Lesson 8 of 104:003 Sources
The trading journal — your only tool to improve
Recorded. Publishing soon
Educational content, not investment advice. Nour explains how markets work. She never tells you what to buy or sell.
Memory is selective; a journal turns trades into data. CME Group calls a trade log an excellent tool for seeing the bigger picture — why you won and why you lost.
- Record numbers (date, market, direction, size, entry, stop, target, exit, result) and the reason.
- Add your emotional state, whether you followed the plan, and result ÷ risk (e.g. +2R).
- Weekly: compute win rate, average win/loss and expectancy; group trades by market, time and plan-compliance.
- Keep it simple, log right after closing, and stay honest — especially during losing streaks.
Quick check
Three questions. Pick an answer to see why.
1.A trade made $20 with $10 at risk. How would you record it relative to risk?
2.Which part of the journal do many traders skip?
3.When do you most need your journal?
Sources
Every fact in this lesson is backed by the sources below.
- 1.CME Group Education — Keep a Trade LogRecord why you made each trade plus targets, entry/exit, time, S/R, indicators; log shows the bigger picture
- 2.CME Group — Trade Plan template (PDF)Trade Results Tracking section: open/close time, product, long/short, entry, exit, profit, notes
- 3.MetaQuotes — MT5 Help: Strategy Tester ReportWin %, average profit/loss trade and expected payoff as review metrics
Educational content, not investment advice. Risk warning: trading forex, CFDs, gold and crypto carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for everyone. You can lose more than you put in. Souq Daily is an education platform. Nothing here is investment advice, a recommendation or an offer, and past performance does not predict future results.