Founder · JournalX
Santhosh V S
Active trader and founder of JournalX, a professional trading journal for serious traders. Building fast, modern tools that help traders systematically log, analyze, and improve their strategy.
Writes about
- Trading journals
- Trade journaling
- Trading performance analytics
- Risk management in trading
- Trading psychology
- Trade review process
- Expectancy (trading metric)
- Day trading
- Swing trading
Articles by Santhosh
Analysis
How to Analyze Your Trading Performance
How to analyze trading performance in the right order: confirm the edge, see how it pays, test if you can survive it, then find where it comes from and what leaks.
Blog
How Long Can a Good Strategy Keep Losing?
How long is a normal losing streak in trading? The expected longest streak by win rate and trade count, what it costs at 1% and 2% risk, and when to worry.
Strategy
How to Backtest a Trading Strategy
How to backtest a trading strategy step by step: write testable rules, split your data, log every trade in R, then check the result for overfitting before you trust it.
Blog
How Many Trades Do You Need to Judge a Strategy?
How many trades to evaluate a trading strategy? Usually 100 to 400, not 20. The sample-size math for win rate and expectancy, with a formula for your own numbers.
Strategy
How to Create a Trading Plan You'll Actually Follow
How to create a trading plan you will actually follow: seven steps to write your risk limits, setups, exits and routine as testable rules, plus a template.
Blog
Spreadsheet vs Trading Journal App When Excel Stops Working
A trading journal spreadsheet is enough for some traders. Here are the four breaking points where Excel or Google Sheets stops keeping up, and how to tell.
Analysis
How to Calculate Expectancy
How to calculate expectancy in trading, step by step: a 20-trade example worked by hand, the spreadsheet formulas, and how far to trust the number.
Blog
What to Track in a Trading Journal
What to include in a trading journal, field by field: what to log from your first trade, what only pays off after 50 trades, and what to skip.
Blog
7 TradeZella Alternatives Compared
TradeZella alternatives sorted by why you are leaving: price, trade replay, broker coverage, a free plan, or analytics depth. Prices as of October 2026.
Blog
Free Trading Journals That Are Actually Free
Most free trading journal offers are trials in disguise. Here are 6 genuinely free options in 2026, what each free plan really includes, and where the caps hit.
Strategy
The Hammer Candlestick Pattern
The hammer candlestick pattern shows sellers losing control after a decline. How to spot a valid hammer, why location decides its meaning, and how to test it.
Blog
The AI Trading Journals Actually Using AI
Not every AI trading journal really uses AI. Here is what the tech actually does and which tools do it well in 2026, from auto-tagging to chat over your own trades.
Blog
The 7 Best Trading Journals of 2026
The 7 best trading journals in 2026, compared on price, broker sync, analytics, and AI. An honest, side-by-side breakdown to help you pick the right one.
Blog
Why a 70% Win Rate Can Still Lose Money
A 70% win rate sounds unbeatable, yet it can still lose money. Here is the win rate vs expectancy math that decides your account, with worked examples.
Analysis
The Weekly Trade Review Process
A weekly trade review turns a pile of trades into a clear read on your edge. Here is how to review your trades step by step, in about thirty minutes.
Journaling
How to Keep a Trading Journal
Learn how to keep a trading journal that actually improves your trading. What to log on every trade, which format to use, and how to review it for a real edge.