Trading Plan Template · Alpha Academy

A trading plan is a short written document that says what you trade, when you trade, and how much you are allowed to risk — decided by you, in advance, while you are calm. Traders do not rise to the occasion; they fall back on their plan. This template is how you build yours.

Print it and write on it, or fill it in on your screen. Answer every section. Short answers are fine — a one-line rule you actually follow beats a page you ignore. If you do not know an answer yet, write what you think today. You will update this plan at your monthly review (see the last section).

Name: ______________________________ Date written: ______________________________

My Markets and Instruments

An instrument is simply the thing you trade — a stock, an option, a futures contract, an ETF (a fund that trades like a stock). Beginners improve fastest by trading a very short list of instruments, over and over, until they know how those instruments behave.

The markets I will trade (for example: US stocks, stock options, micro futures):

____________________________________________________________

The exact tickers or contracts on my list (keep it to five or fewer at the start — examples: SPY, QQQ, MES):

____________________________________________________________

The markets I will NOT trade yet, and my reason (for example: "No individual small stocks — I do not know how to research them yet"):

____________________________________________________________

My Setups

A setup is the exact pattern or situation that must appear before you are allowed to enter a trade — your reason for getting in. If the setup is not there, there is no trade, no matter how exciting the chart looks.

Describe each setup in plain words, like you are explaining it to a friend who knows nothing about trading.
If you cannot describe a setup in two sentences, it is not ready to trade.
Start with ONE setup. Add a second only after the first one is in your journal many times.

Setup name	What it looks like, in plain words	When I take it
First-hour breakout	Price breaks above the high of the first hour of the day with strong volume (many shares changing hands)	Only in the morning session, only when the break is clean and strong
____________________	____________________________________ ____	______________________________
____________________	____________________________________ ____	______________________________

The ONE setup I will learn first:

____________________________________________________________

My Entry Rules

Your entry rules are the checklist that must be fully true before you press buy or sell. Two order types you will meet here: a market order tells your broker "buy now at whatever the current price is," and a limit order says "buy only at my price or better" — if price never reaches your price, the trade does not happen.

Entry rule 1 (for example: "The setup is fully formed, not almost formed"):

____________________________________________________________

Entry rule 2 (for example: "Price is on the right side of my key level"):

____________________________________________________________

Entry rule 3:

____________________________________________________________

The one thing that cancels a trade even when everything else looks right (for example: a big news report about to come out):

____________________________________________________________

The order type I will use most of the time, and why:

____________________________________________________________

My Exit Rules

Your exit rules say how a trade ends — both ways. A stop loss is a price you pick in advance that proves your idea wrong and gets you out, like a seatbelt for the trade. Decide every exit BEFORE you enter, because mid-trade you will not think clearly.

How I will take profit (for example: sell at my target price, or at +2R — "R" is my planned risk on the trade, so +2R means I make twice what I planned to risk):

____________________________________________________________

Where my stop loss goes on every trade:

____________________________________________________________

What I do if price just goes sideways and nothing happens by this time:

____________________________________________________________

Will I ever move a stop loss further away to "give the trade room"? (The honest, plan-approved answer is no. Write your answer here and sign up to it):

____________________________________________________________

My Position Size and Max Risk Per Trade

Position size is how much you buy — how many shares or contracts. Size is the one part of a trade you fully control, and it is decided by math, not by how confident you feel.

Many beginners use the 1% guideline: never plan to lose more than about 1% of your account on a single trade.

My account size today: $______________
My max risk per trade: __________% of my account = $______________ per trade
How I will calculate my size before EVERY trade (planned risk in dollars ÷ distance from entry to stop = my size):

____________________________________________________________

The most positions I am allowed to hold at the same time: ______________

My Daily and Weekly Loss Limits

A daily loss limit is a dollar or percent amount that, the moment you hit it, ends your trading day. It exists for one reason: a trader who is losing tends to trade worse and worse trying to win it back. The limit makes the decision for you, in advance.

Example: a daily limit of 2% of the account and a weekly limit of 5% of the account.

My daily loss limit: $______________ or __________% of my account. When I hit it, I stop for the day. No exceptions.
My weekly loss limit: $______________ or __________% of my account. When I hit it, I stop for the week and only review.
What I will physically do when I hit a limit (for example: close the app, go for a walk, review my journal):

____________________________________________________________

How many losing trades in a row before I stop for the day: ______________

My Trading Hours

Trading all day is a fast way to get tired, sloppy, and broke. Most beginners do better with a short, fixed session they treat like a job shift. (US stock market regular hours are 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM Eastern Time.)

The days I trade:

____________________________________________________________

My session (for example: "9:30 to 11:30 AM ET only"):

____________________________________________________________

Times I will never open a trade (for example: the first five minutes of the day, when I am tired or upset, after my session ends):

____________________________________________________________

The latest time I am allowed to open a new trade: ______________

My Never List

Your never list is the set of things you do not do — ever, on any day, for any reason. These rules are not about strategy. They protect you from yourself on your worst day, which is exactly the day you will need them.

Examples students often use: never trade money I need for rent or bills; never add more money to a losing trade; never move a stop loss further away; never trade when I am angry, tired, or rushing; never take a trade that is not in this plan; never trade a ticker I have not looked at before the session.

Never 1: ____________________________________________________________
Never 2: ____________________________________________________________
Never 3: ____________________________________________________________
Never 4: ____________________________________________________________
Never 5: ____________________________________________________________
Never 6: ____________________________________________________________

My Review Schedule

A plan that sits in a drawer does nothing. Review is how the plan — and the trader — actually improve. This schedule is small on purpose. Small and kept beats big and skipped.

After every trade, I will: (for example: "Write it in my journal within 10 minutes of exiting")

____________________________________________________________

Every week, on ______________________ (day), I will complete the Weekly Review page.
Every month, I will re-read this entire plan, check it against my journal, and update what is not working.
The date of my next full plan review: ______________________________

Signed: ______________________________ Date: ______________________________