A weekly trade review is a fixed 30-minute session where you check your key numbers (P&L in R, win rate, average win and loss, expectancy), grade each trade on decision quality rather than outcome, find the single biggest leak (a setup, time of day or rule break), and commit to one change for next week. Consistency matters more than depth. The review only works if it happens every week.
- Review the last 50–100 trades, not just this week's handful
- Grade decisions, not outcomes
- Find one leak and make one change per week
- Track whether last week's change worked before adding another
Most traders review only after a painful loss. That's when judgement is worst. A fixed weekly review, done when you're calm, turns your journal into decisions.
Before you start
- Block 30 minutes at the same time each week (Friday after the close or Sunday).
- Open your journal with the week's trades plus the last 50–100 for context.
- Have last week's "one change" written down.
Step 1: The numbers (5 minutes)
| Metric | This week | Last 100 trades |
|---|---|---|
| Net result (R) | ||
| Number of trades | ||
| Win rate | ||
| Average win / average loss (R) | ||
| Expectancy (R per trade) | ||
| Largest loss (R) | ||
| Rule breaks (count and R cost) |
One week is too small a sample to judge a strategy, so compare with the longer window. See trading metrics that matter.
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 →Step 2: Grade decisions, not outcomes (10 minutes)
Put every trade into one of four boxes:
| Good outcome | Bad outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| Good decision (plan followed) | Earned | Acceptable loss: no change needed |
| Bad decision (rule broken) | Lucky: dangerous | Deserved: fix the process |
The "lucky" box is the most important one to catch. Rule breaks that make money teach the wrong lesson. More in process vs outcome thinking.
Step 3: Find one leak (10 minutes)
Slice the last 50–100 trades by:
- Setup: which has negative expectancy? See find your best setup.
- Time of day: when do losses cluster? See time-of-day analysis.
- Emotional state: which state costs the most R?
- Rule breaks: which rule breaks most often? See the mistake log.
Pick the one leak with the biggest R cost.
Step 4: One change for next week (5 minutes)
Write it as a specific, testable rule:
- ❌ "Be more patient."
- ✅ "No new trades between 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. ET."
- ✅ "Stop trading for the day after two consecutive losses."
- ✅ "Only take ORB trades with relative volume above 2."
Then check whether last week's change helped. Keep it, adjust it, or drop it.
A weekly review template
- Net R this week: ___ | Expectancy (last 100): ___
- Rule breaks: ___ trades, costing ___R
- Luckiest trade (rule broken, but won): ___
- Biggest leak: ___
- Last week's change: kept / adjusted / dropped, because ___
- This week's one change: ___
Monthly and quarterly
Once a month, zoom out: equity curve, drawdown, and whether each setup still earns its place. See monthly trading performance review.
FAQ
How long should a weekly trade review take?
About 30 minutes. Longer reviews tend to be skipped, and shorter ones miss the patterns.
What should I look at in a weekly trading review?
Net R, win rate, average win and loss, expectancy, rule breaks and their cost, and performance by setup, time of day and emotional state.
How many changes should I make after a review?
One. Changing several things at once makes it impossible to know what worked.
What if I only took a few trades this week?
Review them for rule adherence, but judge performance on the last 50–100 trades, not a handful.
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.