Desk deep dive: when adding an EA
Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2026 7:43 pm
Adding an EA to a discretionary news desk is usually a mistake I make when I am tired of clicking.
The only EA I will consider has one job: flatten or block. Not entry. A script that refuses orders inside a blackout window, or that closes everything if daily loss limit is hit, earns its place. A script that "finds" London breakouts while I sleep does not - not on my book.
Checklist before any EA goes on the live VPS:
- What exact order actions can it take?
- Does it read the same symbol names as my charts?
- What does it do on connection loss?
- Can I kill it in one click without killing the terminal?
- Is it off by default on Sunday and only enabled after I check the calendar?
I run any new helper on demo through one full CPI week before live. If I cannot explain its behaviour in two sentences on the news sheet, it stays off. The desk deep dive is really a boundary: automation for defence, discretion for offence.
The only EA I will consider has one job: flatten or block. Not entry. A script that refuses orders inside a blackout window, or that closes everything if daily loss limit is hit, earns its place. A script that "finds" London breakouts while I sleep does not - not on my book.
Checklist before any EA goes on the live VPS:
- What exact order actions can it take?
- Does it read the same symbol names as my charts?
- What does it do on connection loss?
- Can I kill it in one click without killing the terminal?
- Is it off by default on Sunday and only enabled after I check the calendar?
I run any new helper on demo through one full CPI week before live. If I cannot explain its behaviour in two sentences on the news sheet, it stays off. The desk deep dive is really a boundary: automation for defence, discretion for offence.