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The 30-trade review checklist

Every 30 trades, take 35 minutes and answer these questions. It works for a live account, a demo or a prop firm challenge. Print it (Ctrl/Cmd + P) or keep it open next to your journal.

1. The numbers (10 minutes)

  • Count your closed trades. Under 30? Note it: results this small are mostly luck.
  • Total R: add up the R-multiple of every trade. Positive or negative?
  • Expectancy in R: total R ÷ number of trades. Above 0 means the last 30 trades made money per unit of risk.
  • Win rate and average win / average loss in R. Read them together, never alone.
  • Largest drawdown in R, and how close it came to your daily or max loss limit (prop accounts).

2. Your rules (10 minutes)

  • How many trades broke at least one rule? What was the total R of those trades?
  • Which mistake tag appears most? Which one cost the most R?
  • Did any single trade risk more than your planned 1R? Why?
  • Did you trade outside your planned sessions or instruments?

3. Your edge (10 minutes)

  • Which setup has the best expectancy in R? Which has the worst?
  • Which session or day of the week is best and worst? (Small samples: treat it as a question, not an answer.)
  • Are your losers cut at about −1R, or do some run to −2R or worse?
  • Are you exiting winners early? Compare average win in R with your planned target.

4. One change (5 minutes)

  • Write ONE change for the next 30 trades, for example: “Stop trading the setup with negative expectancy” or “No trades after 2 losses in a day”.
  • Write how you will measure it at the next review.
  • Put the date of your next review in your calendar.

Not sure what R-multiple or expectancy mean? Read R-multiple explained (with a free calculator). TradeNotes works out every number on this checklist from your journal automatically: see the demo.

Educational content, not financial advice. Trading involves substantial risk of loss.