Golden Sniper XAU

Golden Sniper XAU is a fully automated Expert Advisor for gold (XAUUSD) on the H1 timeframe in MetaTrader 5. It combines three independent trading lanes with a regime filter and a set of account-level protections. Every position is opened with a stop loss. The EA does not use martingale, grid or averaging.

How it works

The EA evaluates new setups once per H1 bar. A regime filter measures longer-term momentum and decides whether trend trading is allowed. Each lane then looks for its own setup. Before an order is sent, it must pass the protection layer: news window, spread check, daily and weekly loss limits, equity throttle and lot caps. An on-chart dashboard shows what the EA is doing and why a lane is paused.

Trading lanes

- Trend lane. A Donchian / time-series-momentum style breakout. It trades only when the momentum regime is on: the regime turns on when the 250-bar momentum measure reaches 0.20 and turns off when it falls below 0.15. This hysteresis avoids switching on and off too often. New trend entries are not opened on Fridays.

- Short lane. A separate lane for short-side setups. It has its own rules and can be switched on or off independently.

- MAG lane (momentum). A momentum lane with an ATR-based stop loss sized to suit small accounts, an H4 trend filter and a trailing stop.

Each lane can be enabled or disabled in the inputs.

Protections

- Stop loss on every trade. No martingale, no grid, no averaging.

- News filter with a built-in calendar of high-impact (tier-1) events. It pauses new entries 15 minutes before and 30 minutes after an event. It does not need an internet connection and also works in the Strategy Tester.

- Daily and weekly loss limits. When a limit is reached, new entries are paused until the next day or week.

- Equity throttle: after a 10% drawdown from the equity peak, the risk per trade is halved.

- Maximum lot size and an absolute risk cap per trade.

- Spread check: no new entries when the spread is above the allowed level.

- Friday block for the Trend lane.

Dashboard

The on-chart panel shows:

- EA status and the current momentum regime;

- market character as a combination of direction (TREND / MIXED / CHOP) and volatility (QUIET / NORM / WILD);

- active lanes and the reason why any lane is paused;

- current risk settings and open positions;

- statistics for today, this week, this month and all time;

- a countdown to the next high-impact news event.

Strategy Tester results (backtests, not live trading)

All figures below are from the MetaTrader 5 Strategy Tester. Settings: every tick based on real ticks, initial deposit $300, leverage 1:500, default preset.

- 01.01.2024 – 11.11.2026: 331 trades, net profit $4 949.17, profit factor 3.85, maximal equity drawdown 11.16%, relative drawdown 32.03%, recovery factor 12.31.

- 01.01.2020 – 31.12.2023: profit factor 1.55, equity drawdown 19.2%.

The 2020–2023 period was clearly weaker than 2024–2026. Expect results that differ from the tests, including losing months and drawdowns larger than in the backtests. Backtest results do not guarantee future results. A public forward-test signal will be added to this page when it has enough history.

Recommended settings

- Symbol XAUUSD (or your broker's gold symbol), timeframe H1.

- Hedging account.

- Recommended deposit from $300. For smaller accounts, enable micro mode.

- The tests used leverage 1:500. With lower leverage, check that the margin is sufficient for your lot settings.

- A low-spread account and a VPS are recommended for uninterrupted operation.

- Use the default preset first. Lower the risk input if the drawdowns are too large for you.

- Run only one copy of the EA per XAUUSD chart and per account, unless you set different magic numbers.

Requirements

- MetaTrader 5, hedging account.

- No DLLs and no external files. No WebRequest or internet connection is needed.

Input groups overview

- General: magic number, trade comment, lane switches.

- Risk: risk per trade, micro mode, maximum lot, absolute risk cap.

- Trend lane: breakout channel parameters, regime gate thresholds (on 0.20 / off 0.15), Friday block.

- Short lane: lane switch and its parameters.

- MAG lane: ATR stop multiplier, H4 filter, trailing stop parameters.

- News filter: on/off, minutes before and after the event.

- Account protection: daily loss limit, weekly loss limit, equity throttle threshold (10%) and risk factor (0.5).

- Execution: maximum spread, slippage.

- Dashboard: show/hide, position, colours.

FAQ

Q: Why are there days without trades?

A: The EA waits for its conditions: regime, setup, spread, news window and loss limits. Several quiet days in a row are normal.

Q: Does it use martingale, grid or averaging?

A: No. Each position has its own stop loss, and losing positions are never added to.

Q: Can I run it on other symbols or timeframes?

A: The EA was developed and tested only on XAUUSD H1. Other symbols are not supported for live trading.

Q: What is the minimum deposit?

A: From $300 is recommended. Micro mode is available for smaller accounts, but risk per trade as a share of the balance is higher on small accounts.

Q: Is it suitable for prop-firm accounts?

A: The daily and weekly loss limits can be set to match your account rules. Check your firm's rules yourself. The EA has not been tested specifically for any prop firm.

Q: Why is the relative drawdown (32.03%) higher than the equity drawdown (11.16%)?

A: The two are measured differently in the MetaTrader report. Relative drawdown is a percentage of the equity at the peak before the drop. On a small starting balance, a modest loss in money can be a large percentage. Please size your risk with the larger figure in mind.

Q: How do I get updates?

A: Updates are free and are installed from the Market tab in your terminal.

Risk warning

Trading gold with leverage carries a high level of risk and can lead to the loss of your entire deposit. The results shown are Strategy Tester backtests on historical data, not real trading results. Past performance, simulated or real, does not guarantee future results. Results depend on your broker, spread, commission, slippage and settings. Use only money you can afford to lose, and test the EA on a demo account first.