Strategies / Trend / Three MA Trend

Three MA Trend Strategy

Three simple moving averages of 50, 99 and 297 bars set the direction. When they line up in rising order the system goes long, and in falling order it goes short. It stays in the trade while the averages are mixed and only flips on the opposite alignment.

TrendLong & shortIntradayGold5 min

1.43Profit factor

3,616Net profit EUR

37.59%Win rate

689Trades

-640Max drawdown

5.25Avg trade

Best run of 21. Gold, 5 min, spread 0.6, from run pf:2026-09-24-GOLD-5m.tsv:2.

Entry rules, long

Members only

Entry rules, short

Members only

Exit rules

Members only
No stop loss, target or other exit

Test conditions

Period	Up to 2026-09-24
Instrument	Gold, 5 minutes
Spread	0.6 points
Contracts	1
Starting capital	1,000,000
Costs	Spread only. Commissions and overnight financing are not included.
Bars	Up to 200,000 bars, fewer where the instrument has less history
Last tested	2026-09-24

Parameters

positionSize Contracts per trade	1
fastPeriod Fast simple moving average	50
midPeriod Middle simple moving average	99
slowPeriod Slow simple moving average	297

Every run

Markets and timeframes tested

Market	Timeframe	PF	Trades	Win %	Net	Max DD
GoldBest run	5 min	1.43	689	37.59	3,616 EUR	-640
USD/JPY	Daily	n/a	43	46.51	1,829,610 JPY	-551,800
USD/JPY	1 hour	n/a	489	35.17	420,600 JPY	-389,150
USD/JPY	5 min	n/a	697	38.02	409,720 JPY	-164,650
USD/JPY	2 min	n/a	694	34.44	177,140 JPY	-94,930
EUR/USD	Daily	n/a	37	40.54	112,364 USD	-50,301
Dow Jones	Daily	n/a	36	50.00	26,091 EUR	-13,759
Silver	5 min	n/a	709	35.54	25,631 USD	-24,086
Nasdaq 100	Daily	n/a	28	46.43	21,362 EUR	-5,520
Dow Jones	3 min	n/a	700	38.14	14,247 EUR	-7,026
GBP/USD	Daily	n/a	49	42.86	12,343 USD	-9,278
US Crude Oil	4 hours	n/a	82	37.80	8,985 EUR	-5,330
Brent Crude	4 hours	n/a	54	38.89	8,828 EUR	-8,258
S&P 500	Daily	n/a	32	56.25	4,280 EUR	-1,615
Gold	Daily	n/a	36	47.22	3,866 EUR	-1,685
Gold	3 min	n/a	685	34.45	2,871 EUR	-803
Gold	10 min	n/a	705	36.03	2,165 EUR	-1,049
Gold	4 hours	n/a	101	38.61	2,105 EUR	-1,588
Gold	30 min	n/a	684	36.84	1,971 EUR	-1,355
Gold	1 hour	n/a	433	35.33	1,514 EUR	-1,059
Gold	2 min	n/a	704	36.51	967 EUR	-784

Charts

Results by run

Net profit against max drawdown

Net profitMax drawdown

Longer history

Re-run on up to 1,000,000 bars

With 1,000,000 bars on Gold 5 minutes the profit was EUR 3,377.30 versus EUR 3,615.90 in the standard run, so the older data alone gave back EUR 238.60.

Gold · 5 min

Bars available	1,000,000
Net, standard 200,000-bar run	3,615.90 EUR
Net, long run	3,377.30 EUR
Net on the older data alone	-238.60 EUR

The code

ProBuilder, rewritten to house standard

Every file in the library uses the same header, the same section order and the same variable names. The numbers above were produced by the original version before the rewrite, and the rewrite has not yet been compiled in ProRealTime.

// ============================================================
// Three MA Trend
// ProRealAlgos Strategy Library  |  prorealalgos.com
// Type: Trend
// Direction: Long & short
// Timeframe tested: 5 minutes
// ============================================================

// --- Settings ---
DEFPARAM CumulateOrders = false

// --- Parameters ---
positionSize = 1          // contracts per trade
fastPeriod = 50           // fast simple moving average
midPeriod = 99            // middle simple moving average
slowPeriod = 297          // slow simple moving average

// --- Indicators ---
fastMA = Average[fastPeriod](close)
midMA = Average[midPeriod](close)
slowMA = Average[slowPeriod](close)

15 more lines: the entry and exit rules.

Read this first

Known weaknesses

There is no stop loss, target or exit other than a full reversal, so a trade can give back a lot before the averages realign.
The win rate on Gold 5 minutes is 37.59%, which is normal for trend following but means long losing runs.
USD/JPY runs show drawdowns close to profit, such as JPY 389,150.00 against JPY 420,600.00 on 1 hour.
The longer Gold 5 minute history came to EUR -238.60 in the older part, so the edge did not hold on all past data.

Indicators used

SMA

How to load it

Copy the code with the copy button above the code block.
In ProRealTime, open a chart of the instrument and timeframe you want to test, then open ProOrder > New trading system and choose "Create with programming".
Paste the code, give the system a name and save it.
Click "Backtest", set your own spread and position size, and run it before you consider trading it live.

Questions

About this strategy

Is it suitable for ProOrder?

Yes. It needs only three averages and trades 1 contract per signal.

Which markets were tested?

Gold 5 minutes gave profit factor 1.43 and EUR 3,615.90 over 689 trades. All twenty runs across forex, indices, metals and oil ended positive.

What drawdown should I expect?

At 1 contract on Gold 5 minutes, max drawdown was EUR 640.20.

Why 5 minute bars for a trend system?

Long averages on short bars catch intraday trends while still trading often enough, at 689 trades on Gold.

Bollinger Squeeze

Uses the same indicator.

14.30 PF · 86 trades

Triple Band Market Model

Best run on the same market, Gold.

2.27 PF · 203 trades

IBS Trend Pullback

A similar profit factor.

1.42 PF · 610 trades

Trend systems pair well with the right mean reversion. Join the ProRealAlgos waitlist.

The ProRealAlgos community gets the full rules, the complete code and the automated portfolio.

Past backtest results do not guarantee future results. This is not financial advice. Curated and maintained by ProRealAlgos. ProRealTime™ is a trademark of ProRealTime SAS. prorealalgos.com Stats Docs