Collie Gold: the complete user manual (setup, profiles, backtesting, VPS and panel)
This is the guide to Collie Gold, the gold (XAUUSD) Expert Advisor for MetaTrader 5 by Lucky Dogs Trading Systems. Getting Collie running takes about 10 minutes; after that, it does the work.
In this manual: 1. Before you install · 2. Installation · 3. Choosing a profile · 4. Settings · 5. Drawdown protection · 6. The panel · 7. Running 24/7 (VPS) · 8. Backtesting · 9. Shared accounts and prop firms · 10. Technical questions · 11. Support
1. Before you install
| Platform | MetaTrader 5, hedging account (it does not work on netting accounts) |
| Symbol | Gold quoted in USD, under any name (XAUUSD, XAUUSD+, GOLD, XAUUSD.m...), 2 or 3 decimals, 100, 10 or 1 oz contract |
| Account | Works from 300 USD; 1,000 USD or more recommended |
| Leverage | 1:500 or higher for any profile; at 1:100, Balanced at most |
| Terminal | On and connected 24/7, because the stop on each basket is executed by the EA. VPS recommended (section 7) |
2. Installation
- Buy or rent Collie Gold on its Market page: https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/200222. In MetaTrader, open the Market tab and install it from Purchased.
- In the Navigator, Collie shows up under Expert Advisors > Market.
- Open one gold chart, on any timeframe, and drag Collie onto it.
- On the Inputs tab, choose your risk profile (section 3). On the Common tab, tick "Allow Algo Trading".
- Turn on the terminal's Algo Trading button and check the panel: Algo, Hedging, Gold and Time zone should all be ticked.
Use only one chart per account. Two charts with the same magic number would fight over the same baskets.
3. Choosing a profile
The profile is the main setting: it sets the lot size, and with it how fast the account can grow and what a basket can cost if it reaches its stop.
Results starting from 1,000 USD at the beginning of each year, measured in the Strategy Tester with real ticks. Each cell shows the year's return and maximum equity drawdown (DD):
| Profile | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | One basket at its stop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | +229% · DD 11% | +98% · DD 12% | +27% · DD 15% | about 10% of balance |
| Moderate (default) | +586% · DD 20% | +199% · DD 17% | +68% · DD 18% | about 15% |
| Balanced | +1,070% · DD 28% | +323% · DD 23% | +97% · DD 23% | about 21% |
| Aggressive | +2,342% · DD 31% | +522% · DD 29% | +131% · DD 30% | about 26% |
| Maximum | +6,365% · DD 37% | +805% · DD 35% | +179% · DD 34% | about 31% |
Each step up brings more return and more drawdown, in roughly the same proportion. 2025 was an exceptional year for gold, with the lot compounding, so it is not a rate to project forward. The weak years, 2021 and 2022, are on the product page.
The lot per entry, by account size:
| Account | Conservative | Moderate | Balanced | Aggressive | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 USD | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| 2,000 USD | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.04 | 0.06 | 0.07 |
| 5,000 USD | 0.06 | 0.08 | 0.11 | 0.14 | 0.17 |
| 10,000 USD | 0.11 | 0.17 | 0.22 | 0.28 | 0.33 |
| 25,000 USD | 0.28 | 0.42 | 0.56 | 0.69 | 0.83 |
| 50,000 USD | 0.56 | 0.83 | 1.11 | 1.39 | 1.67 |
The automatic lot follows the balance: as the account grows, so does the lot. On small accounts it never goes below 0.01, so a basket at its stop weighs more on the balance.
Three questions to pick your profile:
- How much are you willing to lose on a single basket? Up to 10%, Conservative. Up to 15%, Moderate. And so on, using the last column of the first table.
- What is your leverage? At 1:500 or more, any profile. At 1:100, Balanced at most: on the higher profiles, margin can block entries at the worst possible moment.
- Is this your first time with Collie? Start on Conservative. After a month live, if it behaves the way you expected, move up one profile.
4. Settings, one by one
| Group | Setting (as shown in MT5) | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| RISK | Risk profile | Conservative, Moderate, Balanced, Aggressive or Maximum (section 3) | Moderate |
| RISK | Lot mode | Automatic by the risk profile (grows with the account), or a fixed lot | Automatic |
| RISK | Fixed lot size | The lot for each entry, in fixed lot mode only | 0.01 |
| RISK | Automatic lot calculated on | Balance, equity or a fixed amount (Collie's slice of the account) | Balance |
| RISK | Fixed amount | The amount used when the lot is calculated on a fixed amount | 1,000 |
| RISK | Max lot per entry | Safety cap: no entry goes above this lot (0 = no cap) | 0 |
| ACCOUNT PROTECTION | Account drawdown protection | Off, or a limit in % of balance or in money, with three actions: close all baskets and continue, close all baskets and stop the EA, or alert only (section 5) | Off |
| ACCOUNT PROTECTION | Drawdown limit | The limit, in % or in money, depending on the mode chosen | 0 |
| NEWS | Pause new baskets on FOMC and US payroll days | Opens no new baskets on Fed decision days and payroll days, using the MetaTrader calendar | On |
| DISPLAY | Show the panel | Shows the panel on the chart, including in the Strategy Tester's visual mode | On |
| DISPLAY | Apply the Lucky Dogs chart theme | Applies the brand colors to the chart; your own colors come back when you remove the EA | On |
| GENERAL | Magic number | The number that identifies Collie's orders | 77125000 |
| GENERAL | Order comment | The text shown on the orders | Collie |
5. Drawdown protection
- Close all baskets and continue: once the limit is crossed, Collie closes its open baskets and keeps trading.
- Close all baskets and stop the EA: closes the baskets and stays stopped, with the panel showing DD STOP, even after a terminal restart. To trade again, remove the EA from the chart and attach it again, or change its settings.
- Alert only: shows the alert and sets the panel to ATTENTION, without closing anything.
The protection looks at the open loss of Collie's baskets, compared with the balance (in % mode) or with an amount of money. Losses from other EAs on the same account don't count. The stop on each basket is a separate thing: it is always there, even with the protection turned off.
6. The panel
- Header: Collie's status: ACTIVE, NEWS PAUSE (FOMC or payroll day), MARKET CLOSED, DD STOP or ATTENTION.
- Account: balance, equity, free margin and leverage.
- Execution: current spread and the day's maximum, average slippage on recent orders and ping, plus the checks for Algo trading, hedging account, gold symbol and time zone.
- Risk: profile, lot for the next entry, open trades and open P/L, and Collie's own drawdown (not the whole account's), current and maximum, with a Reset button.
- Results: today, week, month and all time: number of trades, win rate, profit and %. A trade is a whole basket, including commission and swap.
The button in the corner collapses the panel into a strip showing equity and the day's result.
7. Running 24/7: VPS
The stop on each basket is executed by Collie, so MetaTrader has to stay on and connected while a basket is open. There are two ways to make sure of that:
- MetaTrader's built-in VPS: in the Navigator, under Accounts, right-click your account and choose "Register a Virtual Server". Pick a plan and migrate your charts and EAs. Collie then runs on the server.
- Your own Windows VPS, ideally close to your broker's server, with MetaTrader open at all times.
Things to watch:
- Once you've migrated to the VPS, don't leave the same Collie running on your own computer: you would have two copies trading the same account. Close the local chart or turn off Algo Trading locally.
- On MetaTrader's VPS the panel isn't shown, since there is no screen. Follow it through the virtual hosting journal in your terminal, or through the signal.
- Changed a setting? Migrate again so the VPS picks up the change.
8. Backtesting
The free demo runs in the Strategy Tester. On the product page, click Free Demo; it shows up in the tester under Expert Advisors > Market. These are the settings we used for our tables:
| Symbol | Your broker's gold symbol |
| Timeframe | Any |
| Dates | One year at a time, for example 2025.01.01 to 2025.12.31 |
| Modeling | Every tick based on real ticks |
| Deposit and leverage | 1,000 USD, 1:500 or higher |
| Inputs | The profile you want to check; everything else at default |
- Why real ticks: in a basket EA, the exact order of prices within each minute decides whether a basket closes at its target. Bar-based models make that order up. On the first run, MetaTrader downloads the ticks, which can take a while.
- History quality: in the report, it should be close to 100%. If it's low, your broker doesn't have enough real tick data for that period.
- Watch the panel: tick visual mode in the tester to follow the panel during the test.
- Why your number won't match ours exactly: spread, commission, swap and tick data vary between brokers; in the tester, the news filter uses the FOMC and payroll dates built into Collie; and the tester fills at the requested price, while a live account has slippage. Our numbers use real ticks from Vantage (XAUUSD+).
9. Shared accounts and prop firms
Collie shares an account well with other EAs and works on prop firm accounts with a fixed lot sized to the firm's limits. The guide with lot tables from 5k to 200k is here: https://www.mql5.com/en/blogs/post/777125.
10. Technical questions
My terminal restarted with a basket open. What now?
Nothing to do: when it comes back, Collie picks the basket up from the open positions.
Can I change the chart timeframe?
Yes. The chart timeframe doesn't change how it trades.
I run another EA on the same account. Which magic number should I use?
Collie uses a range of numbers starting from the magic number you set. Keep at least 1,000 between Collie's magic number and any other EA's.
A basket hit its stop. Does Collie stop?
No, it keeps trading. If you want an extra limit, turn on the drawdown protection in "close all baskets and stop the EA" mode: it closes Collie's baskets and stops the EA if the open loss goes past the value you set.
What about weekends?
A basket opened on Friday can stay open over the weekend. On an opening gap, the exit can be worse than planned.
Why doesn't it trade on some days?
Collie only opens a basket when it sees the right moment. On many days it doesn't, and it waits.
11. Support and community
- Lucky Dogs channel on MQL5 (news and releases of all our EAs): https://www.mql5.com/en/channels/021c0d9e2157dd01
- One-on-one support: MQL5 chat. Send your broker, account size, profile and a screenshot of the panel.
Trading gold with leverage carries a risk of significant losses. Past results, whether tested or live, do not guarantee future results.
Lucky Dogs Trading Systems
