Trade Journal & Performance Tracker

The Two Things I Make Every Student Write Down

What you were feeling. What the setup was. On every single trade.

Students hate it. And the reason they hate it is the whole point. Most new traders are overtraders, and when you overtrade you have too many trades to log. The journal exposes it. If you cannot keep up with writing down your trades, you are taking too many trades. That is the diagnosis and the cure in one tool.

Why feeling matters

Bored. Revenge. FOMO after a missed runner. Overconfident after two winners. When you write the feeling next to the result, the pattern shows up in a week. Almost every losing streak I have reviewed with a student traces back to an emotion, not a setup.

Why setup matters

First Pullback into the Bone Zone. ORB. VWAP Bounce. Red to Green. Name it. If you cannot name the setup, you did not have one, and that trade goes in the journal as exactly that. After 50 trades you will know which setup pays you and which one is costing you money. Trade the first one. Cut the second.

What To Do With the Data

Win rate is the least useful number in here. A 40 percent win rate with 2R winners and 1R losers is a profitable trader. A 70 percent win rate with tiny winners and one big loser is broke. Look at average R, look at your biggest losers, and look at what you were feeling when you took them.

Review it weekly. Not daily, you are too close to it. Sunday, before the week starts. Find the one mistake that cost the most and make that the only thing you fix next week. Your trades sync to the cloud when you sign in, so the review is there on any device.

Bootcamp students do this from day one in the simulator, before any real money is on the line. That is the No Live Trading During Class rule. The journal is how you earn the right to go live. Learn more in the Bulls on Wall Street blog.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I write in a trade journal?

Entry, exit, shares, stop, result in R, the setup name, and what you were feeling when you took it. The last two are the ones that change your trading. They are also the ones nobody wants to write.

How often should I review my trading journal?

Weekly. Sunday works. Daily is too emotional and monthly is too late. Find the single most expensive mistake and fix only that one the following week.

Is win rate the most important stat?

No. Average R and the size of your biggest losers matter more. A 40 percent win rate with 2R winners is profitable. A 70 percent win rate with one oversized loser is not.

I have too many trades to log. What should I do?

Take fewer trades. That is not a joke. If the journal is unmanageable, the trading is unmanageable. Most traders who cannot keep up are overtrading and the journal is telling them so.

Is this journal free?

Yes. It works without an account, and if you sign in your trades sync so you can review from any device.

Related Tools

• Risk Calculator: Size before the trade goes in the journal
• P&L Calculator: Get the R multiple right
• Compounding Calculator: What consistency turns into