The Anatomy of a Good Trade: Focus on Decisions, Not Results

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Let's find out - what is a good trade?
Most beginners answer: a trade that makes money.
But in professional trading, a good trade has nothing to do with the outcome.
It has everything to do with the quality of the decision.

1️⃣ A good trade starts with an A-Setup:
An A-Setup is not a feeling — it’s a repeatable pattern with structure and logic.

✔ Clear market context
✔ Direction aligned with market structure
✔ Liquidity levels identified
✔ Entry trigger confirmed
✔ Risk defined before the trade

If one of these is missing, it’s no longer an A-Setup — it’s hope.

2️⃣ A good trade has positive expectancy:
Winning one trade means nothing. Winning a sample size of 100 tells you everything.

A positive expectancy means your setup:
loses small - wins bigger - and performs consistently over time

You don’t need to win every trade — you need a system where the average outcome is in your favor.

3️⃣ A good trade follows process, not emotion:
A professional doesn’t judge a trade by profit or loss. They judge it by one question:
“Did I execute my plan without breaking the rules?”

If yes → it was a good trade. Even if it ended in a loss.
Because long-term success comes from repeatable behavior, not from chasing single outcomes.

The Truth:
➡️ A good trade is not defined by green or red.
➡️ A good trade is defined by discipline, structure, and execution.

If beginners understood this idea, half of their frustration would disappear.

Thanks for reading, and have a great start to your trading week!
Let us know in the comments if you found this post valuable - and we might create a full series on applied trading psychology.

Jonas Lumpp
Speechless Trading

Disclaimer: This tutorial is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Its goal is to help traders develop a professional mindset, improve risk management, and make more structured trading decisions.

Disclaimer

The information and publications are not meant to be, and do not constitute, financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice or recommendations supplied or endorsed by TradingView. Read more in the Terms of Use.