• iTunes
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • Email
  • Home
  • Courses
  • eBooks
  • Library
  • ET Club
  • BST LIVE
  • Leasing
  • About
Better System Trader

Better System Trader

Better System Trader is the podcast and blog dedicated to systematic traders, providing practical tips from trading experts around the world.

043 – Breakout strategies with Tomas Nesnidal

http://traffic.libsyn.com/bettersystemtrader/BetterSystemTrader-Ep43-TomasNesnidal.mp3
Play in New Window|Download

Tomas Nesnidal has been a full-time trader for over 11 years, specializing in automated algorithmic trading strategies.

He has experience with a number of trading styles, including option trading, spread trading, statistical arbitrage and market internals but in this episode we’re going to discuss one of his other specialties, breakout trading.

In our chat we discuss the key components of a breakout strategy and how to combine them to create profitable trading strategies. We also discuss the degradation of strategies over time, how to add new life into old strategies and why creative thinking is such an important aspect of successful trading.

‘A good breakout strategy is usually very simple’ – Tomas Nesnidal

Click To Tweet

In this episode we discuss

  • The benefits of trading breakout strategies and what makes a good breakout strategy
  • How to build profitable breakout strategies using 4 key components
  • The degradation of strategies over time and how to add new life into old strategies
  • Using filters to improve trading results
  • Adapting strategies to market conditions
  • The best timeframes and markets for breakout strategies

Sponsor

5_WCTC_banner

Resources

  • You can follow Tomas on his website systemsontheroad.com.
  • Also check out the section below where you can get a free copy of The Breakout Strategy Toolkit, which includes a breakout strategies ebook plus code for 2 breakout strategies, one which Tomas has developed exclusively for Better System Trader! – NO LONGER AVAILABLE
  • Recommended books:

Want to build breakout strategies fast?

Get this FREE report on ‘7 proven tips to build profitable breakout strategies fast’ – Click here to download your copy

Top tips from this episode

  • Creativity – Creativity was something that Tomas kept coming back to throughout our chat, highlighting how important it was to come up with unique ideas to test. In fact, he said “the key ingredient to trading is creativity” and that “creativity helps you stay in the game”, which is a very similar message to what we heard from Dr Brett Steenbarger in Episode 25. Toms advice was to constantly think about what new aspects we can bring into a trading concept to make it more unique, try to add your own twist, come up with crazy ideas and test them.

Quotes

‘Very often the simplest thing you can come up with works the best’ – Tomas Nesnidal

Click To Tweet

‘The key ingredient you need to add to trading is creativity’ – Tomas Nesnidal

Click To Tweet

‘Come up with crazy ideas and test them’ – Tomas Nesnidal

Click To Tweet

‘You need to constantly think what new aspect can I bring to this concept’ – Tomas Nesnidal

Click To Tweet

 

Episode Released:

21 February 2016

  • facebook
  • linkedin
  • twitter
  • google+
  • pinterest
  • stumbleupon
042 - Intermarket Analysis with ...
044 - Short Selling & Bear Marke...

Related Posts

  • Here’s what happened when I spilt the beans
  • 083 – How to get better at anything, faster
  • 121 – Volatility and Systematic Options Strategies with Luca Giusti
  • 101 – Trading Price Patterns with Brent Penfold
  • 069 – What’s all the fuss about Blockchain?

Comments

  1. Django

    February 22, 2016 at 9:18 pm

    Great Interview

    • Andrew Swanscott

      February 22, 2016 at 9:23 pm

      Cheers Django, glad you enjoyed it!

      Andrew.

  2. Cesar Alvarez

    February 24, 2016 at 8:27 am

    I just finished the podcast with Tomas. Good one and good timing. I am in the middle of doing research on breakout strategy on commodity ETFs. I got some new ideas to test. Keep up the great work.

    • Andrew Swanscott

      February 24, 2016 at 8:43 am

      Thanks Cesar, glad you enjoyed it.

      I got lots of ideas from chatting with Tomas too, so much to test! 🙂

      Cheers,
      Andrew.

  3. Dave Tapson

    February 29, 2016 at 10:23 pm

    Hi Andrew

    How about another round with Tomas – this time on the technical side?

    e.g.
    1. What technology (software) does he use? Why?
    2. What technology (hardware) does he use? Why?
    3. Where does he get data from?
    4. How does he update it?
    5. How does he ensure it is clean?
    6. How does he deal with data issues – missing data, bad data etc?
    7. How does he implement different strategies – e.g. does he use multiple programs – one per strategy, or does he have programs that can run multiple strategies or does he have a mixture of the two?
    8. What issues has he had to face and resolve that may not be obvious to those that have not tried automated algorithmic trading?
    9. He apparently works on remote servers – how does he deal with lag when he does not have blistering connection speeds? How much work does he do locally (i.e. on his laptop vs servers)
    10. Maybe something on his workflow – how does he take systems from original idea to development to testing to prod?
    11. Could he suggest an appropriate set of steps as to how to get into automating systems – maybe from a beginners eyes, then from an intermediate’s eyes and finally what he sees as opportunities arising that he’s considering taking a swing at.
    12. How does he find coders.
    13. What issues has he had with working with coders
    14. How best to resolve these.
    15. What unpleasant surprises has he experienced with automated systems behaving in unexpected ways – e.g. buying into too many positions on tanking mkts is a possibility.
    16. How does he intergrate with brokers in terms of putting in orders?
    17. How many brokers does he have?
    18. How many brokers should one have?
    19. If > broker, how does he deal with integration with those brokers?
    20. Why three servers?
    21. Do the servers communicate – if one is down, does one of the others pick up processing?
    22. What is genetic programming?

    I for one would be interested 🙂

    Regards
    Dave

    • Tomas Nesnidal

      March 7, 2016 at 5:47 pm

      Hi Dave,

      that is a lot of certainly important questions. I will think about the best way how to touch these topics in the future as well. Either here on BST or on my own blog or both. Right know I am a bit busy with launching my hedge fund, but I will copy your questions to my notepad and will keep them on mind.

  4. Peter

    March 4, 2016 at 11:02 pm

    Hi guys,
    Great interview! I have tested variations of Tom’s BOSS strategy on DAX (which is where I do most of my initial research). I find two things:
    – Systems that perform well in 30 min time frame does trade frequently enough to pass my robustness criteria
    – It seems to work well in 15 min time frame if some additional filters are applied

    Question:
    – How would you explain the underlying premise behind BOSS?

    To me it looks like:
    1) In uptrending market
    2) Find pullback
    3) Set stop order which is triggered of trend resumes

    Is it something along those lines?

    Cheers

  5. Tomas Nesnidal

    March 7, 2016 at 5:37 pm

    Peter,

    that is a very correct interpretation / observation. Basically, my findings show that breakout after any kind of pullback (I call them “corrections”) are one of the best breakout signals.
    Good luck with your trading,
    Tomas

Build emini intraday breakout strategies FAST

Using the same proven techniques that have helped hundreds of successful breakout traders already... to even launch their own hedge funds!

Click here for to get started now

Learn How To Start Creating Profitable Breakout Strategies In Under 2 Weeks - Without Spending More Than 35 Minutes A Day

Click here for more info

Breakout Traders

Get this FREE report on ‘7 Proven Tips To Build Profitable Breakout Strategies Fast’

Download your free copy now

What pro traders are saying about BST

"Being a trader himself, Andrew drives insightful conversations that uncover gems of practical knowledge that can improve your trading today"

Kris Longmore robotwealth.net

"This podcast provides unique information, from real traders, interviewed by an experienced trader."

Kevin Davey kjtradingsystems.com

"If I had to listen to one trading podcast only, it would be Better System Trader. I am always learning new things and getting research ideas from Andrew’s guests."

Cesar Alvarez alvarezquanttrading.com

"The key to better system trading is information.  As a system trader himself, Andrew has unique capability of asking insightful questions that extract the skills of each guest."

John Ehlers www.mesasoftware.com

"Better System Trader is an invaluable resource that I've gleaned tremendous amounts of information from over the years. I wouldn't be the trader I am today without having found this resource. Please keep up the great work."

David Bergstrom buildalpha.com

"Andrew is a master at asking difficult and relevant questions."

Perry Kaufman perrykaufman.com

"I really enjoy listening to the Better System Trader podcasts. Even though I am in the industry for over 15 years, there is always something new to learn from these. Thank you!"

Martin Lembak striker.com

"Andrew loves traders and draws the most informative and engaging responses out of them."

Art Collins artcollinstrading.com

"BetterSystemTrader is an amazing resource of valuable information, Andrew is always able to ask the right question at the right time to deliver the best content possible, a must listen for anybody interested in trading!"

Andrea Unger skilledacademy.com

"If you have been looking for that little extra nugget to transform your trading, you will find it at Better System Trader."

Laurent Bernut alphasecurecapital.com

"I get some of my best ideas from listening to other market participants and Better System Trader is a great resource of conversations with trading professionals."

Michael Cook thetradingmasterclass.com

"Andrew has interviewed some great people and I have picked up some useful new insights. His integrity, trading knowledge, light-hearted attitude, curiosity and enthusiasm shine through and enhance each of his podcasts. Given the quality of the information and the price (free!) any serious trader would have to be a fool to not take advantage. Keep it up my friend."

Bob Pardo pardocapital.com

"The Better System Trader podcasts have become an invaluable resource... There's no other podcast around that covers the subject in so much breadth and depth."

Alan Clement helixtrader.com

"Professional, to the point and relevant content. Better System Trader should be followed by anyone with an interest in our field."

Andreas Clenow followingthetrend.com

"Andrew seems to have a knack for getting the world's most famous traders to share valuable insights about how they trade for the benefit of the trading community."

Andrew Gibbs halifaxonline.co.nz

"What really makes the BST podcast stand out is that Andrew is also an experienced trader and can therefore provide incomparable quality and depth in any interview. Thank you for endless inspiration."

Tomas Nesnidal systemsontheroad.com

"I really enjoy the wide variety of topics and perspectives shared in the podcasts and with the interviews done by someone with real life trading experience"

Tim Rea thetradingmasterclass.com

Trading stocks, options, futures and forex involves significant risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

© 2015 Better System Trader · Disclaimer & Terms · Privacy Policy · Sponsor