home » Acts » Trader's trading plan. Trading plan and its role in trading

Trader's trading plan. Trading plan and its role in trading

The trader's trading plan is the definition of trading goals and ways to achieve them by the trader, through the planned and developed programs of action in the financial market.

The Forex trader's trading plan differs from the trading algorithm in global goals, taking into account all the possible factors that matter in making money on the stock exchange. In a trading algorithm, you can use and detail trading in as much of a way as possible.

A trading plan is the first self-documentation that every novice market trader should write if you want to succeed and not lose yours. Other important and more detailed documents are: the trading algorithm and the trader's diary. We do not know of any trader who, without these three documents, would have achieved outstanding results in the currency market.

A trader's trading plan is somewhat reminiscent of a business plan, which is familiar to all people who have ever created their own business. Is it possible to do without it? Yes, you can, but how long will your own business last if you do not calculate all the possible risks and take measures to minimize them? Probably not for long. No bank or investor will give a business loan without a business plan.

The 6 Components of a Sample Trading Plan

A well thought out and documented Forex trader's trading plan is your roadmap to profitability. What is this card made of? A sample trading plan for a trader must necessarily consist of the following six points:

Identify yourself as a trader.
Types of traders: scalper, intraday trader, swing trader, long-term investor.
Decide on a financial instrument for trading
Financial instruments are: currency, metal, CFD contract, etc.
Set clear, achievable, measurable goals for yourself.
Assess your risk and possible profit.
Create and follow a clear set of rules.
Adjust your abilities consistently over time.

You must seriously and responsibly approach each of the above points if you want to become a successful trader. If you feel sorry for your time and have no patience - leave trading, because you will lose all your money very quickly.

10 questions to your trader's trading plan

The first thing you need to do is take a sheet of paper and your favorite pen, marker or pencil. We recommend that you write your own sample Forex trading plan in your own hand, because it forces you to think as you go. Thus, you will not copy other people's trading plans and will remember every thoughtful point.

The trading plan should fit on one sheet. These will be your trader's commandments, if you so desire. Your trading bible. Now let's pay attention to the most important questions that will determine your behavior in the Forex financial market.

Your sample Forex trading plan must answer the following 10 questions:

What are my realistic goals?
Take note: experienced(!) traders increase their trading capital by up to 20% per month.
What type of trader am I?
You can be, for example, a swing trader.
What financial instrument do I trade?
Focus on one currency pair and become an expert on that currency pair, for example it could be USD/JPY; you can trade 90% of the time with one currency pair, and we recommend spending the remaining 10% experimenting with another financial instrument, such as XAU/USD.
What one (yes, one) trading setup will I expertly execute?
For example, you enter a bear trade on USD/JPY when the trend is down for three days; this is the only formation you should trade.
What is the stop loss and take profit level for each executed trade?
For example, the critical stop loss level in each trade is 30 pips, but most often it is 20 pips; the profit ratio in each transaction is 1:3, i.e. take profit in each transaction will be 60-90 points, depending on the risk.
How much will I trade?
The volume depends on the trader's trading deposit and the leverage provided by the broker; for example, the amount of money you risk in each trade should not exceed 2% of the total trading deposit; from this calculation, it is necessary to determine the possible volume in the transaction.
How much money should I have in my trading account?
For example, you have $500 free, on which your life and the life of your family do not depend; it can be $100 or several thousand dollars - everything is individual.
What are the 3-5 best rules of mine that I will carefully follow?
For example, I undertake not to open trades during the release of economic news, or I do not open trades on Monday mornings and Friday evenings, or I open a trade when 3 candles in a row confirm my forecast for the movement of a currency pair, etc.
When should I review my trading plan?
For example, you should review a trader's trading plan at least once every 3 months or, if your profitability does not satisfy you, as needed.
What actions will I take to educate myself and improve my trading skills?
For example, you have problems with discipline, the solution is: you must re-read the Forex trader's trading plan every day and calculate how much money you have lost due to your hasty actions that contradict what you yourself wrote.

Mastered? Now let's sum up a little, which will help to draw up an optimal trading plan.

Do you want to invest in yourself

You have received a precious sample Forex trader's trading plan. This gives you a big advantage over other novice traders. Please note that not everyone who reads this article will take the advice to create their own trading plan. All these factors already make special those traders who strictly follow the creation of a Forex trading plan.

How can you tell if you have a good trading plan if you haven't started trading yet? This is easy enough to do - you should look at your sample trading plan from the investor's point of view. If you have read your trading plan and are ready to invest in yourself, then the plan is correct. If, after reading the trading plan, you consider everything written to be not very reliable, then there is still something to work on.

You must understand that a Forex trader's trading plan is not a holy grail and will not make you a successful and experienced trader right away, but without it you will definitely not become who you want to become.

Don't delay and write your sample trader trading plan soon. Do you want to start making money as soon as possible?!

A correctly drawn up plan is already half of any business, the main thing at the initial stage of planning is to correctly determine all the strategic tasks, and then paint the sequence of their solution.

Many novice traders are mistaken in thinking that the forex work plan concerns only the trading process itself, namely, trend analysis and transactions in the trading terminal.

Forex plan - will include setting goals, determining ways to solve them and, of course, the practical part of trading.

Target.

In our case, the goal determines the entire further strategy. If you want to make Forex the main source of income, then the approach to planning should be completely different.

For example, in order to just earn some extra money, it is enough to have a couple of thousand dollars and open one transaction every few days.

In the same case, if you want to live on what you earn, on the stock exchange, the income requirements are already skyrocketing, and if you do not have the opportunity to use a large starting capital for forex, you will have to resort to riskier trading strategies.

And so, at this stage, the main thing is to decide what you want, but this should be done taking into account real possibilities. Unrealistic goals are almost always doomed to failure.
For example, such a task as earning $ 1,000 a month, having only 100 in your pocket, will most likely end up with you losing the first 100.

Therefore, earning $10 out of $100 would be a more realistic task to complete.

Choice of strategy.

After setting the task, we proceed to the choice of a trading strategy for its implementation. The more ambitious your goal, the more risky strategy you will have to choose. You can get acquainted with various trading strategies in the section of the same name "Forex Strategies"

Planning the trading process.

Typically, this stage consists of the following elements:

1. Analysis of the current market situation.
2. Drawing up conclusions on the most favorable places to enter the market and the size of stop orders.
3. Determining the size of the lot, and the amount of which you are currently willing to risk, the more confident you are in your forecast, the greater the ratio of the transaction volume to the trader's deposit can be.
4. Receiving entry signals and directly opening the deal itself.
5. Control of an open order, its modification (transfer

A trader's trading plan can be as simple or complex as you want. Of course, a plan that is too simple is not informative enough to successfully implement key rules and/or strategies during each trading session. Conversely, if the plan is too complex, then it will be difficult for you to stick to it, and you may eventually stop using it altogether. Therefore, it is necessary to think over the best option, so that it does not take much time, while being detailed enough for introspection.

The main task of the trading plan– to keep you calm and relaxed while trading, as all market analysis should be done before trading, not during it. This is exactly what professional traders do. are always nervous before trading, and therefore often their trading is impulsive and not well thought out.

Your trading plan must be dynamic. Change it as you grow in your market and trading experience, and also when data analysis clearly indicates it to you, but never do this during a trade or trading session!

Once your trading plan is written, you will see that trading becomes more objective, you will be less emotional and your trades will be more selective. This will add structure and organization to every trading session. It will become your ally when the market makes unexpected moves, and you will save yourself from making unreasonable decisions if the trade did not go as expected.

Sketch of a trader's trading plan:

Why I got into stock trading
What is my personal approach to trading?
What are my trading goals?
- For a month
- For this year
- Long term
What markets will I trade?
What time intervals (time frames) will I trade?
What setups will I trade?
Entry rules
Stop Loss Rules
Rules for setting take profit and/or
Risk management rules
Premarket
Postmarket
What tools will I use for my trading business?
Trade comment
What will I use to continuously improve my trading and education
Posts about my discipline and trading mindset
My Golden Rules and/or Trading Commandments

Trading plan example

Let's see how such a trader's trading plan might look like with an example.

1. Why do I trade?

I understand that trading is one of the most difficult and interesting professions. I accept this challenge and realize that I will have to constantly learn new things, improve my education, be consistent and persistent, have a trading plan, develop the right mindset and learn the right trading tools, I will overcome difficulties in order to succeed and prosper in trading. This will allow me to control my own life and destiny without relying on anyone else to create my own financial well-being.

2. What is my personal approach to trading?

My approach is that first I have to analyze the situation in the market, using the daily and weekly charts for this. This will allow me to determine the presence of a clearly established market trend (trend) and its direction. Once I find consistency in this long term, I will tend to look for a market entry point on the intraday charts.

3. What are my goals?

Be a consistent trader and systematically build your trading business. Strive to achieve at least 50% percent of profitable trades.

For the month: stay consistent and never miss out on "scheduled trades". Follow my trading plan without excuses.
For a year: systematically increase the volume of the transaction, if the results of my trading tell me that it is desirable to do so. Continue to improve my trading skills and improve my education, learning daily about my profession and the market, something new. Continue to reduce losses and increase profits to see a steadily rising equity curve!
Long-term: make trading for a living! Create several accounts - one for earnings for current expenses, one for long-term investment. This will allow me to eventually create a "retirement account".

4. What markets will I trade?

For now, I will focus only on the stock markets, but over time I will use other trading instruments.

5. What time intervals (time frames) will I trade?

In the beginning, I will only use daily charts.

6. What setups will I be trading?

I'll be watching for the following two "trend" setups:

Consolidation/breakout around 20MA,
Rollback to a minor support level or to 20 MA.

In this most useful material, we will touch on the main thing that, for various reasons, participants in financial markets do not perform - a trader's trading plan.

Someone is too lazy to compose it, and even more so to adhere to it, and someone does not even know about it. A trading plan is often confused with the basic principles of a personal Forex trading strategy. In fact, they are completely different things. Below we will tell you what a trader's trading plan is, what criteria it should consist of, and how to draw up a trader's trading plan yourself.

What is a trading plan for a trader?

The source that allows you to understand the situation on the market and make decisions easily is the trader's trading plan. In the absence of a trading plan, the Forex trader opens all trades at random. That is, trading turns into roulette (lucky or not). Hopefully, the importance of using a trading plan in trading is now clear?

Every trader who considers himself a professional must conduct 4 “documents”, in which a trading plan will be thoroughly drawn up. What are these documents?

Trading strategy (trading rules).
Trade entry rules.
Money management.
Trading plan.

Let's consider each item in more detail.

Trading strategy (system)

The TS should contain specific rules for entering and exiting the market. In particular, points such as:

currency pairs;
timeframes ;
trading time;
elements of market analysis;
other points related to opening and closing Forex orders.

Trade entry rules

Before the trader should always be a short list of the conditions for the sale or purchase of an asset. It is better if this list is presented in electronic and written formats. Forex trader during trading should put plus signs in front of each point if this or that point is fulfilled. When at least one of the conditions is not met, the deal is not opened.

Money management

Having a proven trading strategy is half the battle. The main thing is not to forget about the laws of money management, since drawing up a Forex trading plan will not work without it. It does not matter if it is a percentage of the total deposit, the number of lots multiplied by a certain value of the traded currency, or other ways to correctly calculate the size of a future order.

Trading plan

You can safely call it a trading plan action plan for any eventuality that may occur during Forex trading. Usually, in the preparation of a Forex trading plan, they try to include money management rules and so on. This is all, of course, good, but a novice trader will only get confused in this regard.

Important items a trader should include in their trading plan

Each trader has his own plan, someone has it, and someone hears about it for the first time. However, consider examples of a Forex trading plan.

Important: Forex trading plan needs to be customized, including specific items that need to be adjusted from time to time. It depends on the trading strategy, risk level, and money management.

1. Force majeure cases. The trader should have specific measures to be taken if the Internet, electricity, or the computer breaks down. In case of such unforeseen circumstances, a laptop must have a charged battery, a trading terminal must be installed on a smartphone or tablet, a 3G modem, a VPS server, contact details of friends who will always help out.

2. Profit and loss control. Definitely need to prescribe a plan of action as a result of a series of losing or profitable trades. At this point, it all depends on the risks and trading style of the trader. Let's give some examples.

Example #1: I will stop my intraday trading after reaching 30 pips profit. Don't think of these 30 pips as your goal for the day, think of it as your profit limit.

Example #2: With 5 losing trades, I don’t trade all week.

Example #3: Loss of 30% of the entire deposit - a break in trading for a whole month.

Example #4: Closed transactions that brought +10% of the deposit in total, trading is no longer conducted this week.

Example #5: Trading one currency pair, I catch 3 stop losses, I won’t trade any more on this day, and so on.

3. Strong emotional overexcitation.

Example #1: If I don't feel well, then I don't trade.

Example #2: When I'm depressed or sleepy, I can't get into the terminal.

Example #3: Overexcited, very angry, hard to concentrate on anything, nervous concussion - I will not trade on this day.

4. Difficult trading tactics. If a trader uses several trading strategies, then it should be recorded in writing where and when they are used.

Example #1: If there was a pronounced trend movement on the market, one strategy should be applied, and if there was a flat on Forex, then a completely different strategy.

Example #2: At the entry stage, I apply the adviser, then it turns off, after which I use my trading tactics.

5. News background.

Example #1: I follow the release of news in the corresponding economic calendar. During the release of important news, namely 30 minutes and after their release, transactions are not opened. It is not worth trading at all if non-farm payrolls are released on that day.

Example #2: Before entering, I always look at the chart for the presence of possible setups. I check my assumptions with analytics. In case of discrepancy, once again carefully double-check everything.

6. Long-term and short-term goals in trading. It is important not to forget about the set goals. Everyone has her own. You can strive to earn + 30% per day to the deposit, but if you set a goal of + 10% per month, then this will not seem unattainable.

Example #1: Don't chase huge profits. Be realistic. 10% per month is quite acceptable profit. There will be few transactions, which means that most of them must be verified.

Example #2: I will not risk more than 1% of the deposit for a single trade.

Example #3: I am aware that by executing a trader’s trading plan for every day, you can still suffer losses, so I put at my own risk only the amount that I’m not sorry to lose.

7. Your chip. For example, it can be to enter the market to buy or sell, place stop orders and close the terminal, and then look into it only in the evening.

Trader's Trading Plan Sample

So, we discussed the preparation of a Forex trading plan above, now we will show an example of a Forex trading plan of one of the traders, so that according to this sample you understand how to draw up a Forex trading plan so that trading is profitable.

Traded currency pairs: trading is conducted by all currency pairs from the major series.

Working timeframe: M5.

How do I analyze: the direction of currency pairs must match the trend line on the charts D1, H4 and H1. When these conditions are met, I switch to the M5 timeframe and wait for the price to be in the same trend with the higher timeframes. Only when these conditions have all coincided, I enter the market. It looks like this:

Type of analysis: trading with the trend according to the moving average MA indicator.

Profit targets: I try to close 10 pips per trade. I try to make 20 points of profit per day. After reaching the goal, I close the MT4 terminal and do other things.

How do I manage risk? I set myself the goal of increasing the initial deposit by 120% per year at the rate of +10% per month. As soon as the goal is reached, I will increase the deposit further. I do not put in one transaction more than 1% of the total deposit. That is, if my deposit is $1000, then the risk per order is $10.

Action plan in case of a drawdown: if the Forex drawdown within a day reaches 2 times, I close the terminal and do not trade. I use non-trading time to work with errors (what was done wrong, etc.). If the losses continue on the next trading day (I catch 2 more stop losses), I close the terminal and do not trade for the entire current week. I will start trading next week.

Conclusion

Every trader needs a Forex trading plan not only for a day, but also for a week and even a month. It is better if you keep it not only in electronic format, but also print it on a piece of paper and put it in front of your eyes. In addition to the fact that it needs to be drawn up, a Forex trading plan should also be implemented.

We looked at an example of a Forex trading plan from one of the successful traders. They showed an example of a trader's trading plan, and also gave an example of goals to increase the initial deposit. It is important to keep a sample trader's trading plan in front of you at all times so as not to deviate from it even a step. After all, the profit of the trader depends on it.

Now we move on to a crucial topic, without which (and I guarantee it) you will not become a successful trader. This is your trading plan.

As you already know, foreign trading systems will not work miracles. In our trading supermarket it is impossible to read someone else's strategy and immediately make money on it, otherwise trading would be easier than going to the store for a poppy seed bun. Success here is achieved only by people who create a trading system for themselves on the basis of other systems they have studied.

Blindly following other people's advice is not categorically possible here. This is easy to check. It's not that hard to find a successful trader, many of them share their systems openly and for free. Do you know what will happen if you try to copy them just like that? Nothing good. So I shared what brought me several tens of thousands of dollars in binary options (I'm not exaggerating) and that - and nothing. Almost no one could use it.

Similar parsley with other systems. Because they are strangers, not yours. Thousands of hours spent with it are not transmitted with the system. This is only a formal description, requiring the development of the same thousands of hours of personal practice, nothing else.

Most profitable strategy

This is how I myself ran through the forums and searched for a “profitable strategy” (it’s wildly funny to remember this now). It turned out that you get only the theoretical basis of the system, but it does not come with tens of thousands of hours of experience and the trader's intuition of its author. You can’t by some miracle instantly teleport someone else’s experience into your brain.

Do you want a super-profitable strategy, on which my friend earned almost 300 thousand dollars on FORTS (the derivatives market of the Moscow Exchange) in 2015? Please - a moving average with a value of 100. It is also MA 100. Done, I opened the trader's grail to you.

Well, why are we sitting? Forward! Time to take millions.

Something you are not in a hurry. I wonder why? Maybe common sense and worldly logic tell you that everything is not so simple here? You are absolutely right. A friend has 8 years of market experience. And this moving average, which on the charts is just a cherry on the cake, which does not reflect even 1% of what is happening in his head.

How not to get lost in tens of thousands of alien systems? Only with the help of your trading plan, aka TP. Only he will help you adhere to trading discipline and calm our emotional "crazy" in the head.

The plan must be clear, concise and understandable. So that you do not have any doubts every time how to use it.

The task of the plan is simple - what to do, for what reason, when and to what extent. Everything is reflected in the plan - your personality, expectations from transactions, risk and money management is described, not to mention your trading system.

Working without a plan means relying on luck. You hardly want to play with fate like that, do you? She is a very naughty lady. A trading plan will help eliminate momentary trades dictated by the emotional perception of price. When you, beside yourself with worries, open deals literally at random.

The best way to avoid this is to minimize risks by creating a trading plan that covers a specific market move. As a result, you do not have to rush or grab your head. What is in the plan is what you trade, there is no reason to worry.

What is the difference between a trading plan and a trading system

A trading system is an accurate description of the reasons for opening trades. This is part of your trading plan, along with market analysis, risk and money management. Market conditions are constantly changing, therefore, several trading systems are often prescribed in a trading plan.

We will talk about systems later, but for now, just remember that the plan is a global construction, and the trading system is a derivative of it.

Why the hell do I need a trading plan

Trading without a trading plan is like walking through a forest without a compass or GPS. Ahead, behind, on the sides - solid uncertainty and you shudder from the crunch of each branch. The trading plan is your navigational system that will guide you through the trading forest to sustainable profits.

We humans are incredibly emotional, nervous creatures, prone to fantasies and all sorts of tantrums. There are two options here - either a strict teacher with a bamboo stick who beats us on the hands for every stupidity, or a plan that acts in a similar capacity. By adhering to it, constantly modifying it based on the experience gained, we learn not to be afraid of the market, because everything is foreseen in advance.

Snot and tears, screams into the pillow, broken monitors, drunk bottles of strong drinks - this is a collective image of a novice trader. Do you need it? Why this chaos? Isn't it better to think over everything at once, to foresee all possible actions in various situations?

Then you will have only two problems - either the trading plan needs to be changed, or you are not following it too diligently. All your trading will revolve around it. Without a plan, without a schematic structure of your trades, you will be left to enter the market at random just because it seemed to you that the price would bounce off the level or “oh, it seemed to me that this is a very good candle”. Yes, it's amazing, congratulations.

No trading plan - no money. How much easier.

Yes, of course, the plan itself does not guarantee you success. There are no guarantees in trading at all. But some things can be 100% guaranteed. For example, what about traders with a well-defined plan stay in the market much longer than beginners who do not have one.

And the task of a novice trader is to hold out for the first year and, perhaps, even earn money. At the same time, more than 90% of newcomers will be devoured by the market and will not wince. Want to be on the list of winners? Yes of course.

You probably think "the plan, blah blah, now all sorts of boring things will begin." Let me just say, no trading plan - no comments. I don't even have to say anything. You yourself will come to the vital need to have such a plan after a series of stunning failures. You will pray to this plane, wake up with it and fall asleep. So it will be, imagine that I am Vanga.

Is it possible to violate the trading plan

And here's an interesting question. If I'm making money by breaking the plan, do I really need it? Think about it. Money is dripping.

I'll break it once, I'll break it twice. Yes, you can spit on the prescribed rules. In fact, no one controls you, there is no one to beat with a stick, however ... someone is watching you. Do you know who? Market. And he absolutely, completely and deeply violet your momentary successes. Who earned what in a day, a week or a month does not play any role.

You can just work for a month, flipping a coin, relying on 50/50 and be in the black, easily. As funny as it is, there are entire systems based on a coin. They work - as long as probability is on your side. But what will you do when fortune turns its back, huh? Give money, that's all.

Profitable and unsuccessful trades

It is worth abandoning the trading plan, the discipline will immediately float, and you will think that this plan was not really needed. And so everything is fine. Self-confidence will grow. At some point, an arrogant trader begins to think in general that he is a conqueror of the market and no one orders him. That all these routine analyzes, plans and managements are for beginners. And it is enough for him to glance at the chart and he will know exactly where he will open a deal.

All profitable transactions that we make can be divided into:

justified;
unreasonable.

A sound profitable trade involves creating a detailed trading plan and following it. Then the successful closing of this transaction will be, first of all, the logical result of your preliminary preparation.

All unreasonable profitable transactions are carried out at random, often there is no plan at all. Yes, now the deal closed in a plus, but the random factor is extremely high. You might as well throw dice or print out a graph, stick it on the wall and throw darts at it. There is no discipline - there are no reasonable entrances.

All trading is based on the fact that the law of averages will work in your favor. To do this, you need to develop and detail such a trading system that will give you profit over and over again. Traded, as a result, not the market - and the system.

If once you entered in this way, in another this way, in the third - you don’t understand how at all, all this will lead to chaos and losses. Only trading discipline and following clear rules will allow you to minimize the impact of emotional factors and ultimately achieve sustainable results.

I hope you understand - it is better not to open the chart at all without a trading plan.

A trading plan is created for you

Only a realistic view of trading will allow you to create a really smart plan. Only an analysis of yourself and your psychology. After all, you are the only one who will use this plan. He is only for you. Depending on what kind of trader you are going to become, the specific details of your plan depend.

If you choose strategies, systems and methods that are not in harmony with your character and personality type, you will try to pull a hedgehog on a globe and you will get ... what the hell. Most beginners simply sort through the strategies in search of the “most successful”, not realizing that there is no such miracle. And that only by studying yourself and your approach to the market you can create something really worthwhile.

Before hitting the Buy/Sell buttons, you have to ask yourself a few questions. And the answers to them will become sections of your trading plan.

Why did you decide to become a trader?

Oh, this is not a banal or routine question at all. It is extremely important. You are into trading, in general, why did you come? To become a rich pinocchio? Or maybe you have found a fascinating field of activity that requires willpower and want to test yourself? Or maybe your grandmother trades in stocks and you decided to prove to her who is the boss in the house?

Without understanding your true motivation, you will not be able to figure out if trading is right for you at all. It is far from being for everyone, just as not everyone can become a musician or a confectioner. Traders who are not serious about their business simply do not stay on the market.

Here, let's say you want the sharpness of emotions and money. So that you are "dragged" from emotions and you earn in parallel. Do you think this is good motivation? Only as long as the market does not crack you in the face for such an approach.

Need emotions? Jump with a parachute, go to the casino, walk along Butovo in the evening in a jacket with the US flag on your back, keep yourself busy. At the same time, you will lose much less money than in the market.

Specific trading goals

As a rule, expressing your goals in certain amounts is a very bad idea. Don't set yourself the goal of "I want to make $1,000 a month" because the market is not a source of stable profits. Therefore, you will simply face regular failure to achieve your goal, which will quickly finish you emotionally.

Percentage is better. In percentage terms, it's amazing. "I want to increase my deposit by 5-8% per month." Thumbs up. And by the way, your goals do not have to be expressed in money.

Maybe you just want to earn money, without reference to amounts, anywhere in the world where the Internet has been installed, is it a good idea? Good. I am always immensely pleased when, being at a resort, I manage to “recapture” part of the cost of the trip right at the hotel during the holidays (however, it has never been possible to compensate for the entire cost, hehe).

The goal should not be abstract, but specific in certain aspects. Let's say you want to go to Jamaica. It doesn't matter how much it costs, you'll figure it out. The main thing is that a specific goal is defined. This is how you write it down in the trading plan, because it always begins with psychology.

Specifics:

I want 1% income per week;
I want more than 50% successful trades this year;
I will double my deposit in these 3 months.

Your goals should be clear to you personally, even if it's the desire to buy a bunny costume and a bouquet of 100 roses to impress your girlfriend. The target must be easily trackable. What is easier - a rabbit costume, it is either there or it is not.

Your money management

We have already told everything about it, and yours is prescribed in the trading plan. Write down how much or, even better, the percentage of the deposit you risk in each transaction. How much can you afford to lose?

Do you remember, really, that you can’t come into trading with the last money? The market will not spare you. You need to trade on free funds, with which you mentally part. Otherwise, risking the latter, you will eat yourself emotionally, and then financially.

Therefore, your TP should clearly state your risks. You can also prescribe the conditions under which you will switch from a demo account to a real one.

How much time do you devote to trading

The answer to this question depends on the trading style you choose (aggressive, moderate or conservative), specific currency pairs and the risks associated with your trading process.

Everything is simple. Imagine there are two guys:

one will be satisfied with 10% of income per year;
the other - 100% per month.

Can you imagine how different their trading plans and the way they work will be? The second guy will have to take a lot more risks. That is why express your potential returns in percentages and use them to determine your trading style.

It is also necessary to record a possible drawdown. This value is from the maximum deposit level to its minimum value. Let's say your drawdown is a maximum of 30% of the deposit. What to do upon reaching it? Urgently revise your trading plan, refine strategies. Stop trading, get down to risk management, switch to . In other words, whistle everyone upstairs, something is going wrong.

Other traders are not afraid of a large drawdown, because they expect to hit the jackpot in a good period. As you can see, absolutely everything depends on the expected income. The systems of two citizens expecting different incomes from the market will differ radically. Do not be greedy and write in your plan reasonable, realistically achievable goals.

Preparing to open a deal

The next thing we write in the plan is the steps that are taken before opening a deal. No, not how much butter you put on your sandwich. This is a trader's to-do list. For example:

view yesterday's trades;
study the latest and future news on your asset;
select the desired trading session.

Now is the time to sit down at a news resource like RBC, Reuters or Bloomberg to find out the situation for today. It doesn't hurt to re-draw support/resistance lines on all timeframes - don't forget to include this in your trading plan as well.

After completing the preliminary steps, you are ready to open a trade. It is extremely important that this procedure be written clearly and understandably in the trading plan. So that you do not puzzle over where to start and what to look at. Everything is already written - you just need to do it. Of course, there should also be a back-up plan in place in case the market does not behave the way you intended.

The trading plan will do the main thing - it will take away all the anxiety. Everything is thought out, you are ready for anything. It remains to calmly open a deal and wait for its results.

Trading instruments

Briefly describe what tools you use, what charts, programs and websites. Be prudent and don't try to grab as much technical equipment as possible.

Especially paid ones. What, do you really need this trendy thousand dollar pattern recognition program? I am begging you. It is better to buy a good monitor with this money or a laptop. For a professional trader, his favorite online chart or terminal is enough, and not expensive rattles.

Follow the plan

Your trading plan is ready and you know what? You are required to comply with it. That's the whole point. Yes, it sounds trite, however, beginners absolutely do not know how. Neither make plans nor follow the conditions prescribed in them. Well, the market will quickly teach. He is, you know, a very harsh teacher.

Don't forget that a trading plan must be fully tailored to your personality. Only your desires and your ideas about trading will be in it. Other people's thoughts have no place there, except perhaps in your interpretation.

Therefore, there is no point in copy-pasting in terms of someone's statements or strategies. They are already spelled out in books and on websites, and all this is just food for your mind. From mindless copying, no one has yet become a good trader.

Be realistic. Your TP must be based on truth, not fiction and fantasy. There is no need to draw millions of dollars or expensive cars there, leave this motivation for VKontakte youth groups.

The trading plan is with you for the long haul. Many novice traders, by the way, abandon them. It seems to them that they already know everything, so why look there again and again? Oh, they'll change their minds abruptly when the market puts the presumptuous upstarts in their place. Patience and more patience. The plan is your lifesaver, not a routine or obligation.

Discipline, dealing with all sorts of psychological problems, zigzagging through multiple emotional traps will all help your plan work, so listen to it.

The Perfect Trading Plan

If everything is planned, thought out and worked out, your chances of suddenly losing money are slim. It is a fact. It is not at all difficult to reach the stage of a non-leakable deposit. Yes, 80% of traders cannot do this, but only because they do not have the necessary psychological qualities, do not change and do not use structural thinking.

A deposit that stands still is a wonderful stage. “Oh, I spent the entire deposit in 1 day” - this story will forever be a thing of the past. Risk and money management, psychological rules - all this, added by you to the trading plan, will save your money.

Putting the plan together

Let's summarize what should be in our trading plan. The main list looks like this.

The trading plan is created by you and for your personality type - no copying of other people's plans and systems.
It can be in any shape and any structure. Whether on paper or on a smartphone.
Describe why you came into trading, be honest with yourself.
Describe the goals you want to achieve in trading - it's not just about money.
Describe your money management.
What about trading time, what is your time management?
Enter the expected return as a percentage.
Write what you absolutely must do before opening a trade.
Specify which trading instruments will be used.

As you can see, not so many points. It is not so difficult to become a disciplined, cold as a boa constrictor trader. You just need to eliminate the numerous factors of chance that the market is so rich in.

All of these accidents will be spelled out in your trading plan. No "false break" or frisky price movement as a result of unannounced news will not confuse you. Everything is planned, it is clear how to act in a given situation.

Do not forget an important point: the trading plan must be constantly modified

This is not truth carved in stone. Change the plan as your trading changes, with each new discovery or observation. This is living matter, it must change with you. This is how trading plans are polished for years until they approach perfection.

Change, adapt to floating market conditions, this is the only way to survive here. And remember the main thing for which you need TP. It is a method for achieving optimal efficiency in making trading decisions.

A trading plan is not a theory, but the most practical tool available to us. If it is not put into practice, it makes absolutely no sense. Treat it as a very important thing, much more important than even the schedule or the strategies used.

Back:
Forward: