Forex Trading Journal

GBP/USD Trading Journal

Introduction

This page publicly documents my closed GBP/USD forex trades.

The goal is not to appear perfect.
The goal is transparency, discipline, process, and long-term improvement.

This trading activity is separate from my long-term investment portfolio.

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Trading Framework

Market Focus

• GBP/USD only
• Swing + short-term execution
• Macro + technical structure
• Risk-managed trading

Core Rules

• Defined stop loss on every trade
• Risk/reward minimum
• No revenge trading
• Capital preservation first
• Execution journal after close

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Performance Snapshot

Metric	Value
Total Trades	14
Win Rate	14.29%
Avg Risk/Reward	1:2.9
Total Return	0.65%
Largest Win	3.41%
Largest Loss	1.01%
Current Drawdown	—

(I update this weekly)

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GBP/USD Trade Journal Spredsheet

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Closed Trades

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2026-05-13

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Trade #001 — LONG GBP/USD

Trade Details

Metric	Value
Date	2026.05.13
Direction	Long
Entry	1.3529
Stop Loss	1.3525 (manual)
Take Profit	~1.3517
Result	-0.08%
Risk/Reward	~1:2

Trade Thesis

It's a simple strategy that I came up with by back testing the market dozens and dozens of times. It based on simple price action, support and resistance levels, pullbacks, the back and force nature of price movements, price channels, trend lines, the overall trend on a higher time frame, entry confirmations of the price, and a positive risk reward ratio. I can be loose with the strategy and still be profitable.

Outcome

Closed in a loss manually.

Lesson

Cutting losses short doesn't hurt anymore.

Screenshot

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Trade #002 — LONG GBP/USD

Trade Details

Metric	Value
Date	2026.05.13
Direction	Long
Entry	1.3533
Stop Loss	1.3525 (manual)
Take Profit	1.3509
Result	-0.16%
Risk/Reward	~1:2

Trade Thesis

Added to the first position (trade #001).

Outcome

Closed in a loss manually.

Lesson

Sometimes price almost reaches your target but then it reverses and you must close in a loss. But that's fine.

Screenshot

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Trade #003 — LONG GBP/USD

Trade Details

Metric	Value
Date	2026.05.13
Direction	Long
Entry	1.3530
Stop Loss	1.3525 (manual)
Take Profit	~1.3520
Result	-0.24%
Risk/Reward	~1:2

Trade Thesis

Added to the first position (trade #001).

Outcome

Closed in a loss manually.

Lesson

Adding to positions can work some times. But it must be done strategically.

Screenshot

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Trade #004 — SHORT GBP/USD

Trade Details

Metric	Value
Date	2026.05.13
Direction	Short
Entry	1.3528
Stop Loss	1.3534
Take Profit	~1.3516
Result	-0.29%
Risk/Reward	1:2 (at least)

Trade Thesis

Same strategy as trade #001.

Outcome

Closed at loss according to R:R.

Lesson

It's okay to make a mistake until you limit your losses.

Screenshot

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Trade #005 — SHORT GBP/USD

Trade Details

Metric	Value
Date	2026.05.13
Direction	Short
Entry	1.3531
Stop Loss	1.3534 (manual)
Take Profit	1.3528 (at least)
Result	-0.15%
Risk/Reward	1:2 (at least)

Trade Thesis

Same strategy as trade #001.

Outcome

Closed at loss according to R:R.

Lesson

Adding to positions can work some times. But it must be done strategically. Sometimes it feels like the market always hunts down your stop loss. Some times it does. Check your statistics.

Screenshot

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Trade #006 — LONG GBP/USD

Trade Details

Metric	Value
Date	2026.05.13
Direction	Long
Entry	1.3529
Stop Loss	1.3526
Take Profit	~1.3535 (at least) (manual)
Result	-0.60%
Risk/Reward	~1:2 (at least)

Trade Thesis

Same strategy as trade #001. Exactly same trade as trade #007.

Outcome

Closed position manually .

Lesson

Patience on entry improved execution quality. Do not rush. Don't trade outside of London session.

Screenshot

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Trade #007 — LONG GBP/USD

Trade Details

Metric	Value
Date	2026.05.13
Direction	Long
Entry	1.3525
Stop Loss	1.3520 (manual)
Take Profit	1.3538
Result	-1.01%
Risk/Reward	1:2.6

Trade Thesis

Same strategy as trade #001. Entry signal was an engulfing. Market was highly volatile. It was an impulsive trade and the lot size was a little too high but at least I had a proper risk reward ratio which i followed and executed by without emotions. This is one of the most important part of the tested strategy. And it saved me. 

Outcome

Closed position in a loss regarding to the proper risk reward ratio and it is fine.

Lesson

Same as trade #008.

Screenshot

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Trade #008 — SHORT GBP/USD

Trade Details

Metric	Value
Date	2026.05.13
Direction	Short
Entry	1.3520
Stop Loss	~1.35295  (by hand)
Take Profit	1.3501
Result	+3.44%
Risk/Reward	1:2

Trade Thesis

Same strategy as trade #001. The entry signal was an engulfing candle confirmed by high volume.

Outcome

Trade reached take profit with high volume during the overlap of the London and New York session. Smashed a support then bounced back.

Lesson

High volatility is dangerous. It can ruin your entire capital. One bad decision is enough. Never trade without setting a stop loss even if you monitor the trade every single second and ready to cut loss whenever price reaches half the amount of your target. Never higher your lot size. Never revenge trade. Never force making 1% a day. Never trade out of emotion out of impulse. Stick to your rules. Results will follow.

Screenshot

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2026-05-13 — SUMMARY

Daily Total P/L	0.92%
Number of positions	8
Number of losses	7
Number of wins	1

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2026-05-14

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Trade #009 — SHORT GBP/USD

Trade Details

Metric	Value
Date	2026.05.14
Direction	Short
Entry	1.3520
Stop Loss	1.3533
Take Profit	1.3481
Result	-0.59%
Risk/Reward	1:4.2

Trade Thesis

Same setup as trade #010 but I entered the market too early. The market took out stop loss but it's fine. Because at least I had a stop loss. I never ever trade again without a stop loss order.

Outcome

Trade reached stop loss immediately as London opened.

Lesson

Patience on entry improved execution quality. Do not rush. Don't trade outside of London session.

Screenshot

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Trade #010 — SHORT GBP/USD

Trade Details

Metric	Value
Date	2026.05.14
Direction	Short
Entry	1.35255
Stop Loss	1.35325 (7 pip) (0.32%) than moved to breakeven
Take Profit	1.34967 (28.8 pip) (1.32%)
Result	+1.36%
Risk/Reward	1:4.1

Trade Thesis

USD showed relative strength while GBP momentum weakened resulting a micro (hourly) downtrend in a consolidation phase of a bigger (weekly) uptrend.
Sold on the top of a pullback inside a fair value gap confirmed by a price rejection from a resistance level. Stop loss set above resistance targeting a 4.1:1 R:R ratio. After structure was confirmed as price felt and closed below previous support. After that it bounced back up from a higher support and almost reached my SL at break even but patience pays off. And even when it doesn't, the statistics will be on my side. 

What could have been improved?

The stop loss may have been positioned too wide relative to the fair value gap structure. A tighter stop placement above the imbalance zone could have improved capital efficiency and reduced holding time if the trade moved immediately in the intended direction. However, tighter positioning also increases the probability of premature stop-outs during volatility spikes. Another consideration is whether targeting a lower reward multiple (2:1–3:1 instead of 4.1:1) would improve long-term consistency and execution efficiency. This requires further forward testing and statistical validation across live market conditions.

Outcome

Trade reached take profit during London session.

Lesson

Patience on entry improved execution quality.

Screenshot

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2026-05-14 — SUMMARY

Daily Total P/L	0.77%
Number of positions	2
Number of losses	1
Number of wins	1

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2026-05-14 — After session

This is what happened after I finished trading on May 14th. It happens all the time — pretty annoying, isn’t it?

I didn’t even leave the monitor; I just watched it happen. The market always seems to hunt our stop losses before making a massive move in our direction without us.

Anyway, I have to accept that the market will sometimes move without me. I already took my portion with a 1:4 risk-to-reward trade, and that’s enough.

And we won’t talk about the losses from stacking small short positions without stop losses while waiting for the market to retrace back into profit. That was another strategy I experimented with, but I’m done with it.

Protecting capital is far more important — and ultimately more profitable — because when you let losses run too far:

• recovery takes too much time,
• you run out of free margin (purchasing power),
• and you risk suffering a large drawdown.

So what can you do?

You can let your runners run.

Or you can fight and silence the FOMO inside you.

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2026-05-15

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Trade #011 — LONG GBP/USD

Trade Details

Metric	Value
Date	2026.05.15
Direction	Long
Entry	1.3359
Stop Loss	1.3333
Take Profit	1.3411
Close Price	1.3356
Result	+0.06%
Risk/Reward	1:2 → 1:17

Trade Thesis

We saw an impulsive downward move that broke a major hourly support level, so the overall trend was bearish. However, at this level we usually experience a pullback, and I noticed early signs that one might be starting.

Outcome

The trade was closed manually after price moved roughly 1:1 in profit and then reversed back down. Closing early reduced the loss and improved the overall risk-to-reward outcome.

Lesson

Don’t trade against the trend — even if you believe a pullback is likely soon. Wait for the pullback and trade with the trend instead. Don’t force trades. You don’t need to be in the market all the time, and you don’t need to catch every move. You only need to focus on your own profitability.

Screenshot

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Trade #012, #013, #014 — LONG, 2xSHORT GBP/USD

I took 3 more trades on that friday although I knew I shouldn't.  All three closed in a loss.

I have to describe strict entry rules otherwise I open unnecessary positions.

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2026-05-15 — SUMMARY

Daily Total P/L	1.05%
Number of positions	4
Number of losses	4
Number of wins	0

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Weekly SUMMARY (MAY 2026 week 2)

Weekly Total P/L	0.65%
Number of positions	14
Number of losses	12
Number of wins	2

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2026-05-18

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Trade #015, #016 — SHORT GBP/USD

I opened two short positions on Monday. Both failed. The expected pullback for Friday has arrived. 

Two consecutive losses. That's it for today. I won't allow myself to take any more trades. Not even if a perfect setup appears.

I went back to backtesting.

Screenshot

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2026-05-18 — SUMMARY

Daily Total P/L	-0.96%
Number of positions	2
Number of losses	2
Number of wins	0

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2026-05-19

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Trade #017, #018, #019, #020, #021, #022, #023, #024 — LONG GBP/USD

While backtesting I took some trades. The structure is obvious. Sure price will continue this pullback to the upside. But before it did, it ranged a little longer to take my stops. 

Losses almost reached the 2% maximum daily drawdown. I'm not allowed to take more trades.

Was my timing wrong? Was I too early? Was my stop too tight? Are all backtesting pointless because when there is real money on the table rules are changed so your money on the table affects future? Are there any chance for find an edge? All brokers sell retail traders data?

Through backtesting I fond another strategy with an edge. It is a highly profitable strategy in theory.  I tightened the entry criteria. It's still under development. Here you can see what I did: I-build-an-ml-neat-trading-strategy-backtester-an-ai-indicator-and-automated-trade-bot (This Article is not written jet. If you are curious about it, please let me know)

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2026-05-19 — SUMMARY

Daily Total P/L	-1.91%
Number of positions	7
Number of losses	7
Number of wins	0

(1 position which hit TP was a mistake because TP was set a few pips close accidentally. I don't count it. It's the missing one)

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2026-05-20

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Trade #025, #026 — SHORT GBP/USD

Because my stop loss was taken from the previous longs that means my thesis broke so there will be no bullback continuation to the upside and we can go with the higher timeframe downward impulse. -Thought little me. Wrong! Price still ranges up and down a little then after it takes my stops it shoots upword to continue the pullback. Losses near the max 2% per day threshold today as well as yesterday.

No more trades like this. Only the new found backtested strategy. Strict rules. Entry only if criterias are met. First manually. While working on it as mentioned before.

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2026-05-20 — SUMMARY

Daily Total P/L	-1.83%
Number of positions	2
Number of losses	2
Number of wins	0

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