Tagging Trades to Setups

The Bridge Between Playbook and Analytics

Creating a playbook is step one. Consistently tagging every trade with the correct setup name is step two — and it's where many traders fall short.

Without consistent tagging, your playbook is a document you wrote but never tested. With consistent tagging, it becomes a live performance database.

How Tagging Works in Tradapt

When logging a trade, you'll see a Setup / Tag field. Type the name of the setup that triggered this trade.

Important: Use exactly the same name as your playbook entry. Capitalization differences don't matter, but "ORB Long" and "ORB Breakout" will be tracked as separate setups.

What to Do When a Trade Doesn't Fit a Playbook

Sometimes you'll take a trade that doesn't fit any of your documented setups. These are called undocumented or discretionary trades.

Tag these with a consistent label — like "Discretionary" or "Off-Plan" — so you can analyze their performance separately.

Almost universally, traders find that their off-plan discretionary trades underperform their playbook trades. This data is incredibly motivating for staying disciplined.

Retroactive Tagging

If you have historical trades that aren't tagged, it's worth spending time going through them and tagging retroactively. Even imperfect tags are better than none.

In Tradapt's Journal, you can click on any past trade and edit the setup tag. If you're not sure what setup it was, add "Unclassified" rather than leaving it blank.

Building the Habit

The easiest way to build the tagging habit: log your trade and tag it at the same time, immediately after closing. Don't wait. Once the trade is closed and the emotion has faded slightly, it takes 10 seconds to add the tag.

After 30 days of consistent tagging, check your analytics for the first time and see your setup breakdown. Most traders find this moment highly motivating — the data starts telling a clear story.