Most traders have a plan. Almost none can show, with data, how often they actually traded it. Here is every section a real trading plan needs - and how to turn it into something you can measure.
The Template
Copy this structure. Each block should be specific enough that someone else could trade your plan without asking you a single question.
01
Markets & Instruments
The exact symbols you trade and the ones you do not. e.g. EUR/USD, GBP/USD and US30 only. No exotic pairs, no crypto.
02
Setups
Each strategy you trade, named and defined. e.g. London Break, NY Reversal, Trend Pullback - each with its own conditions.
03
Entry Rules
The precise conditions that must be true to enter. e.g. price closes above the range high on the 5m with above-average volume.
04
Exit Rules
Where the stop goes and where the target is, before you enter. e.g. stop below structure, target at 1:3, no moving the stop wider.
05
Risk Per Trade
A fixed percentage of the account on every trade. e.g. 1% risk per trade, sized from the stop distance, never averaged in.
06
Daily & Weekly Limits
The point where you stop for the day or week. e.g. stop after 2 losses or -3% on the day. Walk away, no exceptions.
07
Routine
What you do before, during and after the session. e.g. pre-market prep, no news trading, journal review before close.
08
Review Cadence
How and when you grade the plan itself. e.g. weekly review of win rate and R:R per setup, monthly plan revision.
THE HARD PART
Proof of adherence
A plan is only real if you can show how often you traded it. This is the section every trader skips - and the one Tracker Fx fills in automatically by attributing every synced trade to a setup and grading rule-following against rule-breaking.
Why It Works
Every section above answers a question you should never have to decide in the moment.
It defines what a valid trade is
Without explicit setups and entry rules, every chart looks like an opportunity. The plan is what makes a trade either valid or not - no debate.
It caps the damage
Fixed risk and daily limits decide your worst day in advance, when you are calm, instead of in the moment when you are not.
It makes setups comparable
Named setups let you measure each one separately. You cannot improve a plan you cannot break into measurable parts.
It turns review into a habit
A defined review cadence is what separates a plan that evolves from a document that was written once and never opened again.
Why Plans Fail
Almost no one fails because their plan was bad. They fail because nothing measured whether they followed it.
Plan in a document
Written once, never measured.
Tracker Fx
A plan you can measure.
From Plan to Proof
Encode each setup once. Every synced trade is attributed automatically from then on.
Each setup in your plan becomes a playbook in Tracker Fx. Your plan stops being a document and becomes a structure your data fills in.
Tag whether a trade followed the plan. Tracker Fx then splits performance into on-plan and off-plan so the cost of breaking rules is a number.
Win rate, average R:R and profit factor for every setup in your plan. See which parts earn their place and which ones to cut.
Trades sync from your broker and slot into the right setup. No manual logging, so the adherence data is always complete.
Attach the why to every trade. When you broke the plan, the note explains it - and the pattern becomes obvious over time.
Weekly and monthly views make the review section of your plan something you actually do, backed by evidence instead of feel.
Supported Platforms
Connect your account and every trade is attributed to a setup automatically. No imports, no CSV files.
cTrader
Connects via the official cTrader API. Full history imports on connection and new trades attribute to your setups automatically.
Learn about cTrader → 14-day free trial included
Bybit
Connects via read-only API key (Bybit Global). Perpetuals and Spot trades attribute to your playbooks, synced every 2 hours.
Learn about Bybit → 14-day free trial included
OANDA
Connects via the OANDA API. Forex, indices, commodities and metals - full history and per-setup attribution.
Learn about OANDA → 14-day free trial included
MetaTrader 4 & MT5
Connects via API to any MT4 or MT5 broker. No plugins and no CSV exports - trades attribute to your plan automatically.
Learn about MetaTrader → Requires a paid planTraders on Tracker Fx
What changes when adherence stops being a feeling.
"My on-plan trades had a profit factor of 1.9. My off-plan trades were 0.7. I had been blending them into one number for years and wondering why I was flat."
"Writing the plan was easy. Proving I followed it was the part I always skipped. Playbooks made the proof automatic, so the review finally meant something."
"One of my three setups had a negative expectancy. The plan looked fine on paper. The per-setup data is what actually showed me where to cut."
FAQ
A complete trading plan should cover the markets and instruments you trade, your specific setups, exact entry rules, exact exit rules, risk per trade, daily and weekly limits, your trading routine, and a review cadence. Each section should be specific enough that someone else could follow it without asking you anything.
A strategy is how you find trades. A trading plan is the full operating manual: the strategy plus risk limits, routine, the conditions under which you do not trade, and how you review performance. A strategy tells you what to do; a plan governs how you behave.
You measure it. Tag every trade to a defined setup and mark whether it followed the plan. Tracker Fx then shows win rate, R:R and profit factor for rule-following trades versus rule-breaking ones, so adherence becomes a number instead of a feeling.
Tracker Fx lets you encode each setup in your plan as a playbook, then automatically attributes synced trades and reports performance per setup. You see which parts of your plan make money, which lose, and how often you actually traded the plan as written.
Yes. Tracker Fx includes a 14-day free trial with full access to all journaling and analytics features. The free trial is available for all platforms except MetaTrader, which requires a paid plan.
Start Today
Connect cTrader, Bybit or OANDA, turn each setup into a playbook, and Tracker Fx shows you exactly how often you traded your plan - and what it cost you when you did not.
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Setups as Playbooks14-Day Free TrialAutomatic AttributionAll Platforms Except MetaTrader