George IV - Why you should own this e-mini futures trading system
When I say "this e-mini trading system" I obviously mean George IV, though I no longer market it as a mechanical trading system, but as a strategy that can generate signals or provide a solid market bias. It is up to you to decide whether to take such a signal or not and hence you need to employ a bit of discretion that was not necessary in the original, fully mechanical, incarnation of the system. That does not mean that there is no value in George IV as a mechanical system. It can still serve some purpose as such, if only as a learning tool.
Thus here are some good reasons why it makes sense to own this relatively simple e-mini futures day trading system.
1. It teaches you how to design simple trading systems
The system worked in its purely mechanical form for about two years, which is a pretty long strech of time as far as mechanical day trading systems go. They tend to break down much faster. It worked not just for one market, but for two, which proves that its ideas are rather universal. Originally designed for ES, the S&P 500 e-mini futures, it proved to work well for YM, the Dow Jones e-mni futures, as well, with no changes to the system structure nor its rules.
Since the system is fully disclosed and relatively simple (uses only basic indicators that charting packages such as Sierra Chart of NinjaTrader have as standard), you can learn how to design robust trading systems. But that's only the first reason why it makes sense to own it.
2. It gives you clear signals to be used for discretionary trading.
I stopped tracking it at some point when the markets' volatility dropped, but also because I was to busy with KING, this site's main offer for the past 5 years or so. While I somewhat doubt that its mechanical performance is as good as in the past, it certainly remains useful as a trading strategy. The system is not complex at all, but you may need to consult its rules from time to time to be sure that what you see is indeed the correct signal. However, there are times when this is hardly necessary for the signal is so clear that it basically screams at you from the chart. In cases like that, it also more likely that you will get rewarded, and quite handsomely too. A good example of that is what happened on October 10th, 2013. It was a day with a very clear signal and on that day George IV produced not just a mere 60 points in YM, but could have also deliverd twice as much, as you can see from the image below that shows a Sierra Chart 5-minute chart from that day. What this also means is that it was plenty of room to scalp safely in the system direction.
George IV delivers quite a punch on October 10th, 2013
Situations like that tend to occur when the market moves on fundamental news. Hence, if you know that the news like that (such as the US economic data or political news of economic importance) has just been released, it's extra easier to trade if George IV gives you a signal on a day like that too, as it often does. Or, if you see such a strong, clear signal it makes sense to check if it is driven by some fundamental news to be extra sure that you have a real deal. Another situation of this kind occured on October 22nd, 2013 and I report on it on my main e-mini futures blog on 10/23/13. That day George IV came only a few ticks away from the target of 60 points.
3. It gives you the right trading bias.
It is much easier to trade when you are on the right side of the market. When Goerge IV gives a signal it is a sign that the market is trending strongly and you are better off to align your trades with the market direction or the direction of the system signal. Hence, using the system as a guide can improve you winning rate.
4. It can encourage you to wisely invest in an even more powerful trading tool.
It can encourage you to get an even more powerful trading tool, KING, which is an e-mini futures trading course based on a solid trading methodology of the same name. People who liked George IV, such as Katherine or Dick (another trader of the original cohort of KING students), not only chose to embrace the KING methodology, but turned out to be very good at using it. In fact, they turned out to be stellar traders by any standards. Others bought KING first to see if they may like my trading ideas and subsequently bought KING too. As a matter of fact, I was initially insisting that everyone purchase George IV before they consider KING, just to make sure that they can feel at home with my trading ideas at all.
5. It's quite inexpensive especially when compared to similar products on the market.
Some people charge $99 for mere "magic" indicators that more often than not are just a stealthy incarnation of stuff you can find for free on this glorious thing called the Internet. Yes, that's a hundred bucks for something that may not even be original let alone useful in any way because what exactly is the use of trading indicators, especially if they are not even fully disclosed? None unless you have an idea of how to, well, use them to extract money from the market. Or, in other words, unless you can use them in your strategy or system. That means that what you really need is an idea of how to beat the market. Except that once you have such an idea, you can probably implement it with many other, totally standard indicators, as is the case with George IV that does not use any fancy, let alone "magic" indicators. It's really the idea that matters and not indicators, and so $150 that I charge for this system is quite a steal compared to the pretty much useless "magic" indicators for "only" $99.
6. It puts you on the right track to trading success.
Quite often, people do not succeed at the trading business because they get exposed to dubious trading ideas (and most of them are such), that get stuck in their minds like viruses perpetuating their trading misery. One way to avoid this is to start with something sound, something that has been proven to deliver results. What's a better way to this end than an inexpensive trading system that worked for many months (years, in fact) and can still deliver quite a punch when used in a discretionary manner. I do believe that this beats hands down dubious strategies offered with no or scanty, at best, evidence as to their effectiveness.
7. It gives you full access to the e-mini futures trading forum to come soon.
Only the owners of KING or George IV, two of my most popular e-mini futures products, will get full access to the e-mini futures trading forum to come soon, in 2013, according to the current plans.
Posted on October 28th, 2013.