New Edgewonk users often ask where they should start to get the best results fast. As you have probably noticed by now, Edgewonk is a very sophisticated tool with lots of functions and features.

We always recommend taking it step by step and explore every feature slowly and thoroughly. It might seem like a lot of work but once you have gone through this trader development course, you’ll have a good grasp of all the Edgewonk functions and how to use them.

To get the most out of your Edgewonk, we developed a cheat sheet that helps you get started much faster. It shows you which entry inputs are necessary based on your own interests and based on what you want to improve on. The graphic at the bottom explains the three-step process.

Step 1: Pick the area(s) you want to improve

What is it that you want to improve in your trading? Without knowing what you want to get better at, tracking data becomes a pointless task. But, if you have a clear goal, Edgewonk will get you there super-fast. Remember the previous bottom-up lesson? Always start with your greatest problem and slowly work your way up.

The 4 big pillars that Edgewonk can help you with are

(1) Developing discipline and building a better mindset

(2) Finding ways to optimize your trade management approach

(3) Optimizing your order placement, your stop loss and take profit strategy,

(4) Improving your risk management and position sizing.

Step 2:  Streamline your data-entry process

Especially if you are new to trading and/or Edgewonk, it’s not necessary to use all the input fields in the trade entry mask. You can save a lot of time by only focusing on what is really important for you right now and then add new components as you progress.

For example, a new trader probably does not need to worry too much about his holding time analytics or how to tweak his stop and take profit orders for a few points – he should focus, instead, on his greatest weaknesses first which usually have to do with a lack of discipline, breaking rules or exiting trades too early.

By optimizing your data entry process and only entering what you really need, you can significantly reduce the time it takes to enter your trades and find your edge much faster.

Tip: The only absolutely mandatory fields include: the Entry Date, Instrument, Setup, Buy/Sell, Entry Price, we highly recommend entering the Stop Loss and Take Profit prices, Exit Price and the Gain/Loss ($). Then, identify the additional fields based on your goals.

Step 3: Consult the right Edgewonk analytics

After entering a large enough number of trades (30-50 trades is a decent sample size to start with), you can then start analyzing your data. Based on the area(s) you chose during step one, Edgewonk provides individual and very specific analytic functions.

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What’s next?

After working on one area, you can then move on to the next things you want to improve. To do this, go back to step one, pick your new chosen field and continue with the other steps, and always remember the bottom-up approach.

As you can see, using Edgewonk does not have to be a hard and tedious task and you should enjoy this process as it brings you closer to your end goal of becoming a better trader.