A Trading Plan - You MUST Have One!

[Salty Gibbon]

Tim

This is indeed an inspired creation and a wonderful document.

However, one thing puzzles me.

On the "Trading the US the Naz / Mr Charts Way" you recently stated that you blew 70% of your account after 1-2-1 sessions with both Naz and Mr Charts.

I am just wondering how your disaster gels with the production of this planning document.

Did your disaster occur before you did this work and was it that which prompted you to go down the planning route ?

Or did you have a full plan in effect ( filed and forgotten ) and simply ignored it through ill discipline ?

What I am trying to get at is how effective these detailed plans are in helping one to become a more successful trader.

There is a comment somewhere in the body of the document which states something like " any plan is of no use without discipline"

I would concur with this and would conclude that until an aspiring trader achieves an elevated state of self discipline, there is little point in preparing a detailed trading plan.

 

[bracke]

timsk

Many thanks for the time and effort that you obviously put into creating the Trading Plan Template.
As has already been posted, your Template should be included in the Knowledge Lab where it will be more obvious to both old and particularly new members for whom it could be a god send.

Your efforts much appreciated.

Regards

bracke

 

[cj12]

I been trading for 6 years and lost a lot of money in the first few years. then started to breakeven,but never looking to get the money I lost. I done all the wrong things, There was one guy on trade2win who helped me, by the name of CJ and this is what he pointed out to me. he said You have no plan. also he said stop day trading with spreabetting.

The think was I new a lot about trading but always done silly things, like if the market was going my way by some 50 points. and then it came back to my entry. I would say dam why didt I get out when it was 50 points higher, then it went against me. more I said dam again it was now down -15 point, from my entry. then it went down some more, So i would tern a day trade in to a potion trade. The next day I got up to see where my position was, well you guess I was down 100 points. this was form a wining trade of 50 points the day before.

But know I got a plan. I always use stops and targets. my platform sets them for me after i enter a trade. I know scalp the YM for around 8 to 15 points with a stop of around 10 to 14 points. and trade with the trend. If i see the market oversold in a down trend I will buy to the upside but only for 5 point target. as the trend is still down.

So one does need a plan and stick to it.From a loosing trader, to wining trader. Why is this, I now have a PLAN when I trade.

sun

 

[Anonymous]

Does your plan include arbing?

 

[cj12]

Im not a gambler.

 

[Anonymous]

There is a difference between the casino dealer and the casino customer. In a casino game both are taking a gamble.

Many bank traders won't call themselves gamblers, but when they refer to trading in terms of "odds for", "odds against", they are like in a casino game there are two types of characters.

 

[ukoptions]

I agree that a trading plan is an essential, but as Tharp, VK, points out in his book "Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom" this is where most traders stop thinking because all they believe they need is "an entry signal" plan - a way of deciding when to open a trade.

Two further things must feature in a trading plan:
a) some indication (at the outset !!) of where you're going to get out of the position (with either profit or loss); and
b) a money management plan that tells you how much to spend on this position; and subsequent positions.

Indeed he has some spectacular data which shows that even with a crap trading system, with a poor success rate, if you get the money management (or money allocation) right, you can walk away with a stunning profit, and have a much longer trading life.

Anybody got any true-life examples?

 

[RUDEBOY]

Any particular trade consists of more than one dimension. When i state 'dimension', a trade, as a thought is made up of many multiple dimensions. 'A trade' consists, 'a trade' has it's 'dimensions'. It is not 'singular'. It consists of everything you are! RUDEBOY.

 

[khafki]

53a

 

[RUDEBOY]

Can you understand people? Maybe not fully! But, believe it or not, 'we', as traders, are all on the same wavelength! We see the same things! You must allow for slight differences! Volume wise, the past does hold certain keys? RUDEBOY.

 

[trendie]

I agree that a trading plan is an essential, but as Tharp, VK, points out in his book "Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom" this is where most traders stop thinking because all they believe they need is "an entry signal" plan - a way of deciding when to open a trade.

Two further things must feature in a trading plan:
a) some indication (at the outset !!) of where you're going to get out of the position (with either profit or loss); and
b) a money management plan that tells you how much to spend on this position; and subsequent positions.

Indeed he has some spectacular data which shows that even with a crap trading system, with a poor success rate, if you get the money management (or money allocation) right, you can walk away with a stunning profit, and have a much longer trading life.

Anybody got any true-life examples?

see FCs thread "Live and Die by the Sword". Indicator= coin. ( plus Cillit Bang ).
FC succeeded on the GBPUSD where my Dow Stop-and-Reverse journal study failed.

PS: I am not suggesting for a moment that the coin-flip was "a crap system".
However, it is ilustrative of a random-entry, but a mechanised and logically-derived trailing-stop system. ( I believe 2 or 3 ATR ).

 

[soosta]

WOW!! What a great thread, some excellent material included and valuable reading for newbies such as myself.. Thanks!

 

[stoli788]

good thread, sorry to see its died off...

anyone complete a trading plan for fx?

 

[timsk]

good thread, sorry to see its died off...
anyone complete a trading plan for fx?

Hi stoli788,
Welcome to T2W!
The thread died off when the 'Trading Plan Template' was added to the Knowledge Lab'. Here's a link in case you've not come across it yet:
T2W Trading Community
Completed plans that are based upon the template are thin on the ground. That is to say there are none on T2W that I'm aware of - but this is to be expected. A completed plan is a very personal document and so it's not altogether surprising that members aren't queuing up to unveil theirs in the harsh light of public scrutiny. Having said that, don't let me or anyone else stop you from doing just that! You could be the first . . .

Tim.

 

[ed88ks]

Hi All,
As promised, attached is the trading plan template. If you download a copy of it, please send a check for £49.99 made payable to 'timsk', c/o Sharky at t2w. Only joking - unfortunately! On a slightly more serious note, I hope you find the template useful and that it helps you to create trading plans that make you truck loads of wonga. However, this is only on the express condition that I'm not on the other side of your trades! Lastly, on a genuinely grave point, if it all goes horribly wrong, don't come knocking on my door when you're looking for someone to blame. Please read the disclaimer on the cover!
Enjoy,
Tim.

EXCELLENT JOB, GREETING FROM SINGAPORE, 1ST TIME HERE, MILLION THANKS

 

[Nakupenda]

Have been trying to develop my plan for a couple of months now, until I stumbled upon Tims's plan. What a great help it has been!!! Thank you very much for taking the time to lay out so nicely and put examples. It helped me a lot!

 

[timsk]

Hi Nakupenda,
Welcome to T2W and thank you for the kind words!
The 'New to T2W / Trading' links in my signature may also be of interest to you.
Cheers,
Tim.

 

[jdmc45]

Fantastic thread! Some great ideas about trading plans from many members. I believe trading should be treated as a business, creates organization and discipline. A trading plan is a must! Then if something isn't working, you can look back at the plan and pinpoint the problem, making it easier to resolve

 

[one53brooklane]

Thank you, this is great advice for me as I am just starting out. How would I go about developing a trading plan?

 

[BataviaTrader]

Hi All,

Just ended up here. Interesting thread! Now busy doing all the reading, definitely followed by typing up some sort of plan. Thanks for the efforts involved creating the document. Very helpful indeed.

Regards,
BT