Claim OwnershipLine Your Own Pockets
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© 2026 Dave Mabe and Michael Nauss
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A weekly show for systematic traders who want to make more money from their trading strategies.
76 Episodes
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We go over:How "visual" backtesting is not real backtestingDiscretionary traders try to replace what they're doing with automation - but that's wrongHow to create a completely new strategy from the ground up to be automatedHow to build your "idea noticing" muscleMuch more.Here's the book mentioned in the show: The Art of Noticing
---Before you go!The next time you find yourself in a drawdown, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to betterbacktesting.com to sign up for my free backtesting email course.I hope to see you there!
Dave continues helping Michael create a first backtest in Amibroker. You might think "backtesting is backtesting," but we cover many of the differences between RealTest and Amibroker, as well as their implications.We discuss:What makes AI so bad at generating good AFL code for a backtest in AmibrokerThe better you get at understanding how AFL works, the better your use of AI getsHow a column library makes all the difference in creating P&LQuick backtests can promote bad habitsAnd much more...Dave also announces the new MabeKit AFL Generator tool.
---Before you go!The next time you find yourself in a drawdown, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to betterbacktesting.com to sign up for my free backtesting email course.I hope to see you there!
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 similarities and differences between the two platforms.We discuss:How RealTest is great for daily data, but hits a wall for most intraday trading strategiesAmibroker is not just a backtester; it’s a full charting, analysis, and execution environment.Backfilling with IQFeed versus Polygon (there is really no contest)Best practices for databases in AmibrokerMuch more...
---Before you go!The next time you find yourself in a drawdown, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to betterbacktesting.com to sign up for my free backtesting email course.I hope to see you there!
We discuss the actual nuts and bolts of what running your trading like a franchise means:Systematize everythingA process for eliminating low-value workWhat makes sense to outsource and what you should keep in-houseMake your trading survive without youAnd much more...
---Before you go!The next time you find yourself in a drawdown, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to betterbacktesting.com to sign up for my free backtesting email course.I hope to see you there!
As traders gain experience, the problem shifts from not having enough ideas to having too many ideas competing for limited time and mental energy. Without a system, this abundance quickly becomes overwhelming and leads to paralysis or procrastination.We discuss the ICE method - a simple scoring method to determine which ideas to work on first.Spreadsheet Link https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iWG87jZ7KiANQzH9O8KwgtRRl5Wcd60Q/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=112987133391354450813&rtpof=true&sd=true
---Before you go!The next time you find yourself in a drawdown, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to betterbacktesting.com to sign up for my free backtesting email course.I hope to see you there!
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 when it doesn'tThe types of trading strategies where latency is likely the bottleneckHow rushing to solve problems can be counter-productive (waiting can reveal simpler solutions)Concrete steps to determine if latency is really an issue and how to address itAnd much more...
---Before you go!The next time you find yourself in a drawdown, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to betterbacktesting.com to sign up for my free backtesting email course.I hope to see you there!
We butt heads in this episode, arguing about the value of portfolio-level backtesting, one of the key feature differences between RealTest and Amibroker.Is portfolio-level testing essential, or simply premature optimization?
---Before you go!The next time you find yourself in a drawdown, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to betterbacktesting.com to sign up for my free backtesting email course.I hope to see you there!
We discuss:How to optimize so you have to re-optimize as little as possibleHow better columns directly translate into more robust strategiesHold a rule "in reserve" so you can apply it when needed without full re-optimizationDocumenting previous optimization decisions will make the next strategy betterAnd much more...
---Before you go!The next time you find yourself in a drawdown, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to betterbacktesting.com to sign up for my free backtesting email course.I hope to see you there!
We discuss:Similar to taking partial profits, moving a stop to breakeven is more about psychological comfortProfitable trading requires tolerating discomfort, as difficult as that is at timesIt seems like a simple idea to test, but it quickly adds significant complexity to a backtestHow to actually test this in a backtestThis is a great example of the platitudes you often hear from people who are good at talking about trading, but don't actually trade.
---Before you go!The next time you find yourself in a drawdown, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to betterbacktesting.com to sign up for my free backtesting email course.I hope to see you there!
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 you take the trade? We go in-depth, answering this common dilemma.Your default should be to take the trade if it still matches your systemThere's more information to decide on - what can you add to your backtest?What are post-entry columns, and how can they help?How deep thinking about the issue can help you create brand new strategiesHere's the original article Dave wrote on this topic.
---Before you go!The next time you find yourself in a drawdown, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to betterbacktesting.com to sign up for my free backtesting email course.I hope to see you there!
Michael and Dave discuss NASDAQ's initiative to tokenize all securities and the implications for traders. They discuss:What tokenization is and what that means for equitiesHow it affects settlement and paves the way for 24/7 tradingPrediction markets and positive externalities of betting ("Betting is a tax on bullsh*t.")Dave proposed a bet to Michael based on the volume traded in the opening and closing crosses in the futureAnd much more...
---Before you go!The next time you find yourself in a drawdown, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to betterbacktesting.com to sign up for my free backtesting email course.I hope to see you there!
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, but it's actually a good sign.Blaming an algo or anything else for your trade getting stopped out is counter-productiveWhy most traders are completely wrong about placing stopsHow to select stops for your strategy in a data-driven wayMuch more...
---Before you go!The next time you find yourself in a drawdown, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to betterbacktesting.com to sign up for my free backtesting email course.I hope to see you there!
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, poker, or something that is even more up to chance?Even starting a business can be called gambling if defined purely as "risking money on uncertain outcomes."Does having an edge make trading less like gambling?In a casino, is the house "gambling" because it has a strong edge?What's your take?
---Before you go!The next time you find yourself in a drawdown, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to betterbacktesting.com to sign up for my free backtesting email course.I hope to see you there!
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?Examples of alternative dataUsing it in real-time versus a backtestHow to automate the process for backtesting and real-time tradingOther episodes mentioned: Using News in Your Trading Strategy
---Before you go!The next time you find yourself in a drawdown, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to betterbacktesting.com to sign up for my free backtesting email course.I hope to see you there!
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's 35+ strategies he runs liveHow he quickly gets a strategy running in productionHis approach to collaboration with other tradersWhat is "strategy taste" and how you can improve yours over time
---Before you go!The next time you find yourself in a drawdown, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to betterbacktesting.com to sign up for my free backtesting email course.I hope to see you there!
Follow-up discussion on quant and discretionary trader collaboration.We discuss:How Dave first connected with BellaThe cultural DNA of SMB CapitalThe challenges of quant/discretionary collaborationThe importance of being a giver, not a takerRelated episode:Mike Bellafiore and Nick Coutrakon from SMB Capital on Trading TeamsCreating a Trusted Trading GroupBooks mentioned:Give and Take by Adam Grant|The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann
---Before you go!The next time you find yourself in a drawdown, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to betterbacktesting.com to sign up for my free backtesting email course.I hope to see you there!
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 proprietary trading firm in NYC.What's the best way to include a quantitative trader in a discretionary trading team?
---Before you go!The next time you find yourself in a drawdown, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to betterbacktesting.com to sign up for my free backtesting email course.I hope to see you there!
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 trades without fully automating.
---Before you go!The next time you find yourself in a drawdown, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to betterbacktesting.com to sign up for my free backtesting email course.I hope to see you there!
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