Strategy Entry and Exit Rules

While a simple trading strategy may consist of just a single entry condition and a single exit condition, it is also possible to combine many entry and exit rules together to create a complex strategy. For example, you may want to combine an entry rule based on the start of an up trend along with several different exit conditions such as target profit, maximum acceptable loss, and a trend reversal. In any case, you can easily combine entry and exit strategy elements from the TradeStation library with those you create in EasyLanguage to accommodate almost any trading idea.

TradeStation allows you test entry and exit rules on historical data to see how they might have performed. One of the benefits of strategy trading is that you're able to experiment with different rules and conditions before you actually begin trading them. And once you find a set of rules that you're comfortable with, you can further refine your strategy by using TradeStation to help you find optimal input values.

Entry Rules

An entry rule consists of one or more conditions that are used within a strategy to establish either a long or short position in the selected market. For example, an entry rule might be used to identify and confirm the start of a trend, or a change in momentum, or a particular price pattern.  

Exit Rules

An exit rule consists of one or more conditions that are used to close out a long or short position that was established by a previous entry rule. For example, if an entry rule was used to establish a long position at the start of an up trend, you might include an exit rule that closes the position when the trend reverses. It's also quite common to include other exit rules to capture profits and/or to protect against unexpected loses.