The value of a Paper Trading review is not turning every outcome into a verdict on a strategy. It is keeping enough context about the environment, actions and observations to tell later whether you were looking at software workflow, order handling or a particular strategy assumption. This is a general record-keeping checklist, not an account of anyone's actual trades or performance.
Label the environment first
Before recording an outcome, say where it came from: a historical backtest, broker Paper Trading, or a product Demo. They answer different questions and should not be blended together.
- Historical backtesting applies rules to historical data using modeled execution assumptions. Its output depends on data quality, cost assumptions and the fill model.
- Paper Trading runs in a broker's simulated environment and can help you observe connectivity, order states and workflow. It is not the same as trading with real capital.
- Demo is for exploring the software. Sample quotes, orders or balances are not evidence about a strategy.
Algoryn's current public Beta supports Paper Trading only. For a broker-connected session, note that you used an IBKR Paper environment. Do not describe Demo samples or Paper results as live fills.
Capture the context
At a minimum, record the date and timezone, instrument or contract, session, software version, and account and connection status. Market-data availability depends on your own Interactive Brokers subscriptions and permissions, so note the data source, applicable permissions, and any delayed, missing or unusual quotes.
For a strategy review, preserve the strategy name and version, parameters, start and stop times, and the risk limits that were enabled. For manual activity, write down the plan you intended to follow. “Default settings” is usually not enough for your future self to reconstruct the setup.
Compare the plan with what happened
Keep two columns in your notes: what you planned and what you observed. Depending on the workflow, capture the signal or trigger, order time, order type, quantity, order-state changes, fills or lack of fills, and any manual intervention. If the software or broker did not provide a field, mark it unknown instead of filling in a guess afterward.
When available, preserve order history, execution records and position snapshots, and note which screen or record they came from. Distinguish submitted, accepted, partially filled, filled, cancelled and rejected; those states are not interchangeable. If a price, timestamp or state is uncertain, list it for follow-up rather than attributing it to the strategy.
Note risk and execution conditions
Record the positions and orders visible before an action, along with the risk boundaries in effect. Note any position outside the plan, unexpected duplicate order, connection interruption, unavailable market data or manual stop. The purpose is to reconstruct what you observed and identify what to inspect—not to claim that a control eliminated loss risk.
If you are reviewing order handling, also capture the visible bid and ask, order type, submission and fill times, and whether there was a partial fill, cancellation or retry. A Paper fill alone cannot establish the spread, liquidity, slippage or fill probability you would encounter live. If those details are missing, state that limitation.
Turn observations into testable questions
After the session, separate facts, interpretations and next steps. For example:
- What did you observe? Cite a state, timestamp or value that appears in the record.
- What was the plan? Compare it with the rule or manual plan saved beforehand.
- What might explain the difference? Label explanations as hypotheses and leave room for alternatives.
- What should be checked next? Choose one concrete question and identify the data or record needed.
Avoid keeping only the examples that fit your expectations. A single simulated outcome is not a sound reason by itself to change parameters or conclude that a strategy works. If the plan changes, record when, what changed and why; keep the earlier note instead of overwriting it. A record across different conditions is more informative about a workflow's limits than a collection of only smooth sessions.
One-page review template
- Date, timezone, instrument and session:
- Environment: historical backtest / IBKR Paper Trading / Demo:
- Algoryn version, strategy version and parameters:
- Data source, permissions and quality notes:
- Plan, risk boundaries and operator controls:
- Observed signals, orders, fills and position states:
- Deviations from plan and supporting records:
- Items not yet verified:
- Next question to test:
Keep the underlying records and version each review so you can trace how your interpretation changes. Observations from a simulated environment describe only what was recorded under those conditions; they do not guarantee future results. This article is not investment advice.