Even with the same sign, the way you measure makes PF appear 10 times higher

Hello, I am Naoto from FX.Hamrat. I create indicators and EAs for MT4 and MT5.

On sales pages for indicators and EAs, you may see numbers like PF 6 or 10.

Do they really win that much? I was curious, so I created my own signals to test them.

The data is 1-minute gold, from January 2024 to September 2026, totaling 960,000 bars.

The signals are simple: once a round-number with a $5 increment is broken, enter, and switch to the opposite signal. I counted this in three ways.

A: Assume you entered at the price of the broken round-number (no spread)

B: Enter at the close price of the bar when the signal appears (no spread)

C: Enter at the next bar's open price, and actually subtract the spread

C is the closest to the actual order placement.

Now, with the same signal, how much did PF change?