The 3 Candle Breakout EA is an automated Expert Advisor for MT4 and MT5. It opens and manages real trades on its own using a simple price-action breakout rule. Once you enable AutoTrading, it places live orders without any further clicks from you.
This is the trading robot, not a chart tool. It watches the candles, enters, sets a stop and a target, then closes the position for you.
Risk warning
The 3 Candle Breakout EA trades live capital automatically. Every position it opens carries a mandatory stop loss. Test it on a demo account before you risk real money. Only trade with money you can afford to lose.
How the 3 Candle Breakout EA trades
The 3 Candle Breakout EA is a price-action breakout robot. It acts on closed bars only. It never reacts to an unfinished bar.
First it waits for a streak of same-direction candles. Then, on the next closed bar, it checks for a breakout. It enters long when that bar closes above the highest high of the streak. It enters short when that bar closes below the streak’s lowest low.
Every trade gets a fixed stop loss and a take profit in pips. An optional trailing stop can follow the trade once it moves in your favour. By default it also closes an open trade when the opposite signal fires.
It manages one position at a time by default. It also skips new orders when the spread is too wide.
Settings
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| StreakCount | Same-direction candles required before a breakout | 3 |
| MoneyMgmt | Lot mode: fixed lot or percent risk | FIXED_LOT |
| Lots | Fixed trade size in fixed-lot mode | 0.01 |
| RiskPercent | Balance percent risked in risk mode | 1.0 |
| StopLossPips | Stop loss distance in pips | 50 |
| TakeProfitPips | Take profit distance in pips | 100 |
| UseTrailingStop | Turn the trailing stop on or off | false |
| TrailStartPips | Profit in pips before trailing starts | 50 |
| TrailStepPips | Trailing step in pips | 25 |
| CloseOnOppositeSignal | Close a trade when the mirror signal fires | true |
| MagicNumber | Order ID that isolates this EA’s trades | 20260752 |
| MaxOpenTrades | Positions allowed at once | 1 |
| MaxSpreadPoints | Skip entries above this spread | 40 |
| Slippage | Allowed price slippage in points | 30 |
Backtest results
This is a MetaTrader 4 Strategy Tester run on USDJPY H4 using the open-prices model on historical data. It closed 80 trades in total. Net profit was 49.71 in account currency at a profit factor of 1.33. Maximum drawdown was 0.22 percent, and profitable trades: 47.5%. This run is optimized on past data, and past performance is not indicative of future results.
How to install on MT4 and MT5
This Expert Advisor installs into the MetaTrader Experts folder (MQL4/Experts for MT4, MQL5/Experts for MT5) and starts trading once you enable AutoTrading. For the full step-by-step with screenshots for both platforms, see the complete guide to installing MT4 and MT5 Expert Advisors.
Best practices
- Run the EA on a demo account first.
- Use a VPS for 24/5 uptime.
- Keep the stop loss switched on at all times.
- Start with 0.01 lots or 1 percent risk.
- Re-test the settings before you go live.
- Do not run two EAs on the same magic number.
For background on hands-off systems, see Automated Investing at Investopedia.
Get the 3 Candle Breakout EA for MT4 and MT5
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Related on forexmt4systems.com: London Session Breakout Strategy.
FAQ
Does the 3 Candle Breakout EA place trades automatically?
Yes. Once you enable AutoTrading on MT4 or Algo Trading on MT5, it opens, modifies, and closes trades on its own.
What stop loss does it use?
Every position carries a fixed stop loss set by StopLossPips, which defaults to 50 pips. An optional trailing stop can follow the trade once it moves into profit.
Which pairs and timeframe does it suit?
The backtest ran on USDJPY H4 as an example. You can test it on other pairs and timeframes on a demo account first.
Can I change the risk or lot size?
Yes. Set MoneyMgmt to fixed lot and adjust Lots, or switch to risk mode and set RiskPercent.
Is past performance a promise of future returns?
No. Trading involves risk. Results are not guaranteed; past performance is not indicative of future results.
About the author
Written by Dominic Walsh, a Forex trader and MT4/MT5 indicator, Expert Advisor and script developer. Every tool on forexmt4systems.com is tested on live charts before release and ships with ready-to-use compiled MT4 (.ex4) and MT5 (.ex5) files. Learn more about the trader and developer behind this site.