A trading review is a scheduled look back at a period's closed trades to judge how well the rules were followed and what the results say about the method. A useful weekly review collects the trades, grades each one's process separately from its outcome, checks a few statistics, and ends with one or two concrete changes for the next week.
How it works
A single trade's result is mostly noise: a well-executed trade can lose and a careless one can win. A review therefore looks at two things separately. The process (was the plan followed?) can be judged on every trade. The edge (does the method make money?) can only be judged over many trades. Weekly reviews focus on process; monthly reviews add the statistics.
The four combinations of process and outcome call for different responses:
| Good result | Bad result | |
|---|---|---|
| Good process | Earned: repeat it | Accepted loss: the cost of the method; change nothing |
| Bad process | Lucky: the most dangerous case, because it rewards the mistake | Deserved loss: find the broken rule and fix it |
A weekly routine
- Collect. Make sure every closed trade is in the trading journal, with fills, stop, result in R and a note on rules.
- Grade the process. Mark each trade "rules followed" or "rule broken", and name the rule.
- Check the statistics. Win rate, average win and loss in R, expectancy, the number of rule breaks and their total cost in R.
- Look for patterns. Group the trades by setup, time of day, weekday and holding period. Repeated mistakes usually share a context.
- Choose one or two changes. Specific and checkable: "no entries in the first 30 minutes", not "be more patient".
- Write the focus for next week and check it at the start of the next review.
Once a month, add the slower measures: expectancy by setup over a larger sample, the equity curve and the current drawdown compared with the limits in the trading plan.
Worked example (illustrative numbers)
A week with 10 closed trades:
| Group | Trades | Results in R | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rules followed | 7 | +3.0, +2.5, +2.0, −1.0, −1.0, −1.0, −1.0 | +3.5R |
| Rule broken | 3 | +0.5 (chased entry), −1.0 (chased entry), −2.0 (stop moved) | −2.5R |
| All trades | 10 | 4 wins, 6 losses | +1.0R |
The win rate is 40%, the average win +2.0R and the average loss about −1.17R, so expectancy is 0.4 × 2.0 − 0.6 × 1.17 ≈ +0.1R per trade. The seven trades that followed the rules made +3.5R; the three that broke them cost 2.5R. Both chased entries came in the first 30 minutes after the open.
The +0.5R win from a chased entry counts as "lucky" in the grid, not as a success. Ten trades say little about the method's edge, but the rule breaks are clear now. One change follows: no entries in the first 30 minutes. The focus for next week is written as "zero chased entries; stops never moved away".
A review summary template
The written summary needs only four headings: what went well, what went wrong, lessons, and the focus for next week. One to three sentences under each is enough, as long as the focus can be checked a week later.
Common mistakes
- Judging trades by P&L alone, which rewards lucky mistakes and punishes good losses; see outcome bias in trading psychology.
- Changing the system after one bad week. Rule changes need a larger sample; execution fixes do not.
- Too many changes at once, so nothing can be attributed to anything.
- Skipping the review after a good week, when rule breaks are easiest to overlook.
- No written focus, so the same mistake returns next week.
In Clear Tape
The free trade journal has a weekly review on every plan: what went well, what went wrong, lessons, focus for next week and whether the rules were followed. Statistics over closed trades show win rate, average win and loss, expectancy in $ and R, streaks, the equity curve and maximum drawdown, broken down by system or setup, tag, long or short, weekday and holding period. The AI trade score grades one closed trade's process against the member's own rules, never its P&L, so a losing trade that followed the plan can score high. The AI period review (Tools and Pro) summarises a week or month of closed trades with statistics, recurring patterns, rule-following, risk consistency and three focus points; it never recommends buying or selling. Details are on the trade journal page.
For educational purposes only. Not investment advice.