When you first start using Amibroker, most traders are very eager to get a lot of historical data into their database.
Often, they’re accustomed to backtesting in Trade-Ideas, and realize some of their strategies will benefit from a larger backtesting window.
It’s tempting to spend your time loading the database with all the data you can obtain (e.g., I have over 17 years of one-minute bar data in mine).
You might be surprised to learn I don’t recommend doing this right away.
Here’s why.
Importing the data can take a while. It might take a script running all weekend to gather all the data, convert it to the proper format, and import it into Amibroker.
I’ve seen traders spend 3 days importing data, only to realize their data was slightly incorrect and then have to start all over.
Three days wasted!
Instead of importing all the historical data at first, just import a handful of recent market days.
There are a few benefits to this approach.
First, it will be much faster. You’ll have data to start doing some initial tests in minutes rather than days.
The real work begins after you import your data.
Second, having a smaller database will make your initial testing way faster.
You won’t be tempted to run a backtest across all your data (which will take a while), and when you have to verify your backtest is working properly, it will feel a lot less overwhelming to review trades over a smaller timeframe.
Your feedback loop will be a lot faster.
You’ll learn the basics way quicker.
After you’ve created a backtest and verified it works as expected, then you can take the time to import all your historical market data.
And you’ll be ahead of the game.
-Dave
P.S. Do you want to get up to speed on Amibroker really quickly? Then you’ll love the Amibroker course I’m putting the final touches on. Traders who have taken the course report that they’ve saved months of time and effort.
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