Traders Tips
Traders Tips
October 2018
For this month’s Traders’ Tips, the focus is John Ehlers’ article in this issue, “Probability—Probably A Good
Thing To Know.” Here, we present the October 2018 Traders’ Tips code with possible implementations in
various software.
You can right-click on any chart to open it in a new tab or window and view it at it’s originally
supplied size, often much larger than the version printed in the magazine.
The Traders’ Tips section is provided to help the reader implement a selected technique from an article in
this issue or another recent issue. The entries here are contributed by software developers or programmers for
software that is capable of customization.
In “Probability—Probably A Good Thing To Know,” author John Ehlers introduces a procedure for
measuring an indicator’s probability distribution to determine if it can be used as part of a reversion-to-the-
mean trading strategy. The author demonstrates this method with several of his existing indicators and
presents a new indicator that he calls a deviation-scaled oscillator with Fisher transform.
Here, we are providing TradeStation EasyLanguage code for an indicator and strategy based on Ehlers’
concepts.
The code for the complete set of indicators presented by the author in his article can be downloaded by
visiting our TradeStation and EasyLanguage support forum. The files for this article can be found here:
https://community.tradestation.com/Discussions/Topic.aspx?Topic_ID=152631. The filename is
“TASC_OCT2018.ZIP.”
This article is for informational purposes. No type of trading or investment recommendation, advice, or
strategy is being made, given, or in any manner provided by TradeStation Securities or its affiliates.
variables:
a1( 0 ), b1( 0 ), c1( 0 ), c2( 0 ),
c3( 0 ), Zeros( 0 ), Filt( 0 ), RMS( 0 ),
count( 0 ), ScaledFilt( 0 ), FisherFilt( 0 ),
Idx( 0 ), J( 0 ), K( 0 ) ;
arrays:
Bin[61](0);
if CurrentBar = 1 Then
//once
begin
//Smooth with a Super Smoother
a1 = expvalue( -1.414 * 3.14159 / ( .5 * Period ) ) ;
b1 = 2 * a1 * Cosine( 1.414 * 180 / ( .5 * Period ) ) ;
c2 = b1 ;
c3 = -a1 * a1 ;
c1 = 1 - c2 - c3 ;
end ;
//SuperSmoother Filter
Filt = c1 * ( Zeros + Zeros[1] )
/ 2 + c2 * Filt[1] + c3 * Filt[2] ;
variables:
a1( 0 ), b1( 0 ), c1( 0 ), c2( 0 ),
c3( 0 ), Zeros( 0 ), Filt( 0 ), RMS( 0 ),
count( 0 ), ScaledFilt( 0 ), FisherFilt( 0 ),
Idx( 0 ), J( 0 ), K( 0 ) ;
arrays:
Bin[61](0);
if CurrentBar = 1 Then
//once
begin
//Smooth with a Super Smoother
a1 = expvalue( -1.414 * 3.14159 / ( .5 * Period ) ) ;
b1 = 2 * a1 * Cosine( 1.414 * 180 / ( .5 * Period ) ) ;
c2 = b1 ;
c3 = -a1 * a1 ;
c1 = 1 - c2 - c3 ;
end ;
//SuperSmoother Filter
Filt = c1 * ( Zeros + Zeros[1] )
/ 2 + c2 * Filt[1] + c3 * Filt[2] ;
—Doug McCrary
TradeStation Securities, Inc.
www.TradeStation.com
BACK TO LIST
eSIGNAL: OCTOBER 2018
For this month’s Traders’ Tip, we’ve provided the study FDSO.efs based on the article by John Ehlers in this
issue, “Probability—Probably A Good Thing To Know.” This study displays a Fisher deviation-scaled
oscillator on the chart.
The study contains formula parameters that may be configured through the edit chart window (right-click on
the chart and select “edit chart”). A sample chart is shown in Figure 2.
FIGURE 2: eSIGNAL. Here is an example of the study plotted on a daily chart of NFLX.
To discuss this study or download a complete copy of the formula code, please visit the EFS library
discussion board forum under the forums link from the support menu at www.esignal.com or visit our EFS
KnowledgeBase at www.esignal.com/support/kb/efs/. The eSignal formula script (EFS) is also available for
copying & pasting here.
/*********************************
Provided By:
eSignal (Copyright c eSignal), a division of Interactive Data
Corporation. 2016. All rights reserved. This sample eSignal
Formula Script (EFS) is for educational purposes only and may be
modified and saved under a new file name. eSignal is not responsible
for the functionality once modified. eSignal reserves the right
to modify and overwrite this EFS file with each new release.
Description:
Probability—Probably A Good Thing To Know by John F. Ehlers
Notes:
The related article is copyrighted material. If you are not a subscriber
of Stocks & Commodities, please visit www.traders.com.
**********************************/
function preMain(){
setPriceStudy(false);
setStudyTitle("Fisher Deviation-scaled Oscillator");
setCursorLabelName("DSO", 0);
setCursorLabelName("FDSO", 1);
setDefaultBarFgColor(Color.RGB(0xFE,0x69,0x00), 1);
var x = 0;
fpArray[x] = new FunctionParameter("Period", FunctionParameter.NUMBER);
with(fpArray[x++]){
setName("Period");
setLowerLimit(1);
setDefault(40);
}
}
function main(Period){
if (bVersion == null) bVersion = verify();
if (bVersion == false) return;
if (getBarState() == BARSTATE_ALLBARS){
bInit = false;
}
if (!bInit){
var a1 = Math.exp(-Math.SQRT2 * Math.PI /(0.5 * Period));
var b1 = 2 * a1* Math.cos(Math.PI * Math.SQRT2 / (0.5 * Period));
var c2 = b1;
var c3 = - a1 * a1;
var c1 = 1 - c2 - c3;
xClose = close();
var xZeros = efsInternal("calc_Zeros", xClose);
var xSSFilter = efsInternal("calc_SSFilter", xZeros, c1, c2, c3);
xRMS = efsInternal("calc_RMS", Period, xSSFilter);
addBand(0, PS_DASH, 1, Color.grey, 2);
bInit = true;
}
if (Math.abs(xRMS.getValue(0)) < 2) {
var nFisherFilt = 0.5 * Math.log((1 + xRMS.getValue(0) / 2) / (1 -
xRMS.getValue(0) / 2));
}
var nSSFilter = 0;
var nSSFilter_1 = 0;
var nSSFilter_2 = 0;
if (getBarState() == BARSTATE_NEWBAR){
nSSFilter_2 = nSSFilter_1;
nSSFilter_1 = nSSFilter;
}
if (getBarState() == BARSTATE_ALLBARS){
nSSFilter = 0;
nSSFilter_1 = 0;
nSSFilter_2 = 0;
}
return nSSFilter;
}
var nRMS = 0;
return nRMSScaled;
}
function verify(){
var b = false;
if (getBuildNumber() < 779){
return b;
}
—Eric Lippert
eSignal, an Interactive Data company
800 779-6555, www.eSignal.com
BACK TO LIST
WEALTH-LAB: OCTOBER 2018
In his article in this issue, “Probability—Probably A Good Thing To Know,” author John Ehlers shares an
interesting technique that charts the probability density of an oscillator to evaluate its applicability to swing
trading.
However, exporting the data to a text file to be used by Excel for plotting as a bar chart is something we’d
like to avoid. What we call the “Wealth-Lab way” would be to conveniently build the chart on the fly.
To approach this, we’ll leverage the power of .NET framework (preinstalled on any Windows PC), which
comes with a powerful charting control under the hood. Its broad feature set can be easily used to extend
Wealth-Lab’s ability to plot various objects, images, and text. Let’s employ it to overlay a stock chart with a
nice histogram of an oscillator’s probability density. Below, you can have a look at the short sample code in
C#, which takes RocketRSI as an example (but can be adjusted to accept any oscillator).
The bottom line is that Wealth-Lab lets a trader build some complex logic or visualization without having to
resort to third-party applications.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using System.Drawing;
using WealthLab;
using TASCIndicators; //required
using System.IO; //required for plotting
using System.Windows.Forms.DataVisualization.Charting;
//1. Click "References...", then "Other Assemblies..." > "Add a reference"
//2. In "C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\" (or "Framework" on 32-bit
systems),
//choose and okay "System.Windows.Forms.DataVisualization.dll"
namespace WealthLab.Strategies
{
public class MyStrategy : WealthScript
{
protected override void Execute()
{
var rrsi = RocketRSI.Series(Close,8,10);
ChartPane paneRocketRSI = CreatePane(40,true,true);
BACK TO LIST
After moving the code given in the article to your preferred compiler and creating a DLL, you can insert the
resulting indicator as follows:
Users of NeuroShell Trader can go to the Stocks & Commodities section of the NeuroShell Trader free
technical support website to download a copy of this or any previous Traders’ Tips.
BACK TO LIST
The TradersStudio code presented here is based on John Ehlers’s article in this issue, “Probability—Probably
A Good Thing To Know.” The code can be found at www.TradersEdgeSystems.com/traderstips.htm and is
also shown here.
Dim a1 As BarArray
Dim b1 As BarArray
Dim c1 As BarArray
Dim c2 As BarArray
Dim c3 As BarArray
Dim Filt As BarArray
Dim count As BarArray
Dim CU As BarArray
Dim CD As BarArray
Dim MyRSI As BarArray
Dim I As BarArray
Dim J As BarArray
Dim K As BarArray
Dim Bin As Array
If BarNumber=FirstBar Then
'SmoothLength = 8
'RSILength = 14
a1 = 0
b1 = 0
c1 = 0
c2 = 0
c3 = 0
Filt = 0
count = 0
CU = 0
CD = 0
MyRSI = 0
I = 0
J = 0
K = 0
End If
Dim a1 As BarArray
Dim b1 As BarArray
Dim c1 As BarArray
Dim c2 As BarArray
Dim c3 As BarArray
Dim Filt As BarArray
Dim Mom As BarArray
Dim count As BarArray
Dim CU As BarArray
Dim CD As BarArray
Dim MyRSI As BarArray
Dim RocketRSI As BarArray
Dim I As BarArray
Dim J As BarArray
Dim K As BarArray
Dim Bin As Array
If BarNumber=FirstBar Then
'SmoothLength = 8
'RSILength = 10
a1 = 0
b1 = 0
c1 = 0
c2 = 0
c3 = 0
Filt = 0
Mom = 0
count = 0
CU = 0
CD = 0
MyRSI = 0
RocketRSI = 0
I = 0
J = 0
K = 0
End If
Sub EHLERS_PROB3(Period)
Dim a1 As BarArray
Dim b1 As BarArray
Dim c1 As BarArray
Dim c2 As BarArray
Dim c3 As BarArray
Dim Zeros As BarArray
Dim Filt As BarArray
Dim RMS As BarArray
Dim count As BarArray
Dim ScaledFilt As BarArray
Dim I As BarArray
Dim J As BarArray
Dim K As BarArray
Dim Bin As Array
If BarNumber=FirstBar Then
'Period = 40
a1 = 0
b1 = 0
c1 = 0
c2 = 0
c3 = 0
Zeros = 0
Filt = 0
RMS = 0
count = 0
ScaledFilt = 0
I = 0
J = 0
K = 0
End If
Sub EHLERS_PROB4(Period)
Dim a1 As BarArray
Dim b1 As BarArray
Dim c1 As BarArray
Dim c2 As BarArray
Dim c3 As BarArray
Dim Zeros As BarArray
Dim Filt As BarArray
Dim RMS As BarArray
Dim count As BarArray
Dim ScaledFilt As BarArray
Dim FisherFilt As BarArray
Dim I As BarArray
Dim J As BarArray
Dim K As BarArray
Dim Bin As Array
If BarNumber=FirstBar Then
'Period = 40
a1 = 0
b1 = 0
c1 = 0
c2 = 0
c3 = 0
Zeros = 0
Filt = 0
RMS = 0
count = 0
ScaledFilt = 0
FisherFilt = 0
I = 0
J = 0
K = 0
End If
To run the four sets of probability output code, they need to be set up as separate sessions. The code needs to
be saved as a system. These code sets do not produce buy & sell signals but rather print the probability bins
to a terminal window.
To save the results to a .csv file, right-click inside the terminal window and then choose the first option
“Save to file.” I ran all the tests on Apple Inc. (AAPL). Figure 5 shows the probability distribution for the
Fisher transform deviation-scaled oscillator.
FIGURE 5: TRADERSSTUDIO. This shows the Fisher deviation-scaled oscillator on APPL.
—Richard Denning
info@TradersEdgeSystems.com
for TradersStudio
BACK TO LIST
NinjaTrader 8: www.ninjatrader.com/SC/October2018SCNT8.zip
NinjaTrader 7: www.ninjatrader.com/SC/October2018SCNT7.zip
Once the file is downloaded, you can import the indicator into NinjaTader 8 from within the control center
by selecting Tools → Import → NinjaScript Add-On and then selecting the downloaded file for NinjaTrader
8. To import in NinjaTrader 7, from within the control center window, select the menu File → Utilities →
Import NinjaScript and select the downloaded file.
You can review the indicator’s source code in NinjaTrader 8 by selecting the menu New → NinjaScript
Editor → Indicators from within the control center window and selecting the TASCProbabilityDistribution
file. You can review the indicator’s source code in NinjaTrader 7 by selecting the menu Tools → Edit
NinjaScript → Indicator from within the control center window and selecting the
TASCProbabilityDistribution file.
NinjaScript uses compiled DLLs that run native, not interpreted, which provides you with the highest
performance possible.
BACK TO LIST
Regardless of what type of trading methodology we actively pursue, we are looking for ways to predict, or at
least quickly recognize, turning points on which to capitalize. For the swing trader, reversion to the mean is a
central concept.
Various oscillators have been developed that attempt to measure how far recent price activity has strayed
from the local mean. Exceeding minimum and maximum thresholds for a given oscillator are accepted as
anticipating or recognizing turning points.
In “Probability—Probably A Good Thing To Know” in this issue, John Ehlers provides two useful tools that
he demonstrates on two different oscillators.
First, Ehlers demonstrates a way to determine if our oscillator of choice is relatively bias-free. His method is
to run a large data sample and create a histogram of the resulting indicator values. We then consider: Does
our histogram show a relatively Gaussian distribution of indicator values centered on zero? Or is the
distribution skewed away from zero or significantly distorted in some way?
Second, Ehlers demonstrates the ability of the Fisher transform to “clean up” an oscillator so that the
resulting histogram approaches a balanced Gaussian distribution.
One result of the Fisher transform is that the transformed values may far exceed the range of the values of the
original oscillator.
The plot of the Fisherized oscillator in Figure 7 has a vertical range that is approaching four times the vertical
range of the MyRSI oscillator. An immediate question comes to mind: Where to best set the oversold and
overbought thresholds for the Fisherized oscillator?
FIGURE 7: EXCEL. This shows the MyRSI and RocketRSI oscillator histograms with sampled median,
overbought, and oversold lines set for 90% containment of the sampled oscillator data points.
For the RocketRSI example, Ehlers suggests thresholds of 2 and -2, assuming that 2.5% of the histogram
values are below -2 and 2.5% of the values are above 2. That is to say, we are expecting 95% of the values to
fall between -2 and 2.
Is 95% the best cutoff choice for every Fisher-transformed oscillator?
Figure 8 shows the histograms of the MyRSI and the RocketRSI oscillators overlaid using independent
scaling with a common zero point. I used a line chart instead of a bar chart to make it easier to see and
compare the plots. (Note that radio buttons in the yellow box can be used to selectively display the basic
oscillator, the Fisherized version, or both.)
FIGURE 8: EXCEL. Since it’s necessary to compute both versions of a given oscillator to create the profiles,
I have gone ahead and plotted them here since that helps us to get a feel for what we are profiling.
We can clearly see that the red MyRSI histogram is rather broad with much of its bulk offset to the right of
zero as confirmed by the red mean value line at 0.167. And we can see the blue RocketRSI diagram presents
a tight, balanced profile with a mean that centers rather nicely on zero.
The overbought and oversold values shown in the figure were estimated by using a simple running
accumulation of the histogram buckets to have roughly 5% of the data points below the oversold threshold
and roughly 5% of the data points above the overbought threshold, with the remaining 90% of the data points
falling in between. You can change the 90% as you see fit to observe what happens to the thresholds
estimated using this technique.
Since we have to calculate the oscillator values to build the histograms, it seems like a good idea to go ahead
and plot them. Again, I have placed them on the same subchart, color-coded to independent vertical scales.
While using independent scales can distort the apparent vertical range, it allows us to see the similarities and
differences of the shapes and turning points.
To keep this spreadsheet to a manageable download size, I reduced the capacity to 1,000 bars for the
computations. Keeping it to under 1,000 bars translates to just under four years, as opposed to the 10 years
used in Ehlers’ article. This leads to slight differences in the histogram distributions from those shown in the
article.
The spreadsheet file for this Traders’ Tip can be downloaded here. To successfully download it, follow these
steps:
—Ron McAllister
Excel and VBA programmer
rpmac_xltt@sprynet.com
BACK TO LIST