if you’re serious about becoming a successful trader — especially with a prop firm like Top1Funded — then you need more than just a strategy. You need a solid, repeatable trading plan.
In this blog, we’ll show you how to build a professional-grade trading plan that keeps you consistent, disciplined, and funded — whether you trade Forex, Futures, or Crypto.
✅ What Is a Trading Plan?
A trading plan is a written document that outlines:
- Your trade setup criteria
- Risk management rules
- Trading hours
- Psychological checklists
- Your goals and how you’ll review performance
Think of it like your playbook — without it, you’re winging it. And in prop trading, winging it leads to blown accounts.
🧱 Step 1: Define Your Strategy
Your plan starts with what you trade and how you trade it.
Ask yourself:
- What pairs, instruments, or markets do I trade?
- What timeframes do I use?
- What conditions must be present to take a trade?
🔎 Example:
“I trade EUR/USD and GBP/USD only. I enter long trades on 15-minute breakouts following a 1-hour bullish trend with confirmation from RSI and volume spike.”
Clarity here = fewer impulsive trades.
🎯 Step 2: Set Specific Risk Parameters
Most funded traders fail not because of strategy — but because of bad risk management.
Include:
- Risk per trade (% or dollar amount)
- Max daily drawdown limit
- Max open trades at once
- Use of stop loss (required or not)
Pro Tip for Top1Funded Traders:
Your trading plan should reflect the drawdown rules of your chosen program. If your plan violates firm risk parameters, it’s a setup for failure.
⏰ Step 3: Choose Your Trading Sessions
Decide exactly when you will and won’t trade.
Ask:
- What time of day do I trade best?
- Do I avoid news events?
- How many hours a day can I realistically trade?
Example:
“I only trade between 5am–9am EST during the London–New York overlap. No trades after major economic news.”
This protects your focus and avoids forced trades.
🧠 Step 4: Build a Pre-Trade Checklist
Before entering any trade, you should go through a repeatable checklist:
✔ Is this a valid setup based on my rules?
✔ What is the risk-to-reward ratio?
✔ Is there news upcoming that could affect this trade?
✔ Am I trading emotionally or following my process?
This takes 30 seconds, but can save your whole account.
📈 Step 5: Journal and Review
Even the best plan is useless if you never reflect.
Use tools like:
- Edgewonk, Trademetria, or Notion
- Log each trade’s entry/exit, reason for entry, and emotion
- Review weekly to find patterns and mistakes
This is how funded traders grow — not by getting lucky, but by being accountable.
🔥 Final Thoughts: Don’t Trade Without a Plan
Prop trading isn’t a game — it’s a profession. And professionals have a plan.
At Top 1 Funded, we fund serious traders who treat this like a business. If you want to stay funded and grow your capital over time, your trading plan is step one.
