Trading Evolution
Blog · 6 articles

Method and analysis

A working method is built outside the session: a written plan, a journal kept for every trade, statistics read correctly and a backtest that avoids the classic biases. These articles give concrete templates and link to the free tools on the site.

All articles in this section

How to Backtest a Futures Strategy Without Fooling YourselfA backtest replays a set of rules on past data. Done carelessly, it mostly measures how well the rules were fitted to that data. Here is how to build one that can at least fail honestly.Read the article →How to Read the COT Report: Commitments of Traders ExplainedThe COT report shows who holds the open positions in US futures markets, by category of trader. How the legacy, disaggregated and TFF versions differ, how to read net positioning, when the data come out and what they cannot tell you.Read the article →How to Write a Trading Plan for Futures: A Step-by-Step TemplateA trading plan settles before the session what you trade, when, on which setups, with how much risk and how you review the results. A six-step method and a one-page template for futures traders.Read the article →How to Keep a Trading Journal: What to Record and How to Review ItA trading journal links every result to the decision behind it. What to record on each trade, how to review the records every week, and which simple statistics are worth tracking.Read the article →Trading Statistics Explained: Win Rate, Expectancy, Profit Factor and DrawdownWin rate alone says almost nothing about a trading method. Expectancy, profit factor and drawdown combine how often you win, how much you win and how badly it can go, and each of them has blind spots.Read the article →Multi-Timeframe Analysis for Futures: A Top-Down MethodMulti-timeframe analysis gives each chart one job: higher timeframes for context and levels, a middle one for the setup, the lowest one for entry and stop. How to build the hierarchy and what to do when timeframes disagree.Read the article →

Free tools for this section

  • Trading journalLog your trades in your browser and import exports from 12 platforms.
  • Free backtesterTest a rule-based strategy in your browser, on public data series or your own NinjaTrader exports.
  • Futures position size calculatorTurns a stop in ticks or points into a number of contracts for the risk you choose, using official tick values.
  • COT data (CFTC)Net positions by trader category, weekly changes and COT index for 44 futures markets.

Other sections

Educational content. These indicators are not investment advice and guarantee no result. Futures trading involves a risk of loss that can exceed the initial investment. Terms of use · Disclaimers