GD wrote:...Time to talk...
Hi GD -- sorry for my delayed response, I don't check the forum as frequently as I used to.
I'm working on a new version of MT4 Sidekick that I think should address the issues you raise. The new version includes a Windows application similar to MT4 Tracker and allows finer control over which strategies are allowed to run or are temporarily paused. Also, it should allow you to use any combination of accounts.
I continue to like the idea of using a Demo account as a "barometer" to guide which strategies are currently allowed to trade. Below is what I've learned about Demo accounts -- most people will disagree. It is a total waste of time to spend months practice trading a strategy in a Demo account, thinking that after several months you can add it to a Real account and it will perform the same. Everyone does this, everyone loses, and no one learns. There are a couple of reasons why this rarely works:
(1) Market conditions change. Since a strategy is an algebraic formula with hard-coded constant settings, then it is not logical to expect it to yield the same answer using today's data compared to old data in the Demo account.
(2) There is a "disconnect" between Demo and Real accounts. They use different data, Demo doesn't really trade (i.e. queue real orders), different spreads, different "this", different "that", and so on.
On the other hand, Demo accounts are useful in the following ways:
(1) Though most people want to believe that Demo and Real accounts perform synchronously and you can compare strategies running in Demo and Real account "trade-by-trade", this simply is not the case. However, in general, strategies that currently run in Demo and Real account probably perform similarly. And this is what I want to take advantage of.
(2) If you have many strategies, then a Demo account might help you rank strategies from "best-to-worst" under current market conditions. But if you test too long, then market conditions change and the ranking no longer applies to current market conditions.
(3) The idea behind MT4 Sidekick is to simultaneously trade Demo and Real accounts. Based on how a strategy ***currently*** performs in the Demo account, then it may or may not be paused in the Real account.
There are people who only trade Demo accounts -- and that's fine. MT4 Sidekick provides no value to them. However, if you trade Real accounts then using a Demo account as a guide or "barometer" as to how your strategy trades under ***current*** market conditions can provide an edge. And I think this is the best that can be expected.
I will let you know when the new version is available for testing.