{"product_id":"rules-first-course","title":"Rules First: the course","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA short course for prop firm futures traders: know the rules you’re buying, size against what you can actually lose, write rules you can check, and read your own record honestly.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo strategy, no signals, no market calls. Try it first: \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/rules-first\"\u003elessons 1 to 3 are free\u003c\/a\u003e, and so is \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/rules-first-lesson-7\"\u003eLesson 7\u003c\/a\u003e, a sample from the paid part.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhat you walk away with\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA one-page rulebook:\u003c\/strong\u003e your firm’s rules, your fixed risk per trade and your own trading rules, each one written so it can be checked yes or no.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA trade log that reads itself back:\u003c\/strong\u003e not just a place to record trades. The Journal works out what your record supports so far: an estimated range for your win rate, your results by setup, and the dollar gap between trades that kept your rules and trades that broke them.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA dated weekly review:\u003c\/strong\u003e which rule you keep, change or drop, and why, decided on your record rather than on your last trade.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/rules-desk-journal-workbook\"\u003eSee the Journal with a filled-in example\u003c\/a\u003e before you buy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhat did breaking your rules cost you?\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eYour log answers it in dollars. You mark each trade “Followed rules?” Yes or No, against the rules you wrote down before the trade. The Journal shows the gap between your average Yes trade and your average No trade, times the number of No trades. It compares two groups; it can’t prove a rule break caused the whole gap. Lessons 6 and 7 show you how to log it and how to read it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eDo I need a course to tell me to read my firm’s rules?\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo. Lesson 1 walks you through that, and it’s free. Reading the rules is the first day. The course is every day after it:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTurning “trade well” into rules you can check.\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes or no, before each trade, not a feeling afterwards (lessons 4 and 5).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eKeeping a record you can actually read.\u003c\/strong\u003e Every trade logged the same way, including the ones you’d rather forget, and what 20 or 50 trades can and can’t tell you (lessons 6 and 7).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAsking for a payout that clears.\u003c\/strong\u003e Qualifying days, consistency, the buffer, and how much room you have after it’s paid (Lesson 8).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eChanging a rule only when your record gives a reason.\u003c\/strong\u003e A weekly review with a date on it, so a bad week doesn’t rewrite your plan (Lesson 9).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe tools on the site answer one question at a time. The course turns the answers into a routine you run every week, and the Journal and Workbook are where that routine lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eHow it fits together\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eFour stages. Each one uses what the one before it produced.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eKnow the account\u003c\/strong\u003e (lessons 1–3): its rules, your odds on your own numbers, and one fixed risk per trade.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWrite rules you can check\u003c\/strong\u003e (4–5): a one-page rulebook, checked before every trade.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRead your record honestly\u003c\/strong\u003e (6–7): a full trade log, and what it does and doesn’t prove.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGet paid, then improve\u003c\/strong\u003e (8–9): a payout request that clears, and a weekly review that changes a rule only on evidence.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSeven things the course works through\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eEach one with example numbers:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e“Careful” sizing that isn’t.\u003c\/strong\u003e Risking 0.5% of a $50,000 account is $250 a trade. Against a $2,000 drawdown, that’s 12.5% of what you can actually lose: eight losses and the account is gone.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA winning trade that costs you room.\u003c\/strong\u003e Under an intraday trailing drawdown, a trade that runs to $800 and closes at $200 permanently takes $600 of your room.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLosing the account without breaking the daily limit.\u003c\/strong\u003e Three losing days, each under the daily limit, can still close it. Each morning your real limit is the smaller of the daily limit and the room you have left.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA big day that moves the finish line.\u003c\/strong\u003e At some firms, one $1,800 day on a 55% consistency cap raises a $3,000 target to $3,273 ($1,800 ÷ 0.55).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA 60% win rate that proves nothing yet.\u003c\/strong\u003e 12 winners out of 20 is consistent with a true win rate anywhere from about 39% to 78% (95% Wilson interval), including a losing setup.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe winners that broke a rule.\u003c\/strong\u003e They can be the most expensive trades in your log, because they teach you the rule doesn’t matter. The Journal shows them next to the trades that kept your rules.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDeciding in advance when a setup is finished.\u003c\/strong\u003e You write the result that retires it before you have the results, so it can’t be talked round later.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhat’s inside\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe course book\u003c\/strong\u003e (24-page PDF): ten short lessons. Each one teaches one thing, uses labelled example numbers, and ends with a tool and a “Done when”, so you do the work on your own numbers.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe Rules Desk Journal\u003c\/strong\u003e (Excel \/ Google Sheets): a trade log that tells you what your record supports. It shows an estimated range for your win rate (a 95% Wilson interval, a well-established method for small samples), says “nothing yet” until you have enough trades, and splits results by setup. It also shows the dollar gap between trades that kept your rules and trades that broke them: the difference between the two groups’ average results, times the number of rule breaks. That’s a comparison, not proof of what caused it.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe Rules Desk Workbook\u003c\/strong\u003e (18-page printable PDF): the rulebook worksheet, six before-and-after rule rewrites, trade cards and the weekly review sheet.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe ten lessons\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003col start=\"0\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat this course is, and isn’t\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKnow what you’re buying: the four rules to read before you buy an evaluation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe maths of the attempt: your odds of passing on the numbers you enter (a simulation, not a forecast), and what every attempt (evaluations, resets, fees) really costs\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSize against what you can actually lose\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWrite rules you can check: three tests and six rewrites, like “Don’t overtrade” becoming “Two trades a session; the third isn’t allowed”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCheck before you click, with the free \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/trading-desk\"\u003eDesk\u003c\/a\u003e, the site’s pre-trade rules checker\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLog every trade honestly\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhat your record proves, and what it doesn’t: sample size, only counting trades under the same rules, and why a missing bad trade turns the numbers into fiction\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGetting paid: qualifying days, consistency, the buffer, payout limits and your room after the payout. Each firm defines these its own way; the lesson shows you where to find yours.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe weekly review: change rules only on evidence\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhat it isn’t\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNot a strategy. It won’t tell you what to trade.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNo results shown, because none are promised. Every number is a labelled example or one you type in.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNo prop firm links, no chatroom, no monthly fee.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNo promise that you’ll pass an evaluation or get paid. Nobody honest can promise that.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNot a teaser. The course is complete on its own, and nothing inside it is locked behind another purchase.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt can’t read your firm’s rules for you. It shows you which lines to find and what they mean. Firms change their rules, so you always check their current page.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eGood to know\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWorks with any trading platform: the tools run in your browser, and the Journal in Excel or Google Sheets.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBuilt for part-time traders too. Set up once: each lesson’s task is done outside market hours, in one sitting. Then trade as normal, log each trade as you take it, and do one review a week.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eQuestions? Email support@rulesdesk.com. You’ll get an answer within 2 business days.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOne price, lifetime access. Instant download.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e7-day refund.\u003c\/strong\u003e If it’s not for you, email support@rulesdesk.com within 7 days of buying and you get your money back.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003csmall\u003eEducational material only. Not financial, investment or trading advice, and not a signal service. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss and most people who attempt it lose money; you can lose more than you deposit. Nothing here promises or implies profit. See the \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/risk-disclosure\"\u003eRisk Disclosure\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/small\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Rules Desk","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50543830335746,"sku":null,"price":79.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0840\/4697\/1138\/files\/rules-first-product-square.png?v=1790352018","url":"https:\/\/rulesdesk.com\/products\/rules-first-course","provider":"Rules Desk","version":"1.0","type":"link"}