318 · Dave Mabe - The Shift to Systematic Trading — Building Backtested Confidence

About this episode

Dave Mabe discusses his transition to systematic trading and the importance of backtesting for building confidence in trading strategies.

When Dave Mabe backtested his strategy, it outperformed his own discretionary trading — and changed how he approached everything. In this episode, we discuss gapping breakouts, expectancy, systematic trading, drawdowns, and the reality gap between backtests and live execution. A practical conversation for traders serious about building durable edge. In this episode, we explore: · How Dave got introduced to markets: From early exposure to investing through his family to actively seeking more control over his capital and moving from swing trading into day trading. · Why rules matter: The transition from discretionary decisions to systematic frameworks — and why trading without a process is a fast path to inconsistency. · Backtesting as a “superpower”: What backtesting really does for strategy development and confidence in your edge. · Reconciling backtests with real life: Practical realities of execution, slippage, and market structure — and how to build a feedback loop so your live results get closer to your simulations. · Drawdowns and mindset: How to handle periods where a strategy doesn’t behave as expected, and why many traders quit in drawdowns rather than at all-time highs…

People in this episode

Hosts: Ian Cox, Tessa Dao

Guest: Dave Mabe

Topics covered

• systematic trading
• backtesting
• trading strategies
• drawdowns
• market execution
• trading mindset

Keywords

• systematic trading
• backtesting
• trading strategies
• drawdowns
• execution
• trading mindset
• gapping breakouts
• expectancy

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