The technical analyst replayed 47 closed paper trades (back-filled records excluded) with a cost gate: only allow a trade if the expected move is at least 1.2% (2× the round-trip cost).
| Definition | Allowed | P&L of allowed | Blocked | P&L of blocked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A: distance to nearest swing level ≥1.2% | 2 trades, 0 wins | −$0.08 | 45 | −$3.42 |
| B: 2×ATR ≥1.2% | 6 trades, 0 wins | −$0.34 | 41 | −$3.16 |
- The gate cuts losses mainly by trading less: net loss falls about 90–98%. The cost is blocking the only winner, which made $0.0096.
- None of the allowed trades was stopped out. All exits came from opposite signals. On 15-minute bars the room to target was smaller than the cost, so even perfect exits would have lost money.