Futures Trading Journal: What to Log and Review

A futures trading journal should record the contract, size, tick-based risk, session, R-multiple, entries and exits, and whether you followed your plan and any prop-firm rules. Because futures are leveraged and move in ticks, logging risk in dollars and R on every trade matters more than in most other markets.

This article is education, not financial advice. Futures trading carries substantial risk of loss.

Why futures traders need a specific journal

Futures contracts have fixed sizes, tick values and trading sessions. A one-point move can mean very different dollar amounts depending on the contract, and day traders often take many trades per session, scale in and out, and operate under strict loss limits.

A generic log of "bought, sold, profit" will hide the things that matter: how much you risked in ticks, what time of day you trade best, and whether scaling helped or hurt. A good futures journal makes those visible. For general habits, start with how to keep a trading journal.

Core fields for every futures trade

Date and time. Entry and exit times, to the minute.
Contract. Symbol and expiration month, such as ES or MES, so you can group by product.
Direction and size. Long or short, and the number of contracts.
Entry and exit prices. For every fill if you scale.
Stop and target. The planned levels set before entry.
Risk in ticks, dollars and R. Calculated before you enter.
Commissions and fees. Futures commissions are per contract, per side. Net results should include them.
Setup tag. A consistent name for the pattern you traded.
Session. Overnight, pre-market, regular session open, midday or close.
Plan adherence. Did you follow your rules, yes or no, with a one-line reason.
Screenshot or note. A chart image or short description of the context.

Contracts, ticks and tick value

Futures profit is calculated from ticks. The minimum price move is the tick size, and each tick has a dollar value. These common contract specifications are worth keeping in your journal as a reference (confirm them with your exchange or broker before relying on them):

Contract	Tick size	Tick value	Dollar value of 1 point
E-mini S&P 500 (ES)	0.25	$12.50	$50
Micro E-mini S&P 500 (MES)	0.25	$1.25	$5
E-mini Nasdaq-100 (NQ)	0.25	$5.00	$20
Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 (MNQ)	0.25	$0.50	$2
Crude oil (CL)	0.01	$10.00	$1,000
Gold (GC)	0.10	$10.00	$100

Logging the contract and size lets you convert any trade into ticks and dollars. If you move from MES to ES, your points stay the same while your dollar risk goes up by a factor of ten, which is exactly the kind of change you want to notice in your data.

Calculating risk and R-multiple

R is the amount you risk on a trade, measured from entry to stop. In futures, it is easy to compute.

Example: you buy 2 ES contracts at 5,000.00 with a stop at 4,995.00.

Distance to stop = 5 points = 20 ticks
Risk per contract = 20 x $12.50 = $250
Total risk for 2 contracts = $500, which is 1R

If you exit both at 5,010.00, the gain is 10 points x $50 x 2 contracts = $1,000. That is $1,000 / $500 = +2R. If you had been stopped out, the loss would be $500, or -1R, before commissions.

Recording the result in R lets you compare an ES trade with an MES trade, and feeds directly into the trading expectancy formula and measures like win rate vs profit factor.

Scaling in and out

Many futures traders add to winners or reduce size as price moves. If you log only the average entry and final exit, you lose information. Record each fill with price and size, and note why you scaled.

Example: you buy 1 ES at 5,000.00, then add 1 more at 4,998.00. Your average entry is (5,000 + 4,998) / 2 = 4,999.00. You plan a combined stop at 4,994.00 for both contracts.

Risk on the first contract = 6 points x $50 = $300
Risk on the second contract = 4 points x $50 = $200
Total planned risk = $500, which is 1R

You then exit both at 5,004.00.

First contract: +4 points = $200
Second contract: +6 points = $300
Total = $500, which is +1R

Check from the average: (5,004 - 4,999) x 2 contracts x $50 = $500. The numbers agree.

Define your total R before the first entry, and decide in advance whether adding is allowed only in profit or also on a pullback. A journal makes it clear whether adding actually improved your results or just increased your risk.

Tracking prop-firm rules

If you trade a funded evaluation or prop account, the rules are part of the trade. Rules vary by firm, so use your own firm's terms, but common ones to log include:

Daily loss limit. How much you can lose in a day before the account is breached or locked.
Maximum drawdown. Whether it is fixed or trailing, and where the threshold sits right now.
Profit target. The amount you need to hit to pass.
Maximum contracts. The size limit, possibly tied to account balance.
Consistency or best-day rules. Some programs limit how much of your total profit can come from a single day.
Trading hours and news restrictions. Times you must be flat or cannot trade.

Add a daily line to your journal: starting balance, ending balance, distance to the daily limit, distance to the drawdown line, and whether any rule was close to being broken. Being near a breach is often a sign of rule-bending behavior, which can lead to revenge trading.

Review prompts for futures day traders

At the end of each session:

Did I follow my plan on every trade? Where did I not?
What was my result in R, and what was the single best and worst trade?
How many trades did I take, and were the last few lower quality than the first?
What did I do right that I want to repeat tomorrow?

At the end of each week:

Which session or time window produced my best and worst results in R?
Which setup tags have the highest average R? Which should I stop trading?
How did my scaled trades compare with single-entry trades?
How close did I come to my daily loss limit or drawdown threshold?
Did my commissions and fees take a larger bite out of small winners than I expected?
Did my size ever change after a loss, and what happened?

The method for turning these answers into action is covered in how to review your trades.

Setting it up in Momentra

Momentra's Free plan includes a full trading journal with manual trade entry, CSV import and export, and a performance overview with stats like win rate and profit factor. Use journal notes with the rich editor to log your contract, tick risk, R-multiple, session and plan adherence, and use tags for setups, sessions and prop-firm accounts so you can filter them later. The daily journaling streak helps you build the end-of-day habit. On Pro, broker auto sync through SnapTrade supports a range of brokers, though you should confirm that your specific broker and account type are supported before relying on it. If you are still comparing tools, see best trading journal software and trading journal template.

FAQ

What should I track in a futures trading journal?

Track the contract, direction, size, entry and exit prices, stop and target, risk in ticks and dollars, R-multiple result, commissions, session, setup tag and whether you followed your plan. If you trade a prop account, add your distance to the daily loss limit and drawdown threshold.

How do I calculate R-multiple in futures?

Convert your stop distance to dollars using the contract's tick value and your size, and call that 1R. Buying 2 ES at 5,000 with a stop at 4,995 risks 20 ticks x $12.50 x 2 = $500. A $1,000 gain is +2R.

What is the tick value of ES and MES?

ES moves in 0.25-point ticks worth $12.50 each, or $50 per full point. MES has the same tick size but each tick is worth $1.25, or $5 per point. Always confirm contract specifications with your broker or exchange.

Is a spreadsheet enough for a day trading journal for futures?

It can work, especially for a small number of trades, but it takes manual effort and is easy to let slide. Dedicated journaling software can save time with import and analytics, as discussed in Excel vs trading journal software.

How should I journal scaled-in trades?

Record each fill separately with price, size and reason, and define your total planned risk before the first entry. Then calculate the result against that total R so you can compare scaled and single-entry trades fairly.

Keep the numbers honest

Futures reward traders who know their risk to the tick and review their behavior without excuses. Log every session the same way, track your prop-firm limits, and let a few weeks of data guide what you change. Try Momentra free and start your futures journal today.