tradethinkBlogStart free

12 Post-Trade Review Questions That Reveal Your Real Mistakes

The questions to ask after each trade and each session to separate bad luck from bad decisions, with examples of honest answers.

By the TradeThink team3 min read

12 Post-Trade Review Questions That Reveal Your Real Mistakes

After a trade, most traders ask one question: did I make money? It is the least useful question you can ask. The result of a single trade is mostly noise. The decisions behind it are what you control. These questions focus on decisions.

Questions about the setup

  1. Was this one of my setups? If the trade does not match a setup on your list, that is the main lesson, whatever the result.
  2. Was the market context right for this setup? A breakout on a slow, low-volume day is a different trade from a breakout on a trend day.
  3. Did I wait for my entry signal, or anticipate it?

Questions about risk

  1. Was my stop planned before entry?
  2. Was my size correct for the stop distance? See position sizing.
  3. Did I move my stop? If so, which way? Moving it to lock in profit is planned trade management. Moving it further away to avoid a loss is a risk mistake.

Questions about the exit

  1. Did I exit where I planned, and if not, why?
  2. If I exited early, was it based on price action or fear? Exiting early out of fear is one of the most common and costly habits. See cutting winners early.
  3. What did price do after I exited? Look at the MFE to see how much the trade offered.
Mark the entry and exit on the chart. It is easier to judge a decision when you can see it.
Mark the entry and exit on the chart. It is easier to judge a decision when you can see it.

Questions about yourself

  1. What was I feeling before and during the trade? Calm, anxious, bored, impatient?
  2. Was this trade influenced by the previous trade? Trades taken right after a big loss or big win deserve a closer look.
  3. Would I take this trade again, the same way? This is the summary question. If the answer is yes, the trade was good, even if it lost.

Rate execution, not outcome

Give each trade a rating from one to five for execution. A losing trade that followed every rule gets five. A winning impulse trade gets one. Over time, compare your results on highly rated trades with low-rated ones. The gap is usually the strongest argument for discipline you will ever see.

Session questions

At the end of the day, add three more:

  • Did I follow my plan today? Yes, partly or no.
  • What was my best decision today?
  • What is the one lesson I want to remember?

Make it fast

You do not need to answer all twelve for every trade. Answer them in full for your biggest win, your biggest loss and any trade that broke a rule. For the rest, a setup, a mistake tag and a rating are enough. In TradeThink you can rate trades, add notes and tags from the trade menu, and write the session review in the daily journal. Then roll it up in your weekly review.

More on trading journal