At entry, tag every trade with: (1) setup name (ORB, VWAP, gap fade), (2) session (London, NY, Asia), (3) emotional state (calm, rushed, revenge), and (4) pre-trade grade (A/B/C or 0–100). At exit, tag the outcome (win/loss/scratch). These 4–5 tags take 10 seconds per trade and unlock analysis: expectancy by setup, win rate by session, cost of emotional trades, improvement by grade. Most trading journals auto-tag; if yours doesn't, create a dropdown menu.
- Tags are how you turn individual trades into data
- Consistent tagging is worth 30%+ performance improvement just from analysis
- Setup tags are the most important; everything else flows from setup performance
- Sessions and emotions are secondary filters; find them after setup edge is proven
Most traders journal but don't analyze. Tags are how you automate analysis.
The 4 core tags
Tag 1: Setup (required)
The strategy or setup name.
Examples:
- ORB (opening range breakout)
- VWAP reclaim
- Gap fade
- Momentum on 5-min
- Pullback to MA
- Earnings gap
- London breakout
Why it matters: This is your core analysis. At 50+ trades per setup, you'll know:
- Which setups have positive expectancy
- Which you should trade more of
- Which to cut entirely
How to tag: Decide on 3–6 setup names at the start. Use them consistently. If a trade doesn't fit, it's not a real setup; skip it.
Tag 2: Session (optional, but valuable)
Market session or time-of-day window.
Examples:
- Premarket
- Open (9:30–11 AM ET)
- Mid-day (11 AM–2 PM)
- Afternoon (2–3:30 PM)
- Close (3:30–4 PM)
- London (3–11 AM UTC)
- NY (12–5 PM UTC)
- Asia
- Overnight
Why it matters: Volatility and behavior changes by session. Your ORB might work great at open but fail at mid-day.
How to tag: Pick 3–4 key sessions for your market. Day traders need intraday sessions; swing traders might use just: market hours vs overnight.
Tag 3: Emotional state (optional, but reveals patterns)
How you felt when you entered.
Examples:
- Calm
- Patient
- Rushed
- Confident
- Greedy
- Revenge
- Scared
- Frustrated
Why it matters: After 50 trades, you'll see that certain emotions correlate with losses. "Rushed" trades might average −0.8R.
How to tag: One word, instant. If you can't name it, you weren't paying attention. That itself is data.
Tag 4: Pre-trade grade (optional, but powerful)
Quality of the setup instance before entry.
Examples:
- A or 90–100 (textbook setup)
- B or 75–89 (good setup)
- C or 60–74 (borderline)
Why it matters: After 50 grades, you'll see A-grade trades average +1.0R and C-grades average −0.2R. This teaches you to filter for high-grade setups.
How to tag: Use the trade scoring checklist before entry. Takes 30 seconds.
The complete tag set
| Field | Entry value | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | ORB | Every trade |
| Session | Open (9:30–11 AM) | Every trade |
| Emotional state | Calm | Every trade |
| Pre-trade grade | A (90) | Every trade |
| Time-of-day | 09:47 AM | Auto-filled |
| Pair/symbol | AAPL | Auto-filled |
Most trades need 4 tags max. Use a dropdown menu or checklist, not free text.
Your Journal Should Find the Pattern for You
TRADZY's TradLog tags every trade by setup, session and emotion, then shows where your edge actually is.
Start Your Free Journal →Analyzing your tags
Analysis 1: Setup performance
After 30 trades per setup:
| Setup | Trades | Avg result | Win rate | Expectancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORB | 35 | +0.38R | 49% | +0.38R |
| VWAP | 28 | +0.15R | 43% | +0.15R |
| Gap fade | 22 | −0.12R | 41% | −0.12R |
Action: Trade more ORBs and VWAPs. Stop gap fades or retest.
Analysis 2: Session performance
| Session | Trades | Avg result | Win rate | Expectancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 35 | +0.42R | 54% | +0.42R |
| Mid-day | 28 | −0.05R | 39% | −0.05R |
| Afternoon | 22 | +0.28R | 45% | +0.28R |
Action: Focus on open and afternoon. Skip mid-day.
Analysis 3: Emotional state performance
| State | Trades | Avg result | Win rate | Emotional cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calm | 28 | +0.48R | 61% | Zero |
| Rushed | 15 | −0.72R | 27% | −10.8R total |
| Revenge | 8 | −1.05R | 12% | −8.4R total |
Action: Add forced pause before entry (kills rushed). Stop trading 1 hour after −2R loss (kills revenge).
Analysis 4: Grade performance
| Grade | Trades | Avg result | Win rate | Filter value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A (90+) | 18 | +0.85R | 72% | Highly valuable |
| B (75–89) | 22 | +0.32R | 45% | Marginal |
| C (60–74) | 15 | −0.18R | 33% | Lose money |
Action: Only take A grades for 30 days. Measure improvement.
Common tagging mistakes
Mistake 1: Not tagging consistently
❌ "Sometimes I tag, sometimes I forget."
After 20 inconsistent trades, your analysis is worthless. You don't know if losses are from bad setups or just bad discipline.
✅ Tag every single trade. If it's annoying, the tag structure is too complex. Simplify to 2–3 tags.
Mistake 2: Tags too specific
❌ Tags: "Earnings gap AAPL premarket London-overlap impatient B+ overconfident post-news"
You'll never be able to slice data by single tag. You need 5+ instances of that exact combo.
✅ Keep tags simple and reusable. "Earnings gap," "premarket," "impatient," "B" as separate tags.
Mistake 3: Changing tag names mid-way
❌ "I tagged the first 20 trades 'ORB,' then decided to call it 'opening breakout.' Now I have 20 ORBs and 15 'opening breakouts.'"
Your analysis splits the data. The numbers are wrong.
✅ Decide on tags at the start. Stick with them.
Mistake 4: Too many tags
❌ 15 tags per trade. Analysis paralysis.
✅ 4 tags max. Setup, session, emotion, grade. Done.
Using tags to improve
30-day experiment:
- Week 1–2: Log all trades with tags. No analysis.
- Week 3: Analyze setup performance. Identify losing setups.
- Week 4: Stop trading the losing setups. Trade only winners and "unclear."
Result: Most traders improve 20–30% just by this analysis.
Digital vs. paper tagging
Spreadsheet (Google Sheets): Pros: Free, simple, you control formulas. Cons: Manual sorting.
Dropdowns: Add a row for each tag with a dropdown menu (Data > Validation). Then use COUNTIFS to auto-calculate win rate by setup.
Trading app (TRADZY, Edgewonk, myfxbook): Pros: Auto-tags entry time, auto-calculates stats. Cons: Cost.
Most traders should start with a spreadsheet, graduate to an app after 100 trades.
FAQ
How do I tag a trade that has multiple setups?
Tag the primary setup (the one that initiated the trade). If it's truly a hybrid setup, create a new tag for it. Example: "ORB + VWAP confluence" becomes its own setup after you see it 10+ times.
Should I tag every instance of a setup the same way?
Yes. Consistency is everything. "ORB" means the same thing every time.
What if a setup changes names mid-way?
You've learned something. Your old "gap fade" understanding is now "gap mean reversion." You can: - Keep the old tag for historical data - Create a new tag and re-tag the last 20 trades as the new setup - Or: Accept that the first 20 trades are labeled differently; start fresh with the new name Most traders keep the old tag for integrity.
Can I tag after exiting?
Better to tag before or at entry. Tags at exit can be biased by the result. "That was a great trade" vs "that was a terrible trade" changes how you remember the setup.
What if I take a trade but hit my daily limit before I exit?
Tag it anyway. The setup and emotional state are valid data, even if the outcome is cut short.
How many tags do I need before my data is useful?
- 10 per tag: directional signal only - 30 per tag: pretty reliable - 100+ per tag: very reliable For setups, 30 trades per setup is your minimum for action.
Put This Into Practice
- Log your next 20 trades with setup, session and emotion tags
- Let the TradLog surface your best and worst setups
- Run the weekly review and cut one leak
Start Free in TRADZY →
Educational content, not financial advice. Trading involves substantial risk of loss.