Ticker&TapeKeeping a trading journal
A journal turns your trades into lessons. Without one, you remember the big wins and forget why you lost. With one, you can see exactly what works for you and what doesn't.
What to record for every trade
Write the entry before you buy, not after. The plan is the most valuable part, because later you can compare what you intended with what you did.
- Setup: the base type and the pivot, for example a cup with handle breaking out on volume.
- Entry, stop and size: price, stop price, number of shares and the percentage of the account at risk.
- Reason: why this stock, why now. Market direction, RS Rating, group rank, earnings.
- Exit: the date, price and why you sold (stop, target, sell signal or emotion).
- A note or chart: what you did well and what you would change.
The stats that matter
After 20 or 30 trades, simple numbers start to tell a story:
- Win rate: the share of trades that made money. 40% to 50% is normal for trend followers.
- Average gain and average loss: in percent. The goal is gains about two to three times the size of losses.
- Gain/loss ratio: average gain ÷ average loss. A 40% win rate with a 3-to-1 ratio is profitable.
- Largest loss: if it is much bigger than 8%, your stops are not being followed.
Review every week
Set aside time once a week, ideally in your weekly routine, to go through the past week's trades. Look at each chart again with fresh eyes. Did you buy near the pivot or chase? Did you follow your stop? Did you sell too early or too late?
Over time patterns appear. Maybe your breakouts in weak markets usually fail, or your losses come from buying extended stocks. Those patterns become your personal rules.
The portfolio journal on Ticker&Tape
The portfolio keeps your trades, P&L (profit and loss) and stats in one place. When you plan a trade with the position size calculator, you can send it to the portfolio with the entry and stop already filled in, then add your notes in the journal. The stats update automatically as you close trades, so you see your win rate and average gain and loss without a spreadsheet.
Common mistakes
- Only recording winners, or only writing notes when something goes wrong.
- Filling in the reason after the trade, which rewrites history.
- Judging the method on five trades instead of a meaningful sample.
- Keeping a journal but never reviewing it.
Key points
- Record setup, entry, stop, size and reason for every trade before you buy.
- Track win rate, average gain, average loss and the gain/loss ratio.
- Review weekly and turn repeated mistakes into rules.
Check what you learned
Answer at least 2 of 3 correctly to complete the lesson.
1. When should you write the plan for a trade in your journal?
The plan is the most valuable part of the entry. Writing it afterward lets hindsight rewrite your reasons.
2. Your win rate is 40%, your average gain is 15% and your average loss is 5%. What does that mean?
Trend followers often win only 40% to 50% of the time. Gains about three times the size of losses make that profitable.
3. Your journal shows a largest loss of 18%. What does that point to?
With a 7% to 8% maximum loss, a much bigger loss means the stop rule was broken.
Open your portfolio journal → Try it on Ticker&Tape