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◆ stock trading journal

A stock trading journal that separates good setups from lucky ones

Equity traders deal with gaps, pre-market moves, earnings and the opening range — each with its own behaviour. A stock trading journal should tell you which of those situations you trade well. Alpha Charts records the setup, session and stop for every trade so your results can be broken down by what actually happened, not by what you remember.

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§ 01 · What to track

What to record in your stock trading journal

F/01

Ticker and side

See whether your edge is in a handful of names or spread across the market.

F/02

Session: pre-market, regular, after-hours

Thin pre-market liquidity changes fills and stops. Measure it separately.

F/03

Setup

Opening range breakout, gap fill and flag patterns each need their own statistics.

F/04

Stop loss and R-multiple

Share counts vary wildly between a $5 and a $500 stock. R keeps results comparable.

F/05

Chart screenshot

Attach a TradingView chart link so the review shows what you saw at entry.

§ 02 · What to review

The numbers that actually change your results

M/01

Expectancy by setup

Find the one or two setups carrying your P&L.

M/02

Results by session

Many traders give back morning gains in the midday chop.

M/03

Target hit analysis

See how often you reach TP1, TP2 and runners, and whether exits are too early.

§ 03 · Common leaks

Mistakes a journal catches

  • Chasing gaps without a defined stop.
  • Sizing by share count instead of by dollar risk.
  • Trading the midday chop with the same size as the open.
  • Holding a day trade overnight because it turned into a loser.
§ 04 · Workflow

How it works in Alpha Charts

  1. Import your broker history with the CSV template or log trades as you take them.
  2. Tag setup and session on every trade.
  3. Review setup and session analytics at the end of each week.
  4. Cut the setup with negative expectancy and track the change.
§ 05 · FAQ

Questions about the stock trading journal

Can I use Alpha Charts as a stock trading journal?

Yes. Any instrument can be logged, including stocks and ETFs, with session tags for pre-market and after-hours.

How do I import trades from my stock broker?

Export your trade history as CSV and map it with the Alpha Charts import template. You can also log trades manually.

What should a stock trading journal track?

At minimum: ticker, side, entry, exit, stop, size, setup and session. Add mistakes and emotions to find the behaviour behind the numbers.

§ 06 · Keep reading

Related guides and tools

Free calculators

Guides

More trading journals

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Alpha Charts is a journaling and analytics tool. Nothing on this page is financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.