No doubt you already have a long prioritized list of feature improvements for the AWESOME spread scanner based on your extensive experience. I have a feature suggestion to help with scalp trades, if you have not already considered it.
PROBLEM: Scalp trades move quickly, require precision on the ticket entry, and the ticket entry/spread selection/parameter input is slow and user input intensive for something moving so quickly. This fast pace and the number of steps involved is a setup for missing a scalp, selecting an imperfect spread, or having a data entry error.
SUGGESTED SOLUTION: New feature:
- New buttons on either side of the spread sheet
- SHORT SCALP on the left
- LONG SCALP on the right
- Parameters for the scalp would be in the left panel with, but organized and separate from, the other parameters like the instant trade, and would include:
- ENTRY (Enter the trade when the price is X number of ticks above the current indicative)
- STOP LOSS (Entry price - X number of ticks)
- EXIT (Take profit after X number of ticks (usually 10))
- NUMBER OF LOTS (number of lots you want to automatically trade)
- REPEAT? (YES/NO) If yes is selected, after the trade is complete the scanner would pop up another SCALP trade ticket with the same features allowing for quick re entry. Flow and execution:
- You are tracking an index/FOREX pair/commodity and see a setup for scalping
- Click the appropriate SCALP button (long or short)
- The spread scanner automatically selects the most appropriate spread with the best proximity and premium for scalping (close to zero, cheapest, etc. as we are only trying to get 10 ticks)
- A ticket pops up already populated with the ENTRY offset and number of LOTS from the properties section. These numbers will automatically update as the indicative updates.
- When Ninjatrader forms a new bar, you can enter the high from the last bar, or, if the price has already exceeded the last bar, just place the order.
- When executed, this will place your limit waiting order and automatically create the STOP LOSS order based on the properties entered, or preferably, wait until the order has filled and use the actual order filled information to insure maximum accuracy.
- After the order has filled, a working order is automatically placed based on the predefined EXIT/take profit plan.
- If the repeat preference is selected, when the order completes for a win, it automatically pops up another SCALP ticket, ready for the next SCALP. If the SCALP was stopped out, the repeat is ignored and no popup ticket is generated.
- The spread scanner would then clean up after itself (IF the trade was a win, cancel the STOP LOSS, IF the trade was stopped out, cancel the working EXIT order).
- If you have REPEAT selected and another ticket pop up, do a quick check of the chart (momentum still good, no IZONE, ICE or deviation level in the way, and continued exceeding volume) prior to re entry. If the setup remains good, repeat above process until stopped out.
Programmatically, I don’t thick this solution should be that difficult; however, it would allow maximal and accurate scalping IMHO.
Cheers,
Eric
