ValeriaGold V1.88 — What Changed Since August
Eleven trend-following strategies on XAUUSD across M5, M15, M30, H1 and H4. Live since August. Most changes since then reduce the number of trades rather than increase it.
My learning: fewer trades in ranging markets
Ranging phases on the lower timeframes produce repeated entries that stop out within hours. Four mechanisms reduce them:
- Session windows per strategy. Each strategy trades only the session it was fitted for. This was the largest single improvement since launch. Trading one logic around the clock does not remove the edge, it dilutes it.
- Trend-strength band. A signal requires a minimum directional strength. In most configurations it is also rejected above an upper threshold, which excludes the late stage of an extended move.
- Structural clearance. A signal is skipped when the nearest higher-timeframe swing level is too close for the trade to have room. Where the level is close but not blocking, the trail is tightened instead.
- Cooldown after a stop-out. A defined number of bars before the same direction can be re-entered.
Each was accepted on risk-adjusted result per trade, not total return. A filter that only lowers the trade count reduces return and drawdown together without improving anything; several candidates failed on that test. These mechanisms avoid conditions in which ranging is likely. They do not detect it. We tested detectors for it and they did not hold up — the state has little persistence, so a measurement registers it only after it has passed.
Risk setting and account size
Position size is risk money / stop distance . On XAUUSD, 0.01 lots — the broker minimum — risks about one dollar per dollar of stop distance. The ATR-based stops in these eleven strategies range from roughly 20 to 36 dollars. The widest therefore risks 36 dollars at the smallest position the broker accepts. Two valid responses: a larger account, or a deliberately higher risk setting. We now document a minimum account size, and the EA logs a warning at startup when the computed position size falls below the broker minimum.
New live account
The existing signal runs on a small account. At that size the lot floor rather than the risk setting determines position size, and the eleven strategies are weighted by their stop distances instead of by design. A new signal starts on a larger account of 6k+ and I will start to increase it over time.
The EA is at a point where it can be judged on a configuration that behaves as configured.
A larger account at only slightly higher absolute risk produces a lower monthly percentage. That is the expected consequence.
New: compact dashboard
Eleven strategies in the detailed panel is roughly 500 pixels of table — useful for diagnosis, impractical for routine monitoring. Compact mode shows one tile per strategy: status light, open risk multiple, floating P/L, trade count, realised P/L. The status light uses three colours and two shapes for six states, which covers the most common question — whether a strategy is currently able to trade. Profit factor and win rate are not in the tiles. Both remain in the detailed view.
Compact is the new default. The dashboard layout switches it back.
If you have any questions don't hesitate to send me a PM, happy to get in touch with you!
Valeria Gold product page: https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/191484
