Ghost Tracking

    Track the trade idea without risking real capital.

    Define the setup, entry, stop, target and risk. RulesFirst tracks the Ghost trade and shows how that setup would have played out without placing a real trade.

    No real order placed. Ghost Tracking is hypothetical tracking only. RulesFirst does not place, modify, cancel, or transmit trades.

    Ghost Trade

    NVDA Long

    Active

    Setup

    Earnings Breakout

    Entry

    $118.40

    Stop

    $115.90

    Target

    $126.00

    Risk

    1R

    Order

    No real order placed

    Market pathGhost path: +1.1R
    Entry
    Target path
    Stop level

    Demo visualization. Hypothetical tracking may differ from actual executable fills and live trading results.

    A planned trade you don't have to take.

    Sometimes you see a setup but do not want to risk real money. Ghost Tracking lets you record the trade idea anyway, then review the hypothetical outcome after the market moves.

    1

    Spot a setup

    2

    Create Ghost

    3

    Define entry, stop, target, risk

    4

    RulesFirst tracks it

    5

    Review the result

    Setup learning

    Track setups, not just trades you actually took.

    A trader may pass on a setup for many reasons: uncertainty, capital limits, timing, discipline, or simply wanting more evidence. Ghost Tracking lets that setup remain measurable.

    Over time, you can review how different planned setups would have performed without turning every idea into a real-money position.

    Trade idea recorded

    No broker order sent

    Hypothetical outcome tracked

    Setup evidence added

    Create a Ghost trade. Then follow it as the market moves.

    Use the same planning language you use for real trades, but keep the workflow clearly hypothetical.

    New Ghost Trade

    Setup details

    Symbol

    NVDA

    Setup

    Earnings Breakout

    Direction

    Long

    Entry

    $118.40

    Stop

    $115.90

    Target

    $126.00

    Risk

    1R

    Notes

    Wait for opening range confirmation.

    Hypothetical tracking only. No order is sent to your broker.

    Active Ghost Trades

    The market is still determining the hypothetical outcome.

    Demo
    SymbolSetupDirEntryCurrentStopTargetRStatus
    NVDAEarnings BreakoutLong$118.40$121.20$115.90$126.00+1.1RActive
    MSFTPullbackLong$422.10$420.80$417.50$431.00-0.3RActive
    AMDFlag ContinuationLong$164.30$166.15$161.70$171.20+0.7RActive

    Completed Ghost Trades

    Completed rows are illustrative demos, not customer results.

    Demo
    SymbolSetupDirEntryOutcomeResultRStatusDuration
    AAPLBreakoutLong$221.40$226.20+$480+1.6RWould've Won2h 14m
    TSLAReversalShort$318.10$323.50-$540-1.2RWould've Lost54m
    METAOpening DriveLong$507.80$511.10+$330+0.9RWould've Won1h 32m
    Ghost statistics

    See what your tracked setups would have done.

    Ghost Tracking can summarize eligible completed Ghost trades so you can review hypothetical wins, hypothetical losses, and aggregate R outcomes without treating them as real trading results.

    Values shown here are illustrative demos. Actual metrics depend on the Ghost outcome logic and available market data inside RulesFirst.

    Ghost Tracking

    Illustrative dashboard

    Demo

    Trades Tracked

    42

    Would've Won

    25

    Would've Lost

    17

    Win Rate

    59.5%

    Avoided Loss

    $3,420

    Missed Profits

    $5,880

    Ghost Net R

    +11.4R

    Trades Tracked

    The number of Ghost trades tracked or completed under the RulesFirst Ghost workflow.

    Would've Won

    Completed Ghost trades with a positive hypothetical result under RulesFirst outcome logic.

    Would've Lost

    Completed Ghost trades with a negative hypothetical result under RulesFirst outcome logic.

    Win Rate

    The percentage of eligible completed Ghost trades that would have produced a positive hypothetical result.

    Avoided Loss

    Hypothetical losses associated with Ghost trades you tracked but did not take in real money.

    Missed Profits

    Hypothetical profits from Ghost trades you tracked but did not take in real money. This is opportunity data, not actual money lost.

    Ghost Net R

    The combined hypothetical R result across eligible completed Ghost trades according to RulesFirst Ghost calculations.

    Sometimes passing was right. Sometimes it cost you the opportunity.

    Ghost Tracking helps separate hypothetical losses you avoided from hypothetical opportunities you passed on.

    Avoided loss

    You tracked the setup but didn't take it.

    If the Ghost trade would have lost, the result can help show where staying out protected real capital. This is a hypothetical loss avoided, not a guaranteed real-money comparison.

    Missed profits

    You tracked the setup but didn't take it.

    If the Ghost trade would have won, the result shows a missed opportunity under Ghost assumptions. It is not actual money lost and does not mean the real trade would have received identical fills or execution.

    Ghost Net R

    Measure the setup in R, not only dollars.

    Ghost Net R aggregates the hypothetical R outcomes of eligible Ghost trades according to the RulesFirst Ghost calculation. This helps compare setup outcomes using the same risk framework even when trade prices and position sizes differ.

    Why traders use Ghost Tracking.

    Ghost does not tell you which trades to take. It turns skipped trade ideas into evidence you can review later.

    Test a setup

    Track a trade idea without turning it into a real-money position.

    Build evidence

    See how repeatedly tracked setups behave over time.

    Reduce FOMO guessing

    Instead of wondering what would have happened, record the idea and let the Ghost track the outcome.

    Study selectivity

    Compare the trades you took with the setups you chose to pass on.

    Ghost Tracking

    What would have happened if I took this setup?

    You deliberately create a hypothetical trade to track a setup without placing a real-money trade.

    Ghost vs. You

    What happened when my real decisions diverged from the plan?

    After an actual trade, compare what you really did with the applicable Ghost or plan-based path.

    Explore Ghost vs. You

    Relationship to Decision Replay

    Completed Ghost evidence may also appear in RulesFirst review workflows such as Decision Replay where supported. A Ghost trade should not be assumed to have the same evidence as a real broker trade.

    Important hypothetical-results boundary

    Ghost Tracking does not place real orders, reserve capital, guarantee execution, guarantee identical fills, provide investment recommendations, predict price, validate a strategy, or guarantee profitability. Hypothetical results have limitations and may differ materially from actual executable trading results.

    Not every setup needs your capital.

    Track the idea with Ghost first and turn the outcome into evidence you can review.