Same range, very different behavior
A grid’s shape — how orders are spaced and how their size grows — matters as much as its range. These knobs decide whether the grid is a gentle averager or a fast, fragile one.
The shape controls
- •Step distribution — arithmetic (equal price steps), geometric (equal percentage steps) or logarithmic. It decides where your orders cluster across the range.
- •Martingale — each safety order is bigger than the last, so the average price moves faster toward a bounce. Powerful on a recovery — but exposure grows fast the deeper price falls.
- •COMBO DCA share / chunks — how much of the deposit is held as a DCA reserve, and how many tranches it splits into. More tranches mean smoother averaging with smaller individual orders.
- •The base order is computed automatically so the full martingale grid fits your deposit and clears exchange minimums.
In-product example
A martingale of 1.5 across 10 orders puts far more capital into the deepest safety orders than a flat grid — a strong pull back to breakeven on a bounce, but a heavy bag if price keeps falling.
The pitfall
High martingale is seductive and lethal. It smooths the equity curve trade after trade — until the one deep trend that outruns the reserve, when the largest orders are the ones deepest underwater. Keep martingale modest, size the DCA reserve for the crash you actually fear, and never grid a strong downtrend.
Next
See how the strategies use these shapes in Grid, DCA and Combo, and size the whole thing in Position sizing.