Each of the 14 articles on this blog stands alone, but together they form a designed learning path. This page is the map: read in the order below and you will go from zero background to independently judging whether an EA deserves your trust.
Stage 1: Understand Automated Trading
Build the right mental model first — what problem automation solves, and why gold is the market we chose.
- What Is MT5 Automated Trading? A 2026 Beginner's Guide to Gold Quant Strategies
- Why Gold (XAUUSD) Suits Algorithmic Trading: Three Market Characteristics
Stage 2: Set Up Your Environment
Two hands-on guides to get MT5 and a 24/7 runtime environment in place.
- MT5 Installation and EA Setup: The Complete 5-Step Guide to Automated Trading
- What Is a VPS? Why Running an EA Almost Always Requires One
Stage 3: Learn to Read the Numbers
The core skill of EA evaluation — how to read backtests and live reports, and how to count costs. These four articles are the heart of this site.
- How to Read an MT5 Backtest Report: Win Rate, Profit Factor and Max Drawdown Explained
- Great Backtest, Disappointing Live Results? The Five Causes of the Gap
- How to Read an EA's Live Performance Report: TWR, Max Drawdown and Profit Factor
- Gold Trading Costs Explained: Spread, Slippage and Swap — Do the Math Before Your EA Profits
Stage 4: Risk and Verification
Understand risk structures, manage your capital, and learn to verify live performance — the final gate before real money.
- The Truth About Martingale and Grid Risk: Why Risk Parameters Beat Win Rates
- EA Money Management 101: Lots, Leverage and How to Size for Max Drawdown
- Margin, Leverage and Stop Out: How Forced Liquidation Works in MT5
- How to Verify an EA's Live Performance: Third-Party Verification and Read-Only Accounts
Further Reading: Market Knowledge
Two background pieces that explain the environment your EA operates in.
- Gold Trading Sessions Explained: Asian, European and US Hours, and When Your EA Should Trade
- What Moves the Gold Price? Five Key Drivers: the Dollar, Real Rates, Safe Havens, Central Banks and Inflation
Every article ends with related reading and an FAQ, so follow your curiosity. Once you have walked the whole path, visit the live verification page and match what you read against real-time data — every metric in these articles has a live counterpart there.
