What Should be in Your Trading Plan?

Trading Plans can be as simple or complex as you want it, but the most important thing is that you actually HAVE a plan and you FOLLOW the plan. With that said, here are some of the essentials that every trading plan should have.

1. A Trading System

This is the heart of your trading plan. This system should be one that you have thoroughly backtested, and have traded for at least two months on a demo account.
Include all the necessary information about your system such as: time frames you use, criteria for entries and exits, how much you risk during each trade, which currency pair(s) you trade and how many lots you trade.

Example: I am an intraday trader and I trade off of the 10 minute charts. I enter when there is a moving average crossover and all my indicators support the direction. I only trade the EUR/USD and I risk no more than 2% of my account on each trade. For now, I trade 5 mini lots and will increase my lot size according to my 2% money management rules.

2. Your trading routine

This is a crucial part of your plan because it will determine three very important things: when you will analyze the market and plan your trades, when you will actually watch the market to take trades, and when you will evaluate your actions during your trading day.

3. Your mindset

Ask any trader out there and they will all tell you that one of the hardest things to do when trading is to take out your emotions from it. This section of your trading plan will describe what frame of mind you will be in when you are trading.

Example:

• I will see what is on the charts and not what I want to see.
• No matter how biased I am towards a direction, I will make sure to trade only what my eyes see and not what my feelings tell me.
• I will not get “revenge” on the market if I lose on a trade.
• I will not beat myself up if I make a losing trade. Instead I will take it as a learning experience and move on.

4. Your weaknesses

Yes, we all have our weaknesses. We just don’t like talking about them. But ask yourself this, “How will you ever get better, if you don’t admit to what you need to work on?” This section will be an objective way to keep track of things that you need to work on in order to become a better trader.

Example:

• I tend to overtrade. Whenever I lose on a position, I get upset and immediately try to get “revenge” on the market.
• I tend to exit early on trades.
• I don’t stick to the rules of my system every time
• I don’t stick to my money management rules every time

5. Your goals

“To make a lot of money” is not a good goal. Sit down and really think about what you want to accomplish as a trader. Do you want to trade for a living? How much return can you realistically expect from trading based on your knowledge and experience? Your goals don’t even have to be about making money. Maybe you would like to be more disciplined or gain more confidence. These goals can be personal. What do YOU want to get out of this? Use these goals as your motivation when times get tough. These goals will be your vision, and you must always keep your eyes on the prize!

6. Your trading journal

This will be a valuable tool to helping you become a better trader. Make sure you log all your trades and why you took them. Later down the road you can look back and evaluate your trades and see how you are progressing. I’ve looked back at my trade journal and have seen just how much I’ve grown as a trader. My first entries were very basic and as I’ve progressed, my trades make more sense to me now. I’ve gained a lot of confidence throughout my career and by looking back at my trades, I’ve really been able to evaluate myself and see if I am getting closer to my goals. This tool will help you tremendously in the long run, so take a few minutes each day and log your trades. You’ll be happy you did!