What goes into a trading plan
- What and when you trade: a short list of markets and the hours you are at your best. Fewer markets means you know each one better.
- Setups, written so someone else could follow them: the conditions, the entry trigger and the invalidation. If a setup cannot be written down, it cannot be measured.
- Risk: risk per trade as a % of the account, a daily and a weekly loss limit, and a maximum number of trades. These numbers decide how long you survive a losing streak.
- Rules for you, not the market: no revenge trades, no moving the stop away, no trading through big news.
- A review routine: a plan only improves if you check it against your real trades every week.
Turn the plan into numbers
A plan is a promise; the journal shows whether you keep it. Tag every trade with its setup and mistakes, and the win rate calculator or a journal report tells you which setups pay. Before each trade, the pre-trade checklist checks the trade against this plan.
Add your setups as playbooks with their rules, tick the rules on every trade and see which ones you follow and what each setup really earns. 21-day free trial, no card needed.
Start free →Questions
What should a trading plan include?
The markets and hours you trade, your setups with clear entry and exit rules, risk per trade, daily and weekly loss limits, a maximum number of trades, personal rules (such as no revenge trades) and a routine to review your trades.
How do I save my trading plan as a PDF?
Fill in the form and press Download as PDF. Your browser's print window opens; choose Save as PDF as the printer. You can also download the plan as a .txt or .csv file.
Is the trading plan template free?
Yes. It runs in your browser, needs no sign-up and keeps what you type only in this browser.
How often should I update my trading plan?
Review it weekly against your journal, and change one rule at a time when your results show a clear reason, not after a single losing day.
More free tools
- Free trading journal template (Excel and Google Sheets)
- R-multiple and expectancy calculator
- Prop firm challenge tracker and rules compared
- Prop firm drawdown calculator: daily, static and trailing
- Pre-trade checklist for your phone or to print
- Win rate and break-even calculator
- ICC Charts trading tools: lot size, pip value, risk-reward and more
- ICC Chart Challenge: free ICT chart game