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<h2 style="margin:26px 0 12px 0; line-height:1.3;">Code cannot repair an undefined rule</h2><p style="text-align:justify; margin:0 0 16px 0; line-height:1.65;">“Buy when momentum is strong” may be understandable to a person looking at a chart, but it is not yet an executable specification. Automation forces every decision to become measurable. That is valuable because it exposes ambiguity before money is involved.</p><h2 style="margin:26px 0 12px 0; line-height:1.3;">Define the event</h2><p style="text-align:justify; margin:0 0 16px 0; line-height:1.65;">State exactly what creates a new signal. Is it a crossover event, a condition that remains true, or a confirmed candle close? Without this distinction, an EA may enter repeatedly long after the original opportunity occurred.</p><h2 style="margin:26px 0 12px 0; line-height:1.3;">Define invalidation and horizon</h2><p style="text-align:justify; margin:0 0 16px 0; line-height:1.65;">Specify when the idea is no longer valid, how long a pending signal may survive and whether entry timing within the candle matters. Exit logic should include normal targets and stops as well as time exits, data failures and abnormal execution conditions.</p><h2 style="margin:26px 0 12px 0; line-height:1.3;">Model costs and execution</h2><p style="text-align:justify; margin:0 0 16px 0; line-height:1.65;">Record spread limits, commission, slippage assumptions, minimum distance requirements and what should happen if an order is rejected. A strategy with a small average trade can be dominated by costs that were nearly invisible in an idealized test.</p><h2 style="margin:26px 0 12px 0; line-height:1.3;">Control portfolio exposure</h2><p style="text-align:justify; margin:0 0 16px 0; line-height:1.65;">Risk per trade is only one layer. Define simultaneous positions, correlated exposure, daily limits, equity protection and behavior after consecutive losses. Multiple individually acceptable trades can create unacceptable combined risk.</p><h2 style="margin:26px 0 12px 0; line-height:1.3;">Specify monitoring before deployment</h2><p style="text-align:justify; margin:0 0 16px 0; line-height:1.65;">Decide which statistics will be compared with the backtest: frequency, holding time, win/loss distribution, adverse excursion, costs and regime mix. Define warning and suspension conditions before live results create emotional pressure.</p><h2 style="margin:26px 0 12px 0; line-height:1.3;">Separate decisions from promises</h2><p style="text-align:justify; margin:0 0 16px 0; line-height:1.65;">An EA executes defined rules consistently. It does not eliminate uncertainty, guarantee profit or remove the need for oversight. The best automation makes assumptions visible, actions repeatable and failures easier to investigate.</p><p style="text-align:justify; margin:0 0 16px 0; line-height:1.65;">Before hiring a developer or writing MQL5 code, complete this sentence for every important action: “The system will do X when measurable conditions Y are true, unless risk condition Z blocks it.” If the sentence cannot be completed, the strategy is not ready to automate.</p><p style="text-align:justify; margin:0 0 16px 0; line-height:1.65;"><em>Automated trading involves risk, and historical results do not guarantee future performance.</em></p>
