diff --git a/crates/ml/ml/hyperopt_results/dqn/20260325_232631/best_params.json b/crates/ml/ml/hyperopt_results/dqn/20260325_232631/best_params.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..971ef1ac6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/ml/ml/hyperopt_results/dqn/20260325_232631/best_params.json
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+{
+  "learning_rate": 0.00005994999354431849,
+  "batch_size": 307,
+  "gamma": 0.9572818589229506,
+  "buffer_size": 66246,
+  "max_position_absolute": 1.1030284538648683,
+  "huber_delta": 17.775790174607682,
+  "entropy_coefficient": 0.38184099247597697,
+  "transaction_cost_multiplier": 1.7738774066741243,
+  "per_alpha": 0.45251155566697393,
+  "per_beta_start": 0.20130083854118397,
+  "dueling_hidden_dim": 128,
+  "n_steps": 4,
+  "tau": 0.008986246204051671,
+  "num_atoms": 101,
+  "v_min": -280.91110000212706,
+  "v_max": 280.91110000212706,
+  "noisy_sigma_init": 0.24583814763225417,
+  "minimum_profit_factor": 1.5028035348681215,
+  "weight_decay": 0.00010597074820791314,
+  "kelly_fractional": 0.5096243658522589,
+  "kelly_max_fraction": 0.12010947414322902,
+  "kelly_min_trades": 20,
+  "volatility_window": 23,
+  "use_ensemble_uncertainty": false,
+  "ensemble_size": 5.0,
+  "beta_variance": 0.5,
+  "beta_disagreement": 0.5,
+  "beta_entropy": 0.2,
+  "warmup_ratio": 0.0,
+  "curiosity_weight": 0.0,
+  "td_error_clamp_max": 10.0,
+  "batch_diversity_cooldown": 50.0,
+  "lr_decay_type": 0.0,
+  "sharpe_weight": 0.10176748614555509,
+  "gae_lambda": 0.95,
+  "noisy_sigma_initial": 0.5,
+  "noisy_sigma_final": 0.3,
+  "use_spectral_norm": true,
+  "use_attention": true,
+  "use_residual": true,
+  "norm_type": 1.0,
+  "activation_type": 1.0,
+  "num_quantiles": 32,
+  "qr_kappa": 1.0,
+  "iqn_lambda": 0.8479734309322158,
+  "spectral_norm_sigma_max": 4.8543579475657985,
+  "hidden_dim_base": 128,
+  "noisy_epsilon_floor": 0.1,
+  "count_bonus_coefficient": 0.23831546372779777,
+  "cql_alpha": 0.5059776371295834,
+  "eval_softmax_temp": 1.0,
+  "dsr_eta": 0.003947815597664894,
+  "branch_hidden_dim": 64,
+  "gradient_accumulation_steps": 1,
+  "w_dsr": 1.0,
+  "w_pnl": 0.3,
+  "w_dd": 1.0,
+  "w_idle": 0.01,
+  "dd_threshold": 0.01,
+  "loss_aversion": 1.5,
+  "time_decay_rate": 0.0005,
+  "q_gap_threshold": 0.1,
+  "c51_warmup_epochs": 10,
+  "dt_pretrain_epochs": 0,
+  "her_ratio": 0.48591734800375336,
+  "curiosity_weight_tunable": 0.09052455736721342,
+  "use_cvar_action_selection": 0.028233223186665324,
+  "cvar_alpha": 0.03929750758139713,
+  "min_hold_bars": 9
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/crates/ml/ml/hyperopt_results/dqn/20260325_232631/campaign_summary.json b/crates/ml/ml/hyperopt_results/dqn/20260325_232631/campaign_summary.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8d10f4930
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/ml/ml/hyperopt_results/dqn/20260325_232631/campaign_summary.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+  "trials_completed": 1,
+  "best_loss": 1000000.0,
+  "best_params_json": "{\n  \"learning_rate\": 0.00005994999354431849,\n  \"batch_size\": 307,\n  \"gamma\": 0.9572818589229506,\n  \"buffer_size\": 66246,\n  \"max_position_absolute\": 1.1030284538648683,\n  \"huber_delta\": 17.775790174607682,\n  \"entropy_coefficient\": 0.38184099247597697,\n  \"transaction_cost_multiplier\": 1.7738774066741243,\n  \"per_alpha\": 0.45251155566697393,\n  \"per_beta_start\": 0.20130083854118397,\n  \"dueling_hidden_dim\": 128,\n  \"n_steps\": 4,\n  \"tau\": 0.008986246204051671,\n  \"num_atoms\": 101,\n  \"v_min\": -280.91110000212706,\n  \"v_max\": 280.91110000212706,\n  \"noisy_sigma_init\": 0.24583814763225417,\n  \"minimum_profit_factor\": 1.5028035348681215,\n  \"weight_decay\": 0.00010597074820791314,\n  \"kelly_fractional\": 0.5096243658522589,\n  \"kelly_max_fraction\": 0.12010947414322902,\n  \"kelly_min_trades\": 20,\n  \"volatility_window\": 23,\n  \"use_ensemble_uncertainty\": false,\n  \"ensemble_size\": 5.0,\n  \"beta_variance\": 0.5,\n  \"beta_disagreement\": 0.5,\n  \"beta_entropy\": 0.2,\n  \"warmup_ratio\": 0.0,\n  \"curiosity_weight\": 0.0,\n  \"td_error_clamp_max\": 10.0,\n  \"batch_diversity_cooldown\": 50.0,\n  \"lr_decay_type\": 0.0,\n  \"sharpe_weight\": 0.10176748614555509,\n  \"gae_lambda\": 0.95,\n  \"noisy_sigma_initial\": 0.5,\n  \"noisy_sigma_final\": 0.3,\n  \"use_spectral_norm\": true,\n  \"use_attention\": true,\n  \"use_residual\": true,\n  \"norm_type\": 1.0,\n  \"activation_type\": 1.0,\n  \"num_quantiles\": 32,\n  \"qr_kappa\": 1.0,\n  \"iqn_lambda\": 0.8479734309322158,\n  \"spectral_norm_sigma_max\": 4.8543579475657985,\n  \"hidden_dim_base\": 128,\n  \"noisy_epsilon_floor\": 0.1,\n  \"count_bonus_coefficient\": 0.23831546372779777,\n  \"cql_alpha\": 0.5059776371295834,\n  \"eval_softmax_temp\": 1.0,\n  \"dsr_eta\": 0.003947815597664894,\n  \"branch_hidden_dim\": 64,\n  \"gradient_accumulation_steps\": 1,\n  \"w_dsr\": 1.0,\n  \"w_pnl\": 0.3,\n  \"w_dd\": 1.0,\n  \"w_idle\": 0.01,\n  \"dd_threshold\": 0.01,\n  \"loss_aversion\": 1.5,\n  \"time_decay_rate\": 0.0005,\n  \"q_gap_threshold\": 0.1,\n  \"c51_warmup_epochs\": 10,\n  \"dt_pretrain_epochs\": 0,\n  \"her_ratio\": 0.48591734800375336,\n  \"curiosity_weight_tunable\": 0.09052455736721342,\n  \"use_cvar_action_selection\": 0.028233223186665324,\n  \"cvar_alpha\": 0.03929750758139713,\n  \"min_hold_bars\": 9\n}",
+  "best_checkpoint_path": null,
+  "total_time_seconds": 593.717371697
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/crates/ml/ml/hyperopt_results/dqn/20260325_235357/best_params.json b/crates/ml/ml/hyperopt_results/dqn/20260325_235357/best_params.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..971ef1ac6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/ml/ml/hyperopt_results/dqn/20260325_235357/best_params.json
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+{
+  "learning_rate": 0.00005994999354431849,
+  "batch_size": 307,
+  "gamma": 0.9572818589229506,
+  "buffer_size": 66246,
+  "max_position_absolute": 1.1030284538648683,
+  "huber_delta": 17.775790174607682,
+  "entropy_coefficient": 0.38184099247597697,
+  "transaction_cost_multiplier": 1.7738774066741243,
+  "per_alpha": 0.45251155566697393,
+  "per_beta_start": 0.20130083854118397,
+  "dueling_hidden_dim": 128,
+  "n_steps": 4,
+  "tau": 0.008986246204051671,
+  "num_atoms": 101,
+  "v_min": -280.91110000212706,
+  "v_max": 280.91110000212706,
+  "noisy_sigma_init": 0.24583814763225417,
+  "minimum_profit_factor": 1.5028035348681215,
+  "weight_decay": 0.00010597074820791314,
+  "kelly_fractional": 0.5096243658522589,
+  "kelly_max_fraction": 0.12010947414322902,
+  "kelly_min_trades": 20,
+  "volatility_window": 23,
+  "use_ensemble_uncertainty": false,
+  "ensemble_size": 5.0,
+  "beta_variance": 0.5,
+  "beta_disagreement": 0.5,
+  "beta_entropy": 0.2,
+  "warmup_ratio": 0.0,
+  "curiosity_weight": 0.0,
+  "td_error_clamp_max": 10.0,
+  "batch_diversity_cooldown": 50.0,
+  "lr_decay_type": 0.0,
+  "sharpe_weight": 0.10176748614555509,
+  "gae_lambda": 0.95,
+  "noisy_sigma_initial": 0.5,
+  "noisy_sigma_final": 0.3,
+  "use_spectral_norm": true,
+  "use_attention": true,
+  "use_residual": true,
+  "norm_type": 1.0,
+  "activation_type": 1.0,
+  "num_quantiles": 32,
+  "qr_kappa": 1.0,
+  "iqn_lambda": 0.8479734309322158,
+  "spectral_norm_sigma_max": 4.8543579475657985,
+  "hidden_dim_base": 128,
+  "noisy_epsilon_floor": 0.1,
+  "count_bonus_coefficient": 0.23831546372779777,
+  "cql_alpha": 0.5059776371295834,
+  "eval_softmax_temp": 1.0,
+  "dsr_eta": 0.003947815597664894,
+  "branch_hidden_dim": 64,
+  "gradient_accumulation_steps": 1,
+  "w_dsr": 1.0,
+  "w_pnl": 0.3,
+  "w_dd": 1.0,
+  "w_idle": 0.01,
+  "dd_threshold": 0.01,
+  "loss_aversion": 1.5,
+  "time_decay_rate": 0.0005,
+  "q_gap_threshold": 0.1,
+  "c51_warmup_epochs": 10,
+  "dt_pretrain_epochs": 0,
+  "her_ratio": 0.48591734800375336,
+  "curiosity_weight_tunable": 0.09052455736721342,
+  "use_cvar_action_selection": 0.028233223186665324,
+  "cvar_alpha": 0.03929750758139713,
+  "min_hold_bars": 9
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/crates/ml/ml/hyperopt_results/dqn/20260325_235357/campaign_summary.json b/crates/ml/ml/hyperopt_results/dqn/20260325_235357/campaign_summary.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e2050c66c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/ml/ml/hyperopt_results/dqn/20260325_235357/campaign_summary.json
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+  "trials_completed": 1,
+  "best_loss": 1000000.0,
+  "best_params_json": "{\n  \"learning_rate\": 0.00005994999354431849,\n  \"batch_size\": 307,\n  \"gamma\": 0.9572818589229506,\n  \"buffer_size\": 66246,\n  \"max_position_absolute\": 1.1030284538648683,\n  \"huber_delta\": 17.775790174607682,\n  \"entropy_coefficient\": 0.38184099247597697,\n  \"transaction_cost_multiplier\": 1.7738774066741243,\n  \"per_alpha\": 0.45251155566697393,\n  \"per_beta_start\": 0.20130083854118397,\n  \"dueling_hidden_dim\": 128,\n  \"n_steps\": 4,\n  \"tau\": 0.008986246204051671,\n  \"num_atoms\": 101,\n  \"v_min\": -280.91110000212706,\n  \"v_max\": 280.91110000212706,\n  \"noisy_sigma_init\": 0.24583814763225417,\n  \"minimum_profit_factor\": 1.5028035348681215,\n  \"weight_decay\": 0.00010597074820791314,\n  \"kelly_fractional\": 0.5096243658522589,\n  \"kelly_max_fraction\": 0.12010947414322902,\n  \"kelly_min_trades\": 20,\n  \"volatility_window\": 23,\n  \"use_ensemble_uncertainty\": false,\n  \"ensemble_size\": 5.0,\n  \"beta_variance\": 0.5,\n  \"beta_disagreement\": 0.5,\n  \"beta_entropy\": 0.2,\n  \"warmup_ratio\": 0.0,\n  \"curiosity_weight\": 0.0,\n  \"td_error_clamp_max\": 10.0,\n  \"batch_diversity_cooldown\": 50.0,\n  \"lr_decay_type\": 0.0,\n  \"sharpe_weight\": 0.10176748614555509,\n  \"gae_lambda\": 0.95,\n  \"noisy_sigma_initial\": 0.5,\n  \"noisy_sigma_final\": 0.3,\n  \"use_spectral_norm\": true,\n  \"use_attention\": true,\n  \"use_residual\": true,\n  \"norm_type\": 1.0,\n  \"activation_type\": 1.0,\n  \"num_quantiles\": 32,\n  \"qr_kappa\": 1.0,\n  \"iqn_lambda\": 0.8479734309322158,\n  \"spectral_norm_sigma_max\": 4.8543579475657985,\n  \"hidden_dim_base\": 128,\n  \"noisy_epsilon_floor\": 0.1,\n  \"count_bonus_coefficient\": 0.23831546372779777,\n  \"cql_alpha\": 0.5059776371295834,\n  \"eval_softmax_temp\": 1.0,\n  \"dsr_eta\": 0.003947815597664894,\n  \"branch_hidden_dim\": 64,\n  \"gradient_accumulation_steps\": 1,\n  \"w_dsr\": 1.0,\n  \"w_pnl\": 0.3,\n  \"w_dd\": 1.0,\n  \"w_idle\": 0.01,\n  \"dd_threshold\": 0.01,\n  \"loss_aversion\": 1.5,\n  \"time_decay_rate\": 0.0005,\n  \"q_gap_threshold\": 0.1,\n  \"c51_warmup_epochs\": 10,\n  \"dt_pretrain_epochs\": 0,\n  \"her_ratio\": 0.48591734800375336,\n  \"curiosity_weight_tunable\": 0.09052455736721342,\n  \"use_cvar_action_selection\": 0.028233223186665324,\n  \"cvar_alpha\": 0.03929750758139713,\n  \"min_hold_bars\": 9\n}",
+  "best_checkpoint_path": null,
+  "total_time_seconds": 9.469736839
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/crates/ml/src/cuda_pipeline/gpu_backtest_evaluator.rs b/crates/ml/src/cuda_pipeline/gpu_backtest_evaluator.rs
index 75c208e1d..99d4d87c4 100644
--- a/crates/ml/src/cuda_pipeline/gpu_backtest_evaluator.rs
+++ b/crates/ml/src/cuda_pipeline/gpu_backtest_evaluator.rs
@@ -1138,8 +1138,12 @@ impl GpuBacktestEvaluator {
             // ── Phase 4: Greedy action selection on chunked Q-values ─────────
             // Kernel signature: (q_values, out_actions, rng_states, out_q_gaps, epsilon, N,
             //                    b0, b1, b2, q_gap_threshold, portfolio_states, min_hold_bars, max_position)
-            let null_portfolio: u64 = 0;  // NULL — backtest has no hold enforcement yet
-            let eval_min_hold: i32 = 0;   // 0 = disabled during evaluation
+            // Hold enforcement handled by backtest_env_step (Layer 2), not action masking.
+            // The greedy argmax (epsilon=0) doesn't need masking — any hold-violating
+            // action is overridden by the env_step kernel. This avoids the stride-8/stride-20
+            // portfolio layout incompatibility between backtest and training buffers.
+            let null_portfolio: u64 = 0;  // NULL — Layer 2 in env_step handles holds
+            let eval_min_hold: i32 = 0;   // 0 = disabled here (enforced in env_step instead)
             let eval_max_pos: f32 = 0.0;
             unsafe {
                 self.stream
diff --git a/crates/ml/src/hyperopt/adapters/dqn.rs b/crates/ml/src/hyperopt/adapters/dqn.rs
index b36cee1ae..e5dcb4d03 100644
--- a/crates/ml/src/hyperopt/adapters/dqn.rs
+++ b/crates/ml/src/hyperopt/adapters/dqn.rs
@@ -2490,12 +2490,14 @@ fn calculate_diversity_penalty(action_distribution: &[f64; 3]) -> f64 {
 ///
 /// Returns penalty in [0.0, 10.0] (additive on objective, higher = worse).
 fn calculate_trade_insufficiency_penalty(total_trades: usize) -> f64 {
+    /// Minimum trades for non-degenerate trial (below this → full penalty).
+    const MIN_TRADES_DEGENERATE: usize = 10;
     const MIN_VIABLE_TRADES: usize = 20; // 20 quality trades >> 100 noise trades
 
     if total_trades == 0 {
         10.0 // Model does nothing at all
-    } else if total_trades < 10 {
-        5.0 + 5.0 * (1.0 - total_trades as f64 / 10.0) // 5.0-10.0 range
+    } else if total_trades < MIN_TRADES_DEGENERATE {
+        5.0 + 5.0 * (1.0 - total_trades as f64 / MIN_TRADES_DEGENERATE as f64) // 5.0-10.0 range
     } else if total_trades < MIN_VIABLE_TRADES {
         2.0 * (1.0 - total_trades as f64 / MIN_VIABLE_TRADES as f64) // 0.0-2.0 smooth
     } else {
@@ -3736,7 +3738,8 @@ impl HyperparameterOptimizable for DQNTrainer {
             // when the model is confident in a directional bias. Multi-window backtest
             // (3 independent windows, mean - 0.5*std) already penalizes lucky single-bucket
             // flukes. Diversity is a soft signal, not a hard gate.
-            if backtest.total_trades < 10 {
+            const MIN_TRADES_DEGENERATE: usize = 10;
+            if backtest.total_trades < MIN_TRADES_DEGENERATE {
                 info!(
                     "DEGENERATE TRIAL: {} trades → trade_penalty={:.2} (objective={:.2})",
                     backtest.total_trades, trade_penalty, trade_penalty
@@ -3770,7 +3773,7 @@ impl HyperparameterOptimizable for DQNTrainer {
                 //   CVaR = -0.002 → no penalty (normal)
                 //   CVaR = -0.005 → penalty ≈ 2.8 (elevated)
                 //   CVaR = -0.010 → penalty ≈ 9.8 (max, dangerous)
-                let cvar_threshold = 0.003;
+                let cvar_threshold = 0.05 / (common::thresholds::time::BARS_PER_DAY).sqrt();
                 let cvar_penalty = ((-backtest.cvar_95 - cvar_threshold).max(0.0) * 1400.0).min(10.0);
 
                 // Component 2: HFT activity score (25% weight)
@@ -4529,7 +4532,8 @@ mod tests {
     #[test]
     fn test_qr_dqn_activation_threshold() {
         let bounds = DQNParams::continuous_bounds();
-        let mut params = vec![0.0_f64; 41]; // 41D search space
+        let dim = DQNParams::continuous_bounds().len();
+        let mut params = vec![0.0_f64; dim];
         // Fill with valid defaults
         params[0] = (1e-4_f64).ln();           // learning_rate
         params[1] = 128.0;                      // batch_size
@@ -4591,7 +4595,8 @@ mod tests {
         // batch_size is clamped to [64, 1024] in from_continuous — VRAM guard.
         // Even if PSO suggests 2048, from_continuous caps at 1024.
         let bounds = DQNParams::continuous_bounds();
-        let mut params = vec![0.0_f64; 39]; // C8: 39D
+        let dim = DQNParams::continuous_bounds().len();
+        let mut params = vec![0.0_f64; dim];
         params[1] = 2048.0; // batch_size (index 1) — over the clamp
         // Fill other required params with valid defaults
         params[0] = (1e-4_f64).ln(); // learning_rate