Trading plan · Intermediate

Creating Rules For When Not To Trade

A 1-minute lesson from the MarketPro academy, one of 14 in building a trading plan.

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Short answer

A complete trading plan defines not only when to enter and exit trades, but also when to do nothing. Explicit rules for standing aside are often what separates a disciplined process from one driven by the urge to always be in a position.

A complete trading plan defines not only when to enter and exit trades, but also when to do nothing. Explicit rules for standing aside are often what separates a disciplined process from one driven by the urge to always be in a position.

Conditions that might justify sitting out include the absence of a valid setup matching your defined criteria, unusually thin liquidity, upcoming major news events outside your normal trading approach, or a personal state — fatigue, distraction, recent emotional losses — that makes objective decision-making unlikely.

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