How to create an iteration variable in a strategy action?

[MatthewLesko]

I'm having a hard time with strategy not stopping after certain # of trades, especially with on bar close.
So is it possible with a trade that gets executed if a condition is met, to create a variable called like "trades" and=1 after strategy goes long/short once, then make it =2 if it makes a second trade.
that way I can make sure the condition for entering an order doesn't happen if it's at 2? assuming I want to limit to 2 trades total and stop.

[NinjaTrader_Jesse]

Hello MatthewLesko,

You could use the existing trade performance from the strategy to see how many trades its made:

https://ninjatrader.com/support/helpGuides/nt8/tradecollection.htm

SystemPerformance.AllTrades.Count

[MatthewLesko]

Yeah I tried that but it seems to not work reliably particularly when I have multiple contracts being traded. I would print that value out and it would say like 0 or 3 or 5 it was really weird.
I can't reliably use it but I know for sure that if I could have my own variable each time I went long or short, regardless of how NT sees as a trade.

[NinjaTrader_Jesse]

Hello MatthewLesko,

A trade is an entry + exit that closes the total entry quantity. If you are using multiple contracts then you need to exit the full position before that will count up to make a trade.

If that is not working for your specific use case you would need to use your own int variable and increment it when submitting the entries. You can increment a int variable using ++:

myVariableName++;