Gap Trading Trading Journal

Gap Trading traders need a journal that captures both strategy execution and psychology. Here's what to track, what to look for, and how to turn your gap trading data into a genuine trading edge.

Gap trading exploits the price difference between one session's close and the next session's open. Gaps create imbalances that often fill — but not always. Journaling which gaps fill and which don't builds an invaluable edge.

Track gap size (in points or percent), gap direction (up/down), whether the gap filled, and how long it took to fill. After 100 gap observations, you'll have a fill rate statistic that's specific to your instrument and your criteria.

Gap trading data shows that small gaps (< 0.5%) fill 80%+ of the time, while large gaps (> 1%) fill less than 40% on the same day. Your journal by gap size reveals the exact threshold for your instrument.

Key metric: gap fill rate by size. Create buckets (small/medium/large gaps) and track fill percentage for each. Trade accordingly.

Regardless of your journaling tool — TradeRipper, a spreadsheet, or a notebook — the key for gap trading traders is consistency. Track every trade with the same fields, review weekly, and let the data guide your decisions. Your gap trading edge is in the data. You just need to collect it.