Introduction
Why Trade Analysis Is the Skill That Separates Pros from Everyone Else
Anyone can place a trade.
Only a small percentage can consistently learn from their trades.
Professional traders don’t rely on luck or memory. They rely on data, patterns, and psychology, and that’s exactly what trade analysis gives you.
Trade analysis helps you:
Understand why trades worked or failed
Identify repeatable patterns
Remove emotional biases
Refine your strategy over time
Build discipline and long-term profitability
This guide gives you the complete framework professionals use, made simple, practical, and applicable for every trader. It also mirrors the analysis flow built inside FX Notes, helping you turn insights into consistent improvement.
The 4 Pillars of Professional Trade Analysis
Professional traders don’t guess. They break down each trade into four parts:
1. Technical Analysis (Chart-Based Reasoning)
This is what you saw on the chart that triggered your entry or exit.
Checklist:
Trend direction
Structure (HH/HL or LH/LL)
Key levels (support/resistance, supply/demand)
Confirmations (candlestick patterns, indicators, volume)
Market conditions (ranging, trending, news-driven)
2. Trade Performance Metrics (Numbers That Matter)
Most traders look only at wins and losses.
Key metrics:
R:R ratio
Win rate
Average R
Expectancy
Maximum adverse excursion (MAE)
Maximum favourable excursion (MFE)
Drawdown
Best/worst session times
3. Psychology & Emotions (Your Invisible Edge)
Most traders look only at wins and losses.
Track:
Emotional state before the trade
Impulse vs planned execution
Confidence levels
Fear, greed, revenge trading
Overtrading triggers
Hesitation patterns
4. Trade Management Review
Most traders look only at wins and losses.
Review:
Did you follow your plan?
Did you move stops early?
Did you close too soon from fear?
Did you hold too long from greed?
Did market conditions change mid-trade?
The Step-by-Step Guide:
How to Analyse Trades Like a Professional
This is the exact process top prop traders use.
Step 1: Record the Trade Properly
You need:
Entry price
Stop loss
Take profit
Lot size
Why you took it
Screenshot or video
Your emotional state
FX Notes aligns with this perfectly — one tap records the entire trade flow.
Step 2: Review the Setup
Ask:
Did the chart actually show your setup?
Or did you convince yourself?
Was the market trending or ranging?
Did higher timeframes agree with your bias?
If the setup wasn’t valid → it’s a process error, not a strategy issue.
Step 3: Review Your Execution
Look for:
Early or late entries
FOMO entries
Hesitation (entering after confirmation has passed)
Deviations from your rules
Journals help you understand why you take trades, not just the outcome.
Step 4: Analyse the Market Conditions
Review:
Volatility
News events
Spread spikes
Time of day
Sessions (London, NY, Asia)
You start trading based on rules rather than impulses.
Step 5: Evaluate Trade Management
Check:
Did you move stops too early?
Did you panic close?
Did you scale in or out correctly?
Did you take partials too soon?
Was there a logical reason for your exit?
Step 6: Assess Your Psychology
Examples:
“I take low-quality trades when I’m bored.”
“I size up after wins and lose discipline.”
“My best trades happen only in London open.”
“I lean bearish when I’m stressed.”
Step 7: Identify Patterns & Trends in Your Trading
Winning patterns
Certain market structures you read well
Certain pairs you perform best on
Certain times of day where you thrive
Losing patterns
Overtrading
Emotional entries
Chasing breakouts
Counter-trend trades
Trading after big losses
Step 8: Create Improvement Notes
Professional traders write:
one thing to continue doing
one thing to stop doing
one thing to adjust for next time
Most traders “record trades”. Very few journal intelligently.
The Professional Trade Review Template
Step 3: Note psychology
1. Trade Overview
Asset
Direction
Entry / SL / TP
Session
Market condition
Screenshot/video
2. Setup Review
Was it part of your strategy?
Did all confirmations align?
HTF alignment?
3. Execution Review
Was the entry clean?
Any hesitation/fomo?
4. Trade Management
Did you scale in/out correctly?
Did you follow your management rules?
5. Psychology
Mood before trade
Emotional triggers
Discipline score
6. Performance Metrics
R:R
R gained/lost
Expectancy
MAE & MFE
7. Improvements
What worked
What didn’t
What to refine
The 10 Most Common Trading Mistakes
1. Overtrading
2. Revenge trading
3. Trading without a plan
4. Sizing up emotionally
5. Moving stops early
6. Closing winners too soon
7. Trading during low-liquidity sessions
8. Ignoring HTF structure
9. Changing strategy every week
10. Not journaling trades properly
Emotional Biases That Corrupt Trade Performance
Understanding bias turns you into a stronger trader.
1. Recency bias
Thinking your last win/loss matters more than it does.
2. Confirmation bias
Searching only for evidence that supports your bias.
3. Loss aversion
Closing winners early and holding losers.
4. Anchoring
Becoming attached to your entry or original bias.
5. Overconfidence
Sizing up too quickly after a streak.
FX Notes helps visualise these cycles so you can break them.
Tracking Performance Like a Pro
To scale your trading, track these:
Win rate by setup
Win rate by session
Win rate by pair
Expectancy
Average R/R
Drawdown cycles
Emotional cycles
Entry/exit timing patterns
FX Notes automates this, giving you insights data that normally requires spreadsheets.
The FX Notes Advantage
This entire guide mirrors the exact structure FX Notes uses:
Record the trade (video, screenshots, trade details)
Analyse the numbers (R:R, expectancy, session performance)
Analyse your psychology (mindset scores)
Identify patterns (Session strengths, pair strengths, behavioural cycles)
Improve (AI insights coming soon)
FX Notes isn’t just a journal.
It’s a precision analysis engine that helps traders think and act like professionals.
Conclusion
You can’t control the market.
But you can control your decisions.
By analysing your trades consistently — with a structured framework like this — you become calmer, more objective, and far more profitable.
And with FX Notes supporting every part of the process, improving becomes effortless