Your EA Is Not Broken — Your Broker Is: The Execution Checklist That Fixes Most “Bad” Results
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Your EA Is Not Broken — Your Broker Is: The Execution Checklist That Fixes Most “Bad” Results

23 January 2026, 16:00
Flora Rosa Seeholzer
Flora Rosa Seeholzer
0
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If your EA looked great in testing but struggles live, most traders jump to the wrong conclusion:

“This EA doesn’t work.”

But in a huge number of cases, the real issue is simpler:

Your execution environment is sabotaging the strategy.

Spreads, slippage, and fill quality can turn a profitable EA into a mediocre one—especially on:

  • XAUUSD (Gold)

  • breakout systems

  • volatile sessions

  • low-liquidity hours

This post gives you a practical checklist to diagnose the problem and fix it.

The 3 execution problems that quietly destroy EA performance

1) Spread expansion

Your EA doesn’t enter at “the price you see”.
It enters at Bid/Ask.

If spread is wide at entry:

  • breakouts get worse entries

  • SL gets hit more often

  • expectancy drops without you noticing why

Gold is the #1 place where this shows up fast.

2) Slippage (the invisible tax)

Slippage happens when your order gets filled worse than requested.

You feel it most when:

  • price moves quickly (news, breakouts)

  • liquidity is thin (session transitions)

  • broker execution is slower

Even small slippage, repeated, will erase edge.

3) Inconsistent fills (execution quality)

Two brokers can produce different outcomes with the same EA.

That’s why “my friend runs it and it works” is not proof.

Execution is part of the system.

The execution checklist (do this before blaming the EA)

Check #1 — Look at the spread at the moment of entry

Do this for 20–50 trades.

If spread is frequently high at entry:

  • your EA is trading at the wrong hours

  • or your broker conditions are not suitable

Quick fix:

  • use a spread filter

  • avoid session transitions

  • choose a broker built for low-cost execution

Check #2 — Identify slippage spikes

If you see repeated “bad fills” during:

  • Gold moves

  • breakouts

  • high volatility windows

You need:

  • better execution

  • better trading hours

  • less fragile entry conditions

Check #3 — Confirm your trading hours aren’t low-liquidity hours

Many traders unknowingly run EAs through the worst windows:

  • rollover / session transitions

  • very low-liquidity hours

  • high spread “dead zones”

In those conditions:

  • spreads widen

  • slippage increases

  • entries become random

Your EA didn’t change.
The market microstructure did.

Check #4 — Compare the same EA on two brokers (same settings)

This is the fastest reality check.

If results differ sharply:

  • it’s execution

  • not strategy

Check #5 — Gold needs special execution discipline

XAUUSD is a great market, but it punishes weak execution.

If you run a Gold breakout EA:

  • execution quality is not optional

  • spreads and slippage are part of your edge

The simplest fix: pick a broker that’s built for EAs

If you want results to reflect the strategy, start with a clean execution environment.

Recommended brokers:

IC Trading – Raw spreads / low-cost execution
https://bit.ly/3KvI9RO

Pepperstone – Compatible with most EA strategies
https://bit.ly/4ophy72

This is the boring part that most traders ignore—until they waste months.

A simple “execution-friendly” automation setup (USDJPY + Gold)

If you want to keep it simple, robust, and easy to run:

USDJPY Trend (H1)

JPY Trend EA ProTrading (74 USD)
MT5: https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/157484
MT4: https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/157485

Gold Breakouts (M15)

Gold Trend Breakout EA ProTrading (74 USD)
MT5: https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/157465
MT4: https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/157466

These are designed to be:

  • straightforward

  • stable

  • easy to use without “1000 setting traps”

And if execution is handled properly, you’ll see much more consistent behavior.

Why execution discipline matters even more when you want to scale (Axi Select)

Scaling capital magnifies everything:

  • good execution helps

  • bad execution destroys you faster

If you’re serious about systematic trading and want a scaling path worth comparing, look at Axi Select:
https://bit.ly/48TlcAc

But don’t think “scaling” is the first step.

First step is proving your system behaves correctly under real execution.

Copy/paste: The EA execution checklist

  1. Track spread at entry (20–50 trades)

  2. Identify slippage spikes (especially on breakouts/Gold)

  3. Avoid low-liquidity hours and session transitions

  4. Compare the same EA on two brokers (same settings)

  5. Use execution-friendly brokers

  1. If scaling is the goal, compare:

Quick Links

Axi Select: https://bit.ly/48TlcAc

IC Trading: https://bit.ly/3KvI9RO
Pepperstone: https://bit.ly/4ophy72

JPY Trend EA ProTrading (MT5): https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/157484
JPY Trend EA ProTrading (MT4): https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/157485

Gold Trend Breakout EA ProTrading (MT5): https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/157465
Gold Trend Breakout EA ProTrading (MT4): https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/157466