Trade Ideas Brokerage+ tutorial: automate trades (the safe way)¶

Brokerage+ is the “execution layer” in Trade Ideas. It lets you take an Alert Window (and its OddsMaker settings) and turn it into a rules-driven strategy that can place orders for you.

This guide is intentionally conservative. Automation is powerful, but it’s also the fastest way to blow up a strategy if you skip guardrails.

Disclosure: some links are affiliate links. Learn more.

Prerequisites¶

• A Trade Ideas plan that includes Brokerage+ (and access to the Brokerage+ window).
• A supported broker account (many traders use Interactive Brokers; use whatever Trade Ideas supports at the time you set this up).
• A strategy you understand:
• Start with an Alert Window you built yourself: Alert Window tutorial
• Then backtest it: OddsMaker tutorial

Step 1 - Open Brokerage+ (start with paper trading)¶

Open the Brokerage+ window and make sure you're in a paper trading environment before you do anything else.

Step 2 - Connect Brokerage+ to your broker (supported brokers only)¶

Inside Brokerage+ you'll see connection controls (connect/disconnect + status).

Basic goal: - connect successfully - confirm status changes to connected/ready

Step 3 - Load your strategy from the cloud (so you can re-use it anywhere)¶

My recommended workflow is: 1. Save the Alert Window (or strategy) to the Trade Ideas cloud. 2. In Brokerage+, load the strategy from cloud.

When prompted, you’ll typically see options like: - Replace all existing - Add to existing - Replace by name

If you're adding a new strategy, you usually want Add to existing.

Step 3a - Confirm the strategy shows up in the list¶

Once it's loaded, you should see it in the Strategies tab/list.

Step 4 - Edit the Trading Strategy (this is where the guardrails live)¶

Right-click the strategy and choose Edit Trading Strategy....

Step 4a - Configuration tab: pick the right account (paper vs live)¶

In the strategy editor, confirm which account the strategy will place orders in.

Step 4b - Entry Time tab: session + re-entry controls + max orders¶

Before you touch sizing or offsets, lock down the guardrails: - start/end time (should match your backtest session) - "send orders at most once per day per symbol" (if that fits your strategy) - stop after X orders (trade cap)

The point is to prevent the strategy from doing something you wouldn't manually do.

Step 5 - Position sizing (this is where most people get hurt)¶

Pick a sizing mode you can explain in one sentence.

Common options: - Fixed dollars: buy a fixed $ amount each trade. - Fixed shares: buy a fixed share count each trade (dangerous if your strategy has no max price). - Based on stop loss: size shares based on how much you’re willing to risk per trade (my default for systematic trading).

If you can't clearly define your risk per trade, you're not ready to automate.

Step 6 - Stops and targets (risk management)¶

This is where you define (or confirm) stop loss and target behavior.

General guidance: - keep it simple at first - avoid trailing logic until the strategy behaves in paper trading

Step 6a - Timed exits (Hold Time tab)¶

Timed exits can keep strategies from overstaying (especially in fast intraday workflows).

Step 7 - Enable strategy (paper first) and confirm it's "On"¶

Back in Brokerage+, enable the strategy and confirm the status flips to On.

Order type + limit offset (avoid getting skipped)¶

In automation, order handling matters.

General guidance: - Market orders fill, but you may get bad prices in fast moves. - Limit orders control price, but you can get skipped.

Limit offset exists to improve fill probability while still being "limit-based".

Paper trade, review logs, then go live (small size)¶

My workflow: 1. Run the strategy in paper mode for several sessions. 2. Review fills + slippage + "why did it trade that?" moments. 3. Only then go live with small size and strict max trades.

When automation hurts performance (diagnostic checklist)¶

If your paper/backtest looked okay but live behavior degrades, check these first:

• Latency + slippage drift: market conditions changed, your order assumptions didn’t.
• Over-trading: too many weak signals firing because your lane is broad.
• Session mismatch: strategy runs outside the window where it was validated.
• Risk too loose: no hard trade/day cap or daily loss ceiling.

Use this decision order: 1. Tighten lane 2. Tighten session window 3. Tighten risk caps 4. Re-test order handling

Related: Broker API risk controls

Common mistakes (learn these cheap)¶

• Automating something you don’t understand: if you can’t explain the strategy, don’t automate it.
• No lane: if the strategy can trade anything, it will trade garbage.
• No trade cap: max trades per day is a safety belt.
• Wrong session: if your backtest ran 30–180 minutes after open, don’t run the bot all day.
• Ignoring execution: fills and slippage can flip a “good backtest” into a losing live strategy.

FAQ¶

What is Brokerage+ in Trade Ideas?¶

Brokerage+ is the Trade Ideas execution and automation window that can place orders based on strategies derived from your Alert Windows and rules.

Do I need OddsMaker before using Brokerage+?¶

You can connect Brokerage+ without OddsMaker, but you should backtest first. OddsMaker helps you understand whether the rule set behaved reasonably and helps define a session and exit logic.

Is Brokerage+ safe?¶

It can be, if you set strict guardrails, paper trade first, and go live slowly. It’s not safe if you treat it like a money printer.

Which brokers does Brokerage+ support?¶

Broker support can change over time. Use the supported broker list inside Trade Ideas when you set this up.

If you want a quick checklist: Brokerage+ supported brokers (how to check)

Next¶

• If you haven't built the signal yet: Alert Window tutorial
• If you haven't backtested yet: OddsMaker tutorial
• Brokerage+ deep dives:
• Position sizing (stop-based)
• Limit offset (avoid getting skipped)

Disclosure: some links are affiliate links. Learn more.



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Written by

David

Updated 2026-02-25 • Last tested 2026-01-07

Mentor-style Trade Ideas tutorials focused on workflow, clarity, and repeatable process.