The MT4 strategy tester: what's your honest experience?
MetaTrader's tester backtests EAs on historical data with a model of spreads — quick to run, easy to misread. The gap between tester results and live accounts is where the lessons live.
What did you learn?
- the strategy you tested and the result
- how live results differed from the tester
- the settings that make the tester more honest
The expectancy guide explains how to read the tester's output.
Background: Risk-reward ratio, win rate and expectancy: the maths behind a trading edge
A high win rate can still lose money. See how win rate and risk-reward combine into expectancy, with break-even win rates and worked examples.
What is a good risk-reward ratio in forex?
There isn't one right ratio. What matters is expectancy, the win rate and ratio together. A 1:2 ratio breaks even at about 33% winners before costs, while a 1:1 ratio needs 50%.
How do you calculate trading expectancy?
Multiply the win rate by the average win and subtract the loss rate multiplied by the average loss. Measuring wins and losses in multiples of the amount risked (R) makes the result easy to compare.
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