ZigZag MA Retracement

Trade retracements with statistical precision — enter only when price pulls back exactly where trend continuation odds favor you.

Overview ZigZag MA Retracement is a trend-continuation Expert Advisor built for EURUSD on the H1 timeframe. It identifies the last confirmed ZigZag swing, waits for price to retrace 60% into that swing, and confirms direction with a moving average filter before entering. Exits are event-driven: the position closes automatically the moment price closes back on the wrong side of the moving average, instead of relying on a static target.

How It Works

1. The EA computes ZigZag pivots natively (no external indicator dependency) using Depth and Deviation parameters.
2. When the last swing retraces to 60% of its range (within a configurable tolerance band), a signal zone is armed.
3. A moving average filter confirms the prevailing trend direction before any entry is allowed.
4. On confirmation, the EA enters with an ATR-based stop loss and take profit, sized to a fixed percentage of account risk.
5. Once in a trade, the position is monitored on every bar close: if price closes back across the moving average, the trade is exited immediately as a trend-reversal signal.
6. Every order passes broker compliance checks (margin, volume limits, freeze/stop level, spread buffer) before being sent.

Inputs

• Magic_Number — unique identifier for this EA's trades
• Risk_Percent — percent of equity risked per trade
• ATR_SL_Mult — stop loss distance as a multiple of ATR
• ATR_TP_Mult — take profit distance as a multiple of ATR
• ATR_Period — ATR calculation period
• ZigZag_Depth — minimum bars between ZigZag pivots
• ZigZag_Deviation — minimum price deviation to confirm a pivot
• ZigZag_Backstep — minimum bars between reversal pivots
• Retracement_Pct — retracement level of the last swing that triggers a signal
• Retracement_Tol — tolerance band around the retracement level
• MA_Period — moving average period
• MA_Method — moving average calculation method
• MA_Price — price source used for the moving average
• Enable_MA_Exit — close the position on a moving average cross-back
• Score_MinProfitFactor — disqualifies optimization runs below this profit factor
• Score_MaxDrawdownPct — disqualifies optimization runs above this drawdown percentage
• Score_MinTrades — disqualifies optimization runs below this trade count
• Score_R2Weight — weight of equity curve smoothness in the score
• Score_SlopeWeight — weight of profit speed in the score
• Score_SplitPenalty — penalty for instability between the first and second half of the test
• Score_SkewPenalty — penalty for profit concentrated in a single trade
• Score_UlcerPenalty — penalty for depth and duration of drawdowns
• Score_MARWeight — weight of capital efficiency (return over max drawdown) in the score
• Score_TradeBonusWeight — weight of trade count reliability in the score

Optimizer Scoring System This EA includes a custom OnTester() scoring function designed to fight curve-fitting. Instead of ranking by raw net profit, it disqualifies any optimization run with insufficient profit factor, excessive drawdown, or too few trades — then ranks survivors by equity curve smoothness (R²), profit speed, and capital efficiency (MAR ratio), while penalizing instability between the first and second half of the test, single-trade profit concentration, and drawdown pain (Ulcer Index). The result favors robust, repeatable parameter sets over lucky spikes. Set Optimizer Criterion to Custom max before running an optimization.

Recommended Setup

• Symbol: EURUSD
• Timeframe: H1
• Broker type: ECN/Raw spread account recommended for tighter fills on retracement entries
• VPS: recommended for uninterrupted bar-close monitoring

Screenshots Live chart example showing a confirmed ZigZag swing with the 60% retracement zone and moving average filter; recommended input settings panel.

Disclaimer Past performance does not guarantee future results. Test on a demo account before live deployment. Trading involves risk of loss.