The main idea
Most traders review their trades in a way that protects their ego. They open the chart, look at the entry, look at the exit, and decide the trade was either “good” or “bad” based on whether it made money.
That is not review. That is scorekeeping.
A real review asks a harder question: did I follow a process that I would be willing to repeat? A losing trade can be a good trade. A winning trade can be a terrible trade. If you do not separate the decision from the result, your journal will keep lying to you.
What to look for
Start with the boring stuff. It is usually where the truth is hiding.
- Was the setup part of your plan, or did you invent the reason after you clicked?
- Was the stop placed before entry, or did you decide later because the trade went against you?
- Did the lot size match your rules, or did you size up because you felt confident?
- Did you take the trade during your best trading window, or were you just sitting there too long?
- Did you exit because the plan said to exit, or because you were uncomfortable?
If you answer those honestly, the trade review gets useful fast.
Practical steps
1. Screenshot the trade before judging it
Save the chart as it looked when the trade was taken. Mark the entry, stop, target, and the reason for the trade. Do this before you start explaining the outcome.
2. Grade the decision, not the result
Give the trade one of three grades:
- A: Followed the plan, acceptable risk, clean execution.
- B: Mostly followed the plan, but one part was sloppy.
- C: Emotional, random, oversized, late, revenge-based, or not part of the plan.
3. Write one correction
Not five. One. “I need to stop overtrading” is too vague. “No new trades after two losses in one session” is usable. Good review creates rules you can actually follow.
Final note
The point of reviewing trades is not to beat yourself up. It is to find the leak. If the same mistake appears ten times, that is good news. You found something specific to fix.
The trader who can review honestly has a real advantage. Most people only review until their ego gets uncomfortable.