A systematic program that rarely enters: it waits for all of a strict set of conditions before any trade. Also called: the sniper. Finviro's term: “Selective Trading Algorithm”.
What 'selective' means
A Selective Trading Algorithm (Selective Trading Algorithm) is an automated system that does not chase every move. It waits until all its conditions line up: a favorable structure, supporting flow and a suitable regime. So it acts rarely and is right more often. Its opposite is the greedy algorithm that trades constantly and dies from commissions and noise.
Its philosophy
A machine's best feature is not its speed but its patience: no boredom, no fear of missing out. The selective approach uses that patience. A hundred days without a trade is not a fault but a discipline no human can sustain. Judge it by the quality of each trade, not the number of trades.
Its practical components
Strict, stacked entry filters (structure + flow + regime). Invalidation conditions written before entry. Position sizing from realized volatility. A log that records every decision for review. The machine runs the rules literally, and the quality of the rules is the author's responsibility.
Hypothetical example
A system that requires: price above a holding call wall + positive gamma + net call premium flow for two hours. In a full month the conditions lined up only four times, but three of them paid off, while a greedy system ran eighty trades and ended flat and exhausted.
Common mistake
Overfitting (Overfitting): rules tailored to yesterday's data until they match it perfectly, then they fall apart against a tomorrow they have not seen. Logical simplicity outlasts memorized complexity.
What 'selective' means here
The algorithm does not look for more signals but for fewer, cleaner ones: an idea passes through successive entry filters (environment, structure, volume, level) and most fail. The value is in the rejection, not the acceptance, because most of a trader's losses come from trades that should never have been opened.
Where to see it on the platform
The automated trading module shows the system's filters, decisions and log, and paper trading tests the rules with virtual money before any commitment.
The signal model shows the conditions that were met and the ones that failed side by side, so you see the reason for a rejection, not only the verdict.
