The Process Notebook #1 — The Successful Trader’s RoutineThe Successful Friday's Trader Routine: Evaluate but Think in Blocks, Not Trades
Another trading week is about to end. For most traders, Friday means checking wins and losses. For professional traders, it means evaluating the system.
💡 Remember: a single trade means nothing.
Proper evaluation, to avoid emotional bias caused by variance, should always be done on blocks of trades (minimum 10–20).
But here’s the real twist: If you’re judging your system only by Win Rate (WR) or Reward-to-Risk (RR)… you’re missing the real picture.
A robust trading system needs to be monitored through a small set of key metrics that reflect not just how much you earn, but how consistent and reliable your edge truly is.
Here’s the minimum you should be tracking 👇
📈 Return Metrics (How much your system makes)
Expectancy (average return per trade): quantifies the true profitability of your edge.
CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate): shows long-term compounding efficiency.
Payoff Ratio (avg win / avg loss): evaluates quality of your wins vs. losses.
📉 V olatility & Risk Metrics (How stable your system is)
Standard Deviation of Returns: measures the variability of your outcomes.
Max Drawdown: identifies the deepest pain your account can face.
Recovery Factor (Net Profit / Max DD): shows resilience and system efficiency.
⚙️ Consistency Metrics (How repeatable your process is)
Sharpe Ratio: return per unit of volatility — higher = more efficient risk use.
Win/Loss Streak Distribution: reveals your emotional endurance threshold.
Trade Frequency Stability: checks if your system behaves consistently over time.
🧠 Why this matters
When you evaluate your trading in blocks (using statistics, not emotions), you detach from the noise and connect with your system’s real performance.
You stop judging yourself trade by trade… and start thinking like a risk
manager.
How do you evaluate your system — by emotion or by metrics?
