Line Your Own Pockets

The Fastest Way to Find Your Next Trading Strategy 29.06.2026 40min

Why Your First Trading Strategy Can Hold You Back 22.06.2026 43min

In this week's episode of Line Your Own Pockets, we continue the recent series on the mindset of creating new strategies.This time, we focus on branching out from your first profitable strategy, after you've started creating variations of that first one.Topics covered:Why do even successful traders struggle to create a second strategy?Develop new strategies before you need themDaily review is key - it's non-negotiable for meStrategy two is hard, but the benefits of diversification start immediatelyAnd 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!

How to Add More Trades to Your Strategy 15.06.2026 50min

In this week's episode of Line Your Own Pockets, Dave shares the exact steps he took to go from 300 trades a year to 3500 by backtesting and automating his trading system.We discuss:Moving down timeframes to add more tradesHow I added more trades but spent less time tradingHow backtesting changed everything for meMost strategies have more depth than traders realizeAnd 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!

From One Profitable Strategy to Two 08.06.2026 44min

In this week's episode of Line Your Own Pockets, we take on a listener question from Emmett on how to go from one profitable strategy to two.We discuss:How most traders never get to this point and whyDifferent approaches for strategy two - a variation of strategy one or completely different?It's easier to create a variation of strategy one - start going a mile deep rather than a mile wideWhy a related strategy makes senseHow much should you worry about correlation?And 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!

Follow Up on Interview with Garrett Drinon 01.06.2026 38min

On this week's episode of Line Your Own Pockets, we reflect on the recent interview with Garrett Drinon from last week.We discuss:Principles of elite performance span across different domainsProcess matters more than outcomesCopying others might work temporarily, being truly unique matters in the long runAdapting to changing markets is a skill you can developAnd 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!

Interview with Garrett Drinon, SMB Capital 25.05.2026 59min

A Better Way to Get Market Data 18.05.2026 50min

In this episode of Line Your Own Pockets, Dave shares two new tools to download and manage market data for backtesting and creating profitable trading strategies.Both of these tools are available for free in the Free Tools section of my website. (More free tools coming soon.)Michael and I discuss the motivation for creating these.Topics covered:Traditional IQFeed/AmiBroker backfill workflows can silently corrupt your databaseThe tools use CSV files plus incremental updates for reliability and speedThe Massive/Polygon version automatically includes delisted stocks and splitsAn idea for a reverse split trading strategy using these toolsAnd 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!

How Important Are Delisted Symbols to Your Strategy? 11.05.2026 38min

In this week's episode of Line Your Own Pockets, we discuss the touchy subject of delisted stocks. In this "spirited" discussion, Michael and I agree on the concept of survivorship bias, but disagree on how important it is.Topics covered:What is survivorship bias, and how does it affect trading strategiesWhat types of strategies are more vulnerableWhen it makes sense to include delisted symbols in your backtestDeciding whether including them is a form of "requiring perfect data."And 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!

Create Redundancy in your Trading Business 04.05.2026 38min

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:Failures will happen eventually - plan for them ahead of timeBroker-side, server-held exit orders (like at IBKR) make this simpleTest your setup before you get forced toRevisit your setup regularly as your trading income grows over timeAnd much more...As mentioned in the podcast, here's an example of an internet router that can use multiple ISPs. ---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!

How To Choose a Broker for Systematic Trading 27.04.2026 46min

Interview with Brandon Kaisler from Cesta Capital 20.04.2026 50min

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 wide-ranging interview, we discuss topics from a broker's perspective, including:How most brokers make money from hidden fees, not commissionsWhy brokers prefer systematic traders (hint, hint)How the market for short locate fees worksHow 24/7 trading will affect your tradingWhether eliminating the pattern day trading rule will help or hurt the marketsAnd much more...This is a rare and honest look at the business side of active trading and what it means for active traders. ---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!

All About Data for Backtesting 13.04.2026 39min

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 easier) than for real-time tradingLike "free" commissions, you typically get what you pay for when it comes to market dataChoices come down to whether you need intraday dataAvoid overengineering - no premature optimization!And 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!

Interview with Trent Smalley from DTN/IQFeed 06.04.2026 53min

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 market data when brokers offer it for freeWhere bad ticks you see in your charts actually come fromWhat happens to market data before it hits your feedWhen you know you're ready to upgrade to a high quality feedAnd 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!

Using AI Agents for Strategies Part 3 30.03.2026 49min

In this week's episode of Line Your Own Pockets, we continue the discussion of using AI agents for strategy creation gruntwork.Topics discussed:Delegation skills are important - the more specific, the betterHow Dave's approach differs from Michael's regarding Claude useHow to implement "unit tests" for your trading strategyDevelopers always want to build - here's why you shouldn'tStarting points for developersMuch more...I think this was the best one yet on AI. ---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!

Using AI Agents for Trading Strategies Part 2 23.03.2026 41min

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 can be the CEO of your tradingWhy Michael switched from OpenClaw to Claude CodeTeaching Claude to automate Amibroker (hint: point it here)How giving Claude Prop Firm constraints helped focus its workAuditing its work is critically important - the more you understand, the betterMuch more, including the next steps of using the Cruncher in this process... ---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!

Using AI Agents to Backtest Strategy Ideas 16.03.2026 34min

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 ideas for trading strategies.His agents have created over 200 backtestsHow they've primed the backtests to be used in the Strategy CruncherSOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) have paved the way for this workflowAI as a research assistant/intern for your trading businessAnd 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!

Strategies for Small Accounts 09.03.2026 40min

We cover:Making mistakes early when they're relatively cheapFocus on scaling wide versus scaling upLearn R-multiples - it normalizes your performance as your account growsBecome the best in the world at a very specific strategy (it's not as hard as you think!)And 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!

How to Trade with a Small Account 02.03.2026 45min

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 start learningHow trading with a small account is an advantageFunding options: an overview of the prop trading landscapeNo matter how big your account is, your trading strategy is paramount - focus on thatLessons learned at this stage will be valuable to your trading foreverAnd much more... including my rant about a trading mistake I made just before we recorded this. ---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!

Curve Fitting is Easy to Avoid 23.02.2026 36min

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 binary yes/no conditionEvery strategy has a little bit of curve fittingLet's say you wanted to maximize curve fitting. What would you do?Easy ways to avoid curve fittingAnd 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!

How to Grow Your Column Library 16.02.2026 47min

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: build once, reuse everywhereContinuous variables are better than binary variables (e.g. Above/below a moving average)The MACDV case study - MACD normalized by ATRHow intra-trade columns allow testing multiple concepts with a single backtestAnd much more...Here's a link to the previous episode mentioned: The Key to Backtesting - Your Library of Columns ---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!