Backtesting Real Time

I've been trading w/ Ninja Trader for over a year. Last week, I looked into a feature that I had previously ignored. It's called Replay.

If you don't currently have Ninja Trader, don't worry about it. NinjaTrader has free demos.

Through the help search feature, I was able to set it up. Easily.

What makes this feature special is you can watch and trade off of any previous days data. It happens in real time. So you can place orders in the same manner you would trading live. During those times when there is not a trade set up, you can fast forward. I've sped it up to 50x real time. You can also pause it. The system keep up with your running total. Basically, you can cue up a chart for anytime. Hit start. And experience that day's action in real time. But you get to determine when it happens.

One major issue with my trading is I've had a hard time entering at the market. I've usually placed limit orders. As a result, I've miss many trades. Additionally, I've had a hard time with trades going against me, even if they don't hit my mental stop. Basically, I've lack confidence, even though my system rocks. Through REPLAY, I've been able to paper trade several days in just a few hours. I took every signal and followed the exit rules. Very mechanical. Trying to be very unemotional. The results were great. Just as I expected, if I followed the rules!

On Thursday and Friday, I made more money than any other previous day.

If you have mental hurdles getting in the way of your trading success, I highly recommend this feature.

There's a famous quote by Thomas A. Edison: "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."

A lot of people won't do this because it's hard work. Becoming a successful trader requires that you do things that you've just described. Most traders would rather be told when to trader and not bother understanding what is happening.

Thanks for sharing this with us. I agree, that sounds like a great way to gain confidence in a system in a shorter period of time.

Yes! Simulators and demo accounts are great. But I also have NinjaTrader and love the Replay feature.

I don't use it any more, but when I was first learning to trade I found it to be helpful because unlike simulators and demo accounts, the replay feature allows you to practice your trading any time of day or night.