Question 1

Should I automate a strategy as soon as the backtest looks good?

Accepted Answer

No. A backtest only describes the past. Before automating, most people paper trade and forward test on data the rules have never seen, because live fills, fees, and delays can change the picture. Automation is the last step, not the first.

Question 2

When should you not automate a strategy at all?

Accepted Answer

When the rules are not actually written down, when the edge depends on your judgment in the moment, when you cannot watch or kill it, or when a single bug could lose more than you can afford. In those cases automation just runs the problem faster.

Question 3

Does automation make a strategy more profitable?

Accepted Answer

No. Automation only enforces the rules you already have, faster and without hesitation. If the rules have no edge, automating them simply produces the same losses more consistently.