What is the most important Myfxbook metric when evaluating an EA?

The most important Myfxbook metrics for evaluating an EA are equity drawdown and the relationship between gain and risk. Total gain can look impressive, but equity drawdown shows how deep the account went into floating loss and how much risk the system took to achieve that gain.

Why is equity drawdown more important than balance drawdown on Myfxbook?

Balance drawdown only looks at closed trades, while equity drawdown includes open floating losses. Many grid and martingale EAs keep closing small profits while holding large losing baskets. The balance curve looks smooth, but equity drawdown reveals the real risk and how close the account came to a margin call.

How long should an EA track record be on Myfxbook before I take it seriously?

As a rule of thumb, look for at least six to twelve months of continuous Myfxbook history, and ideally longer. The account should have traded through different market conditions, not just one short trend, so you can see how the EA behaves during both good and difficult periods.

Are hidden open trades and private history on Myfxbook a red flag?

Yes, hidden open trades, private history and hidden deposit or withdrawal data can all be red flags. While some privacy is understandable, hiding everything important often means you cannot see large floating drawdowns, rescue deposits or risky position sizing, which reduces the value of the track record.

Can I trust demo Myfxbook results for EA evaluation?

Demo Myfxbook results are useful for early research, but they do not show real slippage, execution speed or emotional pressure. Prefer at least one serious real account with realistic lot sizes and a normal broker. Use demo systems for additional context, not as the only proof an EA is safe to trade.

How To Read Myfxbook and EA Track Records (No More Fake Results)

Almost every EA advertisement today shows some kind of performance curve. Many use Myfxbook, some use screenshots, some just show monthly percentages with no proof. If you do not know how to read these stats, it is easy to be impressed by a curve that is hiding very dangerous risk.

In this guide we will walk through the main numbers on Myfxbook and similar tracking sites, and how to connect them to real world risk and drawdown so you can separate real systems from marketing-only curves.

Looking for a reliable and low-drawdown Expert Advisor? Check out the SmartEdge EA — our advanced multi-currency MT4 trading system with a strong focus on risk management. Explore all features here or view pricing here.

If you are still at the research stage, it helps to combine this guide with: the Beginner's Guide to MT4 Expert Advisors, our article on Forex EA Backtesting � The Correct Way (2025 Beginner Guide), and the step by step guide to testing an MT4 EA from demo to live. Together they give you a full process from research, to testing, to reading live results.

You can also compare what you learn here with a real live system by looking at the SmartEdge EA Performance and Transparency page, which has a Myfxbook link and monthly breakdown that you can practice reading in real time.

1. The difference between gain, balance and equity

Myfxbook shows several key values on the main system page. The most important ones are:

Gain: total percentage change since the account started, including closed trades.
Balance: what is left after closed trades only.
Equity: balance plus open profit or loss right now.

A very common trap is to look only at gain and balance, while equity was deep negative many times. Dangerous grid and martingale systems often look smooth on balance, but equity shows the real stress the account was under.

When you look at any EA result, always check how equity behaved during drawdowns, not just the final gain.

2. Why maximum drawdown matters more than total gain

Total gain looks exciting. You see plus 300 percent or plus 800 percent and it feels like easy money. But professional traders always ask first:

What was the worst drawdown on the way to that gain?

On Myfxbook you can see:

Balance drawdown: based on closed trades only.
Equity drawdown: includes open trades and shows the real worst case pain.

Many aggressive EAs have equity drawdown of 60 to 80 percent or even higher. That means at some point most of the account was floating in loss, and a slightly bigger move could have wiped everything.

For long term survival, a system with lower gain and much lower equity drawdown is usually better than a fast growing monster that almost blows up every few months.

3. Time in the market: how long has the system been running?

Another key point is simple but often ignored:

How many months or years has this track record been live?

A system that made one hundred percent in two weeks is not automatically better than one that made thirty percent in one year. Short tracks can be pure luck or a very specific market phase.

Look for:

At least six to twelve months of continuous history.
Performance through different market conditions, not just one easy trend.
Reasonable stability in monthly results, not only one huge month and many flat ones.

4. Hidden history, private open trades and other red flags

Myfxbook allows system owners to hide some information. Sometimes this is for privacy, but in many cases it is done to hide risk.

Red flags to watch:

History is private: you cannot see individual trades or position sizes.
Open trades are private: you cannot see large floating drawdowns.
Deposit or withdrawal history is hidden: you cannot see if money was added or removed to rescue the account.

If everything important is hidden, the track record loses most of its value. It might still be useful as a small signal, but it should not be the main reason to risk real capital.

5. Lot sizing, scaling and martingale patterns

Even if history is visible, you still need to understand how the EA manages lot sizes. In the trade history look for patterns like:

After each loss, the next lot size is much bigger than the previous one.
Long series of trades in the same direction with increasing volume.
Dozens of small wins and then a few huge losses that wipe out months of profit.

These are classic signs of martingale or very aggressive grid systems. They can produce beautiful equity curves for a while, but they almost always end in a large crash when market conditions change.

6. Monthly returns: smooth profile vs lottery ticket

On Myfxbook you can open the monthly analysis tab. This is very useful for seeing the "personality" of an EA.

Things you like to see:

Most months are positive, with a few small negative months.
No single month is extremely large compared to the rest.
Drawdown months are not followed by instant over-leveraged revenge trading.

Things to be careful about:

Many flat months and then one giant month that does most of the gain.
Very unstable profile, with plus fifty percent one month and minus forty percent another.
Big losses that appear after huge growth, suggesting uncontrolled risk.

7. Real vs demo, and broker quality

Myfxbook clearly shows whether an account is real or demo, and which broker is used. Demo results are useful for early research, but they do not show slippage, spreads, execution delays and emotional pressure.

Prefer:

Real accounts instead of demo only.
Decent regulated brokers with normal spreads and execution.
Accounts that are not over boosted by cent accounts or tiny initial deposits.

It is fine if a developer also shows demo or test accounts, but there should be at least one serious real account with proper risk that matches the EA description.

8. How SmartEdge EA thinks about performance and transparency

SmartEdge EA was designed around the idea that long term survival and steady growth matter more than one time high gain. That means:

Focusing on controlled drawdown instead of maximum possible monthly return.
Using a multi currency approach to smooth the equity curve.
Avoiding extreme martingale behavior that looks good until it explodes.

When you look at any EA, including SmartEdge EA, always combine the curve with the risk story behind it. Numbers only make sense when you connect them to logic and behavior. If you are still deciding between a single-pair robot and a portfolio-style engine, you can also read our comparison: Multi-Currency vs Single-Pair MT4 EAs .

9. Simple checklist for any Myfxbook EA you review

Next time you open a Myfxbook link for an EA, walk through this quick checklist:

Is equity drawdown reasonable compared to gain?
Has the system traded for at least several months, preferably a year or more?
Is history and open trades information visible?
Do lot sizes grow in a controlled way, or is it pure martingale?
Are monthly returns relatively stable, or just a few lottery style spikes?
Is the account real, with a normal broker and realistic deposit size?

If most answers are positive, you can move the EA to the next stage of your research, such as demo testing and small live testing. If several answers are negative, treat the system with caution, no matter how beautiful the curve looks.

SmartEdge Trading

Author: SmartEdge Trading � Updated for 2025

SmartEdge Trading runs multi-currency MT4 Expert Advisors with a strong focus on risk control, diversification and transparent performance tracking. This Myfxbook guide is based on real experience analysing EA track records and helping traders separate sustainable systems from marketing-only curves.

Frequently asked questions

The first thing to look at is equity drawdown compared to total gain. High gain with very deep equity drawdown usually means the EA takes extreme risk or uses martingale-style position sizing. A more moderate gain with controlled drawdown is often a better foundation for long term trading.

Balance drawdown only considers closed trades, so a grid or martingale EA can show a smooth balance curve while holding large losing baskets. Equity drawdown includes open losses and shows the real stress on the account. If equity has been down 60�80%, the account was very close to blowing up even if the balance line looked fine.

Ideally you want at least 6�12 months of continuous history and, even better, more than a year. The system should have traded through different environments (trends, ranges, volatility spikes) so you can see how it behaves when conditions are not perfect.

They can be. Some privacy is understandable, but when open trades, history and deposits are all private you lose visibility into floating drawdown, position sizing and rescue deposits. That makes it much harder to judge real risk, so such systems should be treated with extra caution.

Demo results are useful for early study but should not be the only proof. They do not capture real spreads, slippage or execution quality. Use demo accounts as supporting information and prefer at least one serious real account with realistic risk and a normal broker when you are deciding whether to trust an EA.