MQL4: Build Trading Robots from Scratch (For Developers)

Develop and code your first trading strategy by defining entry and exit rules, managing trades, and applying rule-based candlestick patterns like bullish and bearish engulfing on a one-hour timeframe.

Code your first trading strategy in MQL4 by creating the expert advisor strat1 and a new bar function that returns a boolean to detect a new candle closing.

Learn to identify bullish and bearish engulfing candles and code entry and exit rules in MQL4, using new bar events, candle data, and order send for live trades.

Open the Metatrader strategy tester, select your expert advisor and symbol, choose data model every tick for realistic testing, and review results, journal logs, and charts to validate your bot.

This lecture upgrades the first strategy by parameterizing the time frame and making position size a percentage. It explains ATR-based stop loss and take profit for volatile markets.

Code the time frame as a parameter and use ATR with a multiplier to set stop loss and take profit, via a new open trade function for buys and sells.

Calculate position size from a risk percentage by using account balance, value to risk, stop loss distance, and tick value, then normalize to two decimals.

Learn how to test a strategy in the strategy tester, diagnose journal errors like 130 and invalid stops, and fix stop loss logic with ATR-based take profit and timeframe alignment.

Explore the RSI in a new strategy, using configurable levels for buys and sells, adjustable period, and one-trade-at-a-time rules with trailing stops for backtesting.

Add an RSI based confirmation to the third strategy by implementing an RSI with lower and upper levels (30 and 70) to signal buys when oversold and sells when overbought.

Code a new function in MQL4 to count currently running trades, using order select by position and symbol checks to prevent overlapping trades.

Implement a trailing stop in mql4 using ATR-based distance and a trailing stop multiplier, updating the stop loss as price moves, with no take profit.

Test and debug strategy three in the strategy tester, focusing on a trailing stop driven by the atr and rsi confirmation, with live trade management in MetaTrader.

Explore differences between mql4 and mql5, learn how to transition code, and master retrieving indicator values with handles, buffers, and copy buffer in mql5.

Explore a cheat sheet of the most used MQL4 functions for trading strategies, a documentation file not for compilation, with building blocks to adapt and accelerate expert advisor development.

Explore the trading part to speed up mql4/mql5 development, and learn broker limitations. Stay organized, use forums, and practice by implementing three ideas.