Jeff Quinto has a video on the CME website on how to setup a trading plan.
Here are the key topics Jeff suggests and my answers:
Which contract or stock will I trade?
I'm trading stocks and futures.
What time period will I trade?
I trade the first 3 hours of market open primarily, while liquidity is best.
What setups will I take?
I discretionary trade the automated signals I have created. I determine if the current market condition suites any trade signals my system generates and then I choose whether or not to take the trade.
What Risk parameters do I use?
I have a max daily stop loss in place in case I make too many bad trades.
What do I do after 3 losing trades?
I determine if I should stop trading based on if I'm feeling frustrated or if I should keep trading my signals until my daily max loss is reached.
What is my strategy for increasing or decreasing my trading size?
I trade 1-2 contracts for the initial position and only add to winners on clear trending trades (market internals heavily favor bulls/bears -ie TICK and NYSE A/D favor bulls/bears).
How many ticks or points am I trying to make per day?
I don't have a set target, I only take what I can get.
How many trades do I make per day?
I only make 3 to 5 trades per day on average. Most trading days only make 3 significant swings, so my primary goal is to be apart of the primary move or catch a reversal swing or continuation trade.
How long do I plan to hold winners or losers?
I hold winners as long as possible, scaling out as I see fit. I hold losers for as long as I need to as long as my stop is not hit.
How do I record my progress?
I keep a journal of my trades with trade statistics and a chart showing where I placed my trades.
Who do I call if my computer or internet has a problem?
I have stops in place for all my trades so I'm covered, however I can also access my account from my phone or call my broker.
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