Antipode
User Manual
Everything you need to set up, configure, and run Antipode on your account — written for everyday traders, not developers.
Quick Start Guide
Follow these steps to get Antipode running on your chart. The whole process takes about two minutes.
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Open an AUDCAD chart Antipode is built specifically for AUDCAD. Open a chart for this pair at any timeframe — the EA works on all timeframes, but M5 is recommended for the cleanest panel display.
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Attach the EA to the chart Drag Antipode from your Navigator panel onto the AUDCAD chart. The settings window will appear.
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Choose your lot sizing method Select Automatic to let the EA size trades based on your account balance, or choose Fixed Lot Size if you prefer full manual control. See the Lot Calculation section for details.
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Set your Spread Level If your broker typically shows a spread below 2.0 on AUDCAD, use Low Spread. Otherwise, use Regular Spread. When in doubt, start with Regular Spread.
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Choose your Trade Direction Leave this on Buy and Sell to allow Antipode to trade in both directions. You can restrict it to buy-only or sell-only if you have a directional view or specific broker conditions.
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Enable live trading and click OK Make sure the "Allow live trading" checkbox is ticked in the Common tab, then click OK. Antipode will appear on your chart with the control panel visible in the top-left corner.
The Control Panel
When Antipode is running, a small panel appears in the top-left corner of your chart. It gives you a live snapshot of everything happening without you needing to dig into any menus.
| Status | Steps | Live P&L | Next Grid | Price | Exit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ▲ GRID BUY | 3 | +12.40 | 0.8912 | 0.9080 | TSL* 0.9135 |
Panel Rows Explained
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Total Live P&L | Your current profit or loss across all open trades, including any overnight financing charges that have built up. Updates every second. |
| Total Closed P&L | The cumulative profit or loss from all completed trades since the EA was first attached. Updates every 30 seconds. |
| Status | The EA's current state — see the table below for all possible values. |
| Steps | How many trades are currently open in the active basket. More steps means deeper exposure. |
| Live P&L | Profit or loss for the current open basket, same as the header figure. |
| Next Grid | The price level at which Antipode would open its next trade if the market continues to move against the current basket. |
| Price | The mid-market price of AUDCAD right now. Turns green when price is above the basket's average entry, red when below. |
| Exit | The price level at which Antipode is aiming to close the entire basket for a profit. Labelled TSL* when the target hasn't been reached yet, or TSL @ once the trailing exit is actively following price upward. |
Status Messages
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ▲ GRID BUY | Antipode has an active buy basket open and is managing it. |
| ▼ GRID SELL | Antipode has an active sell basket open and is managing it. |
| COOLDOWN Xmin | A basket just closed. Antipode is waiting before looking for a new entry. The countdown shows time remaining. |
| IDLE: Watching | No open trades. The EA is watching for a valid entry signal. |
| ⚠ VOL FILTER | The volatility filter has temporarily suspended new entries. The countdown shows when normal trading resumes. Existing open trades continue to be managed normally. |
Input Parameters
These are the settings you configure when you attach Antipode to your chart. Click any setting below to read a plain-English explanation.
Choose one of three methods:
- Automatic (Risk Level) — Antipode calculates lot size based on your account balance and whichever Risk Level you choose. Good for accounts that grow over time.
- Fixed Lot Size — Every trade uses exactly the lot size you type into the Fixed Lot Size field below. Simple and predictable.
- Fixed per Balance — The lot size scales proportionally with your balance. For example, if you set it to 0.01 per $100 and your balance is $500, each trade will be 0.05 lots.
Controls how aggressively Antipode sizes trades relative to your account balance when using Automatic mode. A higher risk level means larger trade sizes relative to your balance.
| Setting | Risk Profile |
|---|---|
| Very Low | Very small trade sizes — suitable for very large accounts |
| Low | Conservative sizing |
| Low-Medium | Below-average sizing |
| Medium | Balanced sizing |
| Medium-High | Above-average sizing |
| High | Larger trade sizes |
| Very High | Aggressive sizing — suited for accounts with higher tolerance |
| Extreme | Maximum sizing — only for experienced traders |
In Fixed Lot mode: every initial position in every basket uses exactly this lot size. Antipode sizes subsequent trades in the basket progressively larger as the grid deepens — this is by design to help the basket's average entry price track the market more efficiently. Starting small is recommended.
Only used when Lot Calculation Type is set to Fixed per Balance. This is the balance amount that corresponds to one lot unit. For example, with this set to 100 and a Fixed Lot Size of 0.01, Antipode trades 0.01 lots for every $100 of account balance.
This setting affects how far away the exit target is placed and how long the breakeven timer runs before activating. It does not change when entries happen.
Use this if AUDCAD spreads on your broker are typically under 2.0 pips. Sets a wider exit target to account for the tighter market conditions where price moves more cleanly.
Use this if you are unsure, or if your broker shows spreads above 2.0 on AUDCAD. Sets a tighter exit target and faster breakeven activation.
When set to 0, Antipode uses its built-in profit target distance that matches your chosen Spread Level. If you'd like to experiment with a different target distance, enter a value here (in pips). The swap-adjusted calculation will still apply on top of whatever value you set.
Controls whether Antipode can open buy baskets, sell baskets, or both.
- Buy and Sell — Antipode trades in both directions as signals arise. This is the default and allows the EA to work in any market environment.
- Buy Only — Antipode will only open buy baskets. Sell signals are ignored. Use this if you have a reason to avoid short exposure on AUDCAD.
- Sell Only — Antipode will only open sell baskets. Buy signals are ignored. Use this if you have a reason to avoid long exposure on AUDCAD.
Every trade Antipode opens is tagged with this number so the EA can tell its own trades apart from any manual trades or other EAs running on the same account. You only need to change this if you're running two separate copies of Antipode on the same account at the same time — give each copy a different number.
This text appears in the Comment column of your broker's trade history and in MetaTrader's trade list. It defaults to "Antipode" and can be left as-is for most users. If you run multiple EAs and want to distinguish them in your broker statements, you can customise this label.
When enabled, Antipode will automatically reduce its exit target if a basket has been open for an extended period without closing. This is designed to help clear long-running trades near cost rather than waiting indefinitely. See the Breakeven Mode section for full details.
Turns the on-chart panel on or off. You may want to turn this off when running backtests, as it slightly speeds up the simulation. In live trading, leave it on.
The Grid System
Antipode is a mean-reversion grid EA. This section explains — in plain terms — what that means and how the EA actually works.
How a trade cycle begins
Antipode monitors AUDCAD continuously. When a set of market conditions lines up — momentum, price levels, and a quiet volatility environment all at the same time — it opens a single buy or sell trade. This is the start of a basket.
What happens if price moves against the trade
If price moves away from the entry rather than toward the profit target, Antipode doesn't close the trade at a loss. Instead, it waits. If price continues in the adverse direction far enough, Antipode adds a second trade to the basket. Each additional trade is opened at a fixed distance from the previous one. This is a "grid step."
With multiple trades open at different price levels, the basket's average entry price moves closer to the current market price. This means a smaller price recovery is needed to reach the profit target across all trades combined.
Each additional trade is larger
To shift the average entry price more efficiently, each new grid trade is sized proportionally larger than the one before it. This is why it's important to start with a small lot size — deeper grids carry significantly more total exposure than a single trade might suggest.
How the basket closes
All trades in a basket close together as a single unit when the basket's combined profit reaches the trailing exit target. See the Swap-Adjusted TP section for how that target is calculated.
Safety limits
Two automatic safety mechanisms protect your account from extreme scenarios:
- If your account's available margin falls below a minimum threshold, Antipode will pause opening new grid trades until margin recovers.
- If available margin falls to a critical level, Antipode will close all open trades immediately regardless of profit or loss to protect the account from further drawdown.
Swap-Adjusted Exit Target
This is one of Antipode's most important features — continuously factoring in real-world financing costs to ensure every basket closes at a genuine net profit.
The problem it solves
When a basket of trades stays open for several days, overnight financing charges (called "swap" or "rollover") accumulate. If these charges are negative — meaning your broker charges you to hold the trades — they eat into the profit. A basket might reach its price-based target but still be at a net loss once swap is accounted for.
How it works
Antipode continuously tracks how much swap has built up across all open trades in the current basket. The trailing exit target is then adjusted upward to compensate — so the EA is always aiming for a real net profit, not just a paper one.
On the chart, you'll see a dashed blue line labeled "TSL Trigger." This line slowly drifts upward (for a buy basket) over time as swap accumulates. The basket won't close until price reaches this line.
What you'll see in the panel
The Exit column in the control panel shows the current target level. When the label reads TSL*, the trailing exit hasn't fired yet — the EA is waiting for price to reach the target. When it reads TSL @, the trailing exit is active and following price — a close could happen at any moment if price reverses.
Breakeven Mode
Breakeven Mode is an automatic fallback that activates when a basket has been open for an unusually long time without reaching its profit target.
When it activates
Each Spread Level has a built-in timer. If a basket is still open when that timer runs out, Antipode switches into Breakeven Mode. When this happens, the gold "Breakeven Mode" label appears in the panel.
What changes
In Breakeven Mode, the exit target shrinks significantly — from the normal profit distance down to a very small buffer. Antipode is now aiming to close the basket as close to its average entry price as possible, rather than waiting for the full profit target.
This doesn't mean the basket will close at a loss. It means the EA is now prioritising getting out cleanly over waiting for a full profit.
What resets it
If the market adds pressure and the grid opens another trade while in Breakeven Mode, the timer resets automatically and the full profit target is restored. Breakeven Mode deactivates and a fresh cycle begins.
Volatility Filter
Antipode includes an automatic filter that temporarily pauses new entries during periods of extreme momentum — when the market is moving unusually fast in one direction.
What it does
When extreme market conditions are detected, Antipode stops opening new baskets for a set period. It uses two separate detection windows: one that monitors short-term momentum, and one that looks at the bigger picture over longer periods. Both must be calm before a new entry is allowed.
What it doesn't do
The filter only affects new entries. If you already have an open basket when the filter activates, Antipode continues managing that basket normally — it will still add grid trades, manage the trailing exit, and close when the target is reached.
What you'll see
When the filter is active, the Status field in the panel shows ⚠ VOL FILTER along with a countdown timer showing when normal trading will resume. Once the countdown reaches zero, Antipode resumes looking for entries automatically.
Running in the Strategy Tester
Antipode works with MetaTrader 5's built-in backtesting tool so you can review its historical behaviour before running it on a live account.
Recommended settings
- Every tick based on real ticks — for the most accurate results. Slower, but worth it for a final check before going live.
- 1 minute OHLC — a reasonable compromise between speed and accuracy for initial exploration.
- Set the date range to at least 12 months for a meaningful sample.
- Turn Show Info Panel to false when backtesting — this speeds up the simulation significantly.
Chart Lines
While a basket is open, Antipode draws two dashed lines on your chart to give you a visual reference at a glance.
| Line | Colour | Description |
|---|---|---|
| TSL Trigger | Blue · Dashed | The price level at which the trailing exit will activate. This line adjusts gradually as overnight financing charges accumulate — you may notice it drifting over time on trades held for multiple days. |
| Next Grid | Orange · Dashed | The price level where Antipode would open the next grid trade if price continues moving in the adverse direction. |
Both lines disappear automatically when the basket closes.
Glossary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Grid | A series of trades opened at staggered price levels, all in the same direction, managed and exited as a single unit. |
| Basket | All the open trades belonging to a single active grid cycle. They share a direction and a common exit target. |
| Grid Steps / Depth | The number of trades currently open in the basket. Greater depth means more total exposure but a lower average entry price relative to the current market. |
| Average Entry Price | The blended entry price of all trades in the basket, weighted by their individual sizes. Antipode's exit target is calculated from this price. |
| Lot Multiplier | Each trade added to a basket is sized larger than the previous one by a fixed multiplier. This moves the basket's average entry price toward the current market price more efficiently than adding equal-sized trades. |
| Trailing Exit (TSL) | Antipode's exit mechanism. Once the basket's total profit (including overnight charges) reaches the target, a trailing exit activates and follows price. The basket closes if price reverses by a small fixed distance from the peak. |
| TSL* vs TSL @ | TSL* is the price the trailing exit will activate at (it hasn't fired yet). TSL @ is the trailing exit level once it's active and following price in real time. |
| Swap-Adjusted Exit | Antipode's exit system that factors in accumulated overnight financing charges when deciding whether the profit target has been reached. Prevents baskets from closing at a net loss after financing drag. |
| Breakeven Mode | An automatic state that activates after a long-running basket times out. Shrinks the exit target to close the basket near breakeven rather than waiting indefinitely for the full profit target. |
| Cooldown | A waiting period after a basket closes before the EA looks for its next entry. Prevents immediate re-entry on residual market momentum. |
| Volatility Filter | An automatic pause on new entries during detected extreme market conditions. Releases on its own after a set period. |
| Swap / Rollover | A daily charge (or credit) applied to trades held overnight by your broker. On AUDCAD, this is typically a cost rather than a credit, and Antipode accounts for it in its exit calculations. |
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