Setup Performance — Which Setups Make You Money?

Not All Setups Are Equal

You probably trade more than one setup. Maybe you trade opening range breakouts, VWAP reclaims, and momentum continuation patterns. They all "feel" like they have edge. But do they?

This is where Tradapt's setup-level analytics become one of the most valuable tools you have.

Why Setups Have Different Edges

Every setup has specific conditions under which it works — and conditions under which it fails. A VWAP reclaim works beautifully in a trending market and gets chopped up in a ranging one. An earnings gap fill needs sufficient overreaction — not every gap qualifies.

If you're mixing setups together in your analysis, you're averaging out these differences. A profitable setup can cancel out an unprofitable one, leaving you with acceptable overall numbers but a hidden problem.

How to Analyze Setup Performance

In Tradapt's Analytics page:

1. 1Filter by setup tag using the filter panel
2. 2Observe win rate, profit factor, and average R for each setup independently
3. 3Compare the results

What you're looking for:

• Setup A: 58% win rate, profit factor 1.8, average R +0.9 → Keep trading, this has edge
• Setup B: 42% win rate, profit factor 1.1, average R +0.08 → Marginal, monitor closely
• Setup C: 35% win rate, profit factor 0.7, average R -0.4 → Stop trading this setup

The Hard Decision

When setup analysis reveals a losing setup, traders often resist the conclusion: "I just need to get better at reading it" or "My sample size is too small."

Sometimes that's true. But if Setup C has 60 trades with a 0.7 profit factor, that's not a sample size problem — that's a real negative edge.

The disciplined response: stop trading the setup, or radically change your entry criteria.

Building Your Stats Dashboard

By the end of this course, you should have a clear picture of:

• Your overall win rate, profit factor, and expectancy
• Your average win/loss ratio and R-multiple
• Your peak performance windows by time-of-day
• Your best and worst performing setups

Use this knowledge to do three things:

1. 1Trade more of what works
2. 2Stop trading what doesn't
3. 3Focus your improvement energy on specific, measurable behaviors

This is the difference between a trader who hopes to improve and a trader who has a systematic plan for doing so.