I only go back 8 weeks on the M1. I use the reactor. I leave out the previous week as I use this as a pre-filter. So actually start back 9 weeks. I use COT = 100, PF = 1.2, Max losses = 3. I don’t use any robustness or optimisation. I just want raw strats as I run my own form of robustness tests later by comparing many slightly different versions of my core strategy. I run 12 instances of EA studios at the same time. 6 on each PC. It normally takes 6 hours to get 300 strats on each EAS. So about 4 or 5 days to get 60000 strats. Seems like an overkill I know……. I have done many tests with different amounts of strats up to 60000 and have found that the more I have the lower the DD and the higher the PF becomes. I am aware that I may be curve fitting the strats by having that many so am watching for that. After I have the 60000 I run them forward on the previous weeks data in the validator. With much stricter criteria: COT = 10, PF = 2, Max losses = 1. This shows me how those 60000 strats would have run “Live” for that week. There is normally 300 strats that pass this criteria. I then select the top 100 / 200 and create a portfolio. I run them on demo. I use a custom made filtering app that does the final filtering and sends the ones that pass through to a live account. Normal settings are something like wait 3 trades, if 2/3 trades win with a PF of 2 and R2 above 50% they go to live. I monitor them in the live account and if they start to drop below my criteria they are removed.
I am always continuously testing. So if I have an idea that I want to test I usually run about 10 slight variations of it side by side for a month or so and then evaluate and move forward with the one that is working the best. This way I keep narrowing down what works for me.
After lots of testing with the M15 and the H1 I found I just could not get consistent results. Not to say it can’t be done, just doesn’t work for me. The markets have also been pretty crazy for the last year and there is potentially massive changes ahead to the fiat currency system as we know it….. So i want to trade a TF that can adapt quickly to changes and not look back to far in the past. Again this is just what I am comfortable with…..
I have also narrowed it down to one particular pair that performs well and I also only run my EAs on a 4 hour window each day when the markets are most active and the markets are not crossing over from one another…..
I still have a way to go but the results are improving and getting more consistent as I go…..
I am working towards opening an account with FTMO and some other prop firms in the next month or so. So I have been trying to create a system that stays with the tight requirements of the prop firms….
Good luck and just keep testing and practicing……