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The one-page trading rulebook
Most traders don't have a rules problem. They have a written rules problem — the rules exist, but only in their head, where they can be renegotiated at 9:47 in the morning. This is one page that fixes that. Fill it in, sign it, put it where you can see it.
My Trading Rulebook
Version ____ · Ratified ____ / ____ / ______
The basics
My risk rules
My circuit breakers — what stops me, automatically
Setup A — name: ________________________ only in regime: ________________
Setup B — name: ________________________ only in regime: ________________
Banned outright — no exceptions, no "just this once"
My firm's rules — copied from their page, not from memory
Why one page, and why on paper
A rulebook that runs to six pages is a rulebook nobody reads at the moment it matters. One page fits on a desk, next to the screen, in your eyeline while a setup that isn't quite right is forming. That's the only time a rule has any work to do.
Paper matters for a duller reason too: you can't quietly edit it mid-session. A rule you can change in the moment isn't a rule, it's a preference.
The test every line has to pass
Each checklist box must be answerable yes or no from a chart, by you, in under five seconds. "Momentum looks good" fails. "Price closed back inside the level" passes. If you can't make a box objective, it isn't a rule yet — it's an instinct, and instincts belong in the notes column of your journal where they can be tested later, not in the gate that lets a trade through.
The same goes for your firm's rules. Copy them from the firm's own page on the day you fill this in, and write the date down. They change, and being wrong about a drawdown type costs an account.
What to do once it's written
- Don't change it mid-session. A rule changed during a session takes effect tomorrow. That single habit removes most of the damage a bad morning can do.
- Check every trade against it before you click, not after. A trade you didn't check is a trade you can't learn anything from.
- Log honestly, including the winners that broke a rule. A green day with broken rules is a worse day than a disciplined red one, because it teaches you the wrong thing.
- Review weekly and change one thing, at most. Three changes at once and you can't tell which one did anything.
Also useful
One piece a week
Something specific about process, risk arithmetic or keeping a record — the kind of thing above. No trade calls, no screenshots of good days, no pitch in most of them. Unsubscribe in one click.
When one page isn't enough structure
Fade & Ride is the full version: two setups with gated checklists already written, the risk framework that survives copied accounts, printable worksheets for the whole week, and a journal that computes your expectancy and runway as you log.
No subscription. Instant download. A structure for your own rules, not a set of signals — there are no trade calls in it.
Educational template only. This is not investment advice, it does not predict anything, and it has no opinion on what you should trade. Trading futures involves substantial risk of loss and most people who try it lose money. Verify contract specifications with your broker and your account rules with your firm; both change.