From Forex Cash Rocket
The only way to discover how to turn a losing or borderline profitable currency trading system into a winning one is to record your trades. It does not make any difference whether you are trading in the genuine market, in demo or maybe back testing. Having a clear and all-embracing record of each trade is the only thing which will make it possible to see where your system is succeeding and where it is failing. Then all you have got to do is look for a method to eliminate some of the losing trades, and your profits go up, doubtless doubling or even trebling without any need for extra trades or systems.
Your tracking system does not need to be complex of tough to administer. Most traders use a spreadsheet to record their trades. You will keep this on your P. C naturally but you might also want to print a blank one to fill out as you trade every day. It is generally quicker to fill out you chart with a pencil while you have got the information on screen, than to switch into Excel and type the right figure in the right space on your spreadsheet.
The very first thing to note is if you use a few different trading methodologies you need to record them on separate spreadsheets so you can see which need attention and which are doing fine and shouldn’t be messed with. They might also rely on different signals so you’ll need different column headings for your numerous systems.
As well as the opening and closing prices and profit in pips, there’s other information that you should record. You will want your position size, costs ( spread, costs etc ) and the actual profit and loss in dollars ( or the currency that your account is held in ). This will help you see whether you might increase your profits by changing your position on different sorts of trades.
You may additionally want to record the specific signals that made you open the trade. As an example if you have got a system that relies on the stochastic being in the highest or lowest quintile ( above eighty percent or below 20% ) you can record the exact point that it was at when you decided to open the trade.