MidasMidas has no single protective switch. What limits risk is a short list of settings: how many orders the grid may open for your balance, when a new basket may start, when orders must pause, and when a loss is taken on purpose. Entry filters, including Smart Money, only decide when a new basket may start. This page lists each setting, what it costs, and where it is.
Read it next to Risk, plainly. A grid with doubling lots carries risk: on a long enough move against it and with too small a deposit a stop-out is possible, and nothing on this page changes that. Size your deposit with a safety margin.
What limits risk in Midas, and what does not?
In Midas, the strongest limit on risk is the balance behind the start lot together with the number of orders in the grid. Hours, news windows, basket limits, filters and phone signals only decide when baskets start or alert you; none removes the chance of a stop-out.
| Setting group | Acts on an open basket? | What it really does |
|---|---|---|
| Balance, start lot, orders in grid | Yes, set before it starts | Decides how much room the balance leaves after the last order |
| Trading hours | No | Only decides when a new basket may start |
| News windows | Optional | Pauses new baskets; refills too if you switch that on |
| Spread limit | Yes | Pauses new orders while the spread is wide |
| Basket limits (per day, pause) | No | Cap how many new baskets start |
| Emergency stops | Yes | Cap a loss by realising it |
| Lock and auto-lock | Partly | Freeze floating loss on the locked part; a stop-out stays possible |
| Phone signals | No | Only tell you; they do not trade |
| Entry filters, Smart Money | No | Only gate the start of a new basket |
Where the settings are
There are two places. The panel on the chart has four tabs: Grid, Auto-lock, Exit, Alerts (Panel settings explained). The MT5 inputs window opens with F7 (or right-click the chart, Expert Advisors, Properties, Inputs tab). It always shows English, whatever language the panel is in.
In F7, MT5 shows each setting by its label, not by its code name, so a row reads "Max. spread for new orders, $" rather than MaxSpread. Below, a setting is given as the F7 label first and the code name in brackets. The code name is what a .set file and the Experts log use. Some labels begin with ">>> "; that is part of the label. Groups are quoted as they appear in F7.
The start lot, the number of orders and the grid step are on the panel only: in the public build they are not in F7. The lot ladder and the exit maths are fixed in the same way. Change settings when no basket is open if you can, and check the panel and the Experts log afterwards. The panel keeps its own saved copy of the hours, the auto-lock choices and the signal channel, and F7 values serve as its starting values. If the panel and F7 disagree, trust the panel.
What Midas does not have
- A day-of-week filter. You can limit hours, not weekdays.
- An automatic news calendar. Midas reads no calendar. News windows are times you type in yourself.
- Step growth. The grid step is a fixed number you choose; it does not widen as the basket gets deeper.
Start lot, orders in grid and the balance behind them
What it does. The start lot sets the first order, and every next order doubles it. The number of orders is a ceiling: after the last one the basket stops adding. Together with the step, these three numbers decide how much price movement your balance can absorb. This is the strongest limiter on the page, and it works before any trade.
What it does not do. It does not make a stop-out impossible. If price keeps going against a full grid, the balance runs out of room, whatever the settings.
Where. Panel, Grid tab: "Start lot", "Orders in grid", "Grid step, $". Press Apply. Until you do, the tab says "not applied · takes effect from the next series", so an open basket is not changed. The tab shows "Full grid" (the total lot), "Loss at last knee" and "Room to move after all knees"; a knee on the panel is a grid level, that is, an order. If the balance cannot hold the full grid, the tab says "won't survive". The same arithmetic for any numbers is in the grid calculator.
Default. Start lot 0.01, 11 orders, step $1.95 (public build).
What it costs. Fewer orders means a smaller basket, so less profit when price returns and a lower ceiling on what one basket can do. It also means less room to average down before the grid is full.
Example. Calculator inputs: cent account, balance $1,000, base lot 0.01, lot doubling, step $1.95, leverage 1:2000, stop-out 40%, gold at $4,170. With 11 orders the room after the last order is $46.08; with 10 it is $94.99; with 9 it is $192.95. Calculated on 9 October 2026; spread and slippage are not included. These are arithmetic of settings, not forecasts.
Trading hours: when a new basket may start
What it does. Midas starts a new basket only inside the window you set, in broker server time. Outside it, Midas keeps managing an open basket but does not begin another.
What it does not do. It does not close or freeze an open basket, and by default it does not stop refills: a basket started at 21:50 keeps adding orders through the night.
Where. Panel, Grid tab: "New baskets, server hour"; the line under it reads "outside this window the bot manages the basket, no new orders". In F7, group "Trading hours & refills": "Trading hours: start (server; …)" (FlatEndHour, the hour the window opens) and "Trading hours: end (server, -1 = off)" (FlatStartHour, the hour it closes). The code names look reversed, so go by the labels. Set -1 to switch the window off.
Default. From 06 to 22 server time. Check your own server clock in the Market Watch window: it is not your local time.
What it costs. Fewer baskets, and none at all in the hours you exclude.
Example. FlatEndHour = 7, FlatStartHour = 20: new baskets only between 07:00 and 19:59 server time.
Refill ban hours
What it does. Stops orders being added to an open basket during chosen hours.
What it does not do. It does not reduce a basket that already exists, and it removes the averaging step in those hours. We do not claim it lowers risk; it is there if you want to test it on demo.
Where. F7, group "Trading hours & refills": "Refills: ban hour from (-1 = 24/7)" (RefillFlatStart) and "Refills: ban hour to (-1 = off)" (RefillFlatEnd).
Default. -1 and -1, meaning refills run around the clock.
What it costs. A basket that cannot add orders just waits at its current size, with a more distant average price.
Example. RefillFlatStart = 23, RefillFlatEnd = 2: no refills from 23:00 to 01:59 server time.
News windows
What it does. During a window you type, Midas does not start new baskets. With BlockExpandInNews on, it also does not add orders. NewsPauseToday ("Reinforced mode: no new series all day") stops new baskets for as long as it stays on, and it does not switch itself off: turn it off yourself.
What it does not do. It does not read a calendar and does not know what is released when. It does not touch an open basket unless you switch the refill block on. Unscheduled news has no window.
Where. F7, group "Protection": "News window 1 (server time)" and "News window 2 (server time)" (NewsWin1, NewsWin2; format HH:MM-HH:MM, may cross midnight, both ends included), "Do not refill in news windows" (BlockExpandInNews) and "Reinforced mode: no new series all day" (NewsPauseToday).
Default. Empty windows, both switches off.
What it costs. No new baskets in the window. With the refill block on, the open basket stays still during the fastest moves, which can work against it or for it.
Example. NewsWin1 = 15:20-15:50. Convert your event time to server time first; see Gold on news days.
Spread limit
What it does. Pauses new baskets and refills while the gap between Ask and Bid is above the limit. While it waits, Midas writes SPREAD_HIGH to its CSV trade log about once a minute; the default panel shows no separate message for it.
What it does not do. It does not stop a basket from moving against you, and it does not protect against slippage after the order is sent.
Where. F7, group "Protection": "Max. spread for new orders, $" (MaxSpread), in dollars of gold price.
Default. 2.50.
What it costs. While the spread is wide, an open basket cannot add its next order either. Set the limit below your broker's normal spread and Midas will sit idle.
Example. MaxSpread = 1.00. Find out your broker's usual spread on gold before choosing (Market Watch shows it in points).
Basket limits
What it does. MaxBasketsPerDay caps how many new baskets may start per server calendar day. PauseAfterCloseSec makes Midas wait that many seconds after a basket closes before starting the next one.
What it does not do. Neither touches an open basket, its refills or its exit.
Where. F7, group "Schedule & limits": "Max. new-series starts per trade day (server calendar day, 0 = off)" (MaxBasketsPerDay) and "Pause after a basket closes before a new one starts, sec (0 = off)" (PauseAfterCloseSec). They are deliberately not on the panel, so they are not changed during a live trade.
Default. 0 and 0 (both off).
What it costs. Fewer baskets per day.
Example. MaxBasketsPerDay = 10, PauseAfterCloseSec = 600.
What do the emergency stops in Midas do?
The emergency stops in Midas limit a loss by making it final: a hard stop and an equity stop close the basket at a loss you choose, and an emergency stop per order sets a stop on the broker's server. All three are off by default.
What they do. HardStopPct closes the basket when its floating loss reaches that percent of the balance the basket started with. EquityKillPct does the same when account equity falls that percent below the account balance; it reads the equity of the whole account, so a floating loss on other positions of the same account counts too. After either one, Midas pauses new baskets for CooldownMin minutes. EmergencySLUsd is different: it attaches a stop to every order on the broker's server, at that many dollars of price from that order's own entry.
What they do not do. They do not recover a loss; they make it final. They are checked while the terminal is running and closing happens at market, so a gap or slippage can take the result past the threshold. Only EmergencySLUsd works with the terminal off. If the broker refuses the stop distance (error 130, invalid stops), Midas places that order without a stop and writes OPEN_NOSL to its CSV log.
Where. F7, group "Protection": "Hard stop for basket, % of balance" (HardStopPct), "Emergency close-all, % of equity drawdown" (EquityKillPct), "Pause after hard stop, min" (CooldownMin) and "Emergency stop per order, $ from entry (0 = off)" (EmergencySLUsd). "Normal slippage, $" (SlippageUsd) and "Slippage on emergency stop, $" (EmergSlipUsd) are allowed price deviations on normal and emergency orders; leave them at defaults.
Default. HardStopPct 0, EquityKillPct 0, EmergencySLUsd 0 (all off); CooldownMin 60.
What it costs. A hard stop turns a floating loss into a realised one at the moment it fires, even if price would have come back. With EmergencySLUsd each order has its own stop, so orders close one by one, oldest first. Keep the distance well beyond the full grid depth, and see on demo how the basket behaves after one order is stopped.
Example. Same calculator inputs as above: after all 11 orders are open the floating loss is $39.70, and each further $1 adds $20.47. HardStopPct = 30 means $300 of a $1,000 balance, reached about $12.7 below the last order, against $46.08 to stop-out. Choose a value you would accept to lose for certain. If you also use auto-lock, set its threshold lower than the hard stop; Midas warns at start when it is not (in the Experts log; a pop-up only if the switch "Show pop-up alerts about settings/account problems at start", StartupAlerts, is on).
Does a lock stop the loss? Lock and auto-lock
A lock in Midas freezes the floating loss on the part of the basket it covers (1/4, 1/2 or all) but does not close it, and a stop-out stays possible. Midas can place the lock by hand or, with auto-lock, automatically when a condition you choose is met.
What it does. The lock opens an opposite-direction order for part of the basket (1/4, 1/2 or the whole of it). The floating loss on the locked part stops growing while the lock stands. Auto-lock does this by itself when a condition you choose is met.
What it does not do. It does not prevent a stop-out, and it does not earn the locked part back. The unlocked part still moves, spread is paid, and releasing the lock later may realise the loss. A hedging account is required, as for Midas itself. See Risk, plainly.
Where. Panel, Auto-lock tab, block "When to auto-place the lock": Off, Grid full, Loss $, Knee or Room. Then a threshold ("basket loss reaches", "basket reaches order #", "room to stop-out reaches" or, for Grid full, "after last knee, $") and "How much to place": 1/4, 1/2 or 1:1. The tab also has "Warn ahead" and "Average before locking" options. By default it reads "auto-lock is off · lock is placed only by button". The "As in .set" button (under More) returns the tab to the F7 values. In F7, group "Lock / auto-lock / lock exit": "Auto-lock: enable automatic placement" (AutoLockOn), "Auto-lock: 0 = threshold % of balance, 1 = threshold in $" (AutoLockMode), "Auto-lock: threshold, % of balance" (AutoLockPct), "Auto-lock: threshold, real $" (AutoLockUsd) and "Auto-lock: not before order N (0 = full grid)" (AutoLockMinKnees).
Default. Off.
What it costs. Spread on the lock order. While the lock stands, new baskets and refills are paused by default.
Example. Condition "Loss $" with the threshold at $150 on a $1,000 balance (15%), "How much to place" 1/2. Keep the threshold below the hard stop: if the stop fires first or at the same moment, the lock is useless or late.
Phone signals
What it does. Sends a push to your phone when the basket reaches a chosen order, so you look before the grid is full. Lock alerts add messages about price moving away from or back to a standing lock.
What it does not do. It trades nothing. It needs a MetaQuotes ID entered in the terminal where Midas runs (Tools, Options, Notifications) and the MetaTrader 5 app on your phone; step by step: Phone notifications: step-by-step setup.
Where. Panel, Alerts tab: "Signal at order (0 = off)" and "Where to send signals" (Sound, Phone or Both). F7, group "Alerts & notifications": "Phone signal: push to mobile terminal" (NotifyPush) and "Phone signal: at which order (0 = off)" (NotifyKnees). The lock alerts are the switches whose labels start with "Alert:", for example "Alert: price moved further against the basket" (AlertLockAwayOn).
Default. Push on, at order 6.
What it costs. Nothing, but a signal you do not read protects nothing.
Example. NotifyKnees = 6 on an 11-order grid leaves five orders of notice.
How do entry filters work in Midas?
Entry filters in Midas are optional indicator checks that run only when a new basket is about to start. None of the 14 filter families protects an open basket, and all are off by default.
What they do. Optional indicator checks that run only when Midas is about to start a new basket. Midas picks the direction by its own trend rule; each filter then either blocks a start against it or must agree with it. There are 14 families: Trend MA, MD Channel, Bollinger, Stochastic, RSI, Parabolic SAR, Williams %R, ADX, ATR range, MACD, Vortex, Donchian, VWAP and Smart Money.
What they do not do. They do not protect an open basket from a long move against it, and they do not change refills or exits. We make no claim that any filter improves results.
Where. F7, group "Entry filters (optional)" and one group per family, for example "Entry filters (optional): RSI". Each family has its own on/off row (UseRSI is labelled "RSI: <= BuyConfirmLevel -> BUY, >= SellConfirmLevel -> SELL") and its periods and levels. In the first group, "Filter mode: …" (FilterMode): 1 = veto (default; a filter blocks only a start against its signal), 0 = confirm (stricter; the filter must agree). "Combining: …" (SignalMode): 0 = all enabled filters must pass, 1 = any, 2 = at least the number in "SignalMode 2: min. number of passing filters" (MinSignalCount). The row labelled "true = read the last CLOSED bar (shift 1), false = the forming bar (shift 0)" (UseClosedBarSignal) is false by default, so the forming bar is read.
Default. Everything off. With all filters off Midas loads no indicators and starts baskets as before.
What it costs. Fewer baskets. Confirm mode with several filters on can leave Midas idle for long stretches. ADX and ATR can act as closed gates that other filters cannot overrule.
Example. UseRSI on, FilterMode 1: a start is skipped when RSI points against the trend direction.
What is Smart Money (SMC) in Midas, and can it protect a basket?
Smart Money in Midas is three rule-based detectors on minute bars (liquidity sweep, fair value gap, break of structure) that work only as an entry filter: they decide whether a new basket may start, and they do not protect an open one.
What it does. Three rule-based detectors on minute bars: a liquidity sweep (a wick beyond the recent extreme that closes back inside), an unfilled fair value gap, and a break of structure (a close beyond the last swing high or low). SMC_MinConfirmations says how many detectors must agree.
What it does not do. Same as every entry filter: it checks a start, nothing else. It is not an exit and not a lock.
Where. F7, group "Entry filters (optional): Smart Money (SMC)": the master switch "SMC master switch; …" (UseSmartMoneyFilter) plus at least one detector switch: "SMC detector: liquidity sweep …" (UseSMC_LiquiditySweep), "SMC detector: unfilled fair value gap (3-bar)" (UseSMC_FVG) or "SMC detector: break of structure …" (UseSMC_BOS). "SMC: min. agreeing detectors …" (SMC_MinConfirmations) says how many must agree. The master switch alone does nothing, and the Experts log says so.
Default. Off; SMC_Mode 1, SMC_MinConfirmations 2.
What it costs. Fewer baskets; detector definitions are simplified versions of concepts that have no single standard.
Example. UseSmartMoneyFilter, all three detectors on, SMC_MinConfirmations = 2.
Starter checklist
- Put your balance and lot into the grid calculator and pick the number of orders. Know the room it shows is not a promise.
- Set the trading window and check it against your broker's server clock.
- Decide on HardStopPct, or choose consciously to leave it off. If you use auto-lock, keep its threshold lower.
- Turn on the phone signal and send a test push before you rely on it.
- Try changes on a demo account, one at a time, and read the Experts log. Keep entry filters off until you have read their section.
Read more
- How to limit risk in a gold grid EA: the settings that matter
- Entry filters and Smart Money in a grid EA: what they do and what they don't
- Gold on news days: what NFP, CPI and FOMC mean for a grid EA
- XAUUSD trading hours: when gold is open, why the spread jumps and what swap costs
- Locking a position in forex: what a lock freezes and what it costs
FAQ
Can Smart Money or other entry filters protect an open basket in Midas?
No. Entry filters, Smart Money included, are checked only when Midas is about to start a new basket. Once a basket is open they have no effect on refills, exits or risk. All 14 filter families are off by default, and we make no claim that any filter improves results.
Does a lock stop the loss on a losing basket in Midas?
A lock freezes the floating loss on the part of the basket it covers (1/4, 1/2 or all) but does not close it or earn it back. Spread is paid, the unlocked part still moves, releasing the lock later may realise the loss, and a stop-out stays possible. A hedging account is required.
How can I limit the risk of a grid EA like Midas?
The strongest limit is the balance behind the start lot together with the number of orders. In the calculator example (balance $1,000, base lot 0.01, step $1.95, gold at $4,170) the room after the last order is $46.08 with 11 orders and $94.99 with 10. Hours, stops, lock and alerts help less, and nothing removes the stop-out.
Does a hard stop cap the loss exactly?
No. A hard stop closes the basket at market while the terminal is running, so a gap or slippage can push the result past the threshold, and a stopped terminal checks nothing. It does not recover a loss; it makes it final. Only the per-order emergency stop (EmergencySLUsd) works with the terminal off.
Is there a weekday filter or an automatic news calendar in Midas?
No. Midas has no weekday filter and no automatic news calendar. It has hour windows and news windows you type in, plus a per-day basket cap (MaxBasketsPerDay). Unscheduled news has no window, and skipping a specific weekday would have to be done by hand.
Where do I change these settings?
On the panel's Grid, Auto-lock, Exit and Alerts tabs, and in the MT5 inputs window (F7) under the groups named on this page. The start lot, the number of orders and the grid step are on the panel only. The core algorithm numbers are fixed in the public build and not shown.
A doubling grid carries risk: with too small a deposit a stop-out is possible. Size your deposit with a safety margin. This page explains settings; it is not investment advice.
Midas · published 9 October 2026 · updated 9 October 2026.