First Trading Bot

Create and deploy your first automated trading bot in 30-45 minutes. Never skip testing phases - backtest, then paper trade before going live.

Prerequisites

Four-Phase Process

Strategy Selection → Backtesting → Paper Trading → Live Deployment
     (5 min)           (2 min)        (5-7 days)      (optional)

Phase 1: Strategy Selection (5 min)

Navigate: Strategy Lab → Launch Bot

Choose a template:

Strategy
Best For
Risk
Skill

Momentum

Trending markets

Medium

Beginner

Mean Reversion

Range-bound

Medium-Low

Beginner

Breakout

Volatile

Medium-High

Intermediate

This tutorial: Select Momentum Strategy → Use Template

Configure settings:

Setting
Recommended
Example

Bot Name

Descriptive

"BTC Momentum Bot"

Trading Pair

Major pair

BTC-USD

Order Size

Start small

$200

Leverage

No leverage

1x

Take Profit

3-5%

4%

Stop Loss

1.5-2%

2%

Max Daily Trades

Limit overtrading

3-5

Strategy logic: Entry when price crosses above 20-MA + RSI >50 + Volume confirmation. Exit at TP (4%) OR SL (2%) OR momentum weakens.

Phase 2: Backtesting (2 min)

Run backtest:

  1. Click Run Backtest

  2. Set time period: Last 3-6 months

  3. Starting capital: Your planned amount

  4. Click Start Backtest (30-60 seconds)

Key metrics to check:

Metric
Good
Excellent

Total Return

10-20% over 3mo

>20%

Win Rate

>45%

>60%

Profit Factor

>1.3

>1.8

Max Drawdown

<15%

<10%

Sharpe Ratio

>1.0

>2.0

Warning signs:

  • Drawdowns >25%

  • Win rate >80% (over-optimized)

  • All profits from 1-2 trades

Good result example: +12% return, 62% win rate, 1.8 profit factor → Proceed to paper trading

Phase 3: Paper Trading (5-7 days)

Why paper trade?

  • Tests real-time execution with actual market data

  • Captures current market conditions that backtests cannot simulate

  • Reveals actual slippage and timing issues that backtests cannot predict

Start:

  1. Click Deploy to Paper Trading

  2. Confirm configuration

  3. Click Start Paper Trading

Monitor daily: Review open positions for proper management, check error logs for any issues, verify that trades make logical sense based on your strategy, and track overall P&L performance for progress assessment.

Don't: Tweak settings constantly as this prevents proper strategy evaluation, stop after one loss or win as this doesn't provide sufficient data, or skip to live trading too quickly without proper validation.

Run for 5-7 days minimum to capture different market conditions.

Evaluate after 5-7 days:

If all yes → Ready for live deployment

Phase 4: Live Deployment (Optional)

Pre-deployment checklist:

Deploy:

  1. Click Deploy to Live Trading

  2. Review all settings

  3. Confirm risks understood

  4. Click Deploy Live Bot

Start small:

  • Position size: 50% smaller than planned

  • Leverage: 1x only

  • Monitor: Check every few hours first 24h

First week: Conduct daily performance reviews to assess bot effectiveness, compare live results to backtest expectations for validation, track slippage and fees to understand real-world costs, and adjust parameters if significant deviations are observed.

Scaling up (after 2-4 weeks success):

  1. Review performance

  2. Confirm consistent profitability

  3. Increase position size by 25-50%

  4. Monitor 1-2 weeks

  5. Repeat if performing well

Limits:

  • Never risk >2% per trade

  • Total bot exposure <20% of capital

  • Multiple uncorrelated strategies preferred for diversification

Managing Your Bot

Action
Effect
When to Use

Pause

Stops new trades, keeps positions

Break, volatile market

Stop

Stops trading, closes positions

Strategy not working

Edit

Modify settings (requires pause)

Optimize parameters

Pause immediately if:

  • Unexpected behavior

  • Technical errors

  • Performance worse than backtest expectations

  • Don't understand what's happening

Stop and reassess if:

  • Drawdown exceeds backtest maximum - indicates strategy failure

  • Consistent losses for 2+ weeks - suggests market regime change

  • Strategy broken in current market - requires strategy revision or pause

Common Mistakes

Skipping testing: Always complete backtest → paper → live cycle

Over-optimizing: Simple strategies with some losses beat complex perfect backtests

Position too large: Start small (1-2% risk), scale gradually

Max leverage: Start 1x, increase slowly after profits

Panic adjustments: Set parameters, test, let run. Review weekly, not hourly.

Key Takeaways

  • Test before live trading (backtest → paper → live)

  • Start small positions, low leverage

  • Use stop losses every trade

  • Monitor regularly, don't over-adjust

  • Scale gradually after success

  • Okay to pause or stop

  • Never risk more than you can afford

Your first bot is a learning experience. Focus on process, not just profits. Small consistent gains beat risky big swings.

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