Adding a Strategy
A trading strategy can only be added to an active Chart Analysis window. You can apply one or more strategies to a Chart Analysis window at a time. If you add another strategy to a Chart Analysis window where there is already a strategy plotted, TradeStation executes the rules of the new strategy in tandem with any other applied strategies.
When you are working in a Chart Analysis window in which price data is plotted for multiple symbols, the trading strategies are always applied to the first symbol that was plotted in the Chart Analysis window (this symbol is referred to as Data1). The trading strategy can reference other symbols on the chart, but strategy orders will only be generated on Data1.
- Activate a Chart Analysis window.
- From the menu, click Studies > Add Strategy. The Add Strategies dialog is displayed.
- Select the strategy you want to add to your chart.
To select more than one strategy, you can hold down the CTRL key and click on each desired strategy. To select a number of strategies listed consecutively, hold the SHIFT key while you click the first and last item in the list.
- Select the Prompt for Editingcheck box to customize the strategy. See Customizing Studies and Strategies for more information.
- Click OK when finished.
You are returned to the Chart Analysis window, and the strategy is displayed on the chart. For information on how to understand the on screen cues, see About a Strategy's Onscreen Cues.
For more information, see About the Strategy Performance Report.
Testing Strategies
The testing process begins as soon as you apply the strategy to a Chart Analysis window. You may wish to test your strategy on as much data as possible.
Also, most traders recommend that you test your strategy on other symbols within the same sector (symbols in the same type of market), and on different periods of data. The strategy should perform decently on other similar symbols, although it may not perform as well as the symbol for which it was designed. Also, it should perform well on other periods for that same symbol; however, as you test on other time periods for the same symbol, you should consider placing more weight on the more recent time periods. The idea is for you to feel comfortable with the performance and behavior of the strategy.