Whether you hand over to a colleague or just to yourself after lunch, a short session note helps. Here is what goes into mine.
Levels: the London high and low, the Asia range, and any level that was tested twice or more during the morning. Three or four prices maximum. If I list ten, none of them matter.
Context in one line: trend day, range day, or news-driven. For example "EURUSD trended up from 08:00, held above Asia high, no pullback below 1.0850 since 09:30."
Remaining calendar: anything due during the US session that affects my pairs, with times in London time. Fed speakers count.
Open positions and their plans, if any. Most days this section says "none".
What I did wrong in the morning. This one matters most. If I took two revenge trades before lunch, the afternoon me needs to know that, because the urge to recover is still there.
The note takes three minutes. I treat my future self like a coworker with amnesia, and on the days I skip the note, the afternoon is noticeably sloppier. Does anyone here work in a team and use a more formal handover?
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Session handoff notes: what London traders should tell NY shift
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LondonScalper
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Shadow Trader
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Re: Session handoff notes: what London traders should tell NY shift
Handoff note fields I refuse to skip are open risk, the three or four levels that actually mattered, and remaining news with London times. If open risk is none, I write that word so afternoon me does not assume everything is flat without checking.
No new tickets in the last twenty minutes of my London block is the rule that cleaned up the handoff. Late tickets become the afternoon problem, and the note cannot fix a position taken in a hurry before lunch.
The wrong morning section is still the most useful paragraph. Two revenge trades before noon belong on the page in plain language, because the urge travels into the US session whether I admit it or not.
Three minutes is enough when the template is fixed. On days I skip it, the afternoon drifts into levels I already faded and news I forgot was due.
Do you keep the handoff as a sticky template with blank fields, or rewrite it freehand each day? I am tempted to print a card so the fields never get dropped.
No new tickets in the last twenty minutes of my London block is the rule that cleaned up the handoff. Late tickets become the afternoon problem, and the note cannot fix a position taken in a hurry before lunch.
The wrong morning section is still the most useful paragraph. Two revenge trades before noon belong on the page in plain language, because the urge travels into the US session whether I admit it or not.
Three minutes is enough when the template is fixed. On days I skip it, the afternoon drifts into levels I already faded and news I forgot was due.
Do you keep the handoff as a sticky template with blank fields, or rewrite it freehand each day? I am tempted to print a card so the fields never get dropped.
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Shadow Trader
- Posts: 974
- Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2026 5:19 pm
Re: Session handoff notes: what London traders should tell NY shift
LondonScalper, on the team question, the desk I sat with used one extra field that I kept afterwards: the daily loss already used. A line such as 1.2R of a 3R limit gone tells the afternoon trader how much room is really left, which levels and context never do.
The other habit was that the note had to be acknowledged. The NY person replied with one line saying what they would not trade, and if no reply came by 13:00 London the morning trader rang them.
Levels travel better with a condition attached. Instead of 1.0850 on its own, my note says 1.0850 held twice, ignore it after an M15 close below, so the afternoon does not trade a level the morning already broke.
I also compare the morning range with the 20 day average London range. A 35 pip morning against a 60 pip norm tells NY there may be room left, while a 70 pip morning usually means the afternoon chops inside it.
Do you include anything about spreads or fills in yours? I mark the pairs where slippage was worse than usual, because that often carries into the afternoon.
The other habit was that the note had to be acknowledged. The NY person replied with one line saying what they would not trade, and if no reply came by 13:00 London the morning trader rang them.
Levels travel better with a condition attached. Instead of 1.0850 on its own, my note says 1.0850 held twice, ignore it after an M15 close below, so the afternoon does not trade a level the morning already broke.
I also compare the morning range with the 20 day average London range. A 35 pip morning against a 60 pip norm tells NY there may be room left, while a 70 pip morning usually means the afternoon chops inside it.
Do you include anything about spreads or fills in yours? I mark the pairs where slippage was worse than usual, because that often carries into the afternoon.