Template
Trading plan template
A trading plan is only useful if you can hold a trade up against it afterward and tell whether you followed it. This template is built to be compared against — concrete setups, concrete rules, not vague intentions.
When to use it
When to use a trading plan template
Most trading plans read like mission statements: "trade with discipline, manage risk, stay patient." None of that can be checked against a real trade. A plan earns its keep when every line is specific enough that you can later mark it followed or broken.
Write it once, then revise it deliberately — not mid-session. The point is a fixed reference you can review your trades against, so "I broke my plan" becomes a specific, countable thing instead of a feeling.
- Before you trade a new account, market, or strategy
- Turning a loose set of habits into rules you can actually check
- Giving each session a reference to compare your trades against
- A periodic rewrite as your edge and risk tolerance change
Template preview
A plan you can trade against is concrete in every section. Here is the skeleton — each heading should resolve to a rule, not an aspiration.
- Markets & hours
- Setups
- Entry rules
- Risk per trade
- Stop & target
- Daily limits
- Routine
What each field means
Write each field so a stranger could read it and tell whether a given trade followed or broke it. If it is not checkable, it is not a rule yet.
Markets & hours
Exactly what you trade and when. "ES and MES, 9:30–11:00 ET only" — not "futures, mornings mostly."
Setups
The named setups you take, each with the conditions that define it. If you cannot describe a setup precisely, you cannot grade a trade against it.
Entry rules
What has to be true before you click. The trigger, the confirmation, and what disqualifies the trade.
Risk per trade
A fixed number — a dollar amount or a percent of account — and how you size to it. The one rule that keeps a bad day from becoming a bad month.
Stop & target
How you place the stop and where you take profit. Defined in advance so the trade does not get renegotiated while it is live.
Daily limits
Max trades, max loss, and the rule that ends your session. The line that stops revenge trading before it starts.
Routine
What you do before, during, and after the session: prep, the journal, the review. The plan is also a behavior plan, not just a setup list.
Worked example
A filled-in plan section
The risk and limits section of a plan, written concretely enough to grade trades against.
- Markets & hours
- MES only, 09:30–11:00 ET
- Risk per trade
- 0.5% of account, max 2 contracts
- Stop & target
- Stop beyond the setup invalidation; first target 1.5R, runner to 3R
- Daily limits
- Max 3 trades; stop for the day at -1.5% or after 2 losses
- Routine
- Pre-market prep, journal each trade live, review at the close
Every line here is checkable. After a session you can mark each rule followed or broken — which is exactly what a trade review or a plan-vs-actual journal column then compares against.
Use this template
Copy the structure below into a notebook, spreadsheet, or notes app — it works anywhere. Or skip the setup and use it live in Mettle.
TRADING PLAN Markets & hours: ____________________ Setups: ____________________ Entry rules: ____________________ Risk per trade: ____________________ Stop & target: ____________________ Daily limits: ____________________ Routine: ____________________
Mettle holds your setups and rules as part of your profile, so each session and review is anchored to the plan you actually wrote. The plan stops being a document you forget and becomes the thing your trades are measured against.
See how it works in MettleFAQ
Do I need software to use this template?
No. Every field here works in a paper notebook, a spreadsheet, or a notes app. The structure is the point. Software helps once you want the mechanical facts imported and the entries read back to you automatically.
What should a trading plan include?
At minimum: what and when you trade, your named setups, entry rules, fixed risk per trade, stop and target logic, daily limits, and your routine. Every line should be specific enough to mark followed or broken after a trade.
How often should I change my trading plan?
Deliberately, and never mid-session. Revise it between trading days when review evidence says a rule is wrong — not in the heat of a trade, which is just breaking the plan with extra steps.
Is Mettle free to start?
Yes. You get full access free for 14 days with no card. We only ask for a card once you have reviewed three sessions — after the product has proven it earns a place in your routine.
Trade against your plan, not your memory
Mettle anchors every session to the setups and rules you wrote, so "did I follow my plan?" has a real answer. Free to start, no card.
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Want the workflow, not just the template? Read the matching step-by-step guide.