Trading psychology checklist
Most trading mistakes are decided before the trade: tired, angry, bored or chasing. A short checklist catches them while you can still stop.
Key points
- Tilt warning signs: bigger size after a loss, trading outside your session, moving stops, “I just need to get it back”.
- Rule-following losses are a normal cost of trading. Rule-breaking losses are the fixable problem.
Before the session
- I slept, and I'm not trading to fix a bad mood.
- I know today's big releases and their times in my zone.
- My daily loss limit is written down: ______
- I know my one or two setups for today.
Before each trade
- This is my setup, not a feeling.
- The stop is where I'm wrong; the size comes from the stop.
- I'd take this trade if the last hour had been quiet (no revenge, no FOMO).
- The risk is inside my plan.
After a loss
- Step away for 15 minutes.
- Write one line in the journal: rule followed or rule broken?
Watch out
- Skipping the checklist on “obvious” trades.
- Raising the loss limit during the session.
Key line: If you have to talk yourself into a trade, it isn't your trade.