Day Trading & Forex Forum

timsk

On the 'General Trading Chat' forum there is a thread started by sun123 entitled 'Lost Trading'. In it, dbphoenix stressed the importance of having a trading plan. A quick search doesn't throw up any threads devoted to this important topic, so I thought I'd start one. (If it is covered elsewhere, apologies - and could someone please post a link).

dbphoenix' post on the above mentioned thread reads:
. . ."I rarely find beginners who have trading plans. And by "trading plan", I mean something that's detailed, specific, tested, and profitable. Instead, they have what is at best a collection of ideas that seem good and which they try out, often with real money, in order to see what happens. This is not a plan.
Anyone who trades with a plan is leagues ahead of those who don't, which is nearly everybody. I suppose no one bothers with it because it's work. But plan beats no plan every time".

So, the objective of the thread is to provide a template by which all traders - regardless of instruments traded, time frames, brokers etc. - can create a professional trading plan which can form the very bedrock of their trading business. Contributions from any traders who have a 'detailed, specific, tested, and profitable' trading plan would, IMO, be a huge help to those of us who haven't!

Tim.

alliance

......especially if ur "Pan(ning)" for Gold

__________________
"Optimists make planes....pessimists make parachutes"

bracke

Now, now alliance. No need to give timsk a panning just for the L of it.

Regards

bracke

timsk

Bracke -
Cheers alliance, title now edited!
Correction, I can edit the post, but not the thread title. Mod's, - can you do this for me please as it does look rather silly!
Cheers,
Tim.

trendie

Trading Plan - strategy to apply to extreact money from the markets.

Trading Pan - where your money goes down if you dont have one of the above

bracke

timsk

I suggest that you do not let the mickey taking posters get to you. Just remain deadpan.

Regards

bracke

TraderPattern

yes, and whatever you do -- don't panic

sulong

I can only speak from my own experience, so here goes.
I think the first step to creating a trading plan, is to "adopt" a few truths on faith.
1. A trading plan will make the act of trading simpler, than trading with out one.
2. A trading plan will limit our opportunity to make bad trades.
3. A trading plan will not allow most psychological issues to take root.
( I'm sure there are others, but it's early sunday morning, soo..)

The second step.
You have to choose, and stick to those choices.
Where is the best place for your setup to present itself?, can you spot that place before the price gets there? If you can, then "choose" only that place for possible entry's.

Choose only a limited number of setups. (1 or 2) (Don't worry, you'll discover the principals at work with those 1 or 2, and Begin to see those principals at work over and over)

Choose your goals.
How many trades do you want to make in a day, a week, a month?
Choose how you want to measure success. By your own behavior? by the amount of money you won/lost?, by win/lost %?

I have to go now, the kids awake.