Automatically Calculate Trade Lot Size By Percent Risk
in Forex Tester
Backtesting is one of the best ways to test a discretionary trading strategy. It is also a fantastic way to practice your trading strategy and keep your skills sharp.
Forex Tester is the best way that I know of to manually backtest.
Period.
But if I had to choose one major shortcoming in Forex Tester, it is the lack of an automatic lot size calculator.
You see, most traders that I know use fixed fractional risk. I usually don't risk more than 1% per trade.
But there hasn't been an easy way to automatically calculate lot size based on percent risk…
Until now.
Download it now and accelerate your backtesting…
Speed Up Your Backtesting
Manually calculating lot size in your head or by using a spreadsheet may not seem like it takes a long time. But those few seconds spent before every trade can add up, making your backtesting less efficient than it could be.
Save time and brain power by using the Snapdragon Easy Order Entry Script for Forex Tester 3 and 4. This script is easy to install and allows you to automatically calculate lot size, based on your predefined percent risk per trade.
Here's an example of risking 0.9% on every trade.
Standard Entry
This script gives you the option of entering by using pending order levels or doing a bracket bar entry. Let's take a look at the Use pending order levels option first.
In order for the script to automatically calculate the lot size for you, a pending order will have to be created. You cannot use a market order because the script cannot change an existing live trade. It's like entering a trade in your live trading account, then contacting your broker and telling them that you want to change the lot size on the last trade.
So setup a pending order that is a few pips above (buy) or below (sell) the current market price, then set your stop loss accordingly.
Don't worry about the lot size, the script will automatically recalculate it for you. 🙂
Once your pending order is entered, hit the shortcut key that you have setup for a long or short trade inside the Easy Order Entry Script. When the entry level is hit, the script automatically recalculates the lot size to match your desired percent risk.
That's it!
Bracket Bar Entry
A common entry method is to place a stop loss below/above the current bar and an entry order on the opposite side.
For example, if you think that this is a good place to go long, you would put your stop loss below the current bar and an entry buy stop above the current bar.
This script makes it super easy to enter trades in this way. Setup the script, then simply hit the shortcut key on your keyboard. No more setting the stop loss and pending entry manually. The script does everything for you.
You can also setup a predetermined buffer between the candle and the entry level.
If you don't trade in this way, then you can simply use the Standard Entry method mentioned in the previous section.
Risk Multiple Profit Target
This script also makes it easy for you to set fixed R profit targets. If you don't need this feature, then you don't have to take advantage of it.
But if you do use fixed risk multiple profit targets, this feature will literally cut your order entry time in half.
Here's what an automatic 5R profit target would look like.
This can also be a quick way to test different profit target levels, based on R multiple. For example, a 2R profit target might work well for you right now. But you may find that a 4R profit target improves your results dramatically.
You will never know unless you test it.
Luckily, this script makes it easy.
Take Your Backtesting to the Next Level
The best traders find ways to create small advantages in the markets.
These advantages may not seem like much on their own. But when you stack them up over months and years, they add up to significant improvements in their trading performance.
Get the most out of your backtesting sessions.
Download the Snapdragon Easy Order Entry Script for Forex Tester 3 and 4 and get started today.