I’ve rounded up the SEVEN mechanical forex strategies right here to see how they stack up against each other.
I’ve got a neat systems snapshot table for their latest performance down below, but keep in mind that the time periods and some trading assumptions vary among my fellow FX-men.
Cowabunga System
This good ol’ classic Cowabunga System (that’s been raking in pips since ’07!) looks at the 4-hour chart for the main trend and the 15-minute chart to catch entries. It also makes use of EMA crosses, along with RSI, MACD, and stochastic indicators.
Pip Surfer felt the sting of a loss to start the week as the system snagged a 26-pip loss but soon followed it up with a 30-pip gain on GBP/USD. Read more.
HLHB Trend-Catcher System
The Huck Loves Her Bucks mechanical system uses a simple EMA cross method, combined with the RSI and ADX indicators, to catch short-term trends on the 1-hour charts of EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/JPY.
In this week’s update, Huck learned a hard lesson about the correlation of number of trades and trading profits. Thanks to fakeouts, her HLHB System sustained a net loss of 164 pips (-0.55%) Yeouch! Read more.
Happy Hunter Trading System
Happy Pip has recently ventured into mechanical trading strategies and has since come up with a day-trading system that uses HHHL, LHLL, and IB candlestick patterns for entries.
Her system comes in two flavors:
- The Happy Hunter Price Action System 4.0 (Fixed TP Variant)
- The Happy Hunter Price Action System 4.0 (Trailing Variant)
And this past week, trading conditions were rather unfavorable so both Variants had a rough time and were forced to shed 0.70% in gains apiece.
SMA Crossover Pullback
Robopip’s newbie-friendly SMA Crossover Pullback trading system is as simple as its name suggests. This strategy features an SMA crossover method to gauge the trend and a stochastic pullback entry signal on the 1-hour charts of EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and EUR/JPY.
This system hit its full profit target on EUR/JPY and even though some of these gains were erased on early exit signals, it ended up with a nice 194-pip win or 1.29% gain. A fresh batch of short positions are now open. Read more.
Short-Term Bollinger Reversion Strategy 2.0
This Short-Term Bollinger Reversion Strategy 2.0 is one of Robopip’s newest creations and is currently being tested on range-bound pairs like CAD/CHF and USD/CAD.
No signals on USD/CAD but this mech strategy was able to squeeze out three winning positions on CAD/CHF despite low volatility, ending up with a 47-pip or 0.94% gain for the week. Read more.
Inside Bar Momentum Strategy 2.0
Another tried-and-tested system is Robopip’s Inside Bar Momentum Strategy 2.0 which monitors purely candlestick price action, free of any technical indicators, on the 4-hour charts of GBP/JPY and USD/JPY.
The system chalked up more than its usual share of inside bar signals but wound up with a 56-pip dent for the week. What happened there?! Read more.
Forex Systems Summary
| Mechanical Trading System | Time Period | P/L in pips | P/L in % |
|---|---|---|---|
| HLHB Trend-Catcher System | Oct. 22-26 | -164 | -0.55 |
| Happy Hunter Trading System (Fixed TP Variant) | Oct. 22-26 | – | -0.70 |
| Happy Hunter Trading System (Trailing Variant) | Oct. 22-26 | – | -0.70 |
| SMA Crossover Pullback System | Oct. 16-23 | +194 | +1.29% |
| Short-Term Bollinger Reversion Strategy 2.0 | Oct. 18-25 | +47 | +0.94 |
| Inside Bar Momentum Strategy | Oct. 10-17 | -56 | – |
| Cowabunga System | Oct. 22-26 | +4 | – |
In case you missed it, check out how the Forex Mechanical Systems Showdown turned out last week!