LEARN · 25 PAGES
Learn automated gold trading
Everything here comes from running one strategy on one instrument and measuring it. Where our own testing contradicted the conventional answer — and it did, repeatedly — these pages give the measurement rather than the convention.
Reference7
- Trading glossary125125 definitions written for gold and MT5 rather than for a generic FX audience.
- Questions3030 direct answers to what people ask before buying a bot.
- Troubleshooting3434 MetaTrader and EA failure modes, each with the diagnostic path.
- Comparisons1010 structural comparisons — platforms, approaches and account models.
- The 34 strategies34Everything we tested, including the 24 that were cut and the numbers behind each.
- Free calculators11Position size, margin, drawdown, risk of ruin and cost tools.
- Original researchCSVStudies from our own XAUUSD bar archive, with the raw data published as CSV.
Automation5
- AI trading bots, honestly assessed6 minMost products marketed as AI trading bots are rule-based systems with a label. Here is what genuine machine learning doe…
- What is algorithmic trading?6 minAlgorithmic trading means executing predefined rules in software. Here is what that actually removes, what it does not, …
- How a trading bot actually works7 minFrom market scan to order placement, here is the sequence a rule-based trading bot runs, and where each of the common fa…
- Copy trading, and how it compares to running a bot8 minCopy trading mirrors another account's trades onto yours. How the mechanism works, what it really costs, and the one ris…
- Trading signals, and why delivery matters more than the strategy7 minGold signal services sell entries you execute yourself. Why the gap between the published price and your fill decides wh…
Gold2
- Gold trading sessions and the best time to trade XAUUSD7 minGold behaves like three different markets across the trading day. Here is what changes between the Asian, London and New…
- Gold trading hours and the market calendar6 minXAUUSD trades roughly 23 hours a day, five days a week. The exact open, close, daily break and holiday schedule, in serv…
Risk2
- Risk management for automated trading8 minPosition sizing, drawdown tolerance and loss limits decide survival more than strategy selection does. Here is the arith…
- Position sizing for gold6 minPosition size is the output of risk percentage and stop distance, not a number you choose. Here is the method, and the t…
MetaTrader1
Testing4
- Walk-forward analysis explained7 minWalk-forward testing repeatedly fits on one window and tests on the next, producing an equity curve made entirely of out…
- How to backtest a strategy without fooling yourself8 minA backtest is the weakest evidence worth having. Here is what makes one trustworthy, and the five assumptions that quiet…
- Curve fitting, and how to recognise it6 minOverfitting is the largest single cause of trading bot failure. Here is how it happens through ordinary iteration, and t…
- Reading a verified track record properly8 minA verified badge proves the trades happened. It does not prove the account is live, the only one, or the strategy being …
Prop firms4
- Prop firm rules explained8 minDaily drawdown, trailing drawdown, profit targets and consistency rules decide whether an account survives. Here is what…
- Passing a prop firm challenge with an automated system6 minThe challenge tests survival, not profitability. Here is how to configure an EA against a firm's specific drawdown rules…
- FTMO in the US: simulated capital, not a funded account7 minFTMO returned to the US through OANDA in 2025. The US product is structured differently from the international one, and …
- FIFO and netting rules, and what they break in a trading bot8 minUS-regulated MT5 runs netting with FIFO, not hedging. That is a different execution model, and it silently breaks EAs wr…
Why the failures are published
We tested 34 strategies and ship 4. The other 24 are listed with their numbers — including the one that looked like the best performer in replay and lost money live in both directions. A vendor showing only their winners has told you nothing about their process, and the negative results are the only claims on this site a reader has no reason to disbelieve.