Explain POINT VALUE in calculation of Cumulative Profit or Avg Trade

[Steven Gold]

Sorry to ask a dumb question. Could someone please give me an explanation of the point value used to calculate Cumulative Profit or Avg Trade as defined in HELP in the Performance Tab by clicking "statistics". It says as an example "100 for currency pairs", what does this mean? THANKS IN ADVANCE ANY HELP.

[NinjaTrader_DaveI]

Hello,

The point value variable is used to calculate the currency value of these two statistics (as opposed to percent or points). The point value is needed in order to determine the dollar amount based on the number of points. As mentioned in the help guide article you referenced, a value of 100 is used for currency pairs.

Please let me know if I can assist further.

[Steven Gold]

Thanks so much NT_Dave for the reply but I do have two follow-up questions, owing to my ignorance. What is a "currency pair"?? Why do we need points, why not just use dollars? Answering these questions would be VERY helpful to me.

[NinjaTrader_DaveI]

Hello,

Currency pair is another way to refer to forex instruments. Examples of major pairs are USD/JPY, EUR/USD, etc. We have a team of knowledgeable brokers available at brokeragesupport [at] ninjatrader [dot] com who can explain the forex markets in more detail.

For your second question, I have to be very careful not to offer anything that can be taken as trading advice, but I can say that using ticks rather than dollar amounts is used for the purpose of easy comparison. It's an equalizer that allows you to measure the true success or failure of a trade against other trades. Ticks are not influenced by the quantity of an order, whereas dollar amounts are.

Please let me know if I can assist further.