Auto Lock Bot

Principle of operation of the Auto Lock Bot advisor

Core Concept: This is an expert advisor for trading Bollinger Band bounces (reversal strategy) with a hedging (locking) system.

How it works:

1. Entry Signal: The EA waits for the price to touch (close above or below) the upper or lower Bollinger Band (BB). Touching the upper band is a SELL signal, touching the lower band is a BUY signal. This is an attempt to catch a reversal from the volatility boundaries.

2. Main Trade: Upon receiving a signal, the first trade ( First trade lot size ) is opened in the direction opposite to the touch. It has only a take-profit ( Take profit in points ). No stop-loss is set initially.

3. "Lock" Trade (Hedge): If the price moves against the first trade and reaches a specified loss distance ( Minimum distance for lock trade , but not exceeding  MAXIMUM distance for lock trade ), the EA opens a counter (locking) trade with a larger volume ( Lock trade lot size ). The goal of the lock is to freeze the loss at the current level and wait for a reversal.

   • Lock SELL: If the first trade was BUY and the price went down.

   • Lock BUY: If the first trade was SELL and the price went up.

4. Auto-Closing by Target Profit:

   • General Target ( Target profit to close ALL trades ): The EA sums up the profit/loss of all open trades and the accumulated profit from previously closed ones. If the total accumulated profit reaches the target value, all positions are closed.

   • Post-Lock Target ( Target profit after lock activation ): After the lock is activated, the system monitors the total profit of ALL open trades (main + lock). As soon as this profit becomes positive and reaches a small specified value, ALL trades are closed with a small profit.

5. Stop-Loss Movement (Trailing Stop): After opening the main trade, if its profit reaches  Points to move stop loss  points, a stop-loss is automatically set at a distance of  Stop loss distance from open  points from the opening price (to breakeven or with a small profit).

6. Additional Conditions:

   • Volatility: You can set the minimum Bollinger Band width ( Min BB width (0 = disabled) ). If the market is consolidating (bands are narrow), opening new trades is blocked, but locking is allowed ( Allow lock in consolidation ).

   • Trading Time: Operation can be limited to a time window ( Enable time restriction ).

   • Signal Delay: A pause is maintained between signals.

Key Risks:

1. Frequent Lock Triggers and Loss Accumulation: The core strategy is playing for a bounce from the channel boundaries. If the trend is strong, the price may not bounce but continue moving. In this case, a lock will be opened, fixing the loss on the first trade. If the trend continues, the system may open several consecutive locks (or one large one), each time fixing the loss at a new level. This leads to the accumulation of floating losses in a series of opposing trades. Although the overall loss is fixed ("frozen"), for it to turn into a profit, the market needs to move back a considerable distance.

2. Dependence on Volatility: In a calm market (narrow BB bands), signals are rare. In a very volatile market, the price can frequently "break through" the bands, generating false reversal signals.

3. Psychological Risk of "Locking": The strategy constantly creates situations where losses are fixed by a lock but not realized. The trader may feel that there is "no" loss as long as trades are not closed. However, in a sharp move against the entire system (e.g., against all open lots), the loss can become very large.

4. "Averaging" in a Losing Series: The lock logic resembles averaging (adding to a losing position against the trend), which is a dangerous tactic in a strong trend.

Why does it still close with a profit even when the price moves against the position?
This happens thanks to the  Target profit after lock activation  mechanism. Suppose a main BUY trade is opened, the price goes down, and a SELL lock is opened. Now you have two opposite trades. Their total profit is calculated as the sum. If the price then reverses and moves up, the profit from the BUY trade will start to grow, and the loss from the SELL trade will increase (or vice versa). But since the lock lot size ( Lock trade lot size ) is usually larger than the first trade lot ( First trade lot size ), to achieve a small total profit ( Target profit after lock activation ), a small movement in either direction from the lock opening point is sufficient. The system simply waits for the moment when the total profit of both trades equals the target value (e.g., $25) and closes them. Thus, even if the price never returned to the entry point of the first trade, the system can close with a small profit, exiting the "locked" position.

===== Main Trading Parameters =====

• Take profit in points : Take-profit for the first trade in points.

• First trade lot size : Lot size for the first (signal) trade.

• Lock trade lot size : Lot size for the counter (locking) trade. Usually larger than  First trade lot size .

• Stop loss distance in points : Stop-loss distance for the lock trade in points.

===== Lock Trade Settings =====

• Minimum distance for lock trade : Minimum distance in points in loss from the first trade at which a lock will be opened.

• Target profit to close ALL trades : Overall target profit. When reached (sum of all trades and history), all positions are closed.

• Enable automatic closing : Enable/disable automatic closing by  Target profit to close ALL trades .

• MAXIMUM distance for lock trade : MAXIMUM distance in points for opening a lock. A lock will open only if the loss is in the range from  Minimum distance for lock trade  to  MAXIMUM distance for lock trade .

===== Advanced Settings =====

• Target profit after lock activation : Target profit (in deposit currency) to be obtained from the group of trades (main + lock) for their closure.

• Points to move stop loss : How many points the price must move in profit from the first trade for the trailing stop to trigger.

• Stop loss distance from open : At what distance from the opening price of the first trade the stop-loss will be set after the trailing trigger.

===== Trading Time Settings =====

• Enable time restriction : Enable time restriction.

• Start time (HH:MM)  /  End time (HH:MM) : Start and end of the trading window (format HH:MM).

===== Bollinger Bands Settings =====

• Timeframe : Timeframe for BB calculation.

• Period : BB period.

• Deviation : BB deviation (standard deviation).

• Shift : Indicator shift.

===== Trading Conditions =====

• Min BB width (0 = disabled) : Minimum Bollinger Band width in points for opening NEW trades. 0 = disabled.

• Allow lock in consolidation : Allow opening a lock even if the BB width is less than the minimum (market in consolidation).