MT5 position reversal on a netting account: what the history shows

One order that closes a trade and opens the opposite one: how it is recorded and how to tag it.

On a netting account, MetaTrader 5 keeps one position per symbol. If you are long and then sell more than you hold, the position does not become a long and a short at the same time. It flips. This is called a reversal, and it can surprise traders who expect two separate trades. This page explains what a reversal is, how it can appear in the history, and how to record it so that your journal reflects what you actually decided.

What a reversal is

Take a netting account with a long position of 0.10 lots in a symbol. You send a sell order of 0.25 lots. The first 0.10 lots close the long position. The remaining 0.15 lots open a new short position at the same price. In one click you have both closed a trade and opened a new one in the opposite direction. On a hedging account the same sell order would normally open a separate short position and leave the long in place, so the behaviour depends on the account type. For the difference see hedging vs netting in trade history.

Some builds of the terminal also offer a reverse function in the position menu or on the chart. It does the same job of closing the current position and opening one in the opposite direction, with the order sizes handled for you. The exact wording and location differ between builds, so check your own terminal.

The sizes above are invented to show the logic. Real symbols have a minimum lot and a lot step set by the broker, which you can read in the symbol specification; see the symbol specification explained.

What the history shows

The History tab records deals, which are the executions, and positions, which are the grouped result. A reversal produces a deal that closes the old position and a deal that opens the new one, and depending on the server, these can appear as separate rows or as a single deal that carries the whole volume. Because the platform shows what the server sent, the safest approach is to open the Deals tab, find the time of the reversal, and read the volume and the direction column of each row. The page on deal, order and position IDs shows how to follow the numbers.

• The closing part of the reversal carries the profit or loss of the old position.
• The opening part has no profit yet; it only starts the new position.
• Commission is usually charged on the full deal volume, which is more than a normal one-sided trade. Check your account.
• A swap is charged only on positions held overnight, so a same-day reversal usually carries none.

How AI Trading Journal treats it

The app reads closed positions and creates one entry per closed position, dated by the last exit on the broker’s server clock, with the result calculated as profit plus commission plus swap. In a reversal, the old position closes and becomes an entry, while the new position stays open until it closes later and then becomes its own entry. That is the right outcome, because it was two decisions: leave the first trade, and start the second. You will see them as two entries, not one.

The commission is where care is needed. If the broker charged commission on the full reversal volume, part of that cost belongs to the closing of the old position and part to the opening of the new one, but the history records it on the deals, and the result of the closed position is what you see. Your notes are the place to say that the exit was a reversal, so that a later review does not mistake a rushed flip for a normal stop-out.

Why flips deserve their own tag

A reversal is a decision with a particular psychology: changing your mind about direction within seconds. For many traders it is the most emotional kind of trade, sometimes a good adaptation and sometimes a reaction to a loss. A tag such as reversal lets you filter these later and look at them as a group, without drawing conclusions from the first two or three examples. Tagging is explained in how to tag trades in a trading journal. Ask yourself in the notes whether the reversal followed your plan or followed your frustration; the answer is often visible when you read the notes in order, and the revenge trading journal page covers the second case.

A worked example (hypothetical)

A trader on a netting account is long 0.10 lots of an index and the price moves against the position. The trader sells 0.25 lots to reverse. The old long closes with a loss of a given amount, and the new short of 0.15 lots opens. Twenty minutes later the short closes with a small gain. In the journal there are two entries: the first, tagged reversal, with the loss and a note saying the flip followed the written rule for a break of the level; the second with the small gain. Over a month the trader filters the reversal tag and finds that the flips that followed the written rule performed differently from the ones that did not. These figures are invented, and no conclusion about reversals in general should be drawn from them.

Limits and cautions

• Reversal behaviour depends on account type; on hedging accounts the same order opens a separate position.
• How the server records the deals can differ, so read your own history instead of assuming.
• The app does not capture intent; your tag and note do.
• The app is read-only and never places, modifies or closes a trade, including a reversal.
• Nothing here is trading advice.

For a related case where the position is reduced rather than flipped, read partial closes in MT5 history.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• A local trading journal for MT5
• P&L calendar for MT5
• Trade notes, ratings and screenshots
• Trading progress and goals
• Back up your journal and move it to a new PC
• An offline trading journal for Windows
• How to set monthly trading goals
• Import your whole MT5 history
• How to tag trades
• Trade screenshots for your journal
• All trading journal comparisons