3 Key Tweaks for Your Futures Trading Plan

As I’ve shared before in this series, a trading plan is a vital tool for anyone.

It doesn’t matter if you trade short-term or long-term, or if your focus is Forex, futures, stocks, or options. You need a plan.

I already covered some important tweaks for Forex traders. Now let’s talk about Futures, since that’s another commonly traded asset class.

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1. Focus on One Ticker First

My first tip when creating a trading plan for futures is to focus as much as possible on just one ticker.

And I don’t just mean one type of contract. For example, don’t juggle micro NQ, micro ES, and micro YM at the same time. I mean really start by learning one ticker well.

Here’s why: especially if you’re newer to futures, coming over from stocks or elsewhere, there’s a whole new set of information to learn. These are called contract specifications.

Each type of futures contract moves in its own way. It represents a specific amount of money, sometimes in proportion to a larger contract. And while you don’t have to keep all those details front and center while you’re trading, I believe it’s important to understand what you’re trading. These aren’t just random widgets, that have actual financial meaning and real-life applications.

Now youdon’t have to stick with index futures — though those are very popular. It could be crude oil (CL), gold (GC), or another market. The point is: really try to get to know one first.

Think of it like learning an instrument. In school, no one handed you a violin, a piano, and a flute all at once. You started with one. You got a feel for it, saw if it stuck, and only then moved forward or switched instruments.

Get fluent with one futures market before you spread yourself across several.

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2. Build Extra Step-by-Step Details into Your Plan

Futures tend to trade much faster than traditional asset classes like stocks or options. Like the actual speed with which the price moves tends to be quicker, even during “slow” market times.

If you’re new to futures — whether you’re brand new to trading, or just coming from a slower market — this can be a shock.

That’s why your trading plan should be extra detailed and step-by-step. This helps you handle the speed.

For example, my Section 2 Pre-Trading Analysis Checklist runs two full 8.5 x 11 pages. But I have it down to practically a science. It takes me about 15 minutes to prep my charts and get aligned without missing a beat.

How? Because I’m conducting the same analysis across multiple time frames – 60 minute, then 3 -minute, then 15 second (yes second) charts. But I’m doing the same type of analysis – my trifecta of price action, forecasting, and momentum analysis -in each time frame. By keeping it step-by-step, I’m fully prepared for my chosen trading session — the New York market open at 9:30 AM Eastern — without rushing.

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3. Day Traders, Choose Your Session

Futures markets are essentially open 24/7. And it can be very tempting to want to trade any of those times.

If you dial in on one particular ticker, and get good with that ticker, you will start to notice the best time of day for you to trade (presuming you are a scalper or day trader).

That could be:

• The New York market open
  
• The New York afternoon session
  
• The Globex evening session (if you’re trading index futures, for example)
  

The point is to stay away from trading all day, every day. You gotta eat, sleep, and rest your brain in between.

Now if you’re a swing trader, you may need to check in on positions more than once in a day, and that’s fine. But as a day trader or scalper, you’ll do better picking one main trading period to start with. You can always add more later.

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These are just a few tweaks to keep in mind as you build your futures trading plan.

I’ll be back with more thoughts soon — including how this applies to stocks and options. In the meantime, drop a comment below:

👉 Did you find this helpful?
👉 What tweaks have you added to your own futures trading?Let’s compare notes.

~Hima