There is no single pip convention used consistently by every gold trader. Some call a `0.01` XAUUSD move one pip; others call `0.10` one pip. Write the actual price distance and check your broker's tick size and tick value.
If gold moves from 4500.00 to 4501.00, the unambiguous statement is: price moved one US dollar per quoted ounce. Calling that 100 pips or 10 pips depends on the convention being used. The price move itself does not change.
Enter both prices to compare the move.
Change only the convention. The market move stays the same while the pip count changes. That is why entry and stop prices are better public communication.
Point, tick, and pip are not the same thing
On MT5, the useful platform terms are defined by the symbol:
- Point is tied to the symbol’s displayed precision.
- Tick size is the minimum allowed price change.
- Tick value is the money value of a tick for the stated position volume.
- Pip is trader vocabulary and may be used differently between communities.
MetaQuotes exposes tick size, tick value, digits, contract size, minimum volume, and volume step separately. Your EA should use those broker properties instead of assuming every XAUUSD product has identical economics.
Why lot size alone does not tell you the risk
A 0.10 lot position is exposure. Risk also needs a stop distance.
If the broker’s one-lot tick value is $1 for a 0.01 tick, then a $10.00 price distance contains 1,000 ticks. At one full lot, that illustrative distance would represent $1,000; at 0.10 lot, approximately $100, before spread, slippage, or product-specific differences.
Change the stop to $20.00 without changing the lot and the planned money risk roughly doubles. This is the exact reason the MMM EA now treats 0.10 as a ceiling, not as the default size for every setup.
Your broker may use different tick values, contract size, profit/loss tick values, currency conversion, or lot steps. Read the live symbol specification and the platform's projected loss before submitting an order.
A clearer way to publish a trade plan
Instead of writing only “100-pip stop,” publish:
- Instrument:
XAUUSDon the stated broker/feed. - Entry or entry zone: the actual price.
- Invalidation/SL: the actual price.
- Price distance: for example
$8.50. - Planned risk: for example “maximum
$100on the research account.” - Target logic: preferably in both price and
Rmultiples.
That wording remains understandable even when two readers use different pip conventions.
Risk-to-reward still needs realistic execution
A plan with a $5 stop and $20 target is nominally 1:4. It is not automatically a good trade. The stop still needs a structural reason, and spread or slippage can change the realized result. A narrow stop chosen only to manufacture a large ratio is not risk control.
Refined Liquidity uses the ratio as an audit field: what was planned, what was actually risked, and what was realized. It is evidence after a rule-based setup, not a substitute for one.
What to remember
- State the actual XAUUSD price distance before using pip language.
- Get tick size and tick value from the broker specification.
- Calculate position size from money risk and stop distance together.
- Treat maximum lot as a ceiling, not a required size.
- Judge risk-to-reward alongside structure and execution quality.
Sources and further reading
- MetaQuotes · Symbol properties — official definitions for point, tick size, tick value, contract size, and volume steps.
- MQL5 Programming for Traders · Margin and symbol inputs — the platform variables used in position and margin calculations.