MA periods to use in different market sessions

david.paton · **Joined:** Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:34 am **Posts:** 29

I am having some trouble producing a MA crossover EA that is consistently profitable. I know that every market has its ups and downs but my strategies create almost consistent downs. I am not sure what periods I should be using for my MAs and on what timeframe. I would imagine that certain pairs work best with different time periods and using varying periods for the moving averages. If anyone could help me out with the periods, time frames and pairs used to make a consistently profitable strategy, that would be appreciated.

Or any concept for a strategy I could use that is better than the MA crossover would be great and also really appreciated.

I have been making alot of expert advisors but not many have been working out. I have included the one that appears to be working the best (in backtests).

Thanks

molanisfx · **Joined:** Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:22 am **Posts:** 1761

MA based eas work fine in trending markets - not in sideways markets. You need to add another indicator to asses the trend.

david.paton · **Joined:** Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:34 am **Posts:** 29

The only indicator I knew for assessing the trend was making sure the price is above the 50sma for going long and the opposite for short. I was using this but obviously it wasn't good enough. What is a good indicator and it's settings used to asses the trend?

molanisfx · **Joined:** Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:22 am **Posts:** 1761

Some people like ADX

david.paton · **Joined:** Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:34 am **Posts:** 29

Is that an indicator, how do you use it and where do I find it in MT4 as I can't see it in the list of indicators?

molanisfx · **Joined:** Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:22 am **Posts:** 1761

See http://docs.mql4.com/indicators/iADX

david.paton · **Joined:** Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:34 am **Posts:** 29

I found out how to use the ADX and I tried to use it in an EA but all of my backtests with the EA hardly make any money but they constantly loose money. I have put a condition of needing the ADX to be above 30. Actually, I will just include the mol file so you can see what I have done. I added something to help determine the strength of the trend (the ADX indicator) as you suggested but my EA still isn't making money. What am I still missing or do I need to change something in my EA?

Thanks

admin · **Joined:** Fri Oct 16, 2009 3:40 pm **Posts:** 451

We cannot help you with that. We cannot tell you how to make a profitable ea.

david.paton · **Joined:** Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:34 am **Posts:** 29

I'm aware of that but I just wanted to know if I was using the ADX the right way. Sorry if I sounded like I wanted you to help me make money, I just want you to help me build this strategy and be able to use the ADX correctly.

I did some research and found that when the ADX is above 25, the price tends to trend so I made an EA that had the criteria for the ma crossover but I also added in the condition of the ADX needing to be above 30, just to be safe and ensure it was trending.

Is this how I am meant to use the ADX or do I need to include some other condition in a TA block to use the ADX to accurately determine if a trend exists.

Thanks

molanisfx · **Joined:** Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:22 am **Posts:** 1761

Yes, that's one of the ways to use ADX. I would create an ea with just ADX and will backtest it to make sure it works as expected.

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MA periods to use in different market sessions