Going back to thread originator Switch ... I recommend you be very careful when trying to emulate your discretionary trading with a mechanical system - especially in FX ... FX is by far the most unforgiving market and simulating "real trades" through backtesting can be deceiving. Be prepared for a lot of highs and lows (emotionally), a lot of hard work and a lot of character building. The learning curve is endless but the insights gained along the way are priceless.
Mechanical systems do work - however most dont. Take the approach that your discretionary trading is king, it works and you are in control. The mechanical system you want to build is a compliment to your discretionary system and with that your expectations should remain as such. Keep most of your capital with your discretionary system until the mechanical system is well proven (more than 12 months .. or even 24 months in live mode).
Most importantly - dont give up. You will come across a huge amount of people that are willing to share their experience (especially bad ones) and will give you their advice.
The path of trading system development has other potential rewards other than creating a great system - especially if you write your own platform.
As a next step how are you planning to build your system .. ie MT5?
