When using an EA (Expert Advisor), small differences in trading conditions can sometimes have a bigger impact than expected.

For example, imagine an EA designed to use a 35-point trading stop, while the trading platform requires a minimum of 50 points. It may seem like a small difference, but can it actually affect the EA’s performance?

The answer is: it can. The important question is whether the EA can still execute its original strategy and risk settings under the platform’s rules.

What Is a Point in Trading?

A Point is a unit used to measure price movement. If a price moves from 1.10000 to 1.10001, that is a movement of 1 point.

Point is often confused with Pip. In many five-digit forex quotes, 10 points equal 1 pip, although this can vary depending on the instrument.

For an EA, however, the exact number matters because its trading rules are programmed around specific parameters. A 35-point Stop Loss may be an important part of how the strategy was designed and tested.

What Is a Trading Stop?

A trading platform can set a minimum distance for placing or modifying Stop Loss and other stop orders.

So, if an EA wants to place a Stop Loss 35 points away, but the platform requires at least 50 points, the EA may not be able to follow its original instructions.

What happens next depends on the EA. It may adjust the Stop Loss to 50 points, retry the order, or fail to modify the position if it cannot handle the restriction.

This does not mean the EA will definitely perform worse. But it does mean that the EA is no longer operating under exactly the same conditions it was designed for.

Why Can 35 vs 50 Points Matter?

The biggest issue is risk.

If the Stop Loss increases from 35 to 50 points while the position size stays the same, the potential loss distance increases by around 43%.

It can also change the strategy’s risk-to-reward ratio. For example, a strategy using a 35-point Stop Loss and 70-point Take Profit has a theoretical 1:2 risk-to-reward ratio. If the Stop Loss becomes 50 points while the Take Profit stays at 70, that ratio changes to 1:1.4.

The entry strategy has not changed, but the risk structure has.

This is also why an EA’s backtest results should not automatically be treated as its live performance. If the backtest uses different Stop Loss rules, spreads, execution conditions, or other trading parameters from the live account, the actual results can be different.

What Should You Do?

Before running an EA on a live account, check the platform’s minimum Stop Level, Freeze Level, and order execution rules for the specific instrument.

You should also confirm how the EA handles a minimum stop distance that is larger than its own settings.

Most importantly, if the Stop Loss changes from 35 to 50 points, consider whether the position size should also be adjusted. A wider Stop Loss with the same trading volume means greater risk.

The right question is not simply:

“Can I use 50 points instead of 35?”

It is:

“If my risk parameters change, should my position size change too?”

Risk Control Comes First

A 35-point versus 50-point difference may look like a small technical detail, but it highlights a much bigger principle.

Traders often focus on how much a strategy can make. But no EA can guarantee a profit on every trade. What matters just as much is how much you can lose when the strategy is wrong.

That is why risk control is the first principle of investing.

Before asking how much a strategy can make, understand how much it can lose. Before trusting an EA’s backtest, make sure the live trading environment can actually support the strategy.

Protect the capital first. Then pursue the return.