Pitbull Gold 1.05: fewer trades, +603% in 2025. What changes
By Fernando Funicelli · Founder of Lucky Dogs Trading Systems
Pitbull Gold 1.05 brings two changes: improved trade selection, with fewer and more selective trades, and risk profiles that put 1.5 times more on each trade. In the real-tick test, the Balanced profile, the default, went from +425% to +603% in 2025, and the year's largest drawdown barely moved: 15%, against 14%.
If you already run it and click Update without looking, the first trade may surprise you. On a 10,000 USD account, the same Balanced that risked about 300 USD on a trade that hits its stop now risks about 450. Nothing broke: the profile got bigger.
The rule for a calm update fits in one line: same profile, bigger trade: choose your profile before you attach the EA.
What's new in Pitbull Gold 1.05
Improved trade selection: fewer, more selective trades
Version 1.05 is more selective: it takes fewer trades. In the continuous test since January 2021, it averaged 9 trades a month, against 14 in 1.04.
In practice, it waits more. Days without a trade are normal: that is the selection at work, not a fault.
Every profile risks 1.5x more per trade
The second change goes with the first: with fewer trades, each one now carries more. Every Pitbull Gold risk profile now risks 1.5 times what it risked in 1.04. The values are estimates of what one trade costs when it closes at its stop:
| Profile | 1.04 | 1.05 | One trade at its stop, 10,000 USD account (1.05) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 1% | 1.5% | about 150 USD |
| Moderate | 2% | 3% | about 300 USD |
| Balanced (default) | 3% | 4.5% | about 450 USD |
| Aggressive | 4% | 6% | about 600 USD |
| Maximum | 5% | 7.5% | about 750 USD |
Pitbull Gold 1.05 in the real-tick test: the numbers year by year
One setup covers every number in this post: the MetaTrader 5 Strategy Tester, "Every tick based on real ticks" modelling on Vantage data (XAUUSD+), real spread and commission, 1:500 leverage. Each year restarts at 10,000 USD, so one year never hides another. The largest drawdown is the equity drawdown, measured tick by tick.
On the Balanced profile, the default:
| Year | Return | Largest drawdown of the year |
|---|---|---|
| 2026, to 31 October | +1,423% | 15% |
| 2025 | +603% | 15% |
| 2024 | +38% | 52% |
| 2023 | +50% | 38% |
| 2022 | −30% | 54% |
| 2021 | +6% | 52% |
The 2025 extremes show the range of the profiles: +95% with a 5% drawdown on Conservative and +2,186% with a 24% drawdown on Maximum. All five profiles, year by year, are on the Pitbull Gold page, the gold EA for MT5, with the full table of the 5 profiles.
Why it grows so fast: the lot follows the balance, so every gain makes the next trade bigger. That is compounding on autopilot, and in 2025 and 2026 it met a strong rally in gold.
Pitbull Gold 1.04 vs 1.05 on Balanced
| Year | 1.04 | 1.05 |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | +425%, 14% drawdown | +603%, 15% drawdown |
| 2026, to 31 October | +831%, 17% drawdown | +1,423%, 15% drawdown |
In 1.05, 20 of the 22 months of 2025 and 2026 closed in profit.
In the older years, 2021 to 2024, 1.04 earned more and fell less. Version 1.05 was built for today's market: its gain is in 2025 and 2026, the years that weigh most in our decisions.
The weaker years and the worst case
The table shows the hard years without hiding any: 2022 closed at −30%, and in 2021, 2022 and 2024 the year's drawdown went past 50%.
In the continuous run, from January 2021 to 31 October, without restarting each year, the 10,000 USD became 1,490,142 USD, with a profit factor of 4.20 (dollars won for every dollar lost). The largest drawdown along the way was 52%, in 2021. With 2022 tested on its own, 54%. Size your account by the larger one.
The worst day cost 37% of the balance, on a US payroll day (the jobs report) in July 2024. The worst trade, on the same day, cost 17.0%: in a sharp move, the exit can go past the stop. With the news pause on, a setting of the EA itself, the worst day in the test was 17.5%, on a different date.
That is why the profile is the whole setup of Pitbull Gold. Before the first trade, it sets the size of the drawdown you accept.
What changes if you already use Pitbull Gold
Same profile, bigger lot
When you update Pitbull Gold, your saved settings still apply: none changed its name or its default value. What changes is what your saved profile means: Balanced goes from about 3% to about 4.5% per trade.
On a small account, the change takes a while to show. At 100 USD, every profile trades 0.01, the minimum lot, in both 1.04 and 1.05. The lot only goes up as the balance grows.
Two ways to choose your profile after updating
- By the size of each trade. To stay close to the risk per trade you had, go down one profile. Balanced in 1.04 risked about 3%, exactly Moderate in 1.05. If you were on Conservative, you are already on the lowest step: in 1.05 it risks about 1.5%.
- By the account drawdown. In 2025, Balanced in 1.05 fell about as much as in 1.04 (15% against 14%) and made +603% against +425%. To size the account, the reference is the largest drawdown in the table: 54%.
Prop firm with a fixed lot
With a fixed lot, the profile is not part of the calculation: the new risk ladder does not change your lot. What changes is the selection, with fewer trades.
The lot table stays the same, from 0.03 on 5,000 USD to 1.20 on 200,000 USD. The worst day in the test barely moved: about 66 USD per 0.01 lot, with gold near 4,070 USD an ounce. The daily loss limit stays at 4.5%, in close-and-pause mode, with the news pause on. See how to set the fixed lot and the daily limit for a prop firm.
Lot cap and daily loss limit
If you use either one with the automatic lot, check the values. A lot cap set for 1.04 can hold 1.05 below what the profile asks for, and a daily limit smaller than the cost of one trade at its stop now acts before the stop does.
How to update Pitbull Gold safely, step by step
Want to see 1.05 on your broker before you switch? Download the free demo and run 1.05 in the Strategy Tester with real ticks. Then:
- Choose your profile first, by one of the two criteria above. If your account is small or this is your first time, start on Conservative.
- Pick the moment. Version 1.05 takes over an open 1.04 trade and manages it to the end. Even so, the cleanest moment is with no trade open, over the weekend: with the default settings, no trade in the test was held over a weekend.
- Update in MT5: in the Toolbox, open the Market tab, go to your purchased products and click Update on Pitbull Gold.
- Reload the EA. Replacing the file is not enough: 1.05 only runs after you restart MT5 or drag Pitbull Gold onto the gold chart again. In the settings window, check the profile, the lot cap and the daily limit.
- Check the panel: version 1.05, Algo, Hedging and Gold ticked, and the profile you chose. The MT5 journal also shows the version that is running.
- On a VPS: if Pitbull Gold runs on the MQL5 VPS, migrate again after updating. According to the MT5 help, the VPS only receives what goes in the migration. On your own VPS, repeat the steps there.
If 1.04 left a pending order on the server, 1.05 replaces it with a new one, at its own lot size. With the market closed, the order comes back when it reopens.
Which Pitbull Gold risk profile to choose in 1.05
Whether you are new or updating, our recommended path is the same: start on Conservative, recommended from 1,000 USD, and move up after a month live, if it behaves the way you expected.
- Balanced, the default, is recommended from 300 USD and works as described from about 200.
- Every profile works as described from about 600 USD.
- Below that, the lot stays at the 0.01 minimum and weighs more than the profile says: on 100 USD, one trade at its stop costs about 9% of the account.
Each step up brought more return in the test, with a larger drawdown alongside. You choose the speed.
What does not change in Pitbull Gold
- Stop and target on the broker's server from the first second. If the terminal goes down, the trade stays protected.
- One entry per trade, no grid, no martingale and no averaging. The lot grows with the balance, never after a loss.
- MetaTrader 5, a hedging account and one gold chart, with the symbol under any name (XAUUSD, GOLD...), from 100 USD.
- 1:100 is enough, on any profile: in the 2026 test, all five profiles gave the same result at 1:100 as at 1:500. See why 1:100 is enough for Pitbull Gold.
- Free demo on the Market, a 1-month rental for 30 USD during the launch and a launch price of 99 USD.
- If you bought it, you get every update without paying again.
Frequently asked questions
Does 1.05 risk more than 1.04?
Per trade, yes: 1.5 times. In 2025, the Balanced drawdown stayed close, 15% against 14%. The worst cases grew: the worst day went from 25% to 37% of the balance, the worst trade from 11.4% to 17.0%, and the largest drawdown of a single year from 48% to 54%. Size your account by the 54%, or go down one profile to stay close to the risk per trade of 1.04.
Do I need to change any setting after updating?
It is not required: your saved settings still apply. But check the profile, because the same profile now risks 1.5 times more per trade. If you use a lot cap or a daily loss limit, check both too.
What happens to an open trade when I update?
Version 1.05 takes over the trade and manages it to the end, with the stop and target on the server. A pending order from 1.04 is replaced by a new one, at the 1.05 lot size. The new version only runs after you restart MT5 or drag the EA onto the chart again.
Why does Pitbull Gold 1.05 make fewer trades?
Because of the improved trade selection: 9 a month on average in the test, against 14 in 1.04. On many days it does not enter, and that is normal.
Is the update to 1.05 free?
Yes. If you bought it, you get every update without paying again.
I use a fixed lot at a prop firm. Does anything change?
The lot does not change: with a fixed lot, the profile is not part of the calculation. The lot table is the same, from 0.03 on 5,000 USD to 1.20 on 200,000 USD.
How do I check the 1.05 numbers on my broker?
Download the free demo and run 2025 and 2026 in the Strategy Tester, with the "Every tick based on real ticks" modelling and the 10,000 USD deposit from the setup above. Every trade shows on the chart, with your broker's prices.
If you are new here, download the free Pitbull Gold demo and watch 1.05 trade 2025 and 2026 on your broker, trade by trade. If you already use it, choose your profile, update with the market closed and check the panel: same profile, bigger trade. And to build your portfolio, compare Pitbull Gold with our other gold EAs.
