If you have ambitions of being a great short term trader, or a day trader then you have some work to do. A LOT of work! It can be incredibly rewarding but, like any great business you need to know your numbers. Now some people take this to the extreme and that's ok, but today we are going to talk about three stats you really, really need to know about your trading if you want to make it.

Win/Loss - This one is really obvious and should be at the top of your list. How many times do you lose versus win. Now it will not be a pretty number when you first get started and that's the point. No great business just starts making money from day one but over time you grow, become more efficient, and learn to avoid the mistakes that once cost you.

Strategy Win/ Loss - At some point you will have developed a strategy, a reason for your buying and selling. Give it a name and track its success. Most people have a few strategies they use and that's great, but you really need to know how they perform over time. If one strategy starts to show more losers, with accurate record keeping you can adjust quickly before the losses mount.

Profit margin - There are many other, industry names given to this but don't let them confuse you. This statistic is simply, how much more do you win when you do win versus how much you lose when you lose. Again, this may not be a fun stat to look at when you first get started but over time it will improve and its your goal to keep it as high as possible. This lets you know that you are good at taking healthy profits but recognizing a loser faster and faster.

There are tons of other stats you can, and should track, but this can get overwhelming. Start a simple spread sheet with the basics and you can add from there as you want to know more. Good luck!