After Closing Out a Trade

You must be disciplined in following the plan of your trade. Once you have closed your position, you should record everything about the trade. Write down where you wanted to enter the trade, what you expected out of the trade, and what you actually did get out of the trade. Make sure to include notes that will help you learn from the trade, reasoning what actually took place once you entered the trade. Explain why the trade was a winner or a loser. If you keep detailed records, you can learn from past trades and increase your chances of recognizing your strengths and weaknesses. Build on your strengths, and stay away from trades in which you have demonstrated weakness. We are not all perfect traders. Most of us do better with one kind of trade than another. But if you don’t keep a record, you will suffer many painful losses while discovering the trade that is your trade.

Another good thing to do is to keep a diary of your feelings. Learn which feelings go with the winning trades. Keeping such a diary will help you to become a more intuitive trader. In my book Trading Is a Business, I describe how to do that. It certainly helped me to know when a trade “felt right.” But at first, much to my own pain and regret, I ignored those feelings. When I began being obedient to my feelings, my wins increased substantially.

Trading Educators