Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader

MT5 EA & indicator developer · EURUSD, XAUUSD · Backtest vs live, pitfalls included · 14 yrs market research, 9 yrs crypto/blockchain

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

I build MT5 EAs and indicators, about ten systems so far. I’ll go through them here one by one: backtest vs live for the same period, and the pitfalls in between.

First: Mercaria Unicorn EURUSD EA. Real account since June, 1,591 trades, verified on Myfxbook (link in bio).

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

Max drawdown in a backtest is the best case, not the worst case.

Aug 31–Sep 9 on my EURUSD EA: tester 18%, live 32.7%.

That gap is why I size risk from live drawdown, not from the report.

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

Question for people running EAs on EURUSD or GOLD:

Do you validate with walk-forward, or one backtest on the full history?

If you switched from one to the other, what made you switch?

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

@martinfxtrade Everyone in the market pays a different price for their lessons - just like some people are fine spending a couple of thousand dollars on clothes, while for others, a couple hundred is already a lot.

We all pay a different price for our level of growth.

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

@Janey_Analyst1 What percentage profit is that relative to the account balance?

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

@semikuzey

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

@ValeriyBreakout It depends on how frequently these setups occur. One to three a month is one thing; one to three a day is completely different. What are you talking about?

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

AI simply doesn’t know all the pitfalls of working with MT5.

Tested in practice: I gave Claude full access to MT5 and had it run tests over a period when the EA was trading live. The results didn’t even come close to reality.

On my page, I show the difference between backtesting and real trading.

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

@tradercams Because at that point, it becomes emotional/psychological codependency rather than a tool for earning, preserving, and growing wealth.

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

@traderjamesfx Does the balance allow...😁

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

Live since June, my EURUSD EA:

1,662 trades, 75% won, +2,037 pips, +$490.

A 75% win rate means little on its own. What matters is what the losing 25% cost.

Who else runs an EA on a verified live account? What’s your win rate?

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

@ValeriyBreakout only algotrading on EURUSD

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

@Alifxp1122 @tradermike1234 The journey belongs to those who keep moving.

Beyond trading strategies and basic AI skills, you need to understand a wide range of fields: basic programming, economics and politics, digital hygiene, security, and much more.

Direct experience is the ultimate teacher.

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

7 red flags I check in every MT5 backtest report before I trust an EA:

1. Not real ticks
2. Spread set to current
3. Commission = 0
4. Under 200 trades
5. Top-5 trades = most of the profit
6. PF above 3 with tiny drawdown
7. No out - of - sample

I see number 5 most often.

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

@ValeriyBreakout Only Algotrading on EURUSD this week:

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

@Quantradin But what if you catch a gap in the tick data from your liquidity provider? Could that either prevent a trade from opening or create false entry conditions?

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

Whatever settings you pick in the MT5 tester, live execution will still differ.

Tuning the tester closer to live helps you read results. It doesn’t make the EA work.

What makes it work: logic that stays profitable when fills, timing and trade count don’t match the backtest.

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

@fuyu_kasumii No, I want more .

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

@Quantradin Great line of thought! But you have to consider what the logic is based on: do you need a new candle, a candle window, or tick/indicator impulses?

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

@tradermike1234 Where AI went to school, I was the professor…)

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

Looks like your description pegs a noob trader as someone with $100 trying to turn it into $100k, while a pro is sitting on $100k+ and barely has to break a sweat to make a living.
The psychology behind $100 vs $100k is night and day, just like the lifestyle and mindset toward money.
Trading and charts are spatial phenomena, not linear ones. You have to account for everything.

[Mercaria · MT5 EA developer · Trader @AlephMercaria]

@Bradgohtrades Looks awesome! Why haven't you built an automated EA/trading bot to execute all this while you sleep?