Trade Setup Journal Template

Paper-first boundary

Trading Boy does not execute live trades, hold funds, or provide financial advice. This page is for simulated paper-trading review, prompt design, journal structure, and human review. It is not a signal feed, broker instruction, or promise of live trading results.

When to use this page

Use it before a setup is allowed into the paper sample so the agent and reviewer share the same criteria.

The search intent behind trade setup journal template for paper trades is usually practical: the user wants a reusable asset, an example, and a checklist. This page treats those variants as one owner page rather than splitting guide, example, checklist, and template into thin sibling pages.

Use the asset only after the paper-trading workflow, prompt version, permission boundary, and journal output format are clear. If the user cannot identify the setup, invalidation, risk field, or review question, the next action should be a skip, caveat, or human review rather than a confident simulated entry.

Setup journal worksheet

Review field	Pass condition	Paper-mode boundary
Setup definition	Names the pattern, timeframe, and required conditions.	The setup cannot be redefined after outcome.
Context filter	Records market regime, volatility, and data source.	Unclear context creates a caveat.
Invalidation field	Defines what proves the setup wrong.	No invalidation means no eligible paper entry.
Risk rule	Connects setup to simulated size and stop logic.	Risk is part of setup eligibility.
Skip rule	Lists conditions that block the setup.	The journal values disciplined skips.

Reusable prompt or worksheet text

Role: You are helping organize a simulated paper-trading review. You may summarize context, apply written rules, identify missing fields, and prepare journal evidence. You may not route live trades, request secrets, or provide financial advice.

Required output: Decision type, setup name, rule version, thesis, invalidation, paper risk, data caveat, behavior tag, and one human review question.

Skip rule: If setup, invalidation, paper risk, or data quality is missing, produce a skip or excluded row. Do not invent the missing field to make the record look complete.

Review handoff: Send the output to the paper journal, evaluation checklist, or human review checklist. Choose one next paper-mode action: collect more samples, tighten one field, pause, or revert a prompt change.

Example paper workflow

Scenario: The setup template blocks a paper entry because the timeframe and invalidation are inconsistent. The reviewer keeps the row as an excluded setup rather than forcing a trade.

Good output: The setup is clear enough that another person could apply it to the next sample.

Weak output: The setup is described as a good-looking chart with no objective criteria.

Decision: The reviewer keeps the evidence in paper mode, checks the output with the AI paper trading agent evaluation checklist, and records any prompt change in AI trading agent prompt versioning.

Use it with these controls

Prompt version: every sample should name the version that produced the output.
Output format: the agent should use consistent fields for entries, exits, skips, and missed setups.
Risk gate: size, exposure, drawdown, stop distance, and pause rules should be checked before judging the idea.
Human review: a person should approve prompt, risk, or workflow changes before the next sample.
Data privacy: private exchange credentials, account identifiers, and secret values should stay out of prompts and screenshots.

How it supports ranking

This owner page consolidates the guide, example, template, checklist, and for-paper-trading variants into one durable page. That gives searchers a complete answer without flooding the sitemap with near duplicates.

It also links into the surrounding Trading Boy system: paper-trading hub, AI paper agent, prompt template, output format, risk controls, permission boundaries, and paper-trading limitations.

Related AI paper-agent pages

Use these links to move between setup, output, risk, journal, and review pages without leaving the paper-first cluster.

Trade Setup Journal Template FAQ

Why use a setup journal template?

It defines setup criteria before outcome bias and makes future reviews more consistent.

How is a setup journal different from a decision journal?

The setup journal defines eligibility. The decision journal records what the agent or trader did with that setup.

Can setup templates include live orders?

No. This page is for paper setup review and simulated practice.