Limitations

A lot of what the ChaosHunter Trader does depends on the IB Trader Workstation.  It is extremely important that you understand how the IB Trader Workstation operates.  It is beyond the scope of this help file to explain the operation of the IB Trader Workstation.  The ChaosHunter Trader was not created as a replacement for the IB Trader Workstation, which includes a wide variety of tools for executing trades with Interactive Brokers.

Delays

The ChaosHunter Trader displays price data, account information, and trade logs sent from the IB Trader Workstation.  You may notice delays in the information being displayed in the ChaosHunter Trader compared to the IB Trader Workstation.  For the latest information, you should view the IB Trader Workstation.

Missing Trades

Information about trades not being accepted and lost connections appears in the Messages from IB tab in the ChaosHunter Trader.  It is critical for successful trading that the user monitors this log and understands the messages it contains.

Updates in Profit and Loss Figures

The IB Account tab displays a summary of current positions, including the symbol names, position, unrealized and realized profit and loss.  This information is taken directly from the IB Trader Workstation, i.e., it is not created by the ChaosHunter Trader.  When viewing realized profit and loss numbers, you may notice differences between the ChaosHunter Trader and the IB Trader Workstation.  The program interface that supplies data to the ChaosHunter Trader updates the realized profit and loss figures since the previous close of the exchange for futures contracts and Forex. The IB Trader Workstation updates those same figures at midnight.  Because U.S. stocks stop trading at 4 p.m. eastern time, there are no differences in profit and loss numbers.

Bar Sizes

The ChaosHunter Trader works with the following bar sizes:  5, 10, and 30 seconds, 1, 2, 3, 5, 15, and 30 minutes, 1 and 4 hour bars, and daily bars, which are the bar sizes supplied by Interactive Brokers.  In the current release ChaosHunter Trader does not combine Interactive Brokers data into other bar types such as range, volume, or tick bars.

Transferring Models from ChaosHunter to the ChaosHunter Trader

There are several conditions under which models created in ChaosHunter may not work in a similar manner when being applied in the ChaosHunter Trader.

Models that create buy/sell signals generated by ChaosHunter formulas may be transferred to the ChaosHunter Trader as a model file, which enables you to trade your models with Interactive Brokers.  All other types of ChaosHunter models cannot be traded in the ChaosHunter Trader.

Other Limitations
ChaosHunter Trader can trade stocks, futures and cash (Forex). It doesn't trade options or option futures.
The IB Trader Workstation places limits on the number of bars and number of requests for data. Click here for details.
Models that use the Chaos Input must match the starting date of the data used to create the model. Click here for details.
Indicators created outside of ChaosHunter may not be used in models you want to trade in the ChaosHunter Trader. Click here for details.

Differences in how trading bars are created in historical data versus the ChaosHunter Trader may result in different trading signals. Click here for details.

If you add several models to a chart to create a Panel of Experts, the models all must be either a reversal (where the model exits a long position and automatically enters a short position and/or the model exits a short position and automatically enters a long position) or all of the models must NOT BE reversals (which means there are times when the model is not in the market).

Currently the ChaosHunter Trader does not combine multiple data streams into the same model. Although ChaosHunter can do this if you use data from other sources, the models developed from that data cannot be traded in the ChaosHunter Trader.