what you think about FAPS?

[astro18]

Hi all,
i'm new in this forum, so maybe you can help me, i like to know your opinion about Forex auto pilot system (FAPS).

i'm still doing some test on demo account try differnt EA ( gt shadow, robotminder, FAPS, evolution...) and i see that FAps have good erning but although big lost.

Thnanks for your opinion.

[Ken Long]

Originally Posted by astro18

Hi all,
i'm new in this forum, so maybe you can help me, i like to know your opinion about Forex auto pilot system (FAPS).

i'm still doing some test on demo account try differnt EA ( gt shadow, robotminder, FAPS, evolution...) and i see that FAps have good erning but although big lost.

Thnanks for your opinion.

astro18,

Check out the ForexAutoPilotForum.com, they have lots of good info specific to the FAPS and FAPT. I own both of these and the only one I'm really considering putting on a live account now is the FAPT Scalper.

FAPS is a very interesting program, and the fact that so many people use it, or try to use it, says something about it, or its marketing, or maybe just our gulibility?? Either way I've enjoyed running both these programs, and I've learned from each one, enough to warrant the cost. However, FAPT is the only one of these two that I run consistently.

FAPS can be a great earner, and it can be an account destroyer. If you run backtests on the default parameters, it can make enormous profits, and then throw them all away on one or two bad trades. Its the no stop loss philosophy, which brings back an old saying, "if your entering a trade and having trouble placing a stop, or accepting your stop point , its most likely the entry thats bad".

This is not a good set and forget robot, however it can work well if you use it consciously, choosing trading directions, long, short , or both, or not at all, depending on your observations of the markets direction and volitility, and closing trades when necessary. The problem with this is that the markets change direction quickly at these short time frames, and trying to follow a longer time frame, as the FAPT long term EA does, which is the same EA with some long term filters added, subjects you to the full range and subsequent drawdowns associated with that time frame.

As you can see I think there are still a lot of problems to be worked out with these programs. The guys at ForexAutoPilotForum have their methods and strategies, and they run FAPS on live accounts, profitably, so there seems to be possibilities.

[astro18]

Thanks for the interesting and complete reply, i will take e look on FAPT and on forumthat you suggest.

[matchett]

Originally Posted by astro18

Thanks for the interesting and complete reply, i will take e look on FAPT and on forumthat you suggest.

I have found with the Forex Auto Pilot that you have to change the settings possibly on a weekly basis. Especially in regards to going long, short or both. The program really follows and is most efficient in a trend . Funny but that is what most plans work best in!!! The trend is your friend saying!!!. Another problem is patience. This is the largest problem with using alomost any EA is seems. They will bring great results short term and usually stop themselves out. This mainly because they are a program without human emotion or descision making abilities. Sometimes this is good and sometimes bad. Ibeleive the secret is to be conservative with your lot size. Stay below what your account can bear to remain in the trade and not have the dreaded "margin call". This is what wipes out the accounts or what people say "blow up" your account.
I am going to test a new type of incremental lot increase which is based on the exponential method but incorporates a "ratcheting" method, where one week your lot size runs .10 and the next week .12, then the next week .11 and next week 13, next week 12 and next week 14 and so on. This of course is if in fact there is profit of 100.00 equity balance per week. This is account EQUITY and NOT account balance. Accounty equity is what you actually have.
Im going to try it and see.

[astro18]

Hi, thanks for your advice, at the moment i still running test on 2 different broker with faps usig 2 different chart setting and i got good result.

[Ken Long]

I find FAPS to be a fairly unrreliable program. It can have great winning streaks, but also enters trades at the wrong end of a range and can get stuck in big reversals. Watching the trends and directing it is difficult, but workable. The problem is getting out before problems develop.

[astro18]

You have right ken, but if you take a look of trading day when faps work, you can manually close the trading that looks again the trend

[Ken Long]

Originally Posted by astro18

You have right ken, but if you take a look of trading day when faps work, you can manually close the trading that looks again the trend

This is what I generaly do, and it works well, if I catch the problems in time. Most of the time this is a very profitable method of using this EA, and I like it when it works well. The problems occur if something happens during the Euopean session or when I'm not watching, and I get stuck in 200 pip drawdowns.

But I dont mean to be overly critical. This is a robot that I come back to over and over again. Unlike many others.

[Ken Long]

I'm back to intensive testing of the FAPS again. Like the Steinitz I like the way it continuously day trades for me, but the no stop loss exit strategies can really hurt if they're not actively controled.

I started running this across multiple time frames from 1M to 4H, with 2 positions each. It soared for the first half of the week, untill it piled up short positions at the bottom of the trend . I cant blame the robot, I anticipated a retest of the lows myself, and allowed it to collect positions without enough controls, but the market is finicky and volitile. Where it goes from here is anybodies guess.

This could be a great robot with a bit of discretionary control. But I can not see trusting it on autopilot.