Free Trading School · Level 6: Mindset, Plan and Next Steps
Writing your trading plan
A trading plan is a written set of rules that decides what you trade, when, how and how much. It turns trading from a series of emotional decisions into a repeatable process you can measure and improve.
A one-page plan covers
- Markets and timeframe: for example, "US large-cap stocks on the daily chart".
- Setups: the one or two strategies you trade, with exact entry rules.
- Risk: risk per trade (e.g. 1%), maximum open trades, daily and weekly loss limits.
- Exits: where the stop goes, where the target goes, when to trail.
- Routine: when you scan for trades, when you review, when you do not trade (e.g. right before major news).
- Review: how often you analyse your journal and what would make you change the plan.
Keep it short enough to read before every session. If a trade is not in the plan, you do not take it.
No plan, no trade. A plan you follow beats a brilliant idea you improvise.
Quick answers
A trading plan is a written set of rules that decides what you trade, when, how and how much. It turns trading from a series of emotional decisions into a repeatable process you can measure and improve.
No plan, no trade. A plan you follow beats a brilliant idea you improvise.
To turn trading into a repeatable, measurable process. Written rules let you act consistently and measure what works.
Next lesson: Keeping a trading journal