A failure post template that actually helps others
Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2026 3:57 pm
Posts about losing trades or failed strategies can be very helpful, but often lack the details others need to learn from them.
A template:
What I tried: strategy or setup in one paragraph.
Market and timeframe: pair, session, chart timeframe.
Period: dates and number of trades.
Expected: what the backtest or plan suggested.
Actual: what happened.
Costs: spread, commission, slippage assumed vs actual.
What went wrong: best explanation.
What I'd do differently: specific changes.
Chart: screenshot of a typical failure, with time and spread visible.
The most useful part is often "what went wrong", if it's specific. "The market changed" isn't helpful. "The setup relied on Asia range breaks, but over the last two months Asia ranges were narrower than usual and breaks failed more often" is.
Failure posts take courage. Constructive replies help encourage more of them.
Would you use a template like this for posting a failure?
A template:
What I tried: strategy or setup in one paragraph.
Market and timeframe: pair, session, chart timeframe.
Period: dates and number of trades.
Expected: what the backtest or plan suggested.
Actual: what happened.
Costs: spread, commission, slippage assumed vs actual.
What went wrong: best explanation.
What I'd do differently: specific changes.
Chart: screenshot of a typical failure, with time and spread visible.
The most useful part is often "what went wrong", if it's specific. "The market changed" isn't helpful. "The setup relied on Asia range breaks, but over the last two months Asia ranges were narrower than usual and breaks failed more often" is.
Failure posts take courage. Constructive replies help encourage more of them.
Would you use a template like this for posting a failure?