Any available programmers for sale?

[KenH]

I'm in the process of trying to learn MQL4. I've not been able to find any really good tutorials on the internet so I broke down and spent the $25 on the Andrew Young book, which I have not even received in the mail yet. (Wish me luck). Surely, it's going to take me a few months to be in a position to write a safe and robust EA all on my own. I've been thinking about maybe trying to hire someone to write the code for me. Eventually I'll get myself to a place where I can do everything on my own, but that may take awhile.

I have a trading strategy "inspired" by Renko that should not be unbelievably difficult for someone to code. There was a time when I felt like it shouldn't be that hard to develop a strategy that could make 25-30 pts a day. Now I'm down to thinking, hell, if you could reliably average 10 pts a day without exploding your account (somewhat minimal drawdown) you'd be on to something. I have a strategy that I believe is capable of 200 pts a month (over the last 10 months). I've given up on manual paper/pen back-testing. I'd like to get an EA going so that I can do some proper backtesting over a much longer period of time, and be able to tweak parameters to my hearts content.

Unfortunately, I don't have super deep pockets at the moment. Also, I don't have any idea what folks typically charge for this kind of service. I'm guessing the answer to that depends on the estimated time for completing the project and that will require a more in-depth conversation and potentially some sort of documentation on my part. If the cost is a little higher than I anticipate and you don't mind the honor system, I would gladly be willing to stretch it out a little and make a couple of monthly payments.

Also, clearly, I'm interested in the source code. And once proficient, I would like to be able to modify it myself as needed. A programmer who writes "well documented", easy to read code would be, well, not just preferred, but required.

I'm generally pretty busy these days, but soon I will get to work on putting together a documentation package outlining my requirements. Thank you for your interest.

[jcl]

Why don't you wait until you've learned to code, and then program it yourself? Are you really in such a hurry? I've posted a course under "coding lessons" that teaches you trade systems coding and testing in a few days.

When you have a system coded and backtested, you'll see that it is difficult, if not impossible to program a system that reliably returns 25-30 pips or even 10 pips per day. All profitable systems have drawdowns in the range of months or even years, and you can only expect probabilities, not some fixed amount of pips per day.

I do program systems for clients, but I can only recommend that you learn coding and testing your own system first. Otherwise you'll hire a coder, get the code, will be disappointed by the test, and feel that you've wasted your money. Even if your system has an edge, it still needs most likely to be improved, and you can only do that when you're able to understand its code.

[KenH]

The curiosity is killing me. Have I created a profitable trading strategy? I'm pretty busy these days. I have only a few hours a week to dedicate to my currency trading hobby. It'll take me weeks or months to be in a position to write this code myself. I have every intention of doing exactly as you suggested in your 3rd paragraph. I just figured I'd get the process jump-started by asking for some help.

Also, I did not say that my strategy makes 10 pts a day. I said that my strategy averaged 10 pts a day over the course of the year. There was an entire month in the spring where it lost 40 points. But then there are other months where it made over 340 points.

Although, to your point, I do not have an accurate understanding of the "probability" of success of my trading strategy, or the max drawdown for that matter. You know what would help with that? I'm kinda thinking an EA.

To the extent that you are trying to be helpful, please accept my gratitude. I'm just trying to get the ball rolling on a currency trading strategy that I'm excited about.

[SteveHopwood]

I'm generally pretty busy these days, but soon I will get to work on putting together a documentation package outlining my requirements. Thank you for your interest.

You will find it hard to persuade anyone to do the coding until you have done this. Coders do not like having to drag the facts kicking and screaming from a commissioner.