvgetnamedint.

And even if you don't use global variables, the EL language can lock the atr value, or stop loss, profit target. Assign the values when a condition  will only be satisfied once.

Here is an example.

vars:
 ma1(0),ma2(0),longcond(False),atrvalue(0),atrvalue2(0),
 sl(0),pt(0),sl2(0),pt2(0);
 
 
ma1 = Average(c,10);
ma2 = Average(c,30);

longcond = ma1 cross above ma2;

atrvalue = AvgTrueRange(20);  // updated bar by bar

if longcond then begin

 buy 1 contract next bar at market;
end;

if marketposition=1 then begin

 if barssinceentry = 0 then begin  // The condition is only satisfied once, so the values always equal to the value calculated for this time.
  atrvalue2 = AvgTrueRange(20); // never change
  sl = entryprice - 3 * atrvalue; //never change
  pt = entryprice + 5 * atrvalue; // never change
  
  //sl2 = entryprice - 3 * atrvalue2;
  //pt2 = entryprice + 5 * atrvalue2;

 end;
 
 sell 1 contract next bar at sl stop;
 sell 1 contract next bar at pt limit;

end;

//check the sl,pt value  

if Date>=1190826 { and Date<=1180806} then begin
 print("date: ",date," ,time=",time,",mp=",marketposition,",entryprice=",entryprice,",atr1=",atrvalue,",atr2-",atrvalue2," ,sl=",sl," ,pt=",pt);
end

And locking variables as you suggest doesn't work if you disable and re-enable the startegy on chart, or when an error disables the strategy an dyou have to reenable them.

I don't think having it like we do this is a big deal, it is a standard way that is used in EasyLanguage.

Hello, Mark.

I have checked this issue. Even we don't use global variables, we can set the stop loss as a fixed value in multicharts. And it will not changed when the strategy is reactived.

And there is multicharts engine now, it should be suitable for MC, not TS.

Some strategies using atr sl or trailing sl  have more difference between in MC and SQ. But the ones with pips are good now. There is  some problem in the strategy development with atr SL, PT, Trailing stop.

At last. I think that the stop with accurate ATR support is very important. It should restrain the RR ratio, but now SL，PT are floating, And some instruments in futures market have very different price moving range and different volatility, even though they are relevant. So the strategy using ATR Sl/PT support are prefered for these commodity, so we can do additional market test.