"He who fails to plan is planning to fail" -Winston Churchill

Traders who win consistently treat trading as a business. While there is no guarantee that you will make money, developing a trading plan is crucial if you want to become consistently successful and thrive in the trading game. Every trader—no matter your experience—needs a plan.

Why are you here?

• You want to know what constitutes a trading plan
• You realize you need a trading plan
• You want to be successful at futures trading

You’re in the right place for any those objectives. At the end of this course, you’ll understand why you need a trading plan and how to build one to support your success as a futures trader.

What is a trading plan?

A trading plan is a business plan for your trading career. Like any business plan, a trading plan is a working document in which you make assumptions about projected costs, revenues, and business conditions. Some of your assumptions may be right, some will surely be wrong. You wouldn't start a business without a business plan, so why would you start trading without a trading plan?

The real value in writing a trading plan is that it forces you to think about every part of your trading business, including confronting your strengths and weaknesses, and formulating reasonable expectations.

Any solid trading plan consists of the following five components. There are no shortcuts to developing a trading plan that will support your objectives. Take the time now to think about each of these components thoroughly and you will thank yourself later.

1. Objective
2. Methodology
3. Risk Management
4. Trading Strategies
5. Trader Log