Time & Price Algorithmic Trading: Optimise

Summary

In this final episode of the 2025 Trading Protocol series, the focus is on the crucial process of optimization. The video outlines how traders can analyze their trade data, identify patterns, and refine their strategies through ongoing reviews every 20 trades. It emphasizes the importance of tracking key performance metrics like win rates, emotional patterns, and adherence to the trading protocol. By continuously optimizing based on collected data, traders can improve their performance and make data-driven decisions to enhance their long-term success in the market.

Takeaways

• 😀 Optimization is a continuous, repeatable process that helps traders refine their protocols and improve performance over time.
• 😀 After every set of 20 trades, traders should analyze and optimize their approach, adjusting rules based on performance data.
• 😀 The 'optimization' process includes reviewing various performance metrics such as total net R, average R per trade, win rate, loss rate, and execution discipline.
• 😀 Data should be logged meticulously to track wins, losses, and emotional patterns, ensuring that optimization is based on accurate and complete information.
• 😀 The protocol must be customizable, allowing traders to track specific data points that are relevant to their trading strategy and personal preferences.
• 😀 Emotional patterns and deviations from the trading protocol should be analyzed to identify and correct detrimental behaviors like FOMO or fear.
• 😀 Batches of 20 trades can be tracked separately using views or filters in a system (e.g., Notion), making it easier to focus on a specific set of trades and optimize accordingly.
• 😀 By analyzing the most profitable and unprofitable trades, traders can identify key factors that contributed to success or failure and make informed adjustments.
• 😀 Based on the performance data, traders should continuously update their rules, focusing on what works and eliminating ineffective strategies.
• 😀 Optimization is a lifelong process that should continue throughout a trader's career, with the goal of consistently improving trading strategies and adapting to changing market conditions.
• 😀 Customization and personalization of the optimization protocol are essential for aligning the process with a trader's unique style, goals, and data points.

Q & A

What is the primary purpose of the optimization process described in the lecture?

The purpose of optimization is to internalize data from a batch of trades, analyze it, make necessary adjustments to the trading protocol, and then apply those adjustments to the next batch of trades in a repeatable cycle.

Why does the optimization workflow use 20-trade batches?

Using 20-trade batches creates a structured review cycle that provides enough data to evaluate performance patterns without becoming overwhelming. It ensures consistent analysis and refinement after every set amount of executed trades.

How are batches organized within the Notion trading journal?

Batches are organized through separate Notion views filtered by trade numbers. For example, batch 1 shows trades 1–20, batch 2 shows 21–40, and so on, allowing the trader to easily focus on the current active batch.

What is the main goal of tracking whether trades followed the protocol?

The main goal is to measure execution discipline, identify deviations from the rules, understand the reasons behind those deviations, and ensure that trading decisions remain consistent and data-driven.

Why is customization of the journal emphasized in the script?

Customization ensures the journal reflects each trader’s unique strategy, rules, and data priorities. Personalized fields allow deeper insights during optimization and help the trader address their specific weaknesses or strengths.

How can a trader use data to decide which rules to remove from their protocol?

A trader can filter trades by loss or underperformance and check which conditions or rule types consistently contribute to losing trades. If a pattern shows systematic underperformance, that rule may be removed or refined.

What is an example of a protocol adjustment based on data?

An example would be noticing that most profitable trades use IFG plus breaker as CSD. Based on this insight, the trader may update the trading rule to only use IFG plus breaker for CSD setups.

How does the optimization process use emotional pattern tracking?

The journal logs emotional states such as FOMO or fear. During optimization, the trader identifies which negative emotions appear most often, what triggers them, and how they impact performance, enabling emotional discipline adjustments.

What is the purpose of defining a primary focus for the next batch?

The primary focus serves as a single actionable priority based on the previous batch’s insights. It helps streamline attention and improves consistency, such as limiting execution to specific high-performance time windows.

Why is optimization considered a lifelong part of a trader’s career?

Because market behavior continually provides new data, traders must consistently refine their strategies to remain effective. Optimization ensures continuous improvement and adaptation over time.

What does the script suggest regarding trade logging accuracy?

The script emphasizes logging 100% of trades taken—no more, no fewer. Accurate logging is essential for reliable data analysis during optimization.

How can session-based data influence future trading decisions?

By filtering profitable trades by session (AM, PM, London, etc.), traders can see which sessions produce the highest returns. They may then choose to focus exclusively on those sessions to maximize performance.