Forex Trading Plan
A forex trading plan is one of the elements that separates a professional forex trader from a newbie and it often spells the difference between success and failure. A forex trading plan contains details of specific decisions a trader needs to make while trading such as the lot size to use. Our forex trading plan below reveals that at the end of 22 weeks (i.e. about five and a half months of trading with an initial balance of $200, a forex trader would have withdrawn a total of $87,687.50 with an account balance of $48,600 left for trading and a potential for withdrawing $27,337.50 every two weeks. This calculation is based on a weekly net profit of 200 pips trading an instrument whose pip value is $10 per standard lot. How's that for financial freedom? Note that the leverage decreases with increase in volume of trade - 400:1 for 0.1 to 3 lots, 200:1 for 3.1 to 10 lots, 100:1 for 10.1 to 50 lots & 40:1 for 50.1 lots and upwards - as obtainable on CMSFX VT Trading Platform.
| Week | Account Balance |
Risk Capital (12.5%) |
Lot Size | PIP Value |
Net Profit (200 pips per week) |
Equity | Withdrawn |
| 1 | $200 | 25 | 0.1 | 1 | 200 | 400 | $0 |
| 2 | $400 | 50 | 0.2 | 2 | 400 | 800 | $400 |
| 3 | $400 | 50 | 0.2 | 2 | 400 | 800 | $0 |
| 4 | $800 | 100 | 0.4 | 4 | 800 | 1600 | $800 |
| 5 | $800 | 100 | 0.4 | 4 | 800 | 1600 | $0 |
| 6 | $1,600 | 200 | 0.8 | 8 | 1600 | 3200 | $1,600 |
| 7 | $1,600 | 200 | 0.8 | 8 | 1600 | 3200 | $0 |
| 8 | $3,200 | 400 | 1.6 | 16 | 3200 | 6400 | $3,200 |
| 9 | $3,200 | 400 | 1.6 | 16 | 3200 | 6400 | $0 |
| 10 | $6,400 | 800 | 1.6 | 16 | 3200 | 6400 | $3,200 |
| 11 | $6,400 | 800 | 1.6 | 16 | 3200 | 9600 | $0 |
| 12 | $9,600 | 1200 | 2.4 | 24 | 4800 | 14400 | $4,800 |
| 13 | $9,600 | 1200 | 2.4 | 24 | 4800 | 14400 | $0 |
| 14 | $14,400 | 1800 | 3.6 | 36 | 7200 | 21600 | $7,200 |
| 15 | $14,400 | 1800 | 3.6 | 36 | 7200 | 21600 | $0 |
| 16 | $21,600 | 2700 | 5.4 | 54 | 10800 | 32400 | $10,800 |
| 17 | $21,600 | 2700 | 5.4 | 54 | 10800 | 32400 | $0 |
| 18 | $32,400 | 4050 | 8.1 | 81 | 16200 | 48600 | $16,200 |
| 19 | $32,400 | 4050 | 8.1 | 81 | 16200 | 48600 | $0 |
| 20 | $48,600 | 6075 | 6.1 | 61 | 12150 | 60750 | $12,150 |
| 21 | $48,600 | 6075 | 6.1 | 61 | 12150 | 60750 | $0 |
| 22 | $60,750 | 7593.75 | 7.6 | 76 | 15187.50 | 75937.50 | $27,337.50 |
| $48,600 |
Now, this is incredible but true and can even be higher. Discipline is the keyword for trading your plan successfully. 'Plan your trade and trade your plan', so the saying goes. The following are pertinent success factors to consider in order to realize the plan above.
- Volatility: A volatile market provides greater profit potential than a quiet market. Bollinger bands is an excellent technical indicator of volatility. If you want to be sure of making profit, avoid trading when the Bollinger bands are contracting.
- Trend Analysis: A trending market provides greater profit potential than a ranging market. Always trade in the direction of the trend in order to avoid incurring losses and wasting your time with unprofitable trades that tie down your trading capital . As they say, 'the trend is your friend'. Moving Averages are an excellent technical indicator of trend and is discussed under FX trading strategies.
- Market Entry and Exit: The points at which you enter and exit the market determine whether you make a profit or loss and how much. See FX trading strategies and FX trading signals to learn how to enter and exit the forex market.
- Risk Management: Forex trading carries a high risk of financial loss and so, applying risk management measures is essential for success. When starting out, it is best to limit your choice of instruments and open positions to one and never risk more than 20% of your account balance in trading. Always generate rule-based trading signals before opening a trade. You may also consider employing a hedging strategy whereby another position is opened to off-set the risk inherent in a given open position. For more information, read our article below titled 'Profiting In An Uncertain Currency Market'.
Read Our Articles!
Profiting In An Uncertain Currency Market
Self-directed Vs Automated Forex Trading
How To Trade Forex As A Newbie



