I received a trading signal. What do I do next?
A practical first-signal checklist: understand the setup, check freshness, choose paper practice or skip, and distinguish delivery from a fill.
Put this into practice with a watchlist
Build a watchlist, then review each signal’s entry, stop, target, and reasoning. Broker access is optional.
Watch: From signal to a decision
60-second captioned explainer. Illustrative workflow; no live account or execution footage. No audio.
Read the full video transcript
- A signal is an idea to review. Receiving it does not place an order.
- Check the symbol, asset, direction, timestamp, and reasoning. A delayed idea may no longer fit the market.
- Read the entry, stop, and target. These are proposed levels, not orders waiting at your broker.
- Choose your next step: skip, save a review, or practice in paper mode. A saved review is not a paper broker order.
- Choose where to receive the next idea: the dashboard, email, Discord, or an available integration.
- If you choose to place an order, inspect its status at the broker. Submitted, partially filled, and filled mean different things.
A signal arrives. You see a symbol, a direction, and some price levels. The next step is to understand the idea—not assume something has already been bought.
1. Open the complete signal
Go to your signals and open the relevant idea. Match the symbol, asset class, direction, and timestamp to the alert. Read the reasoning and the counter-case when available. If a field is missing, do not ask an AI to invent it.
Check the signal's creation time against a fresh market quote. Your plan may deliver delayed signals; the market can also move between generation, receipt, and review. An entry level from an earlier setup may no longer be available.
2. Translate the fields into plain language
| Field | What to ask yourself |
|---|---|
| Symbol and asset | Is this the exact stock, option contract, or crypto pair I intended to inspect? |
| Direction | Is this a bullish idea, bearish idea, or an exit update? A sell is not automatically permission to open a short. |
| Entry | Under what conditions was the idea meant to become relevant? |
| Stop or invalidation | What would make the idea wrong? Has that happened already? |
| Target | What price level is being considered, without assuming the market will reach it? |
| Reasoning and confidence | What supports the idea, what contradicts it, and what information is missing? |
The stop and target written in a signal are proposed levels. They do not place protective orders at your broker.
3. Choose a next step
Skip: The idea does not fit your plan, is stale, or is unclear. Doing nothing is a valid decision.
Save a review: In the expanded signal, choose Save, Save for later, or Dismiss. Wait for the saved decision to appear before leaving. This records your research decision; it does not submit a broker order.
Practice: Rehearse the order workflow in a paper account. Follow the Alpaca paper walkthrough for a stock example. Tradewink paper tracking and an Alpaca paper account are separate simulations.
Consider execution separately: Independently choose the account, quantity, order type, duration, and exit plan. Tradewink broker-connected execution is an optional, eligibility-dependent beta. Availability of an alert or a paid subscription does not establish execution access.
Put the setup on a watchlist first
Use the rules in this guide to evaluate a signal’s entry, stop, target, and reasoning before deciding what, if anything, to do.
4. Know what each status proves
Signal generated → delivered to your tool → reviewed by you → order submitted → broker reports a fill.
Each arrow is a separate step. A successful email or webhook proves delivery at most. A connected broker proves a connection. An accepted order can still be unfilled or partially filled. Use the broker's order ID, status, filled quantity, and average fill price to reconcile what happened.
5. Make the next alert easier to use
Want to understand the workflow before creating an account? Inspect a public recorded signal. Choose a stock, check the record's timestamp, and read the reasoning. Historical examples do not establish current opportunities or trading results.
Choose one delivery path, test it, and review a small watchlist. If you prefer an AI assistant, connect Claude or Codex for explanation and a preview-first workflow.
Keep a short journal: signal ID and time, receipt time, review or skip reason, paper order ID if any, actual outcome, and what you learned. Include rejected, late, and unfilled examples.
Educational information only, not personalized investment advice. Trading involves risk; simulations and signal levels do not guarantee results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did receiving a signal buy anything?
No. A delivered signal is information. A separately authorized execution workflow must submit an order, and the broker must report a fill before there is an executed trade.
Does saving a paper review send an Alpaca order?
No. A saved Tradewink review, Tradewink simulated tracking, and an Alpaca paper order are separate records.
Do I have to connect a broker?
No. You can read signals, build a watchlist, review the evidence, and decide to skip without connecting a broker.
Should I act on every signal?
No. An old signal, missing context, unsupported asset, or a setup outside your own plan are reasons to stop and review or skip.
Does the confidence score predict my return?
No. It is model context, not a guaranteed probability of profit or an instruction about your account.
Read next
Keep learning with a related guide before putting an idea on your watchlist.
How to practice a Tradewink signal with Alpaca
Translate a stock signal into an Alpaca paper order, check the account and ticket, and verify order status without confusing a signal with a fill.
Choose how Tradewink signals reach your tools
Choose dashboard, email, Discord, workflow integrations, webhooks, or API access. Test delivery before adding any execution step.
Use Tradewink with Claude, Codex, and the signals API
Connect an AI assistant through MCP, retrieve signal records through the API, and use a preview-first workflow with explicit order approval.
Ready to evaluate a signal?
Start free with a watchlist and inspect the context before you consider a broker connection.
Try AI signals on your watchlist
Send yourself a signal preview, then add tickers to see ranked entries, exits, and risk notes in Tradewink.
Key Terms
Tradewink builds explainable market research for self-directed traders. Build a watchlist, inspect signal reasoning and risk context, and paper-track ideas before you decide. Public subscriptions are paper-only; separately approved private beta accounts may submit live broker orders.
How this guide is reviewed
Tradewink reviews educational content against its documented market-data sources, risk controls, and product methodology. See our data sources and evaluation methodology for the evidence and limitations behind the platform.