Line Your Own Pockets
Episodes
Create Redundancy in your Trading Business
04 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this week's episode of Line Your Own Pockets, we discuss adding redundancy to your trading. Outages aren't a matter of if but when.Topics include:F...
How To Choose a Broker for Systematic Trading
27 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Interview with Brandon Kaisler from Cesta Capital
20 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this week's episode of Line Your Own Pockets, we sit down with Brandon Kaisler of Cesta Capital, a brokerage catering to active short sellers.In a ...
All About Data for Backtesting
13 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this week's episode of Line Your Own Pockets, we discuss market data for backtesting.Topics covered:Data for backtesting is far different (and easi...
Interview with Trent Smalley from DTN/IQFeed
06 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this week's episode of Line Your Own Pockets, we interview Trent Smalley with DTN and IQFeed.We discuss:Why it makes sense for traders to pay for m...
Using AI Agents for Strategies Part 3
30 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this week's episode of Line Your Own Pockets, we continue the discussion of using AI agents for strategy creation gruntwork.Topics discussed:Delega...
Using AI Agents for Trading Strategies Part 2
23 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We continue last week's discussion on using Claude and OpenClaw to automate strategy creation.We touch on:How to get AI to do the grunt work so you ca...
Using AI Agents to Backtest Strategy Ideas
16 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this week's episode of Line Your Own Pockets, we discuss Michael's project for having OpenClaw create and run backtests from his list of research i...
Strategies for Small Accounts
09 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We cover:Making mistakes early when they're relatively cheapFocus on scaling wide versus scaling upLearn R-multiples - it normalizes your performance ...
How to Trade with a Small Account
02 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this week's episode of Line Your Own Pockets, we discuss trading with a small account.Topics discussed:Don't wait until you have "enough" money to ...
Curve Fitting is Easy to Avoid
23 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
If you've ever wondered if you're curve fitting with your trading strategy, this episode is for you.We discuss:Curve fitting is a continuum, not a bin...
How to Grow Your Column Library
16 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Michael and I discuss how to think about improving your column library over time.We discuss:How your column library is like a shared software library:...
Qualities that Predict a Profitable Trader
09 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Topics discussed:Profitable traders don't follow the crowd - or any particular trading guruHealthy attitude towards trading and riskMaking great trade...
Should You Use Python for Backtesting?
02 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss:Python is a great general-purpose language, but that's what makes it a bad choice for backtestingIterating on your strategies is the critic...
Amibroker: The Adventure Continues
26 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Topics include:Batteries Data Not Included - the best way to get data into AmibrokerThe code that adds custom columns in Amibroker is resource-intensi...
How Discretionary Traders Can Add Automated Strategies
19 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
We go over:How "visual" backtesting is not real backtestingDiscretionary traders try to replace what they're doing with automation - but that's wrongH...
Next Steps with Amibroker
12 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Dave continues helping Michael create a first backtest in Amibroker. You might think "backtesting is backtesting," but we cover many of the difference...
Getting Started with Amibroker
05 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Dave offers advice and feedback to Michael, who is learning to use Amibroker for the first time.He's coming from RealTest, so we go over the similarit...
How To Run Your Trading Like a Franchise Business
29 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss the actual nuts and bolts of what running your trading like a franchise means:Systematize everythingA process for eliminating low-value wor...
The ICE Method for Prioritizing Strategies
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As traders gain experience, the problem shifts from not having enough ideas to having too many ideas competing for limited time and mental energy. Wit...
How Much Does Speed Matter in Trading?
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this week's episode of Line Your Own Pockets, we take on a topic submitted by Isaac, a trader I work with.We discuss:When timing/speed matters and ...
Portfolio Level Backtesting - Useful or Waste of Time?
08 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We butt heads in this episode, arguing about the value of portfolio-level backtesting, one of the key feature differences between RealTest and Amibrok...
How Often Should You Re-Optimize?
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss:How to optimize so you have to re-optimize as little as possibleHow better columns directly translate into more robust strategiesHold a rul...
Is Moving Your Stop To Breakeven a Mistake?
24 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss:Similar to taking partial profits, moving a stop to breakeven is more about psychological comfortProfitable trading requires tolerating dis...
Next Steps When Your Strategy Fades
17 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You Missed a Trade - Now What?
10 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You didn't get a fill on your original entry. The trade would have been profitable for a bit, then it comes back to your original entry price. Do ...
NASDAQ's Announcement on Tokenization of Stocks
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Michael and Dave discuss NASDAQ's initiative to tokenize all securities and the implications for traders. They discuss:What tokenization is and what t...
What To Do When a Strategy Flips
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Stopped Out by a Penny? Good.
20 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We've got news for you - there's nobody who cares enough about your stops to go "hunting for them."And getting stopped out by a penny is frustrating, ...
Is Trading Gambling?
13 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we tackle this popular question. Dave polled several traders he coaches and got some surprising answers.How much is trading like, say...
Using Alternative Data in a Backtest
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we discuss the best way to use alternative data in your backtest.What is alternative data and how can you use it in a strategy?Exampl...
A Different Way to Go Live
29 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Dave discusses a conversation he had with John M. from SMB Trading and his unique approach to taking a strategy live.We discuss:John'...
Follow Up On Quant/Discretionary Collaboration
22 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Follow-up discussion on quant and discretionary trader collaboration.We discuss:How Dave first connected with BellaThe cultural DNA of SMB CapitalThe ...
Mike Bellafiore and Nick Coutrakon from SMB Capital on Trading Teams
15 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Bellafiore and Nick Coutrakon join the podcast to continue a discussion Mike had with Dave on the makeup of trading teams at SMB Capital, a propr...
Baby Steps Towards Automating Your Trades
08 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are you a profitable trader but hesitant to automate your trades?In this episode, we discuss multiple steps to take towards having a computer make tra...
Which Version of This Strategy Is Best?
01 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss 4 different variations of a strategy that Dave is deciding between and the thought process for doing so. ---Before you go!If you're a trade...
Choosing a Trading Computer
25 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lessons learned from buying a new trading computer. ---Before you go!If you're a trader and interested in backtesting and automating your trading stra...
How to Trade When Traveling
18 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Remote desktop solution mentioned:RustDeskTailScale ---Before you go!If you're a trader and interested in backtesting and automating your trading stra...
Running Out of Buying Power - Part 2
11 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
More discussion on buying power and running out of it might be a good thing. ---Before you go!If you're a trader and interested in backtesting and aut...
Running Out of Buying Power - A Good Thing?
04 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is running out of buying power... actually good?Here's the graph of buying power mentioned in the episode:Is Running Out of Buying Power A Good Thing?...
Deep vs. Wide: Two Paths to Trading Profits
28 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How many trades should your strategy take and how profitable should each one be?There are two distinct approaches to answering this question, and most...
Symbol Lists in Strategies - Yes or No?
21 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Should you restrict your strategy to trade a certain list of symbols?In a surprisingly heated debate, Michael and Dave discuss this topic and differen...
Looking at P&L (Your's or Some Else's) Is Toxic
14 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Looking at your P&L while you're trading is toxic. This also applies when looking at someone else's results - perhaps even more so. ---Before yo...
Your Backtest Looks Great - What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Be wary when going from backtest to live trading. You're at peak optimism, and if you're not careful, disappointment awaits.In this episode, we disc...
When is your Strategy Good Enough?
30 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How to get out of backtest world and make the next steps to get your strategy live. ---Before you go!If you're a trader and interested in backtesting ...
The Key to Backtesting: Your Library of Columns
23 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The second episode in our series on creating profitable strategies using backtesting.We review:How most traders backtest the wrong wayHow to add colum...
You're Probably Backtesting Wrong
16 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The first episode in a mini-series on how to create a trading strategy using backtesting. ---Before you go!If you're a trader and interested in backte...
How Real Traders Use AI to Trade
09 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss Dave's recent experience using ChatGPT to create the Strategy Cruncher, a tool for optimizing your trading strategies.Prediction market for...
What Metric Should You Be Optimizing For?
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Every trader has an opinion on what the perfect metric is to evaluate a strategy and to optimize on.We discuss our favorites and why. ---Before you go...
How Far Back Should Your Backtest Look Good?
26 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"If your backtest looks great for the last 3 months, why do you care what it looked like before that?"A trader Dave started coaching recently asked th...
What to Prioritize
19 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You've got a lot of ideas, each requiring a certain amount of work. How do you decide what trading ideas are likely to pan out?Improving an existing...
Why Not Automate Your Trades?
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss the most common objections traders have to using automation and how to get over the hump. ---Before you go!If you're a trader and intereste...
Learning From Top Performers
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A follow-up on our previous interview with Jared Tendler where we go deeper into:the role of optimism in tradingpoker and tradinglearning from top per...
Interview with Jared Tendler
28 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we interviewed Jared Tendler, a mental coach for traders, poker players, and golfers. Jared has written several books, including The Mental...
Should You Turn Off Strategies On Crazy Days?
21 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When the market is raging in a way that's far out of the ordinary, should you turn your strategies off? Or let it be business as usual? We discuss...
Turning A Trading Weakness into an Advantage
14 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss how Dave turned a trader's frustrating bad habit into a positive workflow for creating new trading edge. This is a great case study for t...
How To Trade When Everything is Moving
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You're trading a strategy - you're comfortable with the number of trades. And then BOOM - one day the entire market is moving and your system genera...
Do You Chase Trading Perfection?
31 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do you let the quest for perfection get in the way of trading success? It's more common than you might think. We discuss where this tendency comes fro...
Make Trading Real when Things Are Going Well
24 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When you're trading part-time and doing well, your trading can seem almost like a video game. Here's actionable thing I tell the traders I coach to ...
Take Your Best Trades With Bigger Size
17 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Profitable Traders Keep A Journal
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If there's one thing profitable traders do consistently, it's keeping track of their results. Winners keep score! We discuss the do's and don't's ...
What NOT To Automate In Your Trading Business
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Just because you CAN automate doesn't necessarily mean you SHOULD automate it. ---Before you go!If you're a trader and interested in backtesting and a...
Edge Erosion
24 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Position Sizing Is Sexy
17 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Book on Kelly Criterion: Fortune's Formula ---Before you go!If you're a trader and interested in backtesting and automating your trading strategy and ...
Sizing Up a Trading Strategy
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You finally have a serious trading edge. And you know it. How should you think about sizing up? ---Before you go!If you're a trader and interested...
Should you EVER Take Partial Profits?
03 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dave's article on partial profits: Should You EVER Take Partial Profits?Dave's Strategy Corner monthly column at TASC MagazineSocial Desirability Bias...
Why Dave Left Trade-Ideas
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Several months ago, Dave decided to leave Trade-Ideas to focus on trading and coaching.Dave discusses why he left, making big decisions, and focusing ...
Handling a Trading Mistake
20 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dave discussed a mistake one of his coaching clients made, how he responded to it, and the changes to his trading process as a result of it.We discuss...
Creating a Trusted Trader Group
13 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Books mentioned:Give and Take by Adam GrantNever Eat Alone by Keith FerrazziThe Art of Gathering by Priya Parker ---Before you go!If you're a trader a...
Interview with Brett Steenbarger
06 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Links mentioned in this episode:Brett's drawdown in the 80's: After a Devastating LossBrett's Traderfeed Blog: https://traderfeed.blogspot.com/Brett's...
24 Hour Trading Is Coming
30 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There are big changes on the trading horizon as 24-hour trading is becoming more and more a reality. We discuss how this will affect the markets, wh...
Evolving Over Time As a Trader
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In a follow-up to last week's interview with Marsten Parker, Dave and Michael discuss the key to being successful for a long period: adapting.Whether ...
Interview with Marsten Parker
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with Marsten Parker who was highlighted in Jack Schwager's Market Wizard book series and the creator of the RealTest backtesting software.We d...
Charting Software Roundup
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How many monitors should you have? What chart platform should you use?"A lot of indicators on a chart is a sign of mediocrity." -- DaveSoftware ment...
Choosing Backtesting Software
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Trade-Ideas OddsMakerAmibroker RealTestQuantConnectMichael's RealTest Coding Helper: https://chatgpt.com/g/g-5AvG9XdDY-realtest-coding-helper ---Befor...
Using Regime Filters in a Strategy
25 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is a regime filter and is it useful?That's the question we discussed on this episode - Michael and Dave have completely different approaches.Here...
Removing Bad Trades from a Strategy
18 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A listener asks how he can remove 30% of the trades he's taking in his trading strategy that he knows are hurting his results.Are you interested in Ba...
Is Limited Time For Trading - A Good Thing?
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Many traders come to me with a single complaint - I wish I had more time to devote to my trading.It takes me back to my early days when I had the same...
Using News in Your Trading Strategy
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Michael discuss several ways to incorporate news into a technical trading strategy. ---Before you go!If you're a trader and interested in bac...
How to Use Social Media as a Trader
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Michael discuss the implications of the research from the previous episode. If financial social media is so predictably wrong, how can trader...
Interview with Seyed Kazempour, Author of Finfluencers
21 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In our first interview for the podcast, we talked with Dr. Seyed Kazempour about his paper called Finfluencers. It's a fascinating paper based on rese...
Strategy Drift
14 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dave discusses a turning point in his trading career when he realized his trading system wasn't as systematic as he thought. His discretion had drifte...
Prioritizing Your Trading Work
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How do you decide what to work on next in your trading? How do you know what's likely to actually improve your results? Dave and Michael discuss a fra...
Keeping Track of Trading Ideas
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Michael discuss their processes for recording trading ideas and the software each of them use. ---Before you go!If you're a trader and intere...
A Process for Generating Ideas
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dave and Michael discuss their systems for coming up with strategy ideas. Successful traders aren't born with the ability to come up with good ideas...
To Paper Trade or Not To Paper Trade...
16 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Michael and Dave discuss the advantages and disadvantages to paper trading a strategy before trading it live. ---Before you go!If you're a trader and ...
Advanced Order Types That Matter
09 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Building on last week's episode, Dave and Michael delve into the more advanced order types that can help make trading easier and more automated. ---Be...
Order Types That Matter
02 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There are dozens of different order types. Which ones do you actually need to care about? ---Before you go!If you're a trader and interested in back...
Become Your Own Neutral Observer
26 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This very simple exercise can help you identify dozens of ways to improve your daily trading routine. ---Before you go!If you're a trader and interest...
Motivation for Becoming More Systematic
19 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dave shares his experience about when it became crystal clear that getting more systematic was going to pay off in a big way. ---Before you go!If you'...
Episode 1 | Introductions
13 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Join Dave and Michael as they introduce themselves and explain why they are launching a podcast about systematic trading. ---Before you go!If you're...