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I am testing your EAs on live market conditions

  • #1
  • First Post: Apr 11, 2025 5:08am Apr 11, 2025 5:08am
Hey everyone,
I’m ready to dive into testing Expert Advisors (EAs) live with a $1,000 balance per EA, and I’ve set some ground rules to keep things under control. I want to hear your feedback on my plan, any EA recommendations, or tips from those already running EAs live.
My Rules for Testing EAs:

  1. Backtest Quality: Each EA needs a backtest with 90%+ modeling quality (tick data if possible). I want to know it’s got a decent shot before going live.
  2. Starting Capital: $1,000 max per EA, straight into live trading. If it does well, I’ll add more funds gradually, but only if it’s earning its keep.
  3. Risk Management:

    1. Max drawdown limited to 25% of the $1,000 account to avoid big wipeouts.
    2. Every trade needs a stop-loss, no gambling here.
    3. Risk per trade capped at 2% ($20 per trade).


  4. Performance Metrics:

    1. Backtests should show a profit factor of at least 1.3 (profits vs. losses).
    2. Aiming for 3%+ monthly ROI in backtests over at least 1 year.


  5. Live Testing Period:

    1. I’ll give each EA 3 months live to prove itself before deciding to add more funds.


  6. Market Conditions:

    1. Backtests should cover a mix of market conditions to avoid curve-fitting.


  7. Transparency:

    1. I want weekly trade logs to keep tabs on performance.
    2. Basic documentation on the EA’s strategy is a must.


  8. Broker Compatibility:

    1. Needs to run smoothly with a low-spread, regulated broker.
    2. I’ll check for any slippage issues early on.


  9. Exit Plan:

    1. If an EA’s losing consistently for 2 months compared to its backtest, I’ll pause it and reassess.
    2. No profit after 4 months live? I’m probably done with it no matter of the 25% drawdown.


  10. Strategy Fit:

    1. I prefer EAs with clear strategies (e.g., scalping, trend-following).


Hi there!!!
Northsar trader, high risk All Time Profit: $753,971
  • #2
  • Apr 11, 2025 6:23am Apr 11, 2025 6:23am
You’re asking others to share their EAs so you can live test them? But if someone is willing to send you their EA, it probably means it’s not doing well. If it were, they would probably be live testing it themselves already.
  • #3
  • Apr 11, 2025 6:25am Apr 11, 2025 6:25am
Quoting Th3W1z4rd
You’re asking others to share their EAs so you can live test them? But if someone is willing to send you their EA, it probably means it’s not doing well. If it were, they would probably be live testing it themselves already.
some people dont have the capital and some dont want to risk theirs, so this would be an option for them.
Hi there!!!
Northsar trader, high risk All Time Profit: $753,971
  • #4
  • Apr 11, 2025 6:29am Apr 11, 2025 6:29am
example account i gave to someone, strategy might be slow but looks like profits hit big. He needed me to test it since he did not have the capital
Attached Image (click to enlarge)
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Hi there!!!
Northsar trader, high risk All Time Profit: $753,971
  • #5
  • Apr 11, 2025 7:07am Apr 11, 2025 7:07am
Quoting northstar-
example account i gave to someone, strategy might be slow but looks like profits hit big. He needed me to test it since he did not have the capital {image}
I'm not sure what you mean by test it. Anyone can test for free on demo, or use a prop firm account. I don’t see how it makes sense for someone to hand over their intellectual property just so you can test it. Let’s say you test it, then what exactly happens after that?
  • #6
  • Apr 11, 2025 7:48am Apr 11, 2025 7:48am
Quoting Th3W1z4rd
{quote} I'm not sure what you mean by test it. Anyone can test for free on demo, or use a prop firm account. I don’t see how it makes sense for someone to hand over their intellectual property just so you can test it. Let’s say you test it, then what exactly happens after that?
thats the thing, testing on demo is not the same as testing on live. demo cant replicate live market conditions. People who dont have the money or dont want to loose their money but are confident that their system works can message here and get it tested on actual market data.
Hi there!!!
Northsar trader, high risk All Time Profit: $753,971
  • #7
  • Apr 11, 2025 8:56am Apr 11, 2025 8:56am
Quoting northstar-
{quote} thats the thing, testing on demo is not the same as testing on live. demo cant replicate live market conditions. People who dont have the money or dont want to loose their money but are confident that their system works can message here and get it tested on actual market data.
That only applies in very rare cases. It depends on the strategy. For most strategies, there is no difference at all between live and demo. For example, placing a pending stop order or a pending limit order on EURUSD at 1.00000 would be exactly the same on both live and demo accounts.
  • #8
  • Apr 11, 2025 9:26am Apr 11, 2025 9:26am
And if it proves to be viable then they can seek venture capital to trade a micro lot….
  • #9
  • Apr 11, 2025 9:41am Apr 11, 2025 9:41am
Quoting northstar-
Hey everyone, I’m ready to dive into testing Expert Advisors (EAs) live with a $1,000 balance per EA, and I’ve set some ground rules to keep things under control. I want to hear your feedback on my plan, any EA recommendations, or tips from those already running EAs live. My Rules for Testing EAs: Backtest Quality: Each EA needs a backtest with 90%+ modeling quality (tick data if possible). I want to know it’s got a decent shot before going live. Starting Capital: $1,000 max per EA, straight into live trading. If it does well, I’ll add more funds...
Great!
  • #10
  • Apr 11, 2025 10:31am Apr 11, 2025 10:31am
Quoting DwnUndrTrdr
And if it proves to be viable then they can seek venture capital to trade a micro lot….
if it proves I’ll let it run big accounts …

https://www.forexfactory.com/vuki/244662
Hi there!!!
Northsar trader, high risk All Time Profit: $753,971
  • #11
  • Apr 11, 2025 10:32am Apr 11, 2025 10:32am
Quoting Th3W1z4rd
{quote} That only applies in very rare cases. It depends on the strategy. For most strategies, there is no difference at all between live and demo. For example, placing a pending stop order or a pending limit order on EURUSD at 1.00000 would be exactly the same on both live and demo accounts.
I am sorry and I don’t want to be offensive in any way but did you ever trade live accounts? Ever encountered actual slippage? Requotes? Market data differences?
Hi there!!!
Northsar trader, high risk All Time Profit: $753,971
  • #12
  • Apr 19, 2025 3:22am Apr 19, 2025 3:22am
Quoting northstar-
{quote} I am sorry and I don’t want to be offensive in any way but did you ever trade live accounts? Ever encountered actual slippage? Requotes? Market data differences?
I agree, from experience , Live and Demo can be completely different results. I have an EA I tested in demo that can double your acct in a day, but in Live account the broker threatens to close the EA and account because it uses too many "checks" during trades, so the log files has more than 4K events written to it per day.
Then I adjust it to be less profitable and use less than 500 events (with time duration trading etc). But Broker still not happy.
I haven't given up on it yet, maybe new broker is required.
If I find a way around it then I will post it.

Below is Gold 5m EA in a week in Feb 2025 on demo. This was conservative settings to keep the log file small enough. btw 50% win rate.

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  • #13
  • Apr 19, 2025 4:05am Apr 19, 2025 4:05am
Quoting Smoko
{quote} I agree, from experience , Live and Demo can be completely different results. I have an EA I tested in demo that can double your acct in a day, but in Live account the broker threatens to close the EA and account because it uses too many "checks" during trades, so the log files has more than 4K events written to it per day. Then I adjust it to be less profitable and use less than 500 events (with time duration trading etc). But Broker still not happy. I haven't given up on it yet, maybe new broker is required. If I find a way around it then...
If you started with capitals around 50000 and after 1 week you end up with 277958 than trading settings were on the high risk.
Profits like this, usually, are coupled with high risk
  • #14
  • Apr 19, 2025 4:24am Apr 19, 2025 4:24am
Quoting Smoko
{quote} I agree, from experience , Live and Demo can be completely different results. I have an EA I tested in demo that can double your acct in a day, but in Live account the broker threatens to close the EA and account because it uses too many "checks" during trades, so the log files has more than 4K events written to it per day. Then I adjust it to be less profitable and use less than 500 events (with time duration trading etc). But Broker still not happy. I haven't given up on it yet, maybe new broker is required. If I find a way around it then...
Your broker shouldn't care at all what it does, it doesn't affect them. I don't use metatrader because it sucks. I'd recode whatever you're doing to cTrader and test on proper tick data, but I highly doubt your results are real. Most likely overfitting to a back test period.

I'm not saying somebody can't do it, but my cbots that ran for the first 3 months of the year made about 70% and I wouldn't describe them as conservative settings. All Everything is switched off now thanks to the Trump whipsawing that broke them for now.
  • #15
  • Edited 4:40am Apr 19, 2025 4:26am | Edited 4:40am
Quoting northstar-
example account i gave to someone, strategy might be slow but looks like profits hit big. He needed me to test it since he did not have the capital {image}
This seems like a gambling strategy where the strategist has not yet mastered calculating profit/loss percentages for XAU/USD trading (apparently). He opened a 0.3-lot position in an account where each pip movement equals $10. If the price moves -330 pips, the account is wiped out — a scenario that can happen in an instant with XAU/USD’s volatility. Fortunately, the price later surged +990 pips. Forgive me, but it’s puzzling: if the maximum risk rule is 2%, only a 6.6 - pip stop loss (SL) would be allowed. Yet, he opened the trade during a breakout. But overall very nice one good shoot for almost 300% gain.

Forgive me, but throughout this forum, I've noticed that not many trader can handle even simple math, especially when trading XAUD/USD. I’ve seen many of your trade examples (TE), and I think you might be able to calculate basic risk, but your friend can’t—and that instantly debunks their entire strategy theory. I could be wrong, of course, double-check again.
Attached Image (click to enlarge)
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fooled by randomness in art
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  • #16
  • Apr 20, 2025 8:37am Apr 20, 2025 8:37am
Quoting RoelsMajor
{quote} This seems like a gambling strategy where the strategist has not yet mastered calculating profit/loss percentages for XAU/USD trading (apparently). He opened a 0.3-lot position in an account where each pip movement equals $10. If the price moves -330 pips, the account is wiped out — a scenario that can happen in an instant with XAU/USD’s volatility. Fortunately, the price later surged +990 pips. Forgive me, but it’s puzzling: if the maximum risk rule is 2%, only a 6.6 - pip stop loss (SL) would be allowed. Yet, he opened the trade during...
yes you are completely right. He also does not use a sl. But it’s fine for me now since he was able to get 290% gain. I also think it might be gambling. Leverage he uses is 1:1000 donut a bad trade occurs we would notice it pretty fast
Hi there!!!
Northsar trader, high risk All Time Profit: $753,971
  • #17
  • Apr 20, 2025 8:39am Apr 20, 2025 8:39am
Quoting Fenty
{quote} Your broker shouldn't care at all what it does, it doesn't affect them. I don't use metatrader because it sucks. I'd recode whatever you're doing to cTrader and test on proper tick data, but I highly doubt your results are real. Most likely overfitting to a back test period. I'm not saying somebody can't do it, but my cbots that ran for the first 3 months of the year made about 70% and I wouldn't describe them as conservative settings. All Everything is switched off now thanks to the Trump whipsawing that broke them for now.
it looks like he developed a high frequency trading strategy. They indeed work on special brokers like lmax.

but I also have it happened to me that brokers limited my account to only a special amount of requests. A request can be trade open/close, adjust sl/tp. Trim some of the position…. This data provokes the brokers servers. Metatrader is just the middleware the use to display the data and capture the trades.
Hi there!!!
Northsar trader, high risk All Time Profit: $753,971
  • #18
  • Apr 20, 2025 2:34pm Apr 20, 2025 2:34pm
Great thread Northstar, I wish you success....
Hakuna Matata!
  • #19
  • Apr 22, 2025 1:51am Apr 22, 2025 1:51am
test user took another trade
gained 50% and 1700$

still a bit concerned what the actual strategy is, going long in an ATH market with price action without sl can go very wrong pretty quick...
Attached Image (click to enlarge)
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Hi there!!!
Northsar trader, high risk All Time Profit: $753,971
  • #20
  • Apr 22, 2025 2:03am Apr 22, 2025 2:03am
Quoting northstar-
test user took another trade gained 50% and 1700$ still a bit concerned what the actual strategy is, going long in an ATH market with price action without sl can go very wrong pretty quick... {image}
That’s easy to predict. I thought it was just an EMA bounce strategy, like a sniper with massive risk. Maybe.
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