Everything you need to know about a Forex Robot
Everything you need to know about a Forex Robot
A Forex Robot can normally be defined as a computer software program that executes trades according to a pre-programmed strategy without the need for human intervention. The term Forex Robot is almost entirely interchangeable with the term Expert Advisor (EA). Any difference would be that 'Expert Advisor' is a term coined for the programs that run on the MetaTrader platforms which happens to be the most commonly used trading platform for individual Forex traders. An EA may also trade commodities such as Gold, Silver and Oil through the Metatrader platform according to the broker, in which case it would be inappropriate to call it a Forex Robot. However in 99% of cases an EA is a Forex Robot and the Forex Robot you are looking at is an EA.
The key advantages of a Forex Robot are that it can execute a predefined strategy 24/5 without exhibiting the symptoms of tiredness and emotion that can have a detrimental effect on a human being trying to attempt the same thing. Many robots can performsimultaneously on multiple currency pairs and time frames. There are also two exceptions or variants to the definition given above that are worth mentioning;
Semi Automatic Robot There are some robots that are semi automatic. This usually means that the robot identifies the signal and prepares the trade but requires human intervention to place the trade. There are a number of robots that can be run in semi or fully automatic mode.
Duplicate Account The second variant is not really a slave robot that duplicates the trades of a live trading guru or a master robot which is managed centrally.
Language Robots are written in the computer language based on C+ which is a compiled language. If you know almost any computer language like C, PHP, ASP, Javascript or Java the you will probably be able to learn and compile your first simple EA within hours. All you need is a winning strategy.
User Defined Parameters. Activating an installed Robot is a very simple step that involves simply dragging the robot onto a MT4 chart. You will be prompted for a number of parameters. If you have already used the robot before then you can load the parameters from a saved file. If this is the first time you have used a robot, or if you didn't save a copy of the parameters, then you will have to enter them manually. The number of parameters varies greatly for different robots and they will all fall into one of the following categories:
Authorisation: For most commercial robots you will be required to add a verification code without which the robot will not activate.
Style: The robot will show various pieces of information on the chart and if you do not like the default settings most of these can be changed
Trading Hours: Many robots are designed to work within specific trading hours. The Asian session is particularly popular for scalping robots which make up the majority of the market place. A good robot will detect the correct time automatically, but some will require you to confirm the offset time between the server/broker and GMT.
Risk: Most robots allow you to manage the risk via controlling the lots sizes, the money management systems, aggressive recovery modes and the use of Martingale systems. This is why you should test your robot on a demo account first so that you are familiar with the robot's behaviour at different risk settings.
Strategy: Some robots contain a multiple strategies that you can individually flag on or off and many allow or require you to modify the settings of the strategy. We'll discuss elsewhere why the latter may not be such a good thing.
Installation. The installation process for most robots is relatively simple. Download the software immediately after purchase. You will usually find the following files.
a readme file in .pdf format containing the detailed installation instructions. Most of this even walk you through installing the MetaTrader platform itself and setting up a brokerage account.
The robot executable file which usually has a .mt4 file extension. Do not click on this file.
Usually there will be a .dll file which is simply a library of programs and resources that the main program will call on.
The readme file will walk you though the installation process, but more often than not it means moving the .mt4 file to one folder and the .dll file to another folder and then restarting your MT4 trading platform.
VPS stands for Virtual Private Server and if you want to use a Forex Robot successfully then you absolutely need one. Essentially this is your own dedicated space on another computer that is always running. You will have your metatrader platform along with your robots installed here to ensure that they are connected up to your broker all the time. This will protect you against home internet and power outages, slow connections, MicroSoft (or Apple) operating system updates which regularly shut down your computer at night, competing resources on your own PC and any other accidents that impair the running of the MT4 platform if you were running it on your home PC. The consequences of such an event can be, and usually will be, disastrous.There are a number of services that are dedicated to the Forex Robot market and will help you with setting up your VPS right through to installing your robot.
Combinability The possibility of running two or more robots on the same account is something that will occur to you if it hasn't already. In the same sentence you can also include trading manually in the same account as your robot. The advantages of doing this are significant. Let's imagine that you have $1,000 to trade and two robots which have shown a demonstrated performance of 5% equity gain per month. One option is to create two accounts and put $500 and one robot on each account. If performance goes to plan then at the end of the month you will have $525 in each account and a total of $1,050. Now the second option is to put the $1000 and both robots in one account. Again, supposing performance goes according to plan then your account will show $1,100 at the end of the month.
The potential advantages are clear. However there are a number of things to be aware of.
Magic Numbers Most robots use magic numbers as a fingerprint on each trade to ensure that they only manage their own trades. If you combine robots on a single account, or wish to trade manually then all robots must use magic numbers and the magic numbers must be unique to each robot.So if you wish to trade multiple robots on the same account then it is wise to consider robots that would be compatible in the same environment. Ideally ones that are set to work in different trading hours and/or ones that typically have a low number of trades per day.
NFA rules require FIFO trade management, outlaw hedging and have more recently lowered the leverage available on accounts. If you have an NFA broker then these regulations are likely to interfere with robots trading on the same account
Brokers in general have probably reached the point where they have realised that robot trading is here and they might as well embrace it and attract customers wishing to use robots rather than treating the whole thing as a threat. So you will see many brokers encouraging robot owners including scalpers to trade with them. However that does not mean that some of the techniques they are often reputed to use against individual traders won't work against robots. The famous 'stop hunting' being the most referenced. For this reason it is always wise to see if your robot includes the technology to hide the stop losses from the broker and only close out trades when it wants to. Most robots include this functionality and again it means that a permanent VPS connection is indispensible.
Choose wisely
The Wizard
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