A trading plan is a written set of rules that specifies a trader’s entry, exit and money management criteria for every purchase.
With today’s technology, it is easy to test a trading idea before risking real money. Known as backtesting, this practice allows you to apply your trading idea using historical data and determine if it is viable. Once a plan has been developed and backtesting shows good results, the plan can be used in real trading.
Sometimes your trading plan won’t work. Bail out of it and start over.
The key here is to stick to the plan. Taking trades outside of the trading plan, even if they turn out to be winners, is considered poor strategy.