How many trades do you have to make to determine what you are dong right or wrong? If you do not keep a trade journal there is no telling how long it might take to uncover a good trading skill or a destructive trading habit. There are many people that just keep trading with out knowing where they are headed. You probably already know where they are headed. That’s right, they will be able to turn their account into $100,00.00 after starting out with a $200,000.00 account.
Successful businesses do not become successful without keeping records of where they have been and where they are trying to go. They find out what works and keep doing the successful things over and over again. Trading is a business so treat it like a business. Keep trading records so you know where you have been and where you are headed. When you uncover a bad habit then change it. Stop doing the things that lose you money and start doing the things that make you money. We all make successful trades. When we duplicate them we are on the way to becoming successful traders.
There should be both winning and losing trades in a trading journal. All the winning trades should be kept in one section and the losing trades in another section. Good notes should be written on each trade and the results kept on a tracking sheet. When a trading pattern is developed it is easy to see exactly what needs to be worked on.
There are three important things a trader should do when developing a trading career. They are:
1. Learn the trading platform
2. Use good money management techniques
3. Keep a trade journal