NinjaTrader Automated Trading by Algo Futures Trader

hybrid algorithmic automated futures trading for prop firm traders, day & swing traders

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tip for the best results ninjatrader automated trading futures

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What can set you apart and put you in the top 20% of traders – the winners?

Get a routine and make it a habit; it will make you or break you! So make sure it is a good habit!

Have a Trade Plan:

  1. Define capital and risk per trade.
  2. Set trading goals and loss limits for the day and week.
  3. Select the system and instruments.
  4. Prepare system templates and workspaces.
  5. Schedule when to be at the trading desk, set the system in action, and know when to pause.

Pre-Session

  • Check the prior session and view a higher time frame analysis to get the bigger picture of the market.
  • Set a bias for the session, long or short.
  • Prepare the system with lots, risk, and limits for one trade or multiple trades.
  • Get the trade controllers ready for action with the controls you use at the ready.
  • Assess if the open is a high probability setup and entry.
  • Decide to go in with half clip or full risk according to your plan.
  • Decide whether to wait for the first 30 minutes, 5 minutes, or 1 minute of the open.

Tactics

  • Let trades run to the close – scale out.
  • Increase accuracy and limit drawdowns.
  • Use AlphaWebTrader for correlations and technicals.
  • Trade less, not more – trade smarter!

Trade Diary Stats and Notes

  • For each trade, make a screenshot of the entry and any other timeframes.
  • Note the levels, trends, and correlations of technicals, price cycles, and market news cycles.
  • Do this for the exits too, and note whether it was a winner or loser, mistake or fair trade.

Maintenance Routine
View help desk article on NinjaTrader Bars and Data

  1. Futures contract rollover.
  2. Instrument data
    1. Each day pre-session, download and get fresh data.
    2. Use the instrument manager and a list.
    3. Or refresh the data on the charts!

AFT Session Breakout needs 7 days of data downloaded to get the best consistent results of signals, range, and bars. To stay in sync across multiple desktop PCs, this task needs to be performed each day pre-session. Typically, download the last 2 days, and on weekends, download the last 7 to 7 days to get the corrections and backfills.

AFT8 update version 20240528 license hotfixes

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AFT v20240528 Hot Fixes for NinjaTrader Automated Trading

  1. Smoother startup and loading process – allows NT8 to start up and AFT8 to load before performing license checks.
  2. Previous versions of AFT8 would display a notice if a trader installed and used it in sim/demo mode without licenses. This has been changed to a notice that will only appear if NT is not a valid user license and there are connections to a live account or an unknown demo/prop evaluation account.
  3. Loading of licenses and verifications allows NT to start and load before checking.
  4. Popup notifications for license issues will only occur once per session of NinjaTrader Desktop after each restart. Components will display license issues if relevant.
  5. AFT Desktop and AWT Desktop are not started if they are not installed. If a user is using them for live trading or sim, there will be no attempt at loading or installation of desktop apps. This is purely left to the trader to follow and read the instructions in the popup or website get started info.
  6. As of this release, Apex Prop Firm support is enabled for free evaluation. Other prop firms require a license, free for users who use the ATS coupon.
  7. TradOvate prop firm support requires a license as there is no way to distinguish between a SIM and a prop firm account.
  8. AFT8 is free for Sim, Replay, BackTest, Historical, and TradOvate Demo accounts to allow a trader to view NinjaTrader Web and NinjaTrader Desktop simultaneously.
  9. AFT8 requires a license for all prop firms’ evaluation and performance, live real cash, or unknown demo accounts.
  10. AFT8 comes with a full live trading 7-day trial out of the box, accessible via downloading the AFT.Desktop app to sync the licenses.

create your own rules in your own NinjaTrader scripts and simply inject them into the algo trade entry module

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AFT now supports custom Ninja scripts that you can create to inject signals into the AFT8 Algo Entry system. Code examples are available in the AFT Discord dev forum. Users need to sign up for an ATS universal account, log in, and link their Discord account to gain access. This allows the AFT Desktop to download the latest patch when NinjaTrader 8 is closed. It makes it very easy to code your own rules in your NT Scripts indicator, market column, or strategy, and then inject the signal into AFT8.

AFT8 will execute the signal if your filters and controller settings allow it. The AFT trade management module will then take over, providing the best trading system features, all off the shelf, 100% free for sim, demo, replay, and prop firm evaluation trading. Take it to the next level!


Custom user algos inject signals into AFT trade entry module

Custom user trading system rules allow you to inject signals into the AFT trade entry module from a simple indicator on a chart, and all the rest is taken care of.


ATS Discord Group Developers

ATS Discord Group Developers Forum with code samples and interactive support from the actual developer and creator!

Get Started Here

AFT8 version 2024 update released

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Algo Futures Trader v8 2024
Algo Futures Trader v8 2024 – fully automated trading mode baselines for VIP members

AFT8 version 2024 is now released and ready for download or update from the popup notices.

AFT8-updater
AFT8-updater popup can be used to install.

Download AFT8

This is the most advanced version yet, many months in the making and 1000+ hours in development since the last version in November 2023, with iterative polishing of features and incremental release of new features. We have also added features and fixes reported from the ATS Discord Group and are delighted with the feedback and organic evolution of the product.

AutoSync Turnkey Workspaces

Turnkey Workspaces are polished and ready for installation and will stay fresh and up to date with automatic sync from the cloud to NinjaTrader 8 via the AFT.Desktop App.

Trade Plan Goals (TPG)

The latest feature, “Trading Plan Goals (TPG) filter,” is available in simulation and live for valid subscribers with lifetime licenses older than one year. An optional renewal will be required to unlock and access the AFT8 advanced features. As this is brand new, we instruct traders to try it only in simulation mode to learn and provide feedback via the forum for any assistance, Q&A, issues, or caveats. Inline Automatic % and Cash win and loss limits rules for winning and losing signals, long or short per session and per week, are ideal for prop firm trading to avoid breaking the rules!

Signal Execution Filter (f2)

This feature has been built out with inline controls to allow micro-management of trading systems rules for winning and losing signals, long or short per session and week.

Algo Entry and Algo Trade Manager Info View

Realtime information from the state and activity of each algo asset stream is displayed on the controller info bar inline to allow easy transparency of the mode of operation and function of algo entry and trade manager.

Proprietary Bars/Super Bars

ATS is the inventor of Adaptive Prop Bars and now Bad Tick Proof Super Bars. NinjaTrader occasionally suffers from bad tick data from the data brokerage connection, which can skew the charts.

  • AFT bars detect and remove the bad ticks, so you do not have to delete and reset your data. Our bars will continue without the erroneous data, with no spike gaps or skew.
  • NT can also send data out of hours on a Saturday and try to display it on a chart, but our bars use the correct trading hours, filtering out invalid hours data.
  • AFT Super bars do not lag like NT8 bars, wasting CPU cycles testing for trading hours. Data flows 24/7 within the correct trading exchange hours, available for all time-based bars.
  • AFT Adaptive bars work off various formulas to optimize the bars to trading phase. One size fits all instrument modes: scalp, day trade, and swing settings, also with tick and hours filters.

NinjaTrader 8 Advanced Execution API Methods

NinjaTrader 8 tends to get swamped on low to medium-performance computers/servers and slow disks (non-NVME) with lots of order data, becoming sluggish and even requiring a restart when trading more than the average day trader would. Generally, when using trade copiers and strategies, some are worse than others, and they all eventually foul up NT8. One way to cope with this is to reset the database every week and delete the logs and trade files to keep it lean and mean. NT8 was not designed for 20 prop firm accounts mirrored in parallel; it was designed for a scalper doing a few trades here and there. However, AFT8 has been tested with 500 algos in parallel on NT8 and works 100% fine with no problems over multiple 6 months+ of operation to large sizes of data without a glitch in hedge fund trading simulation and live. AFT8 is not the problem, nor is NinjaTrader 8; it is the tools people use on it, the prop firm craze, and trade copiers, and the knowledge or lack thereof. The beauty of NT8 is that it allows us access to the API underlying accounts and connections. NinjaTrader 8 has superb trading technology underlying its GUI. AFT8 plugs into this layer and uses direct method access into the API layers of the account and connection directly, using methods that bypass all the overhead of strategies, trade copiers, and even the best run-of-the-mill tools from the NT ecosystem. The result is that this avoids the typical foul-ups inside NT8. AFT8 uses advanced execution and asynchronous threading methods to avoid conflict and thread locks inside NT8, usually requiring a restart and even jammed-up positions that can only be resolved by using the NinjaTrader web, which we advise always to have on alongside NT8 in case of net or platform failure. We also recommend restarting NT8 every day to get data and start afresh for optimal trading and data.

AFT8 Optional Renewals

AFT8 is now older than one year, and some traders will need to renew to get the latest and greatest features. The AFT core features will still function for all in simulation and partial non-advanced features for live trading modes, but advanced modes and new features will not. This allows a win-win situation so traders get the best, and we can keep the lights on and deliver quality to keep increasing your edge. It is also optional, so AFT will still work, but to get the full gamut of advanced and new features, a renewal can be purchased when it suits. For full details, visit the main ATS website section Optional Annual Renewal.