Trading Strategy with Positive Locks: How the VR Locker Trading Robot Works
Hello, friends! Today I would like to talk about a topic that raises many questions among beginners and many arguments among experienced traders: locks, and the trading strategy based on positive locks. I will try to explain everything in simple language, with examples, and show how this idea is implemented in the VR Locker trading robot.
If you find my materials useful, feel free to add me as a friend on MQL5: my profile. My other articles about trading and trading automation are collected in my blog, for example the article How to Become a Successful Trader. All my programs for MetaTrader, including VR Locker for MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, can be found in my seller section. I publish news and reviews in my Telegram channel, and demo versions of the robots can be downloaded on the Trading-Go website.
What Is a Lock in Trading
A lock is a situation in which two opposite positions of the same volume on the same instrument are open on one trading account at the same time: a buy (Buy) and a sell (Sell). While both positions are open, whatever one of them earns when the price moves, the other loses by the same amount. The overall financial result of the pair stops depending on where the market goes nect. Figuratively speaking, the result becomes "frozen", which is where the name comes from.
It is important to understand that a lock is not a magic button and not a way to get rid of risk. It only changes the nature of the situation: instead of asking "where will the price go?", the trader faces other questions: when and how to exit the lock, which side to close first, and what to do with the remaining positions. I have noticed that these are exactly the questions where beginners stumble most often, so let us go through the topic step by step.
A few words about the technical side. To open two opposite positions on the same instrument, the trading platform and the account type must allow it. In MetaTrader 4 this is a normal situation, while in MetaTrader 5 you need an account with hedging mode. In addition, some brokers and regulators in certain jurisdictions prohibit locking, so always check your broker's conditions before you start working.
Positive and Negative Locks
Locks are not all the same, and the main difference is which financial result is "frozen" at the moment the lock is created. Let us look at a conditional example. It is meant only to show the mechanics and is not a trading recommendation.
Suppose a trader opened a Buy on EURUSD with a volume of 0.10 lot at a price of 1.10000. The price rose to 1.10500, and the position has accumulated a floating profit of about 50 pips. If we now open a Sell of the same 0.10 lot at 1.10500, we get a lock in which the sell is above the buy. However the price moves from here, the buy and the sell will change by the same amount in opposite dirextions, while the difference between the opening prices, about 50 pips, stays the same. This is called a positive lock: a plus is fixed in it, although spread, commissions and swaps are not taken into account.
Now the opposite situation. The same Buy at 1.10000, but the price went down to 1.09500, and the trader opened a Sell of 0.10 lot. Now the sell is below the buy, and a minus of about 50 pips is fixed in the lock. This is a negative lock. It is often used as a way to "stop" a loss and think about what to do next. But, as you understand, the problem does not disappear: the loss is still on the account, and you will have to exit from it.
The rule of thumb is very simple. A sell above the buy with equal lots is a positive lock. A sell below the buy is a negative lock. Positive locks lie at the heart of the strategy we are discussing today.
The Idea of a Strategy with Positive Locks
Simplified to the limit, the idea looks like this: a trading grid is built so that, as the price moves, positive locks are formed between positions in opposite directions. Each such lock is a certain amount of accumulated unrealized profit, which works as a "safety cushion". The more locks accumulated, the bigger the reserve with which the whole construction can later be managed: closing part of the positions, moving the rest to breakeven, connecting a trailing stop, or working manually.
Here I must be honest: the strategy does not cancel market risk. Positions remain open, margin is used, swaps are charged, and when you exit locks you pay the spread. So a strategy with positive locks is rather a way to organize the trading process and manage positions, not a guaranteed result. Neither I nor anyone else can promise profit.
How This Principle Is Implemented in VR Locker
VR Locker is a trading robot built on exactly this idea. The principle of operation in the product description is formulated as follows: the expert advisor starts with two market orders, Buy and Sell, of equal volume, and then "spreads" them with a grid of orders depending on the price movement. When the distance between positions reaches the value set in the settings, a new positive lock is formed, accumulating profit that reduces the drawdown.
The robot works in two stages:
- accumulation of positive locks and creation of a "safety cushion";
- working with positive locks: unlocking them, or using them together with the trader's manual trading tactic.
I like this division because it fits the logic of learning well. At the first stage the robot does its mechanical part of the work, and at the second the trader has a choice of how to use the accumulated reserve, and this choice depends on experience, deposit size and attitude to risk.
For something simpler, there is a free educational version, VR Locker Lite, for MetaTrader 5 and MetaTrader 4 in the code base. It demonstrates working with a single positive lock: the robot immediately opens a Buy and a Sell, "spreads" the positions using averaging, and the simplest way out is to close the lock and start the cycle again. If you want to understand the idea itself, this version is the easiest way to do it.
Robot Settings: What to Pay Attention To
The detailed description of all parameters is on the product pages, and I will not rewrite it in full. But several groups of settings deserve a closer look, because they define the character of trading.
The first group is trading settings. Among them is a limit on the maximum spread: if the spread is higher than the set value, the robot does not open new positions, but it keeps managing those already open. For beginners this is a very useful protection from trading at moments of poor liquidity.
The second group is lot calculation. Several modes are available here: a fixed lot (for example, 0.01), a percentage of the deposit, and a "balance per minimum lot" mode. In the last case you specify the deposit amount that corresponds to the broker's minimum lot. For example, if you set 500 and the account has 2000, then 2000 / 500 = 4, and the starting lot will be 4 × 0.01 = 0.04. There is also a manual sequence of lots separated by semicolons: it has the highest priority and disables the other calculation settings.
The third group is the way lots are calculated for positions opened against the trend. The available options are: the starting lot (all positions are the same), martingale (each next lot is twice the previous one), Fibonacci numbers, the sum of the starting lot and the lot of the last position, and the sum of the lots of the extreme positions. In addition, there is a lot multiplier that can either increase or decrease the calculated value, and a limit on the maximum Buy lot. Please note that aggressice schemes such as martingale increase the volume quickly, and with it the load on the deposit, so for getting acquainted with the robot I would start with the calmest options.
The robot can also send Telegram notifications, which is convenient when the terminal runs on a remote server. And settings that depend on the number of decimal places in quotes are described for brokers with 3-5 digits: if your broker has 2-4 digits, the marked values should be set ten times smaller.
A Practical Example of Working with Locks
Let me describe the general logic with a conditional example, not tied to specific settings. Imagine that the robot is launched on a demo account on EURUSD on the hourly timeframe. It opens a Buy and a Sell of equal volume. The price starts to move, and the grid "spreads" the positions. When the distance between them reaches the value from the settings, a positive lock appears. The price keeps moving, new locks appear, and gradually the very reserve of unrealized profut is formed.
After that the trader has several paths. You can unlock the locks by the rules of your own trading system. You can, as the author recommends in the robot description, move all Buy and Sell positions to breakeven after 30-50 locks have been accumulated, or connect a trailing stop and let the profit grow. Or you can use the accumulated construction together with a manual tactic. In practice it works as follows: first you observe the robot on a demo account, see how lockd are formed under different market behavior, and only then decide whether you need this strategy on a real account and in what mode.
Advantages of the Approach
- Clear structure. Two stages of work, accumulating locks and working with them, help you understand the logic and manage positions with discipline.
- Unrealized "cushion". Positive locks create a reserve that can be used to reduce drawdown and manage the other positions.
- Flexibility. Locks can be unlocked by your own rules, positions can be moved to breakeven, a trailing stop can be connected, or the approach can be combined with manual trading.
- Settings for different tasks. Different lot calculation modes and the spread limit let you adjust the robot to your deposit size and attitude to risk.
- Educational value. The approach is great for understanding on a demo account how locks and hedging work in general.
Limitations and Risks
- Frozen margin. While both sides of a lock are open, the collateral for them stays occupied, and these funds cannot be used for other trades (depending on your broker's conditions).
- Difficult exit. Deciding which side of the lock to close and when is often harder than deciding on an entry.
- Costs. Spread, commissions and swaps on two opposite positions accumulate and must be taken into account.
- Growing load on the deposit. With aggressive lot calculation schemes such as martingale, the volume of positions grows quickly.
- Broker restrictions. Not all brokers and jurisdictions allow locking, and MetaTrader 5 requires an account with hedging mode.
- Market risk remains. The strategy does not cancel the risk of loss, and results in testing and on a demo account do not guarantee the same results in the future.
How to Start Getting Acquainted with VR Locker
My advice to beginners is quite prosaic. First deal with the theory: read how a positive lock differs from a negative one, why a hedging account type is needed, and how margin is calculated by your broker. If you want more theory, take a look at my article about what a trading lock is and why traders use it: What Is a Trading Lock and Why Do Traders Use It?.
Then run the free VR Locker Lite and look at a single lock. After that you can download the demo version of the full robot on the Trading-Go website, run it in the strategy tester and on a demo account, and watch how it works on different instruments and in different market phases. The robot was designed for EURUSD, but it can also work with other currency pairs and financial instruments. Settings files, demo versions, instructions and bonuses are available in the product blog.
Recommendations
I recommend starting with a demo account and using the H1 timeframe or higher: this is what the author advises in the robot description, and I have noticed that on higher timeframes the process of lock formation is easier to observe and analyze.
I recommend choosing the lot based on the size of your deposit, not on the wish to see a result sooner. For getting acquainted with the robot it is wiser to use a fixed lot or the "balance per minimum lot" mode, and not to rush into aggressive schemes like martingale.
I recommend deciding in advance how you will exit the locks: by the rules of your trading system, by moving positions to breakeven after accumulating 30-50 locks, or by connecting a trailing stop. In practice it works as follows: the clearer the exit plsn before you launch the robot, the calmer the trading goes and the fewer emotional decisions you make.
I recommend following money management rules, watching the margin level, and remembering that any trading on financial markets involves risk. This material is educational and is not investment advice: results in testing and on a demo account do not guarantee future results, and profit is neither promised nor guaranteed.
I will be glad to answer questions and discuss in the comments. If the article was useful, add me as a friend on my page, visit my Telegram channel and read my other materials in the blog. Happy and mindful trading!
