I know it’s tough out there. This might be the most difficult market I’ve seen in 20 years. You might be struggling and ready to give up. But I’m here to tell you, now is not the time. Steve Harvey once said, “If you’re going through hell, keep going. Why would you stop in hell?.” And that’s the point; let’s not forget that just over 12 months ago was one of the best times to be a trader since the .com boom, but now it’s time to pay the piper for all the excess and mania that we saw. I mean $300k for a picture of a monkey? Who would have thought that would end badly?
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Many will give up and exit the trading arena forever. But those that can stick it out, and survive the tough times can be around to see favorable market conditions return. And that’s what I’m here for, to guide you through this and make sure you have the opportunity to continue doing what you love!
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What do I look for When I Review My Trades?
- Review your trades immediately after you close them
- After closing out a trade take a minute to review your trade.
- Your notes will be best when the trade is still fresh on your mind. You can of course go back later in the evening to do further reflection.
- For losing trades:
- Did you follow your technical plan?
- Was your reason for entering a trade based on a technical reason? Determine whether or not you followed it.
- What about your technical plan failed?
- If things went south, write notes on why your technicals were off. Then write what you can do to improve moving forward.
- Did you properly manage your capital?
- Did you size correctly?
- Did you respect your stop loss?
- Did you exit when you recognized you were wrong or did you wait for your stop to hit?
- What were your emotions like during the trade?
- Did you FOMO in?
- Was it a revenge trade?
- Did you get angry when you got stopped? Were you impatient causing you to not wait for the right technical setup? Did you feel confident adding?
- Making an emotional assessment is perhaps the most underrated yet most important part of reviewing a trade. If your mind was off you need to understand why in order to be able to fix it.
Not every losing trade is a bad trade. When a trade hasn’t worked, but I’ve followed my process, I understand that there is nothing more I could have done, and I’ve traded well. It’s when I let my emotions interfere with my trading execution that I get mad because I’ve not followed my plan and allowed the lizard brain to take over my trading decisions. A glass of Vino and journaling these mistakes helps me get back on track after a bad day at the office!
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- For winning trades:
- Did you follow your technical plan?
- Just because you won a trade, it is not necessarily a good trade. Every once in a while you will get lucky & take a trade on the fly that still works. This, however is not a true winning trade.
- What about your technical plan was effective?
- Why do you believe it worked well? It is important to understand this so that you can repeat the same process.
- Did you properly manage your capital?
- Did you stick to your sizing rules?
- Did you take profits at the right times?
- What were your emotions like during the trade?
- Were you composed?
- Did you remain patient?
- Were you confident in taking the trade?
- Were you able to manage emotions after entering the trade?
- How confident were you after entering the trade?
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My job as a trader is to find out what works for me and do more of it. I learn from my mistakes but focus on what I do will, and then I get bigger in my best trading setups. That’s how great traders improve, by focusing on what works, and doing it over and over again!
Final note…. It may take a bit to get used to reviewing your trades this in-depth but it can be a game-changer. It’s not just about what is happening on the chart. If anything, that is just a fraction of what goes into the overall trade execution. Work every day to get a little bit better!
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