MidasIn short: What grid EA terms mean: 37 terms in plain words, from basket and base lot to stop-out, each with a link to the full guide.
An Expert Advisor (EA) is a program that trades automatically in MetaTrader 5, and a grid EA opens a first order and adds more at set price steps as price moves against it. In a grid EA, the basket is all open orders of one grid series, the base lot is the size of its first order, and stop-out is the broker's level at which positions are closed by force. This glossary defines 37 such terms from MetaTrader 5, each with a short definition and a link to the full guide.
Platform terms follow MetaTrader 5 Help and the MQL5 reference; brokers set their own levels, spread, swap and leverage, so read yours. Examples use one basket, as in the linked articles: cent account, $1,000, 11 orders, start lot 0.01, ×2, step $1.95, gold at $4,170, 1:2000, margin call 60%, stop-out 40% (example levels). It is arithmetic of settings, not a forecast, calculated on 8 October 2026 with the free calculators.
On this page (6)
What do balance, equity, margin and stop-out mean?
Balance is the money on the account without the results of open positions. Equity is balance plus or minus their floating result, margin is the money held to cover open positions, and stop-out is the broker-set level at which positions are closed by force.
Balance
The money on the account, not counting results of positions still open. It changes when a position closes or money moves in or out.
More: Margin call vs stop-out.
Equity
Balance plus or minus the floating result of open positions, recalculated on every tick. Margin level and stop-out use it, not the balance. Example: a $1,000 balance and a −$39.70 floating result give $960.30.
More: Margin call vs stop-out.
Margin
The money held to cover open positions and pending orders. It is not a fee, and it is released when the positions close. Example: 20.47 lots of gold at 1:2000 hold $42.68 on the cent account.
More: margin and lot calculator.
Free margin
Equity minus margin: what is left for new orders. A new order that needs more margin than that is usually refused (code 10019, "not enough money").
More: Margin call vs stop-out.
Margin level
Equity as a percentage of margin: equity ÷ margin × 100. It shows how many times equity covers the margin, not how far price can move. Example: $960.30 ÷ $42.68 = 2,250%.
More: Margin call vs stop-out.
Margin call
A broker-set margin level at which the account counts as short of funds and replenishment will be required. It is a warning; forced closing starts later, at stop-out. Set in percent or in money. Example: 60%.
More: Margin call vs stop-out.
Stop-out
Stop-out is the broker-set level at which the server starts closing positions by force, the largest loss first, at whatever price it gets. A trigger, not a floor: a gap can close below it. Example: 40%; at 1:2000, closing starts when equity falls to $17.07 of the $1,000.
More: Margin call vs stop-out and Can an account go negative?
Leverage
The ratio of position value to the margin held: at 1:2000 the broker holds one two-thousandth. It shrinks margin, not the loss from a price move. Limits differ by broker, entity and regulator. Example: ESMA's EU-wide cap on retail gold CFDs was 20:1 from 2018; ESMA let it expire on 31 July 2019, as most national authorities had adopted permanent rules at least as strict.
More: Margin call vs stop-out.
Cent account (USC)
A cent account is an account that counts money in cents (USC): $10 reads 1,000 USC. Usually each lot is priced 100 times smaller too. It is still a margin account: stop-out applies. Check the specification; the broker must accept clients from your country. Example: 1.00 lot of gold usually moves $1 per $1 of price (standard account: $100).
More: What is a cent account?
Hedging account
A position-accounting mode where every order is its own position, and buys and sells on one symbol can be open together. Bookkeeping, not protection. Grid EAs that track each order, and any lock, need it.
More: Hedging vs netting.
Netting account
The other mode: one position per symbol. A same-direction deal adds to it; an opposite deal reduces, closes or reverses it, so a lock cannot sit beside a basket.
More: Hedging vs netting.
What do the grid and order terms mean?
A grid is a ladder of orders spaced by a set price step, and the basket is all the open orders of one grid series, managed as a group. The lot, base lot, step and multiplier set the basket's size; spread, swap, slippage and gap are its costs and price jumps.
Lot
A lot is the unit of trade volume. On a standard account gold's contract is normally 100 ounces per 1.00 lot, so 1.00 lot moves $100 per $1 of gold; on a cent account it is usually 1 ounce, so 1.00 lot moves $1. Confirm it in the symbol specification. Example: on a cent account, 0.01 lot moves one cent per $1 of gold.
| Standard account | Cent account | |
|---|---|---|
| Gold contract per 1.00 lot (usually) | 100 ounces | 1 ounce |
| 1.00 lot moves, per $1 of gold | $100 | $1 |
More: What is a cent account?
Base lot (start lot)
The base lot (start lot) is the size of a grid's first order, before the multiplier acts. It sets the size of the whole basket. Midas's panel calls it start lot. Example: 0.01 doubled over 11 orders ends at 10.24 lots, 20.47 in total.
More: Grid step and multiplier.
Grid step
The price distance between one order of a grid and the next. With a constant step, N orders reach (N − 1) × step from the first. Example: $1.95 and 11 orders make $19.50.
More: Grid step and multiplier.
Multiplier
How much each order's lot grows against the previous one: ×2 doubles it, ×1 keeps lots equal. Each lot must fit the broker's volume step, so the EA rounds it.
More: Grid step and multiplier.
Grid
A grid is a ladder of orders spaced by a set price step. The EA opens the first order and adds the next at each step as price moves against it, up to a set maximum count. Growing lots make it a martingale.
More: Grid vs martingale vs averaging.
Averaging
Adding to a losing position so the average entry price moves toward the market. It brings break-even nearer; it does not remove the loss on a longer move.
More: Grid vs martingale vs averaging.
Martingale
Martingale is raising size after a loss to recover it with one win. In a grid EA, each new order is larger than the last. A long enough one-way move can lose the entire deposit.
More: Martingale grid on gold.
Basket
A basket is all the open orders of one grid series, managed as a group: one average entry price, one floating result, one exit. A grid EA usually closes the basket as a whole. Example: 11 orders make 20.47 lots, or $20.47 per $1 of gold on a cent account.
More: Martingale grid on gold.
Break-even
The price at which a basket's floating result is zero. Each added order pulls it closer to the market, so a doubling grid can close on a small bounce. Example: after the 11th order, price must climb $1.94 from that order's level, spread ignored.
More: Martingale grid on gold.
Floating profit or loss
The unrealized result of open positions at the current price. It moves with every tick and enters equity; it reaches the balance only when positions close.
More: Margin call vs stop-out.
Spread
The difference between Ask and Bid: what a quote costs the moment you open. A grid pays it on every order, and later orders are larger. Example: an assumed 0.30 on 20.47 lots costs $6.14.
More: XAUUSD hours, spread and swap.
Swap and rollover
Swap is the charge or credit for holding a position past rollover, the end of the broker's trading day. Values can differ for long and short positions, and the rollover time differs by broker, so check yours.
More: XAUUSD hours, spread and swap.
Slippage
A fill at a price other than the one you saw, often a worse one, most likely in fast markets and around news. A stop-out close can slip too.
More: Can an account go negative? and Gold on news days.
Gap
A jump between two prices with no trading in between, such as the first quote after the weekend. Stops and stop-out cannot act inside it.
More: Can an account go negative?
What is an Expert Advisor (EA) in MT5, and which terms go with it?
An Expert Advisor is a program that runs inside the MT5 terminal and trades by fixed rules, so it works only while the terminal is open, connected and allowed to trade. The terms below cover its files (.ex5, .set), permissions (Algo Trading, WebRequest), hosting (VPS) and logs (Experts tab).
Expert Advisor (EA)
An Expert Advisor (EA) is a program that trades automatically in MetaTrader 5, also called a trading robot. It runs inside the terminal, so it works only while the terminal is open, connected and allowed to trade.
More: Does an EA run when the PC is off?
.ex5 file
The compiled, ready-to-run form of an MQL5 program, made from its .mq5 source in MetaEditor. EAs live in the MQL5\Experts folder.
More: Loading a .set file.
.set file
A plain-text list of one EA's input values. It holds no code and does nothing without the matching .ex5. Load it on the Inputs tab; sets you save go to MQL5\Presets.
More: Loading a .set file.
Algo Trading
The toolbar button, plus each EA's own permission, that lets Expert Advisors send orders. Older builds say AutoTrading. The broker's server has a third switch you cannot change.
More: Automated trading is disabled.
WebRequest
The MQL5 function an EA uses to send an HTTP request. MT5 blocks it until the server's address is on the list of allowed URLs in Tools → Options → Expert Advisors. It does not run in the Strategy Tester.
More: WebRequest not allowed.
VPS
A rented always-on remote computer, for MT5 usually Windows, where the terminal runs day and night so the EA keeps working when your own PC is off.
More: Does an EA run when the PC is off? and Set up a VPS.
Experts tab
The tab in MT5's Toolbox (Ctrl+T) where EAs, scripts and indicators write messages: trades, alerts, comments and errors. The Journal tab beside it logs what the trader and the platform did in the session.
More: MT5 EA error codes.
Which terms are specific to Midas?
Midas is the MT5 gold EA we build; it runs on hedging cent accounts. These five terms show how Midas uses the words; other EAs may use them differently. Full guides: help center.
Trailing exit
A take-profit that follows price: once in profit, the position closes when price pulls back from its peak by a set distance. In Midas, the Exit tab sets how a basket closes, trailing exit included.
More: Panel settings explained.
Lock and autolock
A lock is an opposite order on a hedging account for the volume being locked: floating loss on that volume stops growing, but nothing closes and stop-out stays possible. In Midas, Autolock arms it by basket loss, order number or room to stop-out.
More: Locking a position and Panel settings explained.
On-chart panel
In Midas, the control panel drawn on the XAUUSD chart: tabs Grid, Autolock, Exit and Alerts, plus the basket and the room to stop-out. English and Russian.
More: Panel settings explained.
Room to stop-out
How many dollars of gold price can still move against the basket before stop-out. In Midas the panel shows it as an estimate; spread and slippage can use the room up faster. Example: $46.1 after the 11th order on $1,000.
More: Martingale grid on gold and Risk, plainly.
License key
In Midas, a code like MIDAS-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX from the Telegram bot @MidasGridBot, tied to one MT5 account number and stored in your .set file. The EA checks it online at most hourly, so WebRequest must allow https://lic.midasgrid.com.
More: Install Midas in 10 steps.
What can go wrong?
A glossary explains words; it does not lower a grid's risk. A martingale-style grid keeps adding size while price moves against it, so a long enough one-way move can reach stop-out and take the entire deposit. Margin call and lock are mechanisms, not protection. Before trusting any grid EA, read ten questions before you buy, the red flags in robot ads and how to verify a track record. The market side: what moves the gold price. Midas: Risk, plainly.
This glossary defines terms; example numbers are arithmetic of settings, not a forecast. Trading with leverage carries risk: if the deposit is too small, a stop-out is possible. Size your deposit with a safety margin. Nothing here is individual investment advice.
Sources, retrieved 8 October 2026: MetaTrader 5 Help on hedging and netting, Algo Trading and WebRequest, the Experts and Journal tabs, files and folders, hot keys, virtual hosting and compiling; MQL5 reference on trade permissions, return codes, symbol properties and WebRequest; the MQL5 book on margin.
Midas · figures calculated and sources retrieved on 8 October 2026.
FAQ
What is an Expert Advisor (EA) in MT5, and how does a forex trading robot work?
An Expert Advisor (EA) is a program that trades automatically in MetaTrader 5, also called a trading robot. It runs inside the terminal and sends orders by fixed rules, so it works only while the terminal is open, connected and allowed to trade: the Algo Trading button and the EA's own permission must both be on. A VPS keeps the terminal running when your PC is off.
What is a grid EA, and how does grid trading work on gold?
A grid EA is an Expert Advisor that opens a first order and adds more at set price steps as price moves against it, up to a set maximum count, and manages them as one basket. Growing lots make it a martingale. On a cent account 1.00 lot of gold usually moves $1 per $1 of price. A long enough one-way move can lose the entire deposit.
What is a basket in a grid EA?
A basket is all the open orders of one grid series, managed together: one average entry price, one floating result, one exit. Each time price moves a step against the last order, the grid adds one, and the EA usually closes the basket as a whole. In the example, 11 orders make 20.47 lots. Later orders are larger, so a long one-way move can cost the entire deposit.
What does stop-out mean in forex?
Stop-out is the level, set by the broker, at which the trade server starts closing your positions by force, the largest loss first. In percent mode it is a margin level; in money mode, an amount in the account currency. The server closes at the price it can get, so a gap can close below the line. Read your level in the account terms.
What does base lot mean in a grid EA?
Base lot, also called start lot, is the size of the grid's first order, before the multiplier acts. Every later order is built from it, so it sets the size of the whole basket. With 0.01, ×2 and 11 orders, the last order is 10.24 lots; the basket totals 20.47. The useful question is balance per 0.01 of base lot, not the balance alone.
How much is 1 lot of XAUUSD?
It depends on the contract size, which the broker sets in the symbol specification. On a standard account gold's contract is normally 100 ounces, so 1.00 lot moves $100 for every $1 gold moves. On a cent account it is usually 1 ounce, so 1.00 lot moves $1 per $1, and 0.01 lot moves one cent.