George IV - FAQ
1. What do I need to use George IV?
A futures brokerage account, a basic charting package such as Sierra Chart, NinjaTrader or QuoteTracker for which I provide templates and which I recommend highly as they are most cost efficient.
2. Can this system work for markets other than ES?
Yes. It works quite well for YM, and it is likely to work well for other reasonably volatile emini markets.
3. How many trades does it produce a month?
About 6-7 on average.
4. What is the target and stop-loss of the system?
The most recommended target is 6 points, the other good target to consider is 18 pts. The stop-loss is 9 points, and despite it being a bit larger than the target of 6 points, it gets triggered quite infrequently as the winning rate for this target category is 70%. The stop-loss and targets are fixed. For YM, the targets are 60 and 180 points, while the stop-loss is 90 points. This works quite well for this market too.
5. How about its drawdowns?
They are relatively shallow and pretty rare. The worst drawdown in ES has been 30 points and no more than 3 consecutive losing trades (6 pt target category) have ever been recorded in the system history that is almost 18 months long. This drawdown was recorded during very volatile times when some other systems would produce drawdowns of 40 points or more with a single losing trade!
6. Is it possible to see the system most recent performance?
Yes, you can see the system equity curve that is being recorded since the first major drawdown of the system in 2008. This took place in mid February 2008 and had you started trading this system right after this drawdown as one of my clients actually did, your equity curve would have looked pretty much like that too.
7. What is the best way to start trading this system?
Wait until the system develops a drawdown of 2 consecutive maximum losses. That would mean the drawdown of 18 points in ES or 180 points in YM. Even better, wait until it undergoes a drawdown of 3 consecutive losses, at least two of which are maximum, although this happens very rarely. Start trading it right after that.
8. What will I get with my purchase of the system?
The main thing that comes in the George IV package is the system manual in a PDF format. You will also receive two other PDF documents, one serving as an introduction to the system and another one that illustrates its features. The latter document (to be released in May 2009) is accompanied by several pictures. Moreover, you will also receive chart templates for Sierra Chart, NinjaTrader and QuoteTracker, a spreadsheet with all the trades since the system release and even before, and a bonus that others charge thousands of dollars for. With all the materials included and my email support it's hard not to master this system easily and quickly.
9. Is this a simple system?
Yes. It is a simple system. It is a simple system because it is based on just one fundamental idea implemented in the system in three different ways, which gives this system an always desirable diversity of strategies that is only likely to improve its stability. It is simple because it uses only very basic and very few indicators, such as moving averages, and only two. It is simple because its entries are defined very simply and precisely, with no guesswork required. It is simple, but it is certainly not simplistic. It is as simple as possible, but not simpler. It is indeed very unfortunate that so many systems out there that a new trader is likely to come across are simplistic and thus poor and unreliable. And what's even worse, they give the trader, particularly a new one, a false impression of what simple is about. Simple is not simplistic. Simple is not trivial. If you want a simplistic system that everyone and their grandma is bound to lose money with, look elsewhere. Yet, the system is so simple that the check sheet for its 3 strategies is not even one page long and it's a very detailed check sheet too.
10. Is this system suitable for beginners?
Yes. I truly believe that it is an excellent system for beginners. It is excellent if only because it is very important for the beginner to be exposed to sound, reliable trading ideas that are respected by the markets and not to some spurious, simplistic schemes that every rookie uses to lose money with. To paraphrase what Einstein once said ("I want to know God's thoughts... the rest are details."), you want to know Mr. Market's thoughts and not some tabloid rumors spread over countless Internet trading forums.