The One-Page Trading Plan: What It Must Say and What to Leave Out
Quick answer: a useful trading plan fits on one page and answers nine questions: what I trade, when, what makes me enter, where the stop goes, where the target goes, how much I risk, when I stop for the day, what I never do, and when I review. If it does not fit on one sheet, you will not follow it on a bad morning — and the bad morning is what it exists for.
Key takeaways
- The plan is written by your calm self for your nervous self.
- If a rule cannot be checked with a yes or a no, it is not a rule.
- A long plan does not get broken; it gets forgotten, which is worse.
- The plan is not the strategy. It is the contract that makes you execute it.
A plan and a journal are not the same thing
| Trading plan | Trading journal | |
|---|---|---|
| When you use it | Before trading | After trading |
| What it is for | Deciding without emotion | Measuring what you did |
| How often it changes | Rarely, and only with data | Filled in every day |
They work together: the journal tells you whether the plan works, and the plan tells you what to log. If you are only going to have one, start with the plan.
The nine lines
| # | Question | Example of a valid answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Which instruments do I trade? | US30 and Gold. Nothing else. |
| 2 | During which hours? | The first two hours of the New York session. |
| 3 | What makes me enter? | A concrete condition, checkable with yes or no. |
| 4 | Where does the stop go? | 1.5 ATR beyond the level that invalidates the idea. |
| 5 | Where does the target go? | 2R, or partial at 1R and let the rest run. |
| 6 | How much do I risk? | 1% of capital. Always the same. |
| 7 | When do I stop for the day? | At 2 trades or −2R, whichever comes first. |
| 8 | What do I never do? | Move a stop against me. Add to a loser. |
| 9 | When do I review this plan? | Every 50 trades. Not sooner. |
How do I know a rule is well written?
One simple test: hand it to someone else. If two people look at the same chart and your rule leads them to the same decision, it is well written. If each concludes something different, what you wrote is an intention, not a rule.
| Intention (useless) | Rule (usable) |
|---|---|
| “I enter when there is strength” | “I enter if price closes above the opening range high” |
| “I don't trade when the market is weird” | “I don't trade 30 minutes either side of a high-impact release” |
| “I risk a small amount” | “I risk 1%, sized from the stop distance” |
| “I get out when it looks bad” | “I exit at the stop, at the target, or at the session close” |
What does not belong in a plan
- Money goals (“make $1,000 a month”): you control the process, not the outcome.
- Theory and definitions. The plan is for deciding, not for studying.
- Lists of ten indicators you never look at.
- Hypothetical scenarios that have never appeared in your history.
- Motivational quotes. They do not stop an impulsive click.
How to actually use it
- Print it and keep it where you can see it while trading, not in a folder.
- Read it before the first trade of the day, out loud if that helps.
- Mark every trade as in-plan or out-of-plan. That column is worth more than the result.
- Never change it mid-session: a plan rewritten after every loss is not a plan.
- Review it with data, every 50 trades, changing one thing at a time.
Point 3 is what turns the sheet of paper into information. To record it without inventing a system from scratch, the free ebook The Trading Journal Blueprint has the exact fields. And if you want to reduce the number of decisions the plan has to cover, the Cortex Signal Kit delivers entry, stop and target already defined, while Cortex Automation executes the rules for you in MetaTrader 5.
Does it really fit on one page?
Yes, and that is the point. What does not fit on a sheet does not get consulted at the moment you need it.
How often should I change it?
Every 50 trades at the earliest, changing one variable at a time. Change three at once and you will not know which one helped.
Do I need a plan if I use signals or automation?
Yes, though a shorter one: define which signals you take, at what risk, in what hours, and when you switch the system off.
What do I do if I break the plan?
Log it as an out-of-plan trade and move on. The data matters more than the guilt: if it keeps happening, the rule is badly written or unrealistic.
Can I run two plans at once?
Better not to until one has 100 measured trades. Two systems on a thin sample only produces confusion.
Fewer decisions, better execution. See the Cortex Signal Kit or try it with the Automation Test.
Disclaimer: educational content. Examples are illustrative and should be adapted to your own system. Cortex Next is not a financial service and guarantees no results. Trading involves risk of loss.
