A journal turns a feeling ("I have been winning more lately") into numbers you can check. Log every trade, demo trades included, with the same columns.
What each column means
| Column | What to write |
|---|---|
| Date | Trade date as YYYY-MM-DD, so the file sorts correctly. |
| Time (UTC) | Entry time in UTC. One time zone makes session comparisons possible. |
| Asset | The instrument, for example EUR/USD or Gold (OTC). Mark OTC quotes separately. |
| Direction | Call (up) or Put (down). |
| Expiry | Trade length, for example 1m, 5m or 15m. |
| Stake | Amount staked on the trade. |
| Payout % | The payout shown when you opened the trade, for example 85. |
| Result | W for a win, L for a loss, D for a draw or refund. |
| P/L | Profit or loss in money: stake × payout for a win, minus the stake for a loss. |
| Setup | The rule that triggered the trade, so you can compare setups later. |
| Notes | Anything that broke your plan: news, fatigue, a revenge trade. |
Comma-separated, UTF-8. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice. Delete the example row before you start.
Check your results
Enter your totals, or paste rows from the template (with or without the header row). Pasted rows replace the totals and also give your longest losing streak.
FAQ
How many trades do I need before my win rate means anything?
More than most traders expect. After 100 trades at 55%, the true win rate could plausibly be anywhere from about 45% to 65%. After 500 trades the range narrows to about 51–59%.
What should a binary options trading journal include?
At minimum: date and time, asset, direction, expiry, stake, payout and result. Add the setup and a short note so you can see which setups beat the break-even win rate.
What does the gap to break-even mean?
It is your win rate minus the break-even win rate at your payout. At an 85% payout break-even is 54.05%, so a 58% win rate is a gap of +3.95 points. A negative gap means the strategy loses money over time.