1. What a template is for
A trading template is not for imagining perfect scenarios. It is for deciding in advance what you will do when pressure, loss, opportunity and boredom appear. If a rule does not change a concrete action, it does not belong in the main plan.
In futures and prop firms, the plan must connect the market idea to account limits. A setup can be technically valid and still not tradable if the stop requires too much risk.
2. Base template
| Block | Decision to write |
|---|---|
| Market | Symbols, sessions and context. |
| Setup | Minimum entry conditions. |
| Risk | Trade loss, daily loss and max trades. |
| Management | Stop, target, breakeven and manual exit. |
| Pause | When you stop trading. |
| Review | What data you record at close. |
The simple version you actually use is worth more than a long template you ignore by day three.
3. Risk rules
Write risk in money, ticks and contracts. For example: if your internal daily loss is 400 dollars, you should not take one trade risking 300 dollars and leave only a small mistake before shutdown.
- Max risk per trade.
- Internal daily loss.
- Maximum number of trades.
- Rule after two losses.
- Mandatory closing time.
4. Prop firm adjustment
If you trade evaluations, add an external rules section. Include drawdown, daily loss, max contracts, minimum days, consistency and payouts. Review those rules with a date because they can change.
This is not financial advice or a guarantee of results. Futures trading involves substantial risk; always verify rules, costs and compatibility with official sources.
5. Daily review
Review should not only ask whether you made money. It should ask whether you followed the plan. A green day with out-of-rule entries can be a risk signal; a red day inside rules can be acceptable.
- 1Mark followed rules.
- 2Write one concrete improvement.
- 3Detect repeated errors.
- 4Update limits only outside the market.