Trading journal: what to record and why
Education only — not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold anything.
This page is process literacy for practice accounts. Journal fields feed /coach/ tips from simulated fills — not personalized investment advice. FAKE BALANCE / NO REAL MONEY on mock and portfolio.
Why journal at all
A journal turns"I think I'm learning" into something you can inspect. Without notes, paper P&L is just a scoreboard. With notes, you can ask whether you followed a process — sizing, risk naming, order-type choice — regardless of whether a simulated trade"won."
Coach tips (Paper) read journal + simulated fills. Learn pages define the vocabulary; the journal is where you apply it.
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Minimum fields (practice)
| Field | Why it exists | Not this |
|---|---|---|
| Date / time | Sequence and session context | Proof you should trade live |
| Instrument type | Stock / ETF / crypto / options stub — see asset types | A pick list of tickers to buy |
| Side + size | Links to sizing concepts | A mandated risk-percent rule |
| Order type | Market vs limit vs stop — order types | Timing advice |
| Thesis (1-3 lines) | What you believed for the drill | A signal to copy |
| Invalidation / failure modes | What is risk | A guaranteed stop fill |
| Costs noticed | Spread, fees, slippage — feesliquidity | "Commission free equals free" |
| Emotional note | FOMO, revenge, boredom | Therapy or performance bragging |
| Outcome (fake P&L) | Feedback for process review | Evidence of real-world edge |
Optional: link a wire item you were reacting to — tag FACT / OPINION / SIM per Newsdesk. Never treat wire as a tip service.
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What "good" looks like (education)
- You can explain the idea without the ticker.
- Failure modes are named before the simulated fill.
- Size is a conscious choice, not a default max.
- You separate process grade from fake P&L.
Bad pattern: only logging winners, or only the ticker and"felt good."
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How this ties to Coach
Soft-lock copy: tips unlock after simulated fills + notes. Deep-links for Paper/Forge: Learn deep-links.
Coach never recommends securities, strikes, or real-money trades. If a tip sounds like a buy/sell call, it is out of policy — report to Sentry / Trading CEO.
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Wire + journal
| If you… | Then journal… |
|---|---|
| Reacted to a FACT item | Source URL + what you thought it implied for volatility/context, not a trade |
| Reacted to OPINION | That it was opinion |
| Ran a SIM drill | That the scenario was fake |
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Practice loop (fake money only)
- Open
/mock/(guest or logged-in paper). - Pre-trade: thesis + failure modes + intended size/order type.
- Fill (simulated) then note slippage/feel.
- Post-trade: process grade vs fake P&L.
- Check
/coach/for rules-based nudges — still not investment advice.
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Related
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Sentry CLEAR · Education only.