FX EA & Auto Trading Blog
117 articles — EA operation, backtesting, and broker selection know-how, explained without hype
Featured
We Real-Tick Tested 800+ Market EAs — How Many Survived?
We downloaded 800+ of the most popular MQL5…
What an EA's average holding time reveals
An EA's average holding time, and its…
How Far Does an EA's Performance Fall When Spreads Double
How much an EA's performance erodes when…
All Articles
2026-07-15
Real Ticks vs 1-Minute OHLC
Switch the Strategy Tester model from real…
2026-07-15
Why a 90% Win Rate Is a Warning Sign, Not a Feature
The EAs that lead with 'win rate 90%' are often…
2026-07-15
Why You Can't Trust a Backtest With Few Trades
A profit factor of 5.56 means almost nothing if…
2026-07-15
Why the Same EA Loses on a Different Broker: Spread
An EA that was profitable on one broker loses…
2026-07-15
Equity Drawdown vs Balance Drawdown
A sales page says 'max drawdown 3.2%' — but if…
2026-07-15
Don't Be Fooled by a '+5,000%' Backtest
An EA number like '+6,408% over 10 years' is…
2026-07-15
Backtest Profitable but Losing Live: The Real Causes
'The backtest showed +300%, but running it live…
2026-07-15
How to Tell if an EA's Live Track Record Is Real
'Live verified' is reassuring, but plenty of…
2026-07-15
Can You Use an EA on a Prop Firm Account
Can you run an EA on prop firm capital? Most…
2026-07-15
Running an EA on a Cent / Micro Account
If you want to start an EA with a small…
2026-07-15
MT4 vs MT5 for EAs (2026): Why Real-Tick Testing Decides It
Which platform should you run an EA on, MT4 or…
2026-07-15
Can You Trust an EA You Can't Read? Closed-Source (.ex5) EAs
Most commercial EAs ship as a compiled .ex5, so…
2026-07-14
We Backtested 43 Popular Gold EAs on 11.5 Years of Real Data
We ran 43 best-selling paid gold (XAUUSD) EAs…
2026-07-07
AutoTrading Disabled in MT5: Fix Retcodes 10027 & 10026
Your MT5 EA loads but never opens a trade? The…
2026-07-07
Invalid Stops in MT5: Fix Retcode 10016 & MT4 Error 130
EA rejected with 'invalid stops' —…
2026-07-07
Market Closed in MT5: Fix Error 10018 & 132
Getting 'Market closed'…
2026-07-07
Off Quotes & Requote in MT5: Fix Errors 10021 / 10004
EA orders rejected with off quotes…
2026-07-07
Unsupported Filling Mode (MT5 Error 10030)
MT5 rejecting every order with 'Unsupported…
2026-06-26
The truth behind the ×677 martingale gold EA
A full dissection of 5,358 real trades from a…
2026-06-19
MT5 EA Not Working or Not Placing Trades
Attached your EA but nothing happens,…
2026-06-12
ERR_NO_MONEY in MQL5: Fix 'Not Enough Money' (134 & 10019)
EA throwing ERR_NO_MONEY in MQL5 even when your…
2026-05-31
The Monthly Return Trap
EAs claiming '10%+ monthly returns' — why is…
2026-05-29
Industry First
Based on analysis of 13 EA failure categories…
2026-05-29
Honest Correction
On 2026-05-29, a 14-year MT5 backtest at Risk…
Know-how & Guides
How to Run a Backtest with MT5 Strategy Tester
A detailed guide to configuring, running, and reading the results of a backtest using MT5's Strategy Tester.
BacktestHow to Optimize EA Parameters and What to Watch Out For
A guide to optimizing EA parameters with MT5's optimization feature and precautions for avoiding overfitting.
OptimizationEA Portfolio Strategy — Risk Diversification with Multiple EAs
Learn the portfolio theory behind combining low-correlation EAs to smooth drawdowns. Covers correlation coefficients, lot allocation, and practical risk management.
PortfolioWhat is Forward Testing? vs Backtest
Understand the difference between backtesting and forward testing. Learn how to read forward test results and use them to validate your EA in live market conditions.
Forward TestWalk-Forward Analysis and Detecting Over-Optimization
A validation method that separates EAs with genuine edge from those merely curve-fitted to historical data. Covers in-sample/out-of-sample splitting and how to interpret Walk-Forward Efficiency.
Walk-ForwardHow to Spot Scam and Low-Quality EAs
Unlimited martingale, no stop-loss, backtest-blocking DRM, compound-interest hype, and reselling the same EA under a new name — a checklist of red flags to check before you spend any money.
EA SelectionVPS Setup and 24/7 MT5 Trading Environment
How to choose a VPS and set up MT5 so your EA never stops. Covers required specs, the difference between broker-provided free VPS and commercial VPS, and daily checks for stable around-the-clock operation.
VPS & OperationsBacktest Pitfalls — What Only Live Testing Can Reveal
An honest look at why backtest results often look better than reality. Covers modeling quality, frequently overlooked costs, and why multi-period and live forward testing matter.
BacktestingEA Risk & Money Management — How to Calculate Lot Size and Set Your Risk %
How to set your per-trade risk %, calculate lot sizes, understand the difference between compounding and fixed-lot trading, and the basics of margin levels. Essential knowledge for protecting your account while running EAs.
Money ManagementEvaluating the Risk of Nanpin/Martingale EAs
How to properly assess high-risk EAs designed to eventually blow up. Covers survival rate, cumulative withdrawal amount, Monte Carlo simulation, daily withdrawal strategies, and other key operating rules.
NanpinHow to Read Backtest Performance Metrics
How to correctly interpret the numbers in a backtest report — profit factor, expected payoff, recovery factor, maximum consecutive losses, Sharpe Ratio — from the perspectives of profitability, risk, and stability.
Performance MetricsHandling Drawdown — Surviving Losing Streaks
How to deal with the drawdowns that inevitably come with running EAs. Covers the asymmetry of recovery, what not to do during a losing streak, and how to set a stop-trading line.
DrawdownMT5 Error Codes — Why Your EA Stops Trading and How to Fix It
Common error codes and causes when an EA stops executing trades, along with step-by-step troubleshooting. Covers how to read the Journal and Expert tabs in MT5.
TroubleshootingSetting Up the Economic News Filter — Protecting Your Account from Volatile Moves
Why trading around news releases is risky, which high-impact events to avoid, how to configure the filter parameters, and how to decide whether your EA needs one.
Economic NewsMoving from Demo to Live — Before You Run Your EA on Real Money
What to verify on demo, the criteria for switching to a live account, how to size your initial lot, and the key differences between demo and live environments.
Account MigrationRunning Multiple EAs at Once — MagicNumber and Interference Prevention
How MagicNumber manages position ownership, preventing EAs from interfering with each other, thinking about combined risk, and how many EAs one MT5 instance can handle.
Multi-EA OperationChoosing a Broker for Your EA — Your Broker Affects Your EA's Performance
A practical guide to how spread, execution method, and slippage affect EA performance, the differences between account types, and how to verify compatibility between an EA and a broker.
Broker SelectionSwap and Trading Costs — The Silent Drain on EA Profits
How the four trading costs — spread, slippage, commission, and swap — affect EA performance, how swap works, and practical strategies for keeping costs under control.
Trading CostsEA & Automated Trading Profits and Taxes — What You Must Check in Your Country
A country-neutral overview of principles that apply everywhere: EA profits may be taxable, the types of taxation, the importance of keeping trading records, and why consulting a professional matters.
TaxesEA Lifespan and the Retirement Decision — Recognizing When an EA Has Stopped Working
Why EAs stop working as market conditions change, how to tell the difference between performance deterioration and a normal drawdown, and the criteria and steps for retiring an EA.
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