Module 3 — Timing and trading models · Lesson 15 of 23 · 7 min
Trading plan and pre-trade checklist
Turning everything into an operating document and a ten-second checklist to use before every entry.
What a plan contains
- Instruments traded and hours
- Entry conditions written in a verifiable way
- Risk management: percentage per trade, daily and weekly limits
- Exit and trade-management rules
- What to do after a losing streak
Pre-trade checklist (example)
- Is today's bias defined and is this entry consistent with it?
- Am I in a killzone with no imminent announcements?
- Was there a liquidity sweep and an MSS?
- Is the stop where it invalidates the idea, not where it suits me?
- Is the risk/reward at least 1:2?
- Do I still have daily risk budget left?
The journal
Every trade must be recorded with screenshots before and after, reason for entry, result in R and a note on your emotional state. Without data you can't know whether your approach works or whether you were just lucky (or unlucky).
Exercise
- Write your plan on one page and the checklist in ten lines at most
- For two weeks, for every trade, tick the checklist before entering
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Educational content, not financial advice. Trading involves risk. ICT is a term referring to the materials of Michael Huddleston: this course is independent and not affiliated.