There's a well known phrase that is very relevant when it comes to forex trading. ‘If you FAIL to PLAN, then you PLAN to FAIL'. Every good professional forex trader has a trading plan that they develop early in their careers and always consult with before making any trading related decisions. A forex trading plan is something every trader should spend time making and adhere to.
Many traders often find themselves aimless trekking though the markets going in no clear direction chopping and changing their trading style when they encounter a few losing trades. A forex trading plan is key in helping the trader stay on the path to success.
A trading plan helps the trader eliminate emotionally charged decisions, provides them with a set of ‘rules' to follow and stops them from making sloppy trading decisions.
The plan does not need to be complicated and should consist of a few simple rules that the trader will check before entering a trade.
In the forex market if things go wrong you have no one to blame but yourself. Many traders however look to blame someone or something else when the markets don't go their way. These traders never have a trading plan and are aimlessly placing trades in the hope of ‘hitting the jackpot' and becoming the next forex millionaire. A forex trading plan helps the trader outline and develop a trading method/strategy and greatly reduces the chances of ‘things going wrong'.
What makes up a trading plan?
Entry: Do you have a valid entry for your trade? Is there a pin bar / inside bar / candle pattern / support / resistance etc, supporting your entry price? It is recommended that there is more than one reason supporting your entry level. i.e. a pin bar at a support level.
Stop Loss: Where are you going to put your stop? Is your stop loss placed at a relevant level in the market? Is it at a support or resistance area? How far is your stop from your entry? Is it too far or too close?
Target: What level in the market are you going to target? Is your target the next level or support or resistance? What else supports the placement of your target area? Will you let the trade ‘run' and decide later when to close?
Risk to Reward: Are you comfortable with the R:R ratio for your trade? Is your reward at least the same if not more than what you are risking?
Money Management: How much money are you going to risk on this trade? Does this trade fit in with your money management rules? Are you risking the same % as you risked on your last trade?
The 5 rules above are critical to stick to when placing trades. It is very important to have more than 1 confirmation when placing a trade. For example you may want to trade an inside bar pattern, however it is wise to only take the trade if there is something else supporting the inside bar pattern you've just noticed, i.e. the inside bar pattern has formed at a strong level of support.
You must remember to never adjust the size of your stop loss in order to meet a desired position size. Using good money management will make no difference to the number of pips you are risking on any given trade.
It is crucial to take proper note of your Risk to Reward ratio. You should never be risking more than what you are targeting. Ideally you want to be targeting at least 2x what you are risking.
Never be unrealistic in trading!! Although possible it is highly unlikely that a stop loss of 10pips will produce a target of 500pips. Being realistic in targets is very important and helps control emotions and keep them in tack.
Above is a forex trading plan for an actual trade. It's a good idea to expand your plan to take into account the bigger picture. For example you may want to include a weekly or monthly target that you will be aiming for or the maximum amount of drawdown you will be prepared to endure before re-evaluating your trading strategy/method.
Forex trading plans help keep you on the track to success. It's recommended that you write your plan and keep it next to your computer while trading. If your plan is ‘somewhere in your head' it will soon get lost or disregarded. If it is printed out in black and white next to your computer it will encourage you to STICK TO YOUR PLAN!!
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