The 4-Step Futures Framework:
- Capture Execution Data: Entry/Exit price, Time, and Position Size.
- Apply Multipliers: Convert "Points" into "Dollars" based on the instrument (e.g., ES = $50/pt).
- Calculate Excursions (MAE/MFE): Measure how much heat you took vs. how much profit was available.
- Contextualize: Tag the Setup (Why you took it) and Psychology (How you felt).
Why Futures Journaling is Different
If you buy 10 shares of Apple at $150 and it goes to $151, you make $10. Simple.
If you buy 1 contract of the E-Mini S&P 500 (ES) at 4500 and it goes to 4501, you make $50. If you trade the Micro (MES), you make $5.
A standard spreadsheet fails at this because it treats every number as "1." To journal futures correctly, you must account for Tick Value and Contract Multipliers.
Step 1: Know Your Instrument Math
Before you log a single trade, you need a reference table for your instruments. Without this, your P&L will never match your broker statement.
| Symbol | Name | Tick Size | Tick Value ($) | Point Value ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES | E-Mini S&P 500 | 0.25 | $12.50 | $50.00 |
| NQ | E-Mini Nasdaq | 0.25 | $5.00 | $20.00 |
| CL | Crude Oil | 0.01 | $10.00 | $1,000.00 |
Step 2: Calculating P&L (The Formula)
If you are journaling manually in Excel, you cannot just subtract Entry from Exit. You must use this formula:
Example: You long 2 contracts of ES at 4500.00 and sell at 4502.50.
(4502.50 - 4500.00) = 2.5 Points.
2.5 Points * 2 Contracts * $50 Multiplier = $250.00 Profit.
Step 3: Tracking MAE and MFE (The "Heat")
This is what separates professional journals from amateur ones. You need to know how much heat you took to get that profit.
- MAE (Maximum Adverse Excursion): The worst price the trade reached while you were in it. (Did you almost get stopped out?)
- MFE (Maximum Favorable Excursion): The best price the trade reached. (Did you leave money on the table?)
Why track this? If your MAE is consistently 2 points, but your Stop Loss is 10 points, you are risking too much. You can tighten your stop to 4 points and drastically increase your Reward-to-Risk ratio.
Step 4: The "Setup" Tag
Futures markets are repetitive. You likely trade the same 3-4 patterns. You must tag every trade with a setup name to analyze performance later.
Pullback to VWAP
Failed Breakdown
Manual vs. Automated Journaling
You can do all of the above in Excel. However, calculating MAE/MFE manually for 20 trades a day is exhausting and prone to error.
ProfitPulse automates this entire process. We connect to NinjaTrader and Tradovate to instantly import your executions. We automatically apply the correct Multipliers ($50 for ES, $20 for NQ) and calculate your MAE/MFE for every single trade instantly.