Guides · Updated Nov 6, 2026
Grid vs martingale vs stop-loss EA: the risk behind each
Every EA has losing trades. What separates them is what they do next: add more trades, trade bigger, or take the loss. That one choice decides what the worst day looks like.
The short version
| Grid | Martingale | Stop loss per trade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| After a losing move | Opens more trades | Next trade is bigger | Takes the loss |
| Win rate | Very high | Very high | Usually lower |
| Balance line | Smooth | Smooth | Up and down |
| Worst day | Set by its loss limit, if it has one | Can be the whole account | A few stop losses in a row |
Grid
A grid opens more trades as the price moves against it, often with larger lot sizes, and closes the set together on a bounce. It wins most of the time because prices rarely move far in a straight line. When they do, the open loss grows quickly.
A grid is only as safe as the limit that closes it. Look for a stated loss limit in money, checked on every price change, that you cannot turn off.
Martingale and recovery trades
A martingale doubles, or otherwise increases, the size of the next trade after a loss, so that one win recovers everything. The maths only works with unlimited money. A long enough losing streak always comes, and each step in it costs more than all the previous ones together.
Many robots don’t use the word. If the lot size goes up after a loss, it is a martingale.
Stop loss on every trade
Each trade has a fixed exit for when it is wrong. Losses are visible, the win rate is lower, and the balance line goes up and down. In exchange, the worst case of each trade is known before it opens. A stop loss can still fill at a worse price in a fast market or over a gap.
How to tell them apart on myfxbook
- Several open trades in the same direction at different prices: grid.
- Lot size rising after losing trades: martingale.
- Each trade closed on its own, with losses of similar size: stop loss.
- Equity line dropping far below balance: open losses being held, usually grid or martingale.
My three robots
I run both kinds and say which is which. Amber Algo GOLD and Amber Algo NEWS put a stop loss on every trade and never trade bigger after a loss. Amber Algo SS is a grid with a $50 daily loss limit and a $100 hard loss limit per 0.01 starting lot.
Amber Algo GOLD has been live since Oct 16, 2026: a gain of +3.86%, a maximum drawdown of 1.78% and a profit factor of 2.08 (myfxbook, as of Nov 6, 2026). Amber Algo SS has been live since Nov 3, 2026: a gain of +1.56%, a maximum drawdown of 2.90% and a profit factor of 2.13 (myfxbook, as of Nov 6, 2026). Amber Algo NEWS has been live since Oct 16, 2026: a gain of −0.69%, a maximum drawdown of 0.79% and a profit factor of 0.13 (myfxbook, as of Nov 6, 2026).
Risk. Trading with leverage can lose all the money in an account. Past results do not guarantee future results. This article explains common approaches; it is not financial advice.
More guides
See every trade of my three live accounts.