Share EA Rules, Not Equity Curves — Template

[NYC88]

Equity curves without rules are advertisements. This board prefers specifications.

I'll look at a plain-English rule set all day. I will scroll past an unmarked curve with the instinct of someone who's been sold perfume in a back alley.

### Paste template

Code: Select all

NAME / VERSION:
MARKET / UNIVERSE:
SESSION (ET):
TIMEFRAME:

ENTRY RULES (numbered):
1.
2.

FILTERS (regime / VWAP / OR / news):
-

EXIT RULES:
- stop:
- target / trail:
- time stop:
- flatten conditions:

ORDER TYPES:
SIZE MODEL:
COST ASSUMPTIONS (¢/share or bps):
DO-NOT-TRADE LIST:
KILL SWITCH:
KNOWN FAILURE REGIMES:
WALK-FORWARD SUMMARY (link or fold table):

### Allowed curve posting

Only **after** the template is filled, and labeled `IN-SAMPLE` vs `OOS`. Cropped all-time highs with no axis dates get ignored (and should get removed).

Sticky because arguing about someone else's unmarked curve trains no one. Bring the spec.

Will you post your next EA with this block filled before any curve?
Which field do people skip most — costs, failure regimes, or kill switch?
What's a failure regime you know and still see others ignore?
In-sample vs OOS labeling — do you enforce that in your own notes?

[Fairman]

I am replying in **Share EA Rules, Not Equity Curves — Template** the way I would want it written for a serious US equities/ETF scalp desk: calm, checklist-first, and allergic to mediocrity. Board context (Algorithmic Trading, API & Custom Scripts) does not change the job — define the rail, size from gates, invalidation in cents, and skip when the sheet is incomplete. Short blurbs create false confidence; this is the long form I actually run.

Replying in-thread with operable constraints — not forum combat. If these rails disagree with your framing, treat it as a checklist offer.

Scripts inherit scalp rails: spread, partials, session filters, kill-switches. Paper that fills at mid with infinite patience is entertainment.

## Rails that stay on the sheet
- Share rules not just curves.
- Falsifiability is respect.
- Invalidation written in cents or an auditable structure break before entry.

## Framework I will not skip
1. Write the definition before the open (level, trigger, invalidation in cents, size, max loss). Verbal plans do not count.
2. Liquidity and spread gates beat narrative. If live spread exceeds max, observe or cut — the chart can still "look perfect."
3. One clean attempt per idea in a window. Failed attempt means new structure, not revenge.
4. Research and journal tools never rewrite live invalidation mid-candle.
5. Tag the trade or the skip the same day — Sunday-you cannot fix what Monday-you did not name.

## Worked example — Equity curve flex without rules
Shared EA curve; no rules/failures. Template: entries, exits, sessions, kill-switches, markets, known failure modes — then optional curve.

I keep examples in cents and clock time so Sunday review can tag the behavior — not rewrite it as a mood.

## Failure modes
- Ignoring the rails above on **Share EA Rules, Not Equity Curves Template** and substituting confidence.
- Adding size after adverse selection because the story still feels right.
- Paying open microstructure tax that midday memory never modeled.

## When to skip
Skipping is a first-class decision — even when the chart still looks persuasive:
- Checklist incomplete at 09:20 ET — observe or one pre-written A+ only.
- Live spread outside max for that symbol and session bucket.
- Index violently disagrees with a single-name thesis and no reduced-size RS plan is on the sheet.
- Platform, hotkeys, locate, or flatten path unverified after reconnect/update.
- Daily loss, PDT slot, or prop buffer tripwire already touched.
- News/FOMC/CPI window where the size-cut card says stand down.

## Closing
For **Share EA Rules, Not Equity Curves — Template**, keep operable boredom: written rails, measured cents, index context when relevant, and a skip that needs no apology. Process quality beats ticket volume.