--- title: "Trading Plan Template and Example - Get Funded Now" description: "A trading plan writes down what you trade, when, how you enter and exit, and how much you risk. A template to fill in, a forex example and common gaps." url: "https://getfundednow.com/learn/trading-plan" language: "en" last_modified: "2026-09-22" publisher: "Get Funded Now (getfundednow.com)" translations: es: "https://getfundednow.com/es/learn/trading-plan" pt-BR: "https://getfundednow.com/pt-br/learn/trading-plan" fr: "https://getfundednow.com/fr/learn/trading-plan" it: "https://getfundednow.com/it/learn/trading-plan" de: "https://getfundednow.com/de/learn/trading-plan" disclosure: "All trading at Get Funded Now is simulated. 'Funded' means a simulated or virtual account; GFN is not a broker and does not hold client funds." --- Trading styles # The trading plan: decisions made before the market opens. A trading plan is a written set of rules for how you trade: which markets and times, what setup you take, how you enter and exit, how much you risk on each trade and each day, and how you review results. Its purpose is to make decisions before the market moves, not under pressure during a trade. [All trading lessons](https://getfundednow.com/learn) · [Read the trading rules →](https://getfundednow.com/rules) ## A trading plan template Fill in every line. A blank line is a decision you will end up making mid-trade. **Trading plan template** | Section | What to write down | | --- | --- | | Markets | The instruments you trade, and the ones you do not | | Times | The sessions you trade, and the scheduled releases you avoid or trade | | Setup | The exact conditions for a trade, specific enough that someone else would take the same one | | Entry and exit | Order type, stop placement, target or exit rule | | Risk per trade | A fixed amount or percentage, and how position size follows from the stop | | Daily and weekly limits | The loss, or number of losing trades, after which you stop | | Review | What you record for each trade, and when you review it | ## A forex trading plan, filled in An illustrative plan, not a recommendation. - Markets: two major pairs only. - Times: the London session and the London-New York overlap; flat ten minutes before scheduled high-impact releases. - Setup: a pullback to a support zone in a daily uptrend, with a bullish candlestick confirmation. - Entry and exit: stop beyond the zone; target at the next resistance; no moving the stop further away. - Risk: 0.5% of the account per trade; size from the stop. - Limits: stop for the day after two losses or a 1.5% loss, whichever comes first. - Review: screenshot and note every trade; review weekly against the plan, not against the result. ## The gaps most plans leave Most plans cover entries in detail and everything else vaguely. The parts that decide whether an account survives - daily limits, what happens after a loss, and what to do around releases - are the ones most often missing. See [revenge trading](https://getfundednow.com/learn/revenge-trading) for what fills that gap when it is left open. Step by step ## How to identify it Test a plan by asking whether it answers these without improvising. 1. Could someone else take exactly the trades your plan describes? 2. Does it say how large each position is, from the stop? 3. Does it say when you stop for the day? 4. Does it fit the rules of the account you trade? Worked example ## The concept, walked through ### A plan meeting a bad day, described An illustrative session in words. It is not a record of real trades. 1. 1. Loss one The first setup loses 0.5%, as sized. 2. 2. Loss two The second, taken only because it met every condition, also loses 0.5%. 3. 3. Stop The plan's two-loss rule ends the day at -1%. The plan did not prevent losses. It capped the day at a size the account could absorb many times over. Common mistakes ## Where traders go wrong ### Writing the plan after trading A plan adjusted to justify trades is a diary, not a plan. ### No daily stop Without one, the worst day is decided by mood. ### Judging the plan by one week Review against whether you followed it, over many trades. Limitations ## What it cannot tell you No chart concept predicts price. These are the limits worth keeping in view. - A plan makes behaviour consistent; it does not make a strategy profitable. - Plans need revising as markets change, but on a schedule, not after every loss. In an evaluation ## Using it on a simulated account Write the account's rules into the plan. On a $100,000 GFN account the daily loss limit is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step; a personal daily stop well inside it, and a note of the news window on funded accounts, belong in every plan. - [What is the daily loss limit?](https://getfundednow.com/rules/daily-loss-limit) - Trading rule - The account limit your own daily stop should sit inside - 3% on Instant and 5% on 1 Step and 2 Step. - [Can I trade the news?](https://getfundednow.com/rules/news-trading) - Trading rule - The window around high-impact releases on funded accounts. - [What is maximum drawdown?](https://getfundednow.com/rules/max-drawdown) - Trading rule - The overall floor your weekly limits protect. Questions ## Asked about this concept The markets and times you trade, your exact setup, how you enter and exit, your risk per trade, daily and weekly loss limits, and how you review results. Fill in each section of a template before trading, test it on past trades, then follow it and review whether you did, rather than whether each trade won. Keep learning ## Related lessons - [Backtesting a Trading Strategy](https://getfundednow.com/learn/backtesting) - Indicators and trading styles - How to test a strategy's rules on historical data, the costs and biases a fair test must include, and why a good backtest is not a forecast. - [Swing Trading vs Day Trading](https://getfundednow.com/learn/swing-trading-vs-day-trading) - Indicators and trading styles - How swing trading and day trading differ on holding time, screen time, costs and overnight risk - and why neither is the easier route. - [How Much Do Day Traders Make?](https://getfundednow.com/learn/how-much-do-day-traders-make) - Indicators and trading styles - An honest answer to the income question: what large studies of retail day traders found, and why a per-month figure is the wrong thing to look for. Sources ## What this page relied on 1. [Trading strategy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trading_strategy) - Wikipedia. Retrieved 23 September 2026. A trading strategy as a fixed plan of rules for entering and exiting positions. 2. [Day trading](https://www.finra.org/investors/investing/investment-products/stocks/day-trading) - FINRA. Retrieved 23 September 2026. The regulator's investor guidance on the risks of day trading and the need for a plan and risk controls. Educational content only, not investment advice or a recommendation to trade. Chart concepts describe what price has done; none of them predicts what it will do, and trading any strategy can lose money. Get Funded Now accounts are simulated and trade virtual funds. Last reviewed 22 September 2026. Ready when you are ## Your capital stays yours. The risk is ours. One evaluation fee, no time limits and up to 90% of simulated profits. Pick an account size and your credentials arrive by email within minutes. [Start your challenge →](https://getfundednow.com/challenges) · [Read the rules](https://getfundednow.com/faq) No subscriptions or hidden fees Payouts every 14 days $400,000 max total allocation --- Source: https://getfundednow.com/learn/trading-plan Facts about Get Funded Now in one file: https://getfundednow.com/llms.txt