A Futures Trading Plan Template: The Seven Sections That Actually Matter

What a Plan Is For

Most plans are written when the trader is calm and read never. A useful plan is different: it is short, specific, and written so that the version of you who is tired or frustrated can follow it without thinking. If a rule needs interpretation in the moment, it is not yet a rule.

1. Markets and Sessions

Which instruments do you trade, and during which hours? Be exact. For example: ES and MES, from the cash open until noon New York time. Anything outside that window is not traded. Narrow focus is a feature; it lets you learn how one market behaves instead of sampling many.

2. Setups You Take

List the setups, each with an entry condition, a stop location and an invalidation. Limit yourself to two or three. For each, write what the market must be doing for the setup to be valid and what would make you skip it. A setup that cannot be described in a few sentences is probably not yet a setup.

3. Risk Per Trade

State the percentage of the account you risk on a single trade, and how that translates to contracts. Many traders choose somewhere between a fraction of a percent and one percent. The exact number matters less than the fact that it is fixed in advance and does not grow after a win or a loss.

4. Daily and Weekly Loss Limits

Define the point at which you stop trading for the day, for example -2R or three consecutive losses, and a weekly equivalent. This section exists to interrupt a bad day before it becomes a bad month. Decide it when you are calm and treat it as non-negotiable.

5. Pre-Session Routine

Write the steps you take before the open: review overnight action, mark key levels, check the economic calendar, and note the scenarios you expect. A consistent routine improves preparation and also marks the start of work mode.

6. Rules for the Session

• No trades during the first minutes of a high-impact news release unless a setup explicitly covers it.
• No adding to a losing position.
• No moving a stop further from entry.
• A maximum number of trades per session.

7. Review Routine

Schedule the review: a few minutes after each session to log trades, and a longer weekly review of results in R, setup performance and rule violations. A plan without review is a document, not a system.

Keep It to One Page

If your plan does not fit on a single page, trim it. Keep it where you can see it while you trade, and update it only during your weekly review, never in the middle of a session.