Friday afternoons are supposed to be calm. Markets slow down, traders ease into the weekend, and EAs quietly tick along. At least, that’s what I thought—until my EA decided to throw a fireworks show in my account.
The Setup
I had built this EA with confidence: clean logic, tested filters, and a backtest that looked like a dream. But reality doesn’t care about your backtest. On that Friday, volatility spiked, spreads widened, and my EA’s risk controls weren’t tight enough.
What Went Wrong
- Overconfidence in backtests: I trusted historical data too much without stress-testing extreme scenarios.
- Weak risk management: My stop-loss logic was too generous, letting losses snowball.
- Ignoring market context: News events and liquidity shifts on Fridays can distort normal patterns.
- No circuit breaker: The EA kept trading even when conditions screamed “stop.”
Lessons Learned
- Always stress-test: Simulate chaos—spikes, gaps, widened spreads—before trusting an EA.
- Tighten risk controls: Smaller position sizes and stricter stops save accounts.
- Respect the calendar: Fridays, holidays, and news events deserve extra caution.
- Build a kill switch: A simple “pause trading” condition can prevent disaster.
The Takeaway
An EA blowing up isn’t the end—it’s a tuition fee paid to the market. The key is to extract lessons, refine your logic, and remember that automation doesn’t mean abdication. You’re still the pilot.