Mastering the art of Trade Review

The ‘Two-Part’ Trade Review Process for Consistent Improvement

As traders, refining your process is important. A structured review system helps with identifying patterns, improving execution, and staying disciplined. In this post, we’ll cover building a ‘Two-Part’ Trade Review Process that includes a daily debrief and a week in focus review.

Why Two Review Processes?

The daily report card helps you assess performance while the day is fresh in your mind, allowing for quick, actionable insights. Meanwhile, the week in focus review helps you spot broader trends in your trading, making it easier to fine-tune your strategy for the long run.

Daily Debrief

At the end of each trading day, take a few minutes to reflect on your trades. Your debrief should cover:

  • Trade performance: Did you follow your plan? What were the outcomes?
  • Psychological assessment: Were you calm or emotional?
  • What went well?
  • What needs improvement?

The goal here is not to overhaul your strategy, but to stay aligned with your plan by auditing your day-to-day actions.

Mark Up Your Charts

Marking up your charts is an essential part of the debriefing process. Highlight where you entered/exited trades, note any price action observations, and think of ways to improve execution. Consider printing the charts – it can help you see the trades from a fresh perspective.

Week in Focus Review

Each week, take a more detailed look at your performance by reviewing your daily reports. This is where you assess common themes in your trades:

  • Too many trades?
  • Hesitation?
  • Giving up too much P&L?
  • Any consistently positive behavior?

Solution-Focused Adjustments

Once you spot recurring issues, work on actionable solutions. For instance, if you closed too many trades early, you might decide to take partial profits at key levels and let the rest run. Focus on improving one area at a time to avoid overwhelming yourself.

Check Your Marked-Up Charts

Revisit your marked-up charts for the week and look for recurring price action patterns. Was there something you consistently excelled at? Are there setups you can refine or turn into triggers? Use these insights to adjust your trading plan for the coming week.

Adjust and Adapt

The insights from your reviews should translate into small but impactful changes to your trading plan. Adjust both operational elements (e.g., holding trades longer) and psychological aspects (e.g., managing FOMO after losses).

The Next Steps

Design your own personal daily review and week in focus processes and commit to following them for at least two weeks. This two-part review process will help accelerate your learning curve, but only if you stay disciplined and committed.