1.  Profit factor and percent profitable are the two most important performance metrics.
     (Hint: a profit factor > 1.4 and percent profitable > 60% is outstanding for a swing trading system)

2.  Always try to obtain out-of-sample performance, i.e., trading signals given in advance.
     (Hint: backtesting should be met with skepticism as results can be optimized with the benefit of hindsight )

3.  Simulated trades should always be at the market open or close without stop or limit orders on entry or exit.
     (Hint: stops/limits can be tweaked to yield optimal results but not be representative of real-world trading)

4.  Trading systems that work well on multiple stocks are more robust than those optimized for a single stock.
     (Hint: a trading system optimized for a single security is more likely to fail under unseen market conditions)

5.  Performance results should disclose all trading signals; spanning multiple timeframes and market conditions.
     (Hint: it's easy to "cherry pick" performance by not showing all trades or only showing favorable timeframes)