AphnaReading the numbers
All of Aphna's figures are in TradingView's Data Window, the panel on the right-hand side. Open it from the right-hand toolbar.
To see the correct figures, move your cursor past the last candle on the chart. The Data Window shows values for the candle under your cursor; only the last candle shows the finished picture.
You don't need TradingView's Strategy Tester panel at the bottom of the screen. Keep it minimised: everything is in the Data Window.
The three stages
This is the most important page in the guides. Building a strategy happens in three stages, and each stage uses different figures.
| Stage | What you look at | What it must meet |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Building | The IS lines (and the search tool, which shows IS figures too) | The "needed: IS" targets |
| 2. When IS passes 7/7 | The OOS lines, once | 5/7 or better, profitable, drawdown under 3% |
| 3. Final check | Key stats: the whole test period | The full criteria (below) |
A strategy is ready to trade only when all three stages pass.
Why the test is split in two: IS and OOS
Aphna divides the test period in two:
- IS (in sample): everything except the last three months. This is where you build.
- OOS (out of sample): the last three months. You look at it once, when you've finished.
Anyone can find settings that fit the past. What matters is whether those settings also worked on months they were never fitted to. The moment you adjust settings to make OOS look good, OOS stops being a test and becomes more fitting. That's why you build only on the IS lines.
The first line of each block shows how many months it covers, measured from your chart's actual history.
Stage 1: building on the IS lines
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| IS: trades | Trades in the IS months |
| IS: PnL % | Profit or loss |
| IS: max DD % | The deepest fall from a high point |
| IS: win % | Share of trades that won |
| IS: consec win/loss ratio | Longest winning run divided by longest losing run |
| IS: max consec losses | Longest losing run |
| IS: above list passed /7 | How many of the seven standards IS meets |
Compare them with the Targets block, not with the full-year criteria. The IS period is shorter than a year, so its trade and profit targets are scaled down to its length. Win %, drawdown and the two streak figures are the same whatever the length.
| Target | Meaning |
|---|---|
| needed: IS trades | Minimum trades for the IS months |
| needed: IS PnL % | Minimum profit for the IS months |
| needed: max DD % | Drawdown must stay under this: 3% |
| needed: win % | At least 70% |
| needed: consec win/loss ratio | Longest winning run at least 4× the longest losing run |
| needed: OOS trades / OOS PnL % | The same, scaled to the three OOS months |
Longest losing run: 3 or fewer, shown in the IS line itself.
Stage 2: the OOS check
Once IS scores 7/7, look at the OOS lines, once.
OOS passes at 5/7 or better, and it must be profitable with drawdown under 3%. Three months usually holds only 13–25 trades, so the trade count and the streak figures can miss by chance alone. A loss or a deep drawdown in months the strategy never saw is a real warning.
If OOS fails, don't adjust the settings to make it pass. Start a new strategy.
Stage 3: Key stats, the whole test period
Key stats covers the entire test period, IS and OOS together. It's the final check against the full criteria:
| Criterion | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Trades | 52 to 90 |
| Net PnL | 30% or more, 40% the aim |
| Max drawdown | Under 3% |
| Win % | 70% or more |
| Consecutive wins | At least 4× the longest losing run |
| Max consecutive losses | 3 or fewer |
The /7 scores only check the minimum number of trades. Keeping it at 90 or below is your job.
Key stats also shows LONG PnL and SHORT PnL. If nearly all the profit comes from one direction, consider building that direction on its own.
Monthly PnL
Twelve lines, January to December. They're in calendar order, not oldest to newest. A blank month is outside the test period, not a month without trades; a month that traded and broke even shows 0.00.
Look for profit spread across the months. A strategy that made most of its money in a single month made its money once.
Session days and sessions
Session days: seven lines, one per weekday, for the session chosen in Grid readout. The seven add up to that session's line.
Sessions: one line each for Sydney, Tokyo, London and NY. Every hour belongs to one session only, so the four add up to your total.
Suggested Trend Strength
Two lines, Min and Max, worked out from the chart you're on, not from your settings. They're your starting values for Trend Strength and they don't move when you change anything.
One honest warning
These figures describe the past. They are the best evidence available before risking money, and they are still not a promise of future results.
Using a prop firm? Read "Drawdown: the builder and your prop firm count it differently" in the Introduction to Aphna.