HalfTrend Long/Short Signal Engine (BigBeluga): tested

Lost money before costs TradingView indicator · tested 13 Sep 2026 · figures re-checked 8 Oct 2026

What it claims

Its on-chart dashboard shows a win rate next to a 1:3 risk-reward target. On gold's 5-minute chart on 8 October 2026 it read 52.82% (75 wins, 67 losses). At 1:3 a trader only needs to win 25% of trades to break even, so the dashboard reads like a large edge.

What we tested

2,297 of its own signals on gold, EURUSD, Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, USDJPY and Bitcoin at 1, 5 and 15 minutes (OANDA and Bitstamp prices), default inputs, entered at the next bar's open with its own stop and targets, closed at its 3R target, its stop, or an opposite signal.

22.7%trades reached the 1:3 target521 of 2,297; break-even at 1:3 is 25%

-0.06Raverage result per trade, before costsR = the amount risked

60.3%the same trades, counted the dashboard's wayits 'win rate' on our sample

0signals that repaintsignals are known at the bar they print on

Before trading costs unless stated. R = the amount risked on a trade.

The backtest

HalfTrend, its own rules 20 coin-flip versions: same trades, buy or sell by coinEach line adds up the result of every trade, in R (the amount risked). 19 of the 20 coin-flip lines finish above it. Before trading costs.

Trading costs make it worse: about -0.23R per trade after spreads and commissions.

Why

The dashboard does not count trades. Each target a trade touches adds a win; if the trade then hits its stop, one win is taken back instead of a loss being added. So a trade that reaches its first target and then loses counts as nothing, and only trades stopped before the first target count as losses. We watched this happen trade by trade in TradingView's bar replay. Counted per trade, too few reach the 1:3 target to cover the losers.

How its dashboard counts

Target 1 reached: +1 win
Target 2 reached: +1 win
Stop hit after a target: -1 win, no loss
Stop hit before target 1: +1 loss

Gold 5-minute chart on 7 October 2026: a short signal reaches its first target, then the price rises through its stop. The dashboard's win count went up by one and back down by one; no loss was added. Chart: TradingView.

Limits of this test

Tested at its default inputs; its Amplitude and Channel Deviation settings could not be varied (the script is closed-source).
Other stop and target sizes on its signals were also tried (24 combinations); the best was weaker than the best that coin-flip directions produce over the same search.

Measured results, not advice. We have no commercial link with BigBeluga. If you made this tool and think a figure is wrong, write to corrections@trackedsignals.com; corrections are published within 7 days. How we test.