Sharpe Ratio or Profit Factor?

What do you use to make a decision on a trading strategy?

both

Well sharpe ratio not so much but sometimes it is useful. Before making a decision for the strategy you have to know what you are going for. It's very important.

lol. @rob70 both, what?
@ArryFX each trader does their own thing. you have to decide what your strategy is. you can look at 1) macro stuff (fundamentals), 2) the pure physics of it all and trends (technicals) or 3) go with the breeze which sometimes takes into account both of the former 2 (sentiment).

Basically the first is not concerned with how people feel, what newsreaders say, but is the reality of the data, available to all. the flood in Houston, causing oil refineries to close down, will limit their normal operation and output and thus affect their business. This could have a flow on into the wider US economy and cause the US dollar to be weaker, thus against another currency pair it's traded against, it could go down. If, you elect to use the fundamentals as your strategy, then depending on the relative weight/impact of an event, such as the one I reference, you'd incorporate that into your trading strategy. You might then sell the US dollar, figuring it's going to 'go down'.

If you go with the second, then you're not concerned with news or world events, in fact you can possibly go into a hut, and meditate. All you're looking at is the chart and the trend and technical indicator(s) you use. When the conditions are met, you trade, when they're not, you don't. Boring, in a sense, but like cruise control on a car - dependable, stable, constant.

The last factors in a bit of the former 2. But injects the human element which adds emotion, speculation, and subjectivity. Hard to avoid, but if you can read between lines, and avoid the noise in the noisy environment that is sentiment, you can do well here. A little like a fashion icon wearing a 'blue hat' and suddenly blue hats become avant-garde, or the 'thing of the season'. Who caused it to happen? The icon wearing it? The fashion house giving them the hat in the first place? The photographer? The magazine publishing it? Or the followers who think blue hats are 'in', and start wearing them? No-one can decisively say, but, all that matters is blue hats, are now the in thing. Same with the markets. Someone might say something, and whether credible or not, it can, and often does impact the market. So listening to, monitoring etc such commentators is important if you wish to incorporate sentiment as part of your trading style.

Basically though - it's your decision. And once you've made a plan - stick to it. Changing it will only cause changes you didn't want. If it doesn't work, that's worthy of a change, but give it a chance. Back your decision, and all the best!

Both but profit factor is more important for me