Three example plans

Three filled-in plans, for three different kinds of trader. None of them is a recommendation; the setups are deliberately ordinary. What they show is the level of specificity a plan needs, and how the same six decisions look at very different time frames.

Example 1: an index-futures day trader

TRADING PLAN  v1.0  (valid from 1 Oct)      Account basis: $15,000

MARKET     MES only. MNQ added at v2 if 60 trades of MES are logged.
SESSION    09:30 to 11:30 ET, Mon to Thu. Fridays off.
NO-TRADE   First 3 minutes. 10 min either side of scheduled 10:00 data.
           Any day the plan says "flat for the week" (see LIMITS).

SETUP (all must be true)
  [ ] 5-min close above the overnight high (long) or below the low (short)
  [ ] Volume on the breakout bar > 1.5x the 20-bar average
  [ ] Pullback holds above (below) the breakout level on a 1-min close
  [ ] Entry bar forms within 20 minutes of the breakout bar
FILTER     Overnight range at least 0.4% of price. Below that, no trades.
INVALID IF A 5-min bar closes back inside the overnight range.

RISK       1R = 0.75% = $112.  Max heat 1.5%.  Max positions 1.
           Daily stop 2R.  Weekly stop 4R.  Monthly stop 8R.
ENTRY      Stop order 1 tick above (below) the pullback bar's high (low).
STOP       1 tick below (above) the pullback bar's low (high). Never widened.
EXITS      Target: 50% off at 2R.  Trail: rest under each new 5-min higher low.
           Time: flat if not at +1R after 30 min.  EOD: flat by 11:30 ET.

LIMITS     Max 3 trades/day. After 2 losses in a row: done for the day.
ROUTINE    Pre-market: mark ON high/low, check data calendar, size 1R.
           Post-market: log every trade before leaving the desk.

REVIEW     Weekly Sun 30 min. Monthly first Sat. Rules change only monthly, 30+ trades.

Notice the contract count is not on the plan. It is derived: $112 risk divided by the stop distance in ticks times $1.25 per tick. That arithmetic happens every trade, on the position size calculator, and the answer changes; the 0.75% does not.

Example 2: a stock swing trader

TRADING PLAN  v1.0  (valid from 1 Oct)      Account basis: $40,000

MARKET     US-listed stocks, price > $10, avg volume > 1M shares, in the
           top 200 by 3-month relative strength on the Sunday screen.
SESSION    Decisions at the daily close only, orders entered 15:45 to 16:00 ET.
NO-TRADE   Earnings within the next 10 trading days. Any name not on the
           Sunday screen. The two days either side of index rebalancing.

SETUP (all must be true)
  [ ] Weekly close above the 10-week MA, 10-week above the 40-week
  [ ] Daily pullback of 3 to 8 sessions to the 20-day EMA, no daily close below it
  [ ] Pullback volume below the 50-day average
  [ ] Today's daily close above the previous day's high
FILTER     Index (SPY or QQQ) above its 50-day. Below it, no new longs.
INVALID IF A daily close below the lowest low of the pullback.

RISK       1R = 1% = $400.  Max heat 5%.  Max positions 5.
           Daily stop n/a.  Weekly stop 3R.  Monthly stop 6R.
ENTRY      Market-on-open the next day.
STOP       Below the pullback low, set at entry. Never widened.
EXITS      Target: none.  Trail: 1/3 off at 2R, rest trails below each
           weekly higher low.  Time: close if not at +1R after 15 sessions.
           EOD: n/a.

LIMITS     Max 2 new positions/day. After 2 losses in a week: no new entries
           until Sunday review.
ROUTINE    Sunday: run screen, build watchlist, size each name. Daily 15:45:
           check setups, place orders. Fri: log week, update stats.

REVIEW     Weekly Sun 45 min. Monthly first Sun. Rules change quarterly, 40+ trades.

Different time frame, same structure. The "session" here is fifteen minutes a day, which is the point: a plan tells you when not to look as much as when to look.

Example 3: an options premium seller

TRADING PLAN  v1.0  (valid from 1 Oct)      Account basis: $25,000

MARKET     Defined-risk credit spreads on SPX or one liquid index ETF only.
SESSION    Entries Tue to Thu, 10:30 to 15:00 ET. Management any session.
NO-TRADE   Fridays and Mondays for new positions. Within 3 sessions of FOMC.
           Any expiry crossing an index rebalancing date.

SETUP (all must be true)
  [ ] 30 to 45 days to expiry
  [ ] Short strike at 15 to 20 delta
  [ ] Spread width such that max loss <= 1R
  [ ] Credit received >= 1/3 of spread width
FILTER     Implied volatility rank >= 30. Below it, no new positions.
INVALID IF Underlying closes beyond the short strike on a daily basis.

RISK       1R = 1% = $250 = max loss of one spread.  Max heat 4%.
           Max positions 4, no two with the same expiry.
           Weekly stop 2R.  Monthly stop 5R.
ENTRY      Limit order at mid, walked 1 tick toward the bid every 2 min, max 3 walks.
STOP       Close the spread if its debit reaches 2x the credit received (= about 1R).
EXITS      Target: close at 50% of max profit.  Time: close at 21 DTE regardless.
           Invalidation: close on daily close beyond short strike.

LIMITS     Max 1 new position/day. After 2 losing closes in a month: halve size
           for the rest of the month.
ROUTINE    Pre-market: check IV rank, calendar, open positions vs. 50% and 21 DTE.
           Post-market: log fills, update the open-risk sheet.

REVIEW     Weekly Sat. Monthly first Sat. Rules change quarterly, 40+ trades.

The stop here is not a price level; it is a rule about the spread's value. That is fine. A stop is any pre-decided condition that ends the trade at a known loss.

Key idea: Three time frames, three markets, one structure. If the six decisions are made and written in numbers, the plan is a plan, whatever it trades.

What the three have in common

• Every number is derived from the account and the stop, not from conviction.
• Every plan has an invalidation rule separate from the stop. Module 2 explains why.
• Every plan has a "what happens after two losses" rule. Module 3 explains why.
• Every plan says when rules may change and on how much evidence. Module 5 explains why.
• None of them contains a forecast.

Try it: Pick the example closest to how you trade and rewrite its MARKET, SESSION and NO-TRADE lines for your own instruments and hours. Then read the SETUP checklist and mark each box as "I could verify this from a chart" or "I would need to judge". Every "judge" is a rewrite for Module 2.

Recap

• A day trader's, a swing trader's and a premium seller's plans look different in content and identical in structure.
• Position size is derived every trade from 1R and the stop; it is not a line on the plan.
• A stop can be a price, a spread value or a time, as long as it is decided in advance and ends the trade at a known loss.
• All three plans have invalidation rules, two-loss rules and a fixed review cadence with an evidence threshold.
• None of them contains a forecast or a profit goal.