To place a trade, drag your take-profit and stop-loss lines to the levels your rules dictate, then buy for a long or sell for a short. The simulator auto-sizes the position from your stop distance so your dollar risk is fixed the moment the trade opens. No lot-size math required.
Step 1: Set your stop and target first
Before entering, drag the stop-loss line to the price that invalidates your idea and the take-profit line to your target. Setting these first is good discipline - it forces you to define risk and reward before committing, exactly as you should live. The gap between entry and stop is what drives your position size.
Step 2: Choose direction
Click buy to open a long or sell to open a short. The trade opens at the current bar's price with your stop and target already attached, and your risk pre-calculated from the stop distance.
Step 3: Let risk size itself
Because the position is auto-sized from the stop, a wide stop gives a smaller position and a tight stop a larger one, keeping your dollar risk constant. This is the correct way to size every trade and it removes a common source of error from manual backtesting.
Step 4: Manage or let it run
As the chart replays forward, the trade lives until price hits your take-profit or stop-loss, at which point it closes automatically. If your strategy allows active management, you can adjust the stop or target while the trade is open. Otherwise, let it play out untouched - which is usually the more honest test.
Important: resist the urge to move your stop just because a trade is going against you, unless your written rules genuinely call for it. Undisciplined stop-moving in a backtest teaches a habit that will hurt you live. Let the test show you the strategy's real behavior.
Step 5: Close and log
You can also close a trade manually at the current price. However it closes, the trade is recorded in your session - entry, stop, target, result in R, and a setup tag - so it flows into the session report and your trade history automatically. There is no separate spreadsheet to maintain.
Practice makes the loop automatic
After a few dozen trades, the set-levels-then-enter rhythm becomes second nature - and that muscle memory transfers to live trading. Start a session in the simulator, place a handful of trades, and watch how each one lands in your report ready to review.
Placing trades FAQ
How do I place a trade in a backtesting simulator?
Drag the take-profit and stop-loss lines to your levels, then click buy or sell. Position size is auto-calculated from the stop distance and your risk.
How do I set my stop loss and take profit?
Drag their lines to the levels your strategy dictates before entering. The entry-to-stop distance sets position size; the take-profit sets your target.
How do I close a trade?
It closes automatically at take-profit or stop-loss, or you can close manually at market. Either way the trade is logged in your session.