Trading Plan
Psychology
What it means
A written set of rules covering what you trade, when you enter, when you exit, how much you risk, and how you review trades. It removes decisions from the heat of the moment.
Example
A trading plan might say: "Trade only EUR/USD, enter on a 1-2-3 reversal at the daily pivot, risk 1% per trade, stop beyond the swing, target 2R, max 3 trades per day."
Mistake beginners make
Beginners keep their plan in their head and abandon it the moment a trade feels different. A plan you can change in the moment is not a plan -- it is a wish.
Related terms
- Edge — A repeatable reason your trades should make money over a large sample, paired with risk ma…
- Journaling — Writing down every trade's setup, entry, exit, size, emotion, and the result, so you can r…
- Backtesting — Running a strategy over historical data to see how it would have performed, before risking…