The FX Bootcamp Guide to Strategic and Tactical Forex Trading

Natural Born Traders

Was I a natural born trader? Hardly! I had the worst instincts and my gut feeling was always wrong. I think I was born the world’s worst trader. However, my trade journal improved my trading right away.

I documented every trade in my trade journal. I would grab a screenshot of my trade and then enter it into the journal, which was an Excel spreadsheet. After entering all my financial data, I would insert long and detailed notes of why and how I made the trade.

This forced me to think about it. Why did I take the trade? What justified the risk? Why did I get out? This allowed me to relive each of my trades.

Remember, your mind does not know the difference between your last trade and your current trade. To your mind, both are real and in the moment. Just thinking about the details of my trades was like making the trade all over again. My trade journal doubled my trade experience instantly.

I really needed this experience as well. I needed to get past my lousy feel for the market. I needed more control, and I achieved this by planning my trades. Then, by reviewing my trades, I learned from each of my wins and each of my losses.

The trade journal then became a check and balance. I found that if I wasn’t certain about the trade setup, I didn’t make the trade because I didn’t want to have to put it into my trade journal. It was like I was looking over my own shoulder.

The judge and jury for my trades became my journal. I needed to make sure I had a strong ...