Manual BackTesting and Data Collection

[simple_goodoboy]

Hello,

I am new to NinjaTrader. I purchased an indicator and I would like to back test it each day manually for the past 12 months using my spreadsheet and the indicator to record the trades by hand.

Unfortunately, i do not know how to program the rules for the indicator for entry, stop, and target. So, I have to manually backtest.

Questions:

1. Can I manual backtest and take the trade in sim as well? If so, will NT provide a performance spreadsheet with metrics to evaluate after I am done backtesting?

2. How accurate is the backtesting data? I plan to manual backtest the NQ and CL using my indicator chart.

3. Any other recommendations to save me time this weekend?

Thanks

[NinjaTrader_JessicaP]

Hello simple_goodoboy, and thank you for your questions.

1. Can I manual backtest and take the trade in sim as well? If so, will NT provide a performance spreadsheet with metrics to evaluate after I am done backtesting?

You sure can. You will want to connect either to your live data feed, or to your Market Replay (playback in NT8) connection either way. Backtesting is always done with a simulation account when using the Strategy Analyzer or the Market Replay connection. The Strategy Analyzer will provide several performance metrics which can be exported to a spreadsheet once it is done running. Please let us know if we can go into more detail on any topic, since this answer broaches a lot of topics.

2. How accurate is the backtesting data? I plan to manual backtest the NQ and CL using my indicator chart.

Accurate is a difficult thing to define, since as part of backtesting, NinjaTrader must simulate the actions of the trade desk, which must be treated as random when examining live data. However, we do document exactly how Ninja simulates the trade desk at these links :

NT8 : http://ninjatrader.com/support/helpG...ical_fill_.htm
NT7 : http://ninjatrader.com/support/helpG...ime_vs_bac.htm

3. Any other recommendations to save me time this weekend?

I would definitely recommend reviewing our training videos and reviewing any topics that you would like to learn more about. We are happy to answer any questions we can either here on the forums or through e-mail at platformsupport[at]ninjatrader[dot]com.

[simple_goodoboy]

Hello simple_goodoboy, and thank you for your questions.



You sure can. You will want to connect either to your live data feed, or to your Market Replay (playback in NT8) connection either way. Backtesting is always done with a simulation account when using the Strategy Analyzer or the Market Replay connection. The Strategy Analyzer will provide several performance metrics which can be exported to a spreadsheet once it is done running. Please let us know if we can go into more detail on any topic, since this answer broaches a lot of topics.



Accurate is a difficult thing to define, since as part of backtesting, NinjaTrader must simulate the actions of the trade desk, which must be treated as random when examining live data. However, we do document exactly how Ninja simulates the trade desk at these links :

NT8 : http://ninjatrader.com/support/helpG...ical_fill_.htm
NT7 : http://ninjatrader.com/support/helpG...ime_vs_bac.htm



I would definitely recommend reviewing our training videos and reviewing any topics that you would like to learn more about. We are happy to answer any questions we can either here on the forums or through e-mail at platformsupport[at]ninjatrader[dot]com.

Hello,

Thank you,

Can I do manual backtesting using the market replay over the weekend? Will the market replay of NT work over the weekend?

Thanks

[NinjaTrader_JessicaP]

While there are no instruments I am aware of that have data over the weekend, Market Replay data is available on demand, 24/7/365. On the weekend, you can simply select historical trade data from earlier in the week and play over this data. If you have an instrument that trades over the weekend, Market Replay will work over this data.