How to check your own IBKR statement for revenge trades

#python #trading #javascript #beginners

Your broker shows a monthly total. It does not show which habit produced it.

I don't have a public track record to show, so the example below uses a made-up statement: 88 closing trades over four weeks, generated with random P&L and a deliberate penalty for trades right after a loss. Treat the numbers as an illustration of the method, not as real trading results.

On that file, 10 trades closed within 15 minutes of a loss. Together they lost $953, which is -$95 per trade. All 78 other trades averaged +$49 each. The month still ended at +$2,896, so the monthly total hid the pattern.

Here is the method, so you can run it on your own file.

1. Export the right file

In IBKR: Performance & Reports, Statements, Activity, run as CSV. The file has a Trades section. Each row with DataDiscriminator = Order is one fill. Rows with ClosedLot repeat the same fill at lot level, so skip them or you count twice.

2. Keep only closing trades

A closing trade has a non-zero Realized P/L. Opening trades show 0.

3. Flag the ones that follow a loss

Sort closing trades by time. Walk through them and remember the time of the last loss. Any closing trade within 15 minutes of that time goes in the "after a loss" group. Everything else is the baseline group.

let lastLoss = null, after = [], rest = [];
for (const t of closes) {
  if (lastLoss !== null && t.time - lastLoss <= 15 * 60000) after.push(t);
  else rest.push(t);
  if (t.pl < 0) lastLoss = t.time;
}

Note that a loss inside the window restarts the clock. A bad streak counts as one episode.

4. Compare averages, not totals

Total P&L after a loss depends on how many trades you took. Compare the average per trade in each group.

How to read the result

If the after-loss average is clearly worse than the baseline over 20 or more trades, the habit costs you money. Try a rule: after a loss, no new order for 15 minutes.
If the two averages are close, the habit is not your problem. Look at time of day or symbol next.
Under about 10 trades in the after-loss group, the number is noise. Do not change anything yet.

This does not tell you what to buy or sell. It describes what already happened.

Skip the code

I put the same checks in a page that runs in your browser. You drop in the CSV, the file stays on your computer, and there is no signup: https://ab-autopsy.agentbets.workers.dev/?utm_source=devto#try

It reports closed trades, net P&L, win rate, fees, the after-loss group, your worst hour and worst symbol. It only reads the Trades section of an IBKR Activity Statement CSV. I have only tested it on a made-up file like the one above; if it fails on yours, tell me in the comments which column looked different.

Who should skip it: if you trade under about 20 times a month, there is too little data for any of these splits.

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