With my algo-bot in the middle of some complicated trading, I thought it would provide an opportunity to explain some of the concepts and columns seen in a myFXbook display. The link will take you to my EFX Octane bot on aggressive setting.

From left to right:

• The Open Date: This is the time the bot entered into the trade.
• The Symbol: This is the pair being traded. In this case (USDCHF), it is the US dollar trading against the Swiss franc.
• The Action: This column could be either buy or sell. In the case of these trades, they are all “sell”.
• Lots: This the size of the Forex pair involved in the trade. The larger the pair, the more money could be won or lost with minimum movement of the pair.
• Open Price: The price of the pair when the trade was entered into.
• SL (Price): [Stop Loss]The point the buyer (the bot) has determined he wants to exit the trade to minimize the loss. In most/all circumstances, the bot doesn’t use this. It follows the trade and executes the “sell” or “buy” to maximize profit. This sometimes results in a losing trade, but the bot’s role is to minimize loss and maximize profits.
• TP (Price): [Take Profit] Similar to the stop loss. This is the predetermined price to sell the Forex pair. The bot typically doesn’t use this either. Again, this is to maximize profit.
• Pips: [Percentage in Points] From Investopedia, “In practical terms, a pip is one-hundredth of one percent (1/100 x . 01) and appears in the fourth decimal place (0.0001). It is the smallest price change increment for most forex pairs.”
• Net Profit: Since these trades are still open, this is the amount the trade would be worth if it traded immediately. The bot doesn’t like negative numbers any more than I do.
• Swap: [Currency Swap] From Forex.com, “a foreign exchange transaction in which two parties agree to exchange one currency for another at a future date. The currencies are then exchanged immediately at an exchange rate adjusted to reflect the expected rate of the future date, known as a forward exchange rate.”

The second chart shows what can happen in a few days. The drawdown in just these trades has more than doubled. My understanding of the martingale strategy means a trade with a lot size of 2.92 or greater is very likely to be set by the bot as the USDCHF pair starts to reverse direction.

Honestly, this is the part of “algo bot trading” I hate the most. The EFX Octane bot has made over $4,000 in March of 2024. If it completely blows this trade, I have still made money. Yet, it doesn’t always work out that way. So far, I haven’t had a losing month. But, there is always a first.

To start a Forex trading journey (whether you are making the trade or using a bot), you have to be able to stomach the volatility. As I have discussed in other posting, the multi-bot strategy allows me to sleep better at night. If one of your trading bots decides to pursue a slow developing trade, the other bots can continue to make profits and distract you from the “bad news” being produced by the “rogue” algo-trading bot.