Can You Execute the Same Strategy Tomorrow?

A strategy written in fragments across screenshots, chat messages and memory will change whenever pressure rises.

A playbook puts the complete process in one place: what you trade, what qualifies, how you enter, how you manage risk and how you review the outcome.

Strategy, plan and playbook

These terms are often used interchangeably, but separating them is useful:

• Strategy: Rules for one defined market behaviour.
• Trading plan: Overall boundaries governing schedule, markets, risk, objectives and review.
• Playbook: A practical collection of approved strategies, visual examples and execution procedures.

The playbook answers: What exactly do I do when this situation appears?

One playbook entry per strategy

Do not mix every setup into one page. Give each strategy its own entry containing:

1. Strategy name and purpose.
2. Eligible markets, timeframes and sessions.
3. Required market condition.
4. Setup definition.
5. Trigger and entry method.
6. Invalidation and exit rules.
7. Position-sizing model.
8. No-trade filters.
9. Grade-A examples.
10. Valid losing examples.
11. Common failure modes.
12. Backtest and forward-test summary.

Including valid losses prevents the playbook from becoming a gallery of perfect hindsight charts.

Use visual examples as definitions

For discretionary criteria, screenshots can make the rules clearer.

Include:

• A-grade example: Every important condition is present.
• Borderline example: One or more factors are weak, with a written decision about eligibility.
• Invalid example: Looks similar but violates a defining rule.
• Valid loss: Followed every rule and still failed.

Label only information visible before the outcome. Keep the later result separate so it does not rewrite the original decision.

Build a pre-session routine

A short routine prepares the operating environment before opportunities appear.

Rules check

Review current programme conditions, remaining drawdown room and any restrictions relevant to the session.

Market conditions

Check trading hours, scheduled events, spreads and abnormal volatility.

Higher-timeframe map

Mark the few structural zones that could affect decisions.

Risk budget

Record maximum planned open risk, daily stop and current correlated exposure.

Strategy selection

Identify which playbook strategies are eligible in the current environment.

This is preparation, not prediction. Do not force a directional bias before price reaches a meaningful location.

The pre-trade checklist

Use yes/no questions:

• Is the market and session eligible?
• Does the current condition match the strategy?
• Is price at the required location?
• Has the exact trigger completed?
• Is the invalidation structural and measurable?
• Does the size fit the internal and programme risk limits?
• Has correlated exposure been included?
• Is the exit rule defined?
• Are spread and execution conditions acceptable?
• Does any no-trade rule apply?

If a required answer is no, the trade is not valid. Do not convert mandatory rules into optional scores after seeing price move.

The execution ticket

Immediately before entry, record:

• Strategy name.
• Direction and instrument.
• Entry trigger and order type.
• Intended entry area.
• Structural invalidation.
• Stop-order method and execution caveat.
• Target or management rule.
• Planned risk in R and percentage.
• Position-size calculation inputs.
• Screenshot before execution.

This makes later review honest. A trade cannot acquire a different strategy name after it loses.

Rules during the trade

Define what may and may not change:

May change only under written conditions

• Protective stop according to trailing rules.
• Partial exposure at predetermined levels.
• Exit if a time or structural failure condition occurs.

Must not change impulsively

• Widening invalidation.
• Increasing size to improve the entry average.
• Removing a protective order without a preplanned replacement.
• Extending the target because open profit feels exciting.
• Switching from a short-term premise to a long-term hold.

The strategy continues to govern after entry.

Post-trade review

Record the outcome only after evaluating the process.

Process score

• Was the setup valid?
• Was the trigger complete?
• Was size calculated correctly?
• Were management rules followed?
• Was the result recorded accurately after costs?

Analytical review

• Which evidence was useful?
• Which evidence was misread?
• Did the market condition match the tested environment?
• Was this outcome within the known distribution?

Emotional observation

Record decision-relevant behaviour such as hesitation, chasing, stop movement or overconfidence. Avoid vague labels like “bad psychology” without naming the action.

Separate strategy losses from execution errors

Classify each result:

• Valid win: Rules followed; positive outcome.
• Valid loss: Rules followed; negative outcome.
• Execution error: Strategy was valid but execution broke a rule.
• Invalid trade: Setup should not have been taken.
• Missed valid trade: Setup occurred but execution did not.

This prevents a normal loss from triggering a strategy rewrite and prevents a lucky invalid trade from being rewarded as good process.

Weekly review and version control

Review groups of trades rather than reacting to each one.

Track:

• Number of valid setups.
• Execution rate.
• Rule violations.
• Expectancy in R.
• Results by condition and strategy.
• Costs and slippage.
• Changes in spread or volatility.
• Repeated missed or invalid trades.

When a rule changes:

1. State the evidence supporting the change.
2. Save the old version.
3. Assign a new version number and date.
4. Test the revised version separately.
5. Do not combine performance records as if the strategy never changed.

Emergency procedures belong in the playbook

Define what to do if:

• Internet or platform access fails.
• A protective order is rejected.
• Price gaps beyond the planned stop.
• Position size is entered incorrectly.
• Duplicate orders appear.
• Current programme rules or trading access change.

Use the official platform support and verified account controls. Do not improvise with credentials, third-party access or unapproved trade copying.

The finished playbook structure

1. Trading objectives and operating limits.
2. Current programme-rule verification.
3. Market and session schedule.
4. Risk and exposure policy.
5. Strategy cards.
6. Visual examples and invalid examples.
7. Pre-session routine.
8. Pre-trade checklist.
9. Execution ticket.
10. Management procedures.
11. Emergency procedures.
12. Journal and weekly review.
13. Change log and version history.

Part 3 final knowledge check

Return to Speed Funded Chart School

Important educational notice

This lesson is provided for general educational purposes only. A playbook, checklist or risk process cannot guarantee evaluation success, payouts or profitable trading. All examples are hypothetical, and current programme rules and legal terms always take precedence.