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6
User’s Guide
© 2007 www.investatech.com
Table of Contents
1. Introduction .......................................................................................... 3
2. Attaching an EA to a Chart .................................................................. 5
The Location of EAs on Your Computer ....................................................................... 5
EA Formats........................................................................................................................... 6
Compiling an EA ................................................................................................................. 6
Attaching the EA ................................................................................................................. 8
Changing the Properties of an Attached EA .................................................................10
3. The PipBoxer Strategy ......................................................................... 11
Recognizing the Box Size ................................................................................................. 12
Filtering Out the False Breakouts.................................................................................... 14
Built-in Visual Aids ............................................................................................................ 15
The PipBoxer Indicator .................................................................................................... 16
Taking Risk Management into Account ......................................................................... 18
Entering and Exiting Trades ............................................................................................ 22
Adopting Money Management Techniques ...................................................................26
A Trading Scenario ............................................................................................................ 28
4. The Back-test Results .......................................................................... 31
5. How to Use PipBoxer v2.0.................................................................. 32
Minimum System Requirements ...................................................................................... 32
External Variables Settings ............................................................................................... 33
6. PipBoxer v2.0 vs. PipBoxer v1.0 ......................................................... 37
7. Beware of Risks .................................................................................. 39
The Internet Connection .................................................................................................. 39
The Server Connection ..................................................................................................... 39
The Broker .......................................................................................................................... 39
The Trader........................................................................................................................... 40
The EAs ............................................................................................................................... 40
8. Warning and Error Messages .............................................................. 41
The Commercial Version Messages ................................................................................ 41
9. Terms, Conditions, and Disclaimer ................................................... 44
Terms and Conditions: ...................................................................................................... 44
Disclaimer:........................................................................................................................... 44
10. Index ................................................................................................... 46
P I P B O X E R V 2 . 0 . 6 A L P A R S A I
1
1. Introduction
F
orex is the largest and the most liquid market in the world. With an average
daily trade volume of about $1.9 trillion no other market can beat it. Forex
market which is an Over-The-Counter (OTC) market is open 24 hours a day
for 5 days a week.
Entering the forex market is very easy. You can open an account with less than $300
and enjoy the high leverage of 100:1 or even more. For many people this means
making big money in a short period of time. The temptation is high but unfortunately
the reality is different. The majority of inexperienced traders lose in this market. Many
of them even blow out their accounts completely in a very short period of time. It is
not easy to constantly make money in forex.
A computer is a machine and it cannot setup trading rules. It is you “the trader” who
needs to define these rules for the computer to make your computerized trading
experience a successful one. I believe that PipBoxer is one of those successful set of
rules. I will explain this in more detail throughout this guideline.
There are several tools available to trade forex. Probably one of the most successful
ones is MetaTrader. This software application enables the trader to analyze and enter
the market at the same time. Unlike traditional trading platforms you do not need a
chart provider to analyze the market. MetaTrader provides you with the chart and
almost every necessary tool to analyze the chart.
Another nice feature of MetaTrader is the ability to install and run customized tools.
These tools are in the form of indicators, scripts, and Expert Advisors. Since PipBoxer
is an Expert Advisor (EA) I will explain the use of EAs and how to attach them to a
chart in the next section.
2
2. Attaching an EA to a Chart
O
ne of the reasons that MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is a highly regarded trading
platform is its capability to automatically run trading orders. The tool that
traders use to conduct such automated trades is called an EA (Expert
Advisor).
An EA is a software program that a trader can use within the MT4 terminal. A trader
may use an EA for different reasons, including but not limited to analyzing the market
and creating trading signals, conducting fully automated trades, defining complex
criteria for running a trade, and so on.
There are some folders under the “experts” folder that some EAs use. For example
PipBoxer v2.0.6 uses the following sub-folders*:
*The PipBoxer installation file automatically places all these files in their proper folders. This guide is for
maintenance and troubleshooting purposes only.
EA Formats
EAs are available in two different formats: the raw format (or source code) and the
compiled format (or executable version). The file extension for EA source codes is
*.mq4 (e.g. PipBoxer.mq4) and the file extension of EA compiled programs is *.ex4
(e.g. PipBoxer.ex4). The default location for both formats is the “experts” folder.
You cannot use the source code to run the EA. You must compile the source code
first to make it an executable file. On the other hand the compiled (*.ex4) format is
ready to use. You don’t need the source code to run the compiled format. So
eventually all you need is the compiled file.
You always receive PipBoxer files in compiled format so you do not need to
compile EAs.
The following section is just for your information. You do not need to compile
PipBoxer EAs.
Compiling an EA
If you place an error-free source code in the “experts” folder and then start MT4 it
automatically compiles the EA and creates the *.ex4 file. You may also compile the
EA yourself as follows.
When you install your MT4 trading terminal you also install an application called
MetaEditor. The installation is done automatically. You can use MetaEditor to develop
EAs. You also use MetaEditor to compile EAs. So if you receive the source code of an
EA (i.e. the *.mq4 file) use the following steps to compile it. If you already have the
compiled file in hand skip this procedure.
1. From the MT4 terminal run MetaEditor. You can find the MetaEditor icon on
the Standard toolbar of the MT4 terminal (Figure 1).
Figure 1
2. In the MetaEditor window open the EA source code. You can either use the
File>Open to locate and open the file or double-click the file name in the
“Navigator” window. This window is located on the right side of the
MetaEditor window by default.
Figure 2
4. If the code contains no errors the application creates the compiled (*.ex4) file
and you are ready to use the EA. The error messages appear on a window
called “Toolbox” embedded in the MetaEditor environment. If you receive a
message similar to the one shown in Figure 3 you are good to go. If not, you
either need to fix the error yourself or contact someone who is an MQL
developer.
Figure 3
5. Close MetaEditor.
Attaching the EA
To attach an EA to a chart use the following steps.
2. Select the proper time frame by clicking one of the icons on Periodicity toolbar
or Chart > Periodicity menu.
The only timeframe that you can use for PipBoxer is M15 (i.e. 15 minute
charts).
3. Make sure that the “Navigator” window is open. The default location of this
window is below the “Market Watch” window on the left side of the MT4
terminal (Figure 4). If the “Navigator” window is not open either press
Ctrl+N or from the View menu select Navigation.
Figure 4
4. In the “Navigator” window click the “+”sign next to “Expert Advisors”. The
list of current EAs appear in the window.
5. From the list either drag-and-drop the EA to the chart or double-click it. A
dialog box appears.
6. On the “Common” tab select the “Allow live trading” option (Figure 5). If
you do not select this option the EA does not enter trades automatically.
Figure 5
7. On the same dialog box select the “Inputs” tab. The tab is located at the top of
the dialog box. In this tab you can make any changes to external variables
(Figure 6).
Figure 6
When using PipBoxer the most important variable that you need to change is
“_server_time”. This variable refers to your broker’s winter server time in
relation to GMT. For example if your broker’s server time in winter is GMT+2
assign 2 to this variable. Contact your broker for more information.
7. Click OK. A smiley (happy face) appears on the upper right corner of the chart
indicating that the EA is running (Figure 7).
Figure 7
You may see an “x” sign instead of the happy face. This means that all of the
EAs are deactivated. To activate EAs from the Standard toolbar press the
“Expert Advisors” icon (Figure 8).
Figure 8
If instead of the happy face you see a sad face it means that this EA is not allowed to
trade live. To enable live trading:
2. Press F7 to see the EA properties dialog box. Alternatively, you may right click
on the smiley located on the upper right side corner of the chart and select
Properties from the pup-up menu.
3. To change the values assigned to external variables, select the “Inputs” tab and
make the desired changes or click Reset to restore the original settings of the
EA.
4. To change other options select the “Common” tab and select or deselect
desired options.
5. Click OK.
Some brokers disable EAs by default. You need to contact your broker and
ask them to activate EAs for your account. They usually ask you to submit a
form.
3
3. The PipBoxer Strategy
P
ipBoxer is a breakout system with a twist. The strategy consists of five major
steps to enter the trades correctly, manage them in the best way possible and
exit them safely. Here are those strategies:
Figure 9 helps you to have a better understanding of how this system works.
Figure 9
© 2007 www.pipboxer.com Page 11
Disclaimer: Forex is a risky market. There is no system or person who can guarantee your success. You
implement the methods introduced in this manual and/or use PipBoxer at your own discretion. The author/owner of
this manual and/or PipBoxer shall not be held responsible for your losses of any kind included but not limited to
the program’s malfunction.
P I P B O X E R V 2 . 0 . 6 A L P A R S A I
Analysis Time*
Currency Pair
EST
NZDUSD 1:00 am – 1:15 am
AUDUSD 5:00 am – 5:15 am
GBPUSD 6:00 am – 6:15 am
USDCHF 6:00 am – 6:15 am
EURGBP 7:00 am – 7:15 am
EURUSD 8:00 am – 8:15 am
USDCAD 8:00 am – 8:15 am
USDJPY 10:00 am – 10:15 am
EURJPY 2:00 pm – 2:15 pm
GBPJPY 2:00 pm – 2:15 pm
The difference between the highest high and the lowest low is called “box height”.
This variable is very important. PipBoxer uses the “box height” to calculate TP (take
profit) and SL (stop loss) values.
The “box height” also affects the calculation of trading stripes. Trading stripes (green
stripes in figure 9) are price ranges that PipBoxer initiates a trade within them. There
are four scenarios possible.
• Normal Long: A green arrow appears on top of the analysis – peach – box.
The price falls within the “normal long stripe” and the EA enters a long trade.
The normal long stripe appears in dark green on your trading platform.
• Normal Short: A red arrow appears below the analysis – peach – box. The
price falls within the “normal short stripe” and the EA enters a short trade.
The normal short stripe appears in maroon (dark red) color on your trading
platform.
*The author of PipBoxer may change the analysis time without prior notice. To run PipBoxer properly you
need to be connected to the internet and your broker’s server all the time when the market is open. EST is the
US and Canada Eastern time (which is -5 GMT in winter). GMT is the Greenwich Mean Time.
• Counter Long: A green arrow appears on top of the analysis – peach – box.
The price falls within the “counter long stripe” and the EA enters a long trade.
The counter long stripe appears in light green color on your trading platform.
• Counter Short: A red arrow appears below the analysis – peach – box. The
price falls within the “counter short stripe” and the EA enters a short trade.
The counter short stripe appears in light red (tomato) color on your trading
platform.
The last two scenarios occur only if the external variable “counter_trade” is “true”. For
most pairs I have disabled this variable based on back-test results.
• The peach box is present but there is no arrow on it: No trades would
take place.
• A green arrow appears on the peach box: The system will enter a long
trade if the Ask price falls within the trading stripe(s).
• A red arrow appears below the peach box: The system will enter a short
trade if the Bid price falls within the trading stripe(s).
• Both green and red arrows appear on the peach box: The system will
enter a long or short trade depending on the price action. If price falls in the
light green stripe the system enters a long trade and if the price falls in the
light red stripe the system enters a short trade.
The last situation only happens when counter trading is enabled. For most of PipBoxer
auto-traders this option is not active.
The other usage of CCI calculations is to designate between “normal” and “counter”
trades. As I mentioned before if the price approaches the upper stripe but the CCI
calculations fail to exceed a certain level the system does not enter a long trade.
However, if counter trade is enabled the system enters a short trade. A similar situation
may occur if the price approaches the lower stripe.
The red and green arrows appear on the chart based on CCI calculations.
Visual Aids are in Beta mode. They might not appear on charts properly. If you
encounter an unusual situation please contact us at info@pipboxer.com.
Please not that visual aids has no direct impact in the calculations done by the
system.
PipBoxer assigns special names to its graphical objects so you can later easily recognize
them. Here are the names used by PipBoxer. (date) refers to the date that object is
drawn for example a rectangle that is drawn on October 16, 2006 is named
PB_Box_2007.10.16:
PipBoxer does not use this indicator to enter, exit, or manage trades. The
indicator is just a visual aid for the trader. If the indicator line crosses above the
upper level at the analysis time the odds that the system enters a long trade is
high. If the indicator line crosses below the lower line the odds that the system
enters a short trade is high. There are other factors like the trading stripes in
place that may prevent the system from trading.
2. Open the MetaTrader terminal (i.e. the trading platform). In the Navigator
window click the + sign next to “Custom Indicators”.
Figure 10
5. Double click the number under the “Value” column and change the
“PB_Period” number according to the following table (the second column).
PipBoxer_Indicator Settings
Currency Pair
Period Levels
GBPUSD 9 ±70
EURUSD 5 ±37
USDCAD 8 ±36
USDCHF 9 ±42
AUDUSD 16 ±104
USDJPY 9 ±86
EURJPY 11 ±43
EURGBP 8 ±96
GBPJPY 4 ±61
NZDUSD 8 ±36
6. Click the “Levels” tab (Figure 11) and change the levels according the
preceding table. You may also change the color and line style of the levels.
Figure 11
7. Click OK. The indicator appears in a separate window below the chart.
In other words a complete trading system is one that gives you the opportunity to
mitigate your risk while you have the chance to gain profit. PipBoxer is such a system.
It offers several features to increase your chance to make more money and lose less.
Once I designed a trading system that showed profit in recent years. I decided to back-
test it with an initial deposit of $10,000.00. At first I used a fixed lot size. For each trade
the system traded 1 standard lot. Unfortunately in less than 14 months the system lost
over $8,700.00 and stopped out because it couldn’t initiate a new trade. Figure 12
shows how the system blew out the account after 127 trades.
Figure 12
I repeated the same experiment but this time I set the VAR to 3%. This means that I
accepted to lose up to 3% of my account balance on each trade. This time the system
survived the drawdown and made a profit of over $8,000.00 in four years (Figure 13).
The green columns at the bottom of the figure represent the number of lots the system
trades. As you see in the figure the system changes the number of lots to trade
according to the risk involved in each trade.
Figure 13
Even when I increased the VAR to the unreasonable value of 20% (i.e. losing up to
20% of account balance in a single trade) it managed to make profit (a total of over
$16,500.00). It faced a drawdown of over 80% but the account never failed (Figure 14).
Figure 14
The bottom line is that the difference between allocating fixed number of lots in a
trade to using VAR is sometimes equivalent to staying in the market and making
money or losing your investment.
The margin call calculations are done only if you use the risk management
tools. In other words instead of trading a fixed lot size you need to assign a
positive value to the “Value_At_Risk” external variable.
We found out that some brokers do not pass the margin call info to the system.
To avoid any problems with your live trades a new system variable
“bypass_margin_call” is in place and set to “true” by default. If this variable is
“true” the system won’t follow the “Never a Margin Call” policy. You may
change this variable to “false” to avoid any margin calls.
My suggestion is to distribute VAR between 3 or more pairs and let them trade at the
same time. The final release of the PipBoxer v2.0 package consists of several EAs that
enable you to trade over 10 pairs. You may choose the ones that you feel more
comfortable with, or your broker offers tighter spreads on.
• account_risk_control: If you set this variable to true – the default value – the
EA does not allow you to assign a value greater than 10 to VAR. If you by
mistake enter a large value for VAR the system reduces it to 10%.
• no_risk_balance: This value is the part of your account balance that you don’t
want to be risked on a trade. For example if your account balance is $25,000.00
and you set $10,000.00 to this variable, the system calculates the lot size based
on the remainder of the balance that is $15,000.00 (or 25,000-10,000). So if
your VAR is 10% the worst case scenario would be to lose $1,500.00 per trade
not $2,500.00.
• enter_high_risk: Suppose your broker doesn’t allow you to trade less than 0.1
of a standard lot. If the calculated lot size for a trade is less than 0.1 lots and
“enter_high_risk” is “true” the system will trade the minimum lot size (i.e. 0.1
lots). However, if the trade hits the SL it may lose more than the value you
have set to VAR. To eliminate the risk of losing more than what you can
afford assign “false” to “enter_high_risk”. When “enter_high_risk” is “false”
the system will only enter a trade if the calculated lot size is equal or more than
the minimum lot size. The default value is “true” not to miss any trades.
This feature is especially very important if your account balance is low.
• _trades_allowed: If you assign “false” to this variable the EA does not enter
new trades. However, it stays alert, analyzes the market, and manages open
trades. This variable helps you to avoid entering trades when you are uncertain
about the market condition in the near future (e.g. because of news releases).
With the help of this variable you do not need to disable the EA. This helps to
keep money management tools active to manage existing open trades.
• counter_trade: If set to false the system will not enter counter trades. A
counter trade is the one that is in the opposite direction of the breakout. For
example if the system breaks out from the top of the box the system will enter
a short trade. For many of the pairs this variable is set to false. User does not
have access to this variable.
• normal_trade: This variable enables the system to enter trades in the direction
of the breakout. By default “normal_trade” is always “true”. User does not
have access to this variable.
• _short_trades: It “false” the system won’t enter short trades. The default value
is “true”.
• _long_trades: It “false” the system won’t enter long trades. The default value is
“true”.
• _max_stoploss: Defines the maximum stop loss in pips targeted by each trade.
For example if you set this variable to 300 the maximum loss that may occur
per trade does not exceed 300 pips. This feature is especially useful for those
who use fixed lots to trade. It helps them to control their maximum loss.
• _quick_be: Moves the stop loss 1 pip above the open price when the market
teaches this value. For example if you set this value to 50, if the market moves
50 pips in your favour the stop loss moves 1 pip above your open price and
your trade is locked in profit. We have optimized this value for each EA but
you may override it at your own discretion.
Interbank FX -1 0
MIG FX 1 1
FXDD 2 2
NorthFinance 2 2
Alpari 1 1
For example MIG FX server time in winter is GMT+1. This broker changes the server
time to GMT+2 in summer. Therefore the _server_time variable remains “1”
throughout the whole year.
As another example InterBank FX server time is currently GMT throughout the year
so you need to assign “0” to _server_time in fall and winter and “-1” in spring and
summer. Please remember that broker’s policy may change and you need to make sure
that your _server_time variable is set correctly.
*These are not our recommended brokers. They are simply some of the brokers that our customers use the
most. They may change their policy and these variables become invalid. We suggest that you double check
with them about these values.
The short-term effect of this variable is usually not significant so you don’t need
to be worried about the exact time of changing this variable. If your setting is
wrong for a couple of weeks you usually won’t encounter a serious problem.
The following procedure shows you how to make sure the _server_time variable is set
properly.
1. Contact your broker and ask them about their server time relative to GMT.
They might provide you with two numbers for summer and winter. Write
down their current server time for your future reference and assign their winter
time to the _server_time variable. For example if their time is GMT+1 in
winter and GMT+2 in summer the initial value that you assign to _server_time
would be 1. If it is summer right now you also need to write down the current
time which is GMT+2 for future calculations. .
If they mention one server time both for winter and summer then if it is fall or
winter use this time and if it is spring or summer subtract 1 from this time and
use the new value. For example if they mention GMT+2 both in summer and
winter. If it is summer right now use 1 (i.e. 2-1) and if it is winter right now use
2.
2. Run PipBoxer on one of your charts on a demo account. For example run it
for GBPJPY. Get back to the chart when at least one peach box is drawn. It
might take up to 1 business day to see the first peach box appear.
3. Draw a vertical line on the right border of the peach box. Write down the time
that is shown under the vertical bar. For example if the time shown on this line
is 20:00 write it down.
4. Subtract the current time of your broker from this value. For example if your
broker’s current time is GMT+2 the calculated value would be 20:00-2 which
is 18:00. This value refers to the calculation time in GMT.
5. Google “New York Time”. The first option shows the current EST (New
York) time. Write it down on a piece of paper. Turn this value to a 24h system.
For example if the current time is 6:40 PM you need to write down 18:40.
7. Subtract the NY Time (EST) from the Greenwich Time (GMT) to calculate
the current difference between these values. In the preceding example the
difference is 22 :40-18:40 which is 4 hours.
8. Subtract the value calculated in step 7 from the value calculated in step 4. In
this example it would be 18:00-4 which equals to 14:00. This value is your
chart’s calculation time in EST.
9. Refer to the table shown on page 12 of this manual for the correct calculation
times. As you see the correct value for GBPJPY is 2:00 PM or rather 14:00. If
the value that you calculated in step 8 matches this value your _server_time
settings is correct, if not you need to correct it. For example if the value in step
8 is 15:00 you need to subtract 1 from your current _server_time value. If it is
13:00 you need to add 1 to the _server_time value.
If you have problems with assigning the correct value to _server_time please contact
us via info@pipboxer.com. We will help you to assign the proper value to this variable.
For long (buy) trades the Ask price needs to fall within the stripe and for short
(sell) trades the Bid price needs to fall within the stripe.
I have optimized the system and assigned proper values to these variables.
You do not need to change the default values However, you have access to
these variables just in case you wish to customize the system based on your
priorities.
have optimized the “mid TP” system to make as much money as possible in a
market that keeps changing directions.
• _move_to_mid_SL: With the help of this variable if the price approaches the
original stop loss the system moves the TP midway to SL. This means that if
by chance the price slightly moves in your favor the trade may get closed with
half the loss instead of full loss. I have disabled this feature for most pairs but
it can be used as a potential tool to reduce the loss.
With all these MM tools in place you are guarded against negative market movements
to get the best results possible.
With a combination of market analysis techniques, entry and exit tools, risk
management techniques, and money management tools PipBoxer v2.0 is beyond a
simple EA. It is a powerful trading package.
A Trading Scenario
To have a better understanding of how PipBoxer works I take you step by step
through a trade. The currency being traded is EURGBP (Euro vs. British Pound).
Analysis
PipBoxer v2.0 analyzes the EURGBP chart between 5:00 am to 5:15 am EST (i.e.
10:00 am to 10:15 am GMT). Figure 15 shows a screenshot of the analysis result. The
chart _server_time is GMT.
The system considers all the bars from 12:30 am GMT (7:30 pm EST) or the left
vertical line to 10:00 am GMT (5:00 am EST) or the right vertical line to calculate the
highest high and the lowest low. The analysis leads to extracting the trading strips.
Here only the lower stripe is shown which starts from 0.6862 and extends to 0.6865
(i.e. 3 pips). The system will only trade if the price falls within the trading stripes.
Figure 15
The system also uses the calculations made by “PipBoxer_Indicator”. Note that you
do not need to install this indicator. The indicator is a built in feature for PipBoxer. I
just included the indicator as a presentation tool. As you can see the indicator line is
below the lower level at 10:00 am GMT. This means that the system will only enter a
short trade if the price falls between 0.6862 and 0.6865.
Entering a Trade
Around 10:16 am GMT (i.e. about 1 minute after the analysis is done) the price falls
within the stripe and the system enters a short trade. The open price is 0.6862, the stop
© 2007 www.pipboxer.com Page 28
Disclaimer: Forex is a risky market. There is no system or person who can guarantee your success. You
implement the methods introduced in this manual and/or use PipBoxer at your own discretion. The author/owner of
this manual and/or PipBoxer shall not be held responsible for your losses of any kind included but not limited to
the program’s malfunction.
P I P B O X E R V 2 . 0 . 6 A L P A R S A I
loss is 0.6940 (i.e. -78 pips), and the take profit is 0.6830 (i.e. +32 pips). Figure 16
shows an image of the chart at the time the system entered the trade.
Figure 16
Figure 17
After a few seconds the price further moves toward the TP and the BE tool moves the
SL 9 pips below the open price (i.e. to 0.6853). The EURGBP EA activates the BE
tool after the TS tool. In many other pairs the BE tool gets activated before the TS
tool.
Further movement of the price in the trades favor enables the Mid-TP tool and the
system moves the SL to 0.6847 at 2:47 pm GMT (Figure 18). The minimum profit
would be 15 pips which is almost 50% of the total profit target.
Figure 18
Figure 19
The above example was one of those situations that ended up in profit. However, as
you could see the system changed the SL a few times to make sure the trader loses the
least and gains the most.
4
4. The Back-test Results
S
ince the parameters of the EAs change from time to time we publish the latest
back-test reports on our website. You must also consider this fact that back-test
does not show the best realistic report about the behavior of the system. We
therefore publish our live trades statement along with forward-test reports on
http://www.pipboxer.com/reports.
If you are still interested in back-test reports please visit the following page on our
website:
http://www.pipboxer.com/fximages/v206/index.htm.
5
5. How to Use PipBoxer v2.0
E
very PipBoxer package contains three libraries, three include files, an
indicator, an activation file, and one or more Expert Advisors. Please refer to
the “Installation Guide” for more information about installing these files
correctly. When the installation is complete you need to attach PipBoxer
Expert Advisors to 15 minute charts in MetaTrader 4 terminal. For example you need
to attach PipBoxer for GBPUSD to the M15 chart of British Pound vs. US Dollar. If
you do not know how to attach EAs to charts and where to place the PipBoxer v2.0
files refer to section 2 of this guideline. Make sure to enable live trading with EAs.
We expect that you have basic knowledge of using MetaTrader4 for the
purpose of installation and using our EAs.
I suggest forward-testing the EA on a demo account for a while. When you feel
comfortable with the EA you may start live trading. When you are trading live it is
better to use risk management tools to reduce the risk of losing your money.
To be able to trade with PipBoxer v2.0 your computer needs to be connected to the
internet all the time. The analysis tools and MM tools won’t operate properly if your
computer disconnects from the internet or your broker’s server.
You may turn off your computer or close MetaTrader4 when the market is
closed.
In case there are two EAs available for the same pair you may open the M15 chart
twice and attach each EA to one of the charts. They will operate smoothly.
Other minimum system requirements are the same as requirements to use the MT4
terminal.
You may encounter some limitations set by your broker such as prohibition
from the use of EAs and/or trailing stops. Contact your broker to remove such
limitations.
o _server_time (default value = 1): This variable defines the server time
of your broker with respect to GMT. Please refer to page 22 of this
manual for more information about this variable.
o _quick_be: Moves the stop loss 1 pip above the open price when the
market teaches this value. For example if you set this value to 50, if the
market moves 50 pips in your favor the stop loss moves 1 pip above
your open price and your trade is locked in profit. We have optimized
this value for each EA but you may override it at your own discretion.
o user_lot_size (default value = 1): If you want to trade fixed lot sizes
you need to assign 0 (zero) or a negative value to “Value_At_Risk”
and then the lot size value to this variable. For example if you are
willing to trade 0.5 lots per trade, assign 0 or a negative value to
“Value_At_Risk” and 0.5 to “user_lot_size”.
The variables affect the EA attached to the current chart. If you want to change
a variable for all of the pairs you need to change if for every EA one by one.
6
6. PipBoxer v2.0 vs. PipBoxer v1.0
W
hen I built the first version of PipBoxer I thought it was an EA like many
others in the market but apparently it was not. Many people forward tested
the system and even traded it live and found it profitable. More
importantly several discussions took place around the improvements to
PB. The PB thread on ForexFactory.com was viewed over 45000 times in about 3
months resulting in over 900 posts. Interestingly there are many other forums in
English or other languages that discuss this EA.
Because of this level of attention from traders and because of the great comments I
received from Forex Factory members, through Private Messages, and also emails I
decided to make several changes to the EA to convert it from an EA to a complete
trading package. The following table compares many of the features of PipBoxer v2.0
with PipBoxer v1.0 to show you their differences.
PipBoxer v2.0 PipBoxer v1.0
Analyzes the market everyday and initiates a Analyzes the market everyday but initiates a
trade if there is an opportunity, no matter trade only if all of the trades on the same pair
whether a trade is open from previous days or from previous days are closed. This may result
not. in late entry into the market and loss of
money.
If it loses a trade it doesn’t enter a “revenge If it loses a trade within its operation time
trade” and waits for future opportunities. enters a trade in opposite direction. This
approach may increase your loss size in a
single day.
It uses a stripe (i.e. a price range) to enter the It doesn’t care about the current price and
market. If the price jumps above or below the enters the market as soon as possible. This
stripe it doesn’t enter the trade to avoid losses may result in being trapped by a volatile
due to temporary volatility. market.
You can force the EA to close the trades at the Not available.
end of the day. This feature is available for
certain circumstances and not recommended
in general.
It considers CCI changes for 5 time periods It considers the CCI changes of the previous
and averages them out with an optimized bar at the time of entering the market. This
approach. The CCI values are calculated at results in being exposed to sudden changes of
the time of analysis to avoid being affected by the market.
sudden changes to the market.
In general PB2 is a more reliable tool. There are many features in place to make it a
better trading tool.
7
7. Beware of Risks
F
orex traders are aware that this market is probably one of the riskiest markets
in the world. There are several reasons that make Forex a risky market. The
fundamentals behind forex are very complex and make it unpredictable. Forex
is directly affected by both economic and political news. The highly leveraged
environment of forex is another reason that makes it so risky.
Other than the inherited risks of forex trading there are many other risks that you need
to take into account. Some of them are as follows.
The Broker
Know your broker. Some brokers do not honor TP or SL all the time and may put you
into trouble. PipBoxer uses several tools to mitigate the broker’s interference but at the
end of the day it is you who should select the broker wisely.
The Trader
PipBoxer is a mechanical system that works based on solid rules but if you are not a
disciplined trader you may ruin everything. Make sure to close a trade manually only if
you are quite sure that it won’t work for you. Sometimes a trade moves against you for
several days but eventually hits the TP. PipBoxer MM tools can help you to take care
of your trades but your interference can ruin the overall performance of the system. If
you do not feel comfortable with PB demo trade it for a while and enter live trades
only if you feel this is the right system for you.
Trading with fixed lot size is not a good idea. I suggest using risk management tools to
make sure the drawdown is under control. Do not increase VAR to huge numbers. It
can be destructive especially on a live account. If you want more, trade more than one
pair. For example pick 3 to 5 pairs that show the best results or your broker offers the
tightest spreads and then risk 1 to 2 percent on each.
The EAs
The built in risk manager in the EA calculates lot size based on the maximum loss per
trade (or VAR). However, the brokers do not allow you to trade any number of lots
you want. For example the calculations might show that you need to trade 1.072 lots
while your broker might not allow you to trade less than 0.1 fractions. This means that
you either need to trade 1 lot or 1.1 lots. The system rounds the number to the nearest
value allowed by your broker. In this case it would be 1.1 lots which is more than the
calculated lot size. Therefore if the trade hits the SL you will lose a little bit more than
what you expected. Be prepared for such incidents. To avoid this problem make sure
to set the “enter_high_risk” variable to “false” and lower “Value_At_Risk” below your
loss tolerance. For example if you wish to lose not more than 2% per trade, enter 1.5%
to avoid unexpected losses.
Although I have done my best to predict all policies set by the broker there might be
exceptional cases that you would see contradictions between the broker’s policy and
the EA. For example the price approaches the TP and the EA tries to move the SL to
mid-TP but the broker doesn’t accept the request. Such incidents might happen if the
price is very near to the TP. You might rarely encounter such problems. One approach
is to manually correct the trade to the nearest value allowed by your broker. You may
also contact your broker and ask them to fix the problem. They might be able to help.
While I cannot guarantee to be able to fix such broker related problems you may also
contact me via info@pipboxer.com to see if I can modify the program to deal with
such situations.
8
8. Warning and Error Messages
There are two types of error messages that you might receive during the course of
trading with PipBoxer v2.0: MetaTrader and PB. You usually see the MetaTrader error
messages when an open trade request cannot go through. You receive an error
message that explains the problem. Such errors appear on the Journal tab of the
Terminal window.
This error message does not halt the program because some brokers might
use special symbols for the forex pairs. In such cases the program does not
recognize the chart and shows the error. If you have attached the EA to the
correct chart and still receive this message simply ignore it.
PB Error 102 - Switch to an M15 chart. The EA is designed for M15 charts only.
This error message appears on a popup window and halts trading. It allows the system
to manage open trades but won’t allow it to open new trades. To avoid this message
change the timeframe to M15.
PB_RM Error 3205 - Lot size larger than max lot size.
If the calculated lot size is greater than the maximum lot size allowed by your broker
and the external variable “above_max_lots_ok” is false the system will not open the
trade. You need to reduce Value_At_Risk or change above_max_lots_ok to true to
avoid this error message.
PB Warning 3201 - Lot size smaller than min lot size. Trade min lot size.
The warning message appears on the Journal tab. If the calculated lot size is smaller
than the minimum lot size allowed by your broker the system trades the minimum lot
size. This situation happens when the “enter_high_risk” external variable is “true”.
This message is just a warning message. It won’t interrupt trading or managing open
trades.
PB Warning 3202 - Lot size larger than max lot size. Trade max lot size.
The warning message appears on the Journal tab. If the calculated lot size is greater
than the maximum lot size allowed by your broker the system trades the maximum lot
size. This message is just a warning message. It won’t interrupt trading or managing
open trades.
9
9. Terms, Conditions, and Disclaimer
Terms and Conditions:
1. PipBoxer v2.0 Expert Advisors and Indicator, and their future updates,
and all related presentations and documents are under Investatech Inc.
(www.investatech.com) copyright. The files and programs are supported
by Canadian and/or international copyright laws. Any violations will be
prosecuted.
Disclaimer:
Forex trading has large potential rewards, but also large potential risk. You must be
aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest in the forex market.
Don't trade with money you can't afford to lose. This ad/presentation is neither a
solicitation nor an offer to trade forex. No representation is being made that any
account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those discussed on this
ad/presentation. The past performance of any trading system or methodology is not
necessarily indicative of future results.
Moreover, the leveraged nature of FX trading means that any market movement will
have an equally proportional effect on your deposited funds. This may work against
you as well as for you. The possibility exists that you could sustain a total loss of initial
margin funds and your position will be liquidated and you will be responsible for any
resulting losses. Investors are recommended to lower exposure to risk by employing
risk-reducing strategies such as 'stop-loss' or 'limit' orders. Investatech Inc.,
PipBoxer.com and/or the author of PipBoxer Expert Advisors (i.e.
aparsai/pipboxer/Al Parsai) and strategy will not be held responsible for the reliability
or accuracy of the information available on this ad/presentation. The content provided
is put forward in good faith and believed to be accurate, however, there are no explicit
or implicit warranties of accuracy or timeliness made by PipBoxer.com and/or
aparsai/pipboxer/Al Parsai.
1 E
15 minute charts, 32 EA, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 20, 21, 27, 32, 37, 38
enabled, 14
enough, 26
A Entering, 3, 11, 22, 28
account_risk_control, 20 Error, 41, 42
allowed, 10, 42, 43 EST, 12, 22, 28
Analysis, 12, 28 EURGBP, 12, 17, 28, 30
analyzes, 18, 21, 28 EURJPY, 12, 17
Analyzes, 37 EURUSD, 12, 17
arrows, 15 ex4, 6, 7
attach, 4, 5, 8, 32, 39, 41 executable, 6
Attaching, 5, 8 exiting, 11, 22
AUDUSD, 12, 17 Expert Advisors, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 19, 24, 25, 32,
33, 36, 41
external, 9, 10, 13, 22, 33, 42, 43
B
Back-test, 31 F
BE, 26, 27, 38
box height, 12, 38 False, 14
box size, 11, 38 features, 25, 37, 38
Box Size, 12 Filtering, 11, 14
Breakout, 14 fixed, 18, 19, 38, 40, 42
breakouts, 11, 14, 25 Forex, 3, 37
brokers, 10, 39 Formats, 6
C G
calculations, 14, 16, 28 GBPJPY, 12, 17
CCI, 14, 16, 37 GBPUSD, 12, 17, 20, 32
CFTC, 45 GMT, 12, 28, 29, 30
Closing, 30
Common, 8, 10 H
Compile, 7
compiled, 6, 7 highest high, 12
Compiling, 6
concept, 25
Conditions, 44 I
Connection, 39 identification, 18
copyright, 44 indicator, 16, 17, 28
counter_trade, 13, 22
46
information, 14, 39, 42 popup, 41
Inputs, 9, 10 Properties, 10
install, 4, 6
Insufficient, 42
Internet, 39 R
investment, 18, 19 rectangles, 15
reliable, 38
J restart, 42
risk management, 11, 18, 20, 26, 27, 32, 38
Journal, 41, 42, 43 Risk Management, 18
L S
Levels, 17 Scenario, 28
Location, 5 Server, 39
losing, 19, 20, 26, 32 signals, 5, 14
lot, 18, 20, 25, 40, 42, 43 size, 11, 18, 20, 26, 37, 40, 42, 43
lower, 14, 16, 28 SL, 12, 20, 26, 27, 29, 30, 38, 39
lowest low, 12 solid rules, 40
source code, 6, 7
strategy, 11
M stripes, 12, 16, 28
M15, 32, 41 symbol, 41
market, 3, 4, 5, 12, 14, 18, 19, 21, 25, 26, 27, 32, 37, system, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28,
39, 41, 42 29, 30, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43
maximum, 18, 21, 26, 38, 42, 43
mechanical, 3
menu, 8, 10
T
Messages, 41 terminal, 5, 6, 8, 10, 16, 32, 39, 42
MetaEditor, 6, 7 Terminal, 41
MetaTrader, 4, 5, 32 Terms, 44
minimum, 20, 29, 30, 42 Toolbox, 7
MM, 26, 27, 29, 32, 40 TP, 12, 26, 27, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40
money, 3, 11, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 32, 37, 38, 42 Trader, 40
money management, 3, 11, 21, 27, 38 trades, 3, 5, 8, 11, 14, 18, 20, 22, 25, 26, 27, 37, 38
Money Management, 26 trading stripes, 25
mq4, 6 trading system, 18
MT4, 5, 6, 8, 10
U
N understanding, 11, 28
Navigator, 7, 8 USDCAD, 12, 17
no_risk_balance, 20 USDCHF, 12, 17, 20, 26
normal_trade, 22 USDJPY, 5, 12, 17
NZDUSD, 12, 17
V
O v2.0, 18, 20, 22, 25, 26, 27, 32, 37
optimized, 26, 27, 37 Value_At_Risk, 42
OTC, 3 value-at-risk, 18
Over-The-Counter, 3 Value-At-Risk, 18
VAR, 18, 19, 20
Visual Aids, 15
P
PipBoxer, 1, 4, 6, 11, 12, 14, 18, 20, 22, 25, 26, 27,
32, 37
W
PipBoxer_Indicator, 16, 17, 28 www.pipboxer.com, 14
PipBoxer_Signal, 14
47