Manual Trading or Automated Trading?
These days, there is a lot of discussion about automated trading vs manual trading.
One of the main things that caused these discussions is the flood of automated trading systems increasing in the marketplace. There are THOUSANDS of Forex trading robots out there, and almost everyone claims to turn tiny accounts into millions of dollars overnight.
Check out this article on auto trading!ย
We are beyond the point of believing these ridiculous claims. However, we shouldnโt let these EA scams steal the validity of real automated trading systems. The truth is that automated trading can work. Many major investment institutions use highly optimized trading robots to pull money out of the market, so there is a way to make money using these robots. Now, letโs review the advantages and disadvantages.
Is a Good Robot better than a Good Trader?
Like in any good argument, there are certainly advantages to both. For me, it is impossible to say one is better than the other. But let us dive into the argument and see what we discover.ย You can also read,ย trailing stop loss swing trading,ย to learn more trading tips.
We will look at automated trading systems first.
The first advantage that stands out to me about automated trading software, is simply the nature of having a robot trade for you. It is exact, perfectly disciplined, and doesnโt make mistakes (if programmed correctly, of course).
One of the biggest problems that a trader faces is his ability to be disciplined and stick to the plan. With automated trading, also known as algorithmic trading, you can be assured the robot will be completely disciplined and stick to the trading plan you set up. Often, it is the ability to stick to the plan that makes the difference between a profitable trader and an unprofitable trader. That is the main point of the robot.
Not only will a robot stick to the plan and be disciplined, but a robot will always execute correctly. A robot wonโt take a buy when it should be taking a sell, it wonโt enter the wrong lot size and it wonโt misplace the s/l or t/p. This is a massive benefit in trading because mistakes like the ones mentioned are killers to your overall success. Thatโs another point for automated trading.ย
Robots can also take in more data than human traders. That means, if your strategy applies to a whole bunch of different currency pairs, you can probably only monitor a few at a time. With an automated system, you just plug it into however many charts you want it to monitor, and BAM, it wonโt miss a signal. Another point for the robotโฆ
But wait! Thereโs More!!
Not only will the Robot trade with better discipline, better execution, and more range BUT ALSO, a robot doesnโt get tired. While you pick the few hours that work best for you, the trading robot will be plugging away at the markets 24 hours a day. That is 3, 4 maybe 10 times as much as a manual trader trades the market. So, another advantage point goes to Mr. Robot trader.ย
Okay, Okay. The human trader has been beaten up enough. Itโs time for him to fight back. Also, read this Gold Trading Strategy Guide.
The Human Forex Trader
The main thing that a human forex trader has that a robot doesnโt is a brain. Where a robot can only execute decisions based on the scenarios that are programmed into him, a human can take into account everything that is going on and process it together.
A human can take into account fundamentals that are occurring unexpectedly (like a hurricane in Japan).
A human can see that the market is moving awkwardly slow or unreasonably erratic and pull out his trades.
A human can decide when he has enough profit and when he thinks the momentum will continue in his favor.ย
A human can get a feel for the marketโhe can get โin the zone.โย
So there are a lot of bonuses to being humanโwho knew?!
ย But there are also bonuses to not having to think, not having emotions, and not having a limit to the information you can process.
So which one is better? Manual trading or automated trading?ย ย
Thank you for reading!
Please leave a comment below if you have any questions about Manual trading or automated trading!
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For true fully automated trading that requires no programming, go to http://cool-trade.com.ย works with many brokers including TD Ameritrade, ETrade, OptionsXpress, MB Trading, OptionsHouse, MB Tradingโฆ
I am very sceptical about robots. I saw this Youtube video yesterday and it really surprised me. Is this really possible with a robot?
http://youtu.be/6BuT9rra0mA
No, this is definitely not possible.. This is a video that I personally made as a joke that we are going to show later on in a joking context.. I apologize for any confusion, I didnโt realize that anyone would be watching this video.
All the pros which you are talking about a human should be a super human or human with very long experience and with a good base also a human who should be very descipline trader and should have a
control on emotions. Such humans are very far and few between and may be 1 out of 100.
Where as behind a robot a human mind is working as who programme the robot? a human..Onlyย if the robot is programmed by a good back tested strategy and such strategy where you can win the trades no matter where the market goes plus robot should be programmed by a good programmer..then believe me there is nothing better choice then a robot. Even if you win small percentage of trades but you consistently win then robot is much better to make money although a robot is a boring thing because you miss the action.
Good point, Sayed, thanks for the comment
Both you mirror successful human traders and monitor your EA ๐
This is definitely a good way to trade. We use both here at Winnerโs Edge to trade.
For me, the stress of sticking to your computer in the name of monitoring a trade makes automated trading more proffered but the issue lies on getting the right robot and the accuracy in the programming. The bottom line is profitable trading. The right robot with the wrong programming makes you loose money, therefore it is still better to watch your trade even if you are a bad trader, you can always pull out of the market at the moment it goes against you.
Hmm, interesting point about monitoring your trade.
I use robot with my trade strategy I think it`s very helpfull when you use both of themย
I would agree with you. Is this a robot you bought or one that was programmer by you or for you?
if u programe in ur idea throu EA automatic software..that is better compare with manual ..
so 80% vote for robot
This is a good point, but the robot would still need to know when to get out of the market if the conditions get weird, donโt you think?
EAs are very profitable on demo accounts !!
ย I agree!ย Iโd rather not trade than use a robot.
I think you can use a robot if you know how to trade and what the robot is doing. I donยดt think is a good idea for someone who doesnยดt know anything about trading start trading with a robot, you still need to know how to trade to know which robot is good for you or if you need to get rid of that robot.
Good point.
Robots are great, it works for me, or should I say one does. If youโreย buyingย one for 50 or 100 bucks would you trust it to manage a 10K account?? The problem arises when an inexperienced trader leans on the bot to much. It eventually falls. Trader education first, I think.
Yes, a 50 dollar robot automatically makes me very nervous about its potential to be profitable.