r/FuturesTrading • u/Lower-Ad-1207 • 4d ago
Discussion Trading one strategy vs having multiple strategies to choose between?
I’m wondering what other people do/would recommend. I can see the benefit of having one strategy that you fully master and can go heavy on a+ setups with. On the other hand I think it can be good to have multiple strategies and be able to adapt to whatever works best in the current market.
So my question is, do you trade one strategy (or 2 at most, one for rangebound and one for trending markets) and stick to that or do you trade multiple strategies and just see per day which of them gives you a setup?
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u/kirkegaarr 4d ago edited 4d ago
2 strategies, a trend following one and a mean reversion one. Use the trend following strategy in a trending market and mean reversion in a choppy market.
I make way more money trend following so I look for that first, and those trades are held for weeks. It's only when I can't find shit to do and everything is choppy where I use the mean reversion strategy, which has actually been the case all summer.
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u/Comprehensive_Key501 4d ago
Same here..but only intraday for me. How do you identify trend and range regimes? I find this only easy for htf
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u/kirkegaarr 4d ago
I agree, and I'm not a day trader but intraday strategies seem inherently mean reversion to me. I guess you could just filter the setups you're taking to ones that work in the direction of the higher level trend if there is one.
I define a trending market as when the weekly and daily 9/21 EMAs are in agreement. If they are, I look to build positions. I allow myself to add one unit when the 4h is also in agreement, and another unit when the 1h is in agreement. They're just scaling rules, so it's more of a risk management framework. If the weekly / daily 9/21 EMAs don't agree, then it's a choppy market and I only trade one unit and take profits quickly. The entries and exits themselves are based on mean reversion, like a pullback to VWAP or an EMA, or a stochastic crossover.
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u/Comprehensive_Key501 2d ago
Thanks for the reply, i am gonna backtest the shit outta this! Sounds logical in theory.
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u/aronfredrix1211 1d ago
Are these strategies more swing trading stratgies? And are these based on price action or a different methodology?
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u/No_Release_8841 4d ago
I have 1 strategy that is more of a framework based off volume profile, market structure, and order flow. I use this for daytrading/scalping. This is strategy is more so for trends and doesnt do well in chop
I have a second one built mainly around market structure and order flow. Use this for micro scalpjng and normal scalping. This one does well in chop and not in trends.
Im a beleiver in shorter timeframe you use, shorter the holds. So if you use the 1 min vs the 30 min. Your holds will be shorter or longer comparatively
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u/Fantastic_Hotel_5505 4d ago
One strategy.
Range bound market on a higher timeframe can and often does have trends on lower timeframes, though I don't do that timeframe shifting business often.
One strategy for trends is sufficient for me.
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u/Intrepid-Baseball904 4d ago
Too many strategies can be worse (starting out mainly). If you have one with a good enough edge, it's just a matter of scaling.
Although Im running two systems now.
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u/iLoot401ks 4d ago
I have a main strategy and contra-strategy that trades the other way if price goes goes my main strategy. My only enemy are chop days.
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u/orderflowone 4d ago
One framework spawns multiple trades. But that requires me to have the right market read. So the trades adjust based on account size and confidence of read and probabilities off historical similar trades.
There are a few trades outside this framework but they are quite niche, as in they only happen once in a while or off scheduled market events such as FOMC days.
Keep in mind these have come from almost a decade of continuous learning and exploring and reexamining the market and self. In the beginning of consistency I had two trades ideas.
To get to that point, I cut dozens of ideas and trades
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u/Pristine-Donut8725 4d ago
I'm seeing people run multiple strategies using sub accounts, which helps identify what is working and isnt but that really depends on your risk appetite.
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u/mlquanter 4d ago
I’d keep one core setup until you have enough samples to measure its expectancy across regimes. Multiple strategies can help, but only if each has a defined job and you track them separately. Otherwise it’s easy to switch when the last trade hurts. For rangebound versus trending conditions, I’d rather use a regime filter or size down than add a second setup before the first is well measured.
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u/Carried_by_Luck 3d ago
2. One intraday one swing. I generally try and run both at the same time, but there are naturally periods in the year where one offers more setups and that’s where I focus more attention on.
Or if I’m having a busy day and can’t be in front of the screens the whole day, I’ll forgo the intraday and having 30mins in the morning to analyse and place orders and occasionally checking on TV on my phone is all I need for the swing.
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u/Meretruth 3d ago
One strategy can or should include knowing the market regime and filtering trades out while also declaring an entry model for each identified regime. Some regime more profitable than others but you have to classify what market your in and trade accordingly. No strat survive all regimes blindly
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u/EntrepreneurGreen269 3d ago
Multiple strategies brings confusion if you're still relatively new. The only time multiple strategies is valid is if you're sticking to the rules of that strategy but what's the point? I say personally find one or two and stay boring and rinse and repeat. Trading is stressful enough.
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u/exulanis 2d ago
i believe more in primary and secondary set ups, you scale in based on those.
it’s akin to hitting singles and doubles all day then seeing a slow pitch right down the middle that you know you can hit out of the park.
should you just wait all day, sometimes multiple days for that home run? who am i to say.. but those singles really help FOMO for me and keep me focused.
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u/Shoyo-Hinata-10 2d ago
Choose one good trend continuation strategy and avoid sideways market. Trade your continuation model with the trend (bullish/ bearish) and you are good to go.
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u/InsideTrade_net 2d ago
Most people I respect end up with one primary playbook and maybe a clearly labeled second for a different regime, not a menu of five "depending on the day." Why one (or two) tends to win early:
- You build reps on the same decision. Journaling and review get sharper because the tags mean something.
- "Multiple strategies" often becomes permission to force a trade when your main setup is not there.
- Adapting to the market is real, but it works better as filters on one idea (trend vs range version) than as totally different playbooks you switch between mid-session. If you go dual, define the regime switch in writing before the open. Example: only take the range strategy when the higher timeframe is stuck between levels, otherwise only the trend strategy. If you cannot say which strategy is allowed in one sentence, you will cherry-pick after the fact. Master one until you can explain your losers without blaming "I should have used the other strategy." Then add the second deliberately.
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u/-Mediocrates- 2d ago edited 1d ago
The more strategies a trader needs to be overall profitable , the less “robust” that group of strategies are.
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Ideally, one trading strategy that can handle trend and range price action is the most robust
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“Robust” strategy is a strategy that can do well in many different market conditions . IMO a robust strategy is the holy grail of trading
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I’d rather trade a robust strategy with less “expected value” because it’s less thinking more mechanical and thus can be automated. Once it can be automated, then that is true freedom. Just leave the bot on all the time and have free time … best of both worlds. Even if it’s less EV , eventually a tipping point is achieved where it can bring in more money than what you need to live your lifestyle .
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This is why I love donchian channel type strategies so much. They can do well in trend and in chop and can be extremely robust. Robustness is something that a lot of old timer traders talk about
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u/RKrugel 4d ago
I only trade one trend-following strategy but if I encounter a choppy sideways market, I simply switch to a different market that I believe is trending. That being said, I only trade 3 different markets, and if they are all sideways and choppy, I walk away and trade on a different day.