WickCheck / Trading school / Spread, commission and slippage
Spread, commission and slippageBeginner
The costs paid on every trade: the bid–ask spread, broker commission, and the difference between the price you wanted and the price you got.
What it means
Costs are small per trade but huge over hundreds of trades, especially with tight stops. A strategy averaging +0.05R before costs is often negative after them. WickCheck includes typical costs per market.
How to spot it
- Compare your stop size with the spread: if the spread is 10% of your stop, every trade starts 0.1R down.
Common mistakes
- Backtesting without costs and wondering why live results are worse.
Related terms
ExpectancyThe average result per trade, usually in R. Positive expectancy means the strate…BacktestRunning a strategy's exact rules over historical data to see how it would have p…
Why most strategies need a human behind the screen
Read the lessonWhat a mechanical test can and cannot tell you about smart money concepts.
Education only, not financial advice. Definitions vary between teachers; these are ours, written for clarity.