Trader session playbook

This lesson describes the procedure of one session: from calendar review before market open, through the decision tree during trading, to recording the result after position close. It is written for an intraday and swing trader who already has a written trading plan, but still improvises during the session.

Why a playbook, if a trading plan already exists

The trading plan answers the question “how does my system work”: what setups are allowed, how much risk I take, and how I version rules. The playbook answers a different question: “what do I do today, minute by minute.” Separating these two documents makes sense because the plan changes rarely, while the playbook is adjusted to the day — calendar, volatility, and session hours.

Without a playbook, the plan remains a document you read once per quarter. In stress, decisions are then made by short-term memory, and at the moment of drawdown it suggests the worst solutions. The playbook moves decisions before the session, when you are calm. Flat is a full-fledged day result in it, limits are known in advance, and allowed setups have names.

Pre-session checklist

The entire review takes 10–15 minutes and ends with a record, not a feeling. Order matters, because each point narrows the next.

1. Economic calendar in Polish time zone. Check whether a high-impact reading falls in your session window. If so, decide now whether to narrow the filter or stay out of the market. The practice is covered in the lesson on calendar in practice.
2. Levels from the higher timeframe. Mark zones on D1 and H4 before looking at the lower timeframe — otherwise the latest candles will impose a narrative on you.
3. Day bias: long, short, or flat. You record one of the three. “I will see on the chart” is not a bias.
4. Daily limits. Maximum daily loss (−2R or −3R), maximum number of transactions, hour after which you do not open new positions.
5. List of allowed setups. One or two names from the plan, not a catalogue. The rest is inactive today.
6. Personal state. Sleep, stress, available time. If any element is clearly disturbed, lower the limit or stay flat — see trader psychology.

In-session decision tree

During the session, you no longer make strategic decisions — you replay previously recorded branches. The tree below is a skeleton; insert your own setup names.

Does a high-impact reading fall in the session window?
├── yes → does the plan describe behavior for this reading?
│          ├── yes → trade exclusively according to that description
│          └── no → flat until the end of the window
└── no → is the D1/H4 level aligned with the day's bias?
           ├── yes → is the setup checklist fully met?
           │          ├── yes → entry with planned 1R
           │          └── no → no entry (this is a decision, not a defeat)
           └── no → range or flat setups only

Two rules work independently of the tree. First: entry occurs exclusively after the full setup checklist is met, not after “almost full.” Second: every deviation from the playbook you record immediately, in one sentence, at the moment it appears. A deviation recorded in the evening is already reconstruction, not data.

Also monitor execution conditions. At data publication, spread is often wider than the backtest assumed, and slippage can eat part of the planned profit. If entry cost no longer fits the plan’s assumptions, the setup ceases to be a plan setup — even if the chart looks identical.

When the playbook says “do not trade”

1. The daily loss limit has been reached. After −2R/−3R, the session ends. The platform may remain open for viewing, but clicking is not allowed.
2. The setup checklist is not fully met. Lack of one condition means no entry; looking for an “almost compliant” setup is overtrading in disguise.
3. The calendar contains a reading the plan does not describe. Trading in an unknown scenario is betting on an event outcome, not executing a strategy.
4. The transaction limit has been exhausted. A third entry after two losses is not a new setup; it is an attempt to recover.

None of these conditions depends on how confidently the chart looks at that moment. Therefore, you record them before the session — during the session they will be inconvenient, but that is their entire function.

Hard stop and day close

A hard daily stop is a rule that is not negotiable during the session: after reaching the recorded limit, you close positions and disable opening new ones. The day-ending condition is recorded in two numbers — loss limit in R and number of transactions.

Day close always looks the same:

1. close open positions or confirm they are covered by the plan for the next session,
2. record the result in R, not in USD,
3. note whether the limit was reached consciously or by accident,
4. postpone the decision to change rules to the review — never change the playbook during the session.

A hard stop protects capital, but it has a second function: it breaks the sequence of decisions made in a bad state. Daily limit and drawdown is a separate topic from the playbook itself, but without a recorded limit, the playbook remains a declaration.

Post-session record

After the session, you spend 5–10 minutes and record four things:

1. Result in R. Counted relative to planned risk, so it allows comparing transactions of different sizes.
2. Process tag. “According to plan” or “outside plan.” This is a process metric, independent of the result.
3. Screenshot of one or two key charts. After a month, you will not reproduce from memory what you saw at the decision moment.
4. One lesson for the next session. One, not a list of twelve resolutions.

The raw records from this step are the input for the calculations described in the lesson on journal metrics. The playbook delivers data in a constant format; metrics turn it into numbers. The review rhythm itself is described in the lesson on journal and review.

Playbook for different styles

The “before / during / after” skeleton works for both styles. It differs in horizon, frequency, and stake size.

When switching to another instrument, do not copy the playbook unchanged. Check session hours, typical spread in those hours, and whether the previous drawdown limit still fits the new market’s volatility. The playbook is a living document, but changing the instrument requires conscious revision, not copying.

Empty five-session protocol (fill in)

The goal is five filled rows and at most one rule change per week, recorded with a new version number and date. A change without version and date does not exist — after a month you cannot distinguish it from chance.

Common mistakes

• Playbook written but unused. A document you do not open before the session does not change behaviour.
• Too long a setup list. Five allowed setups means you make the decision on the chart, not in the playbook.
• Changing rules during the session. A new rule invented under the influence of an open position protects the position, not the process.
• No record after a weak session. You skip exactly the days that carry the most information about the process.
• Treating a no-trade day as a loss. Flat recorded before the session is a result compliant with the plan.
• Transferring playbook between instruments without revision. A different market means different hours, different spread, and different volatility.

Measurable exercise

Write a one-page playbook in before / during / after format and use it literally for five sessions, including on demo. Fill out the protocol table above, and at the end calculate two numbers: percentage of sessions with limits kept and percentage of transactions marked as compliant with the plan. Only then change one thing in the playbook and increment the version number with the date.

Common questions

Do I have to trade every day?

No. Flat recorded in the playbook is a full-fledged session result. Lack of a setup meeting the checklist is not a defeat, and forcing an entry so that 'something happens' is one of the most common sources of loss.

How does a playbook differ from a trading plan?

The plan describes the system rules: setups, risk size, versioning, and strategy withdrawal criteria. The playbook is the ritual of one day that enforces those rules. You need both documents, because they answer different questions.

What to do when the Warsaw Stock Exchange session and the FX market overlap?

In the playbook, record the priority of one market in a given version. Running two markets simultaneously without a shared exposure limit is hidden risk doubling that you cannot see in a single daily limit.

Why measure playbook compliance if the result is positive?

A positive result with broken rules confirms nothing — it only says that one deviation was not punished. Compliance measurement lets you know whether you are earning thanks to the procedure or by chance, and lets you distinguish a good day from a lucky day. Without this measurement, you have no basis to change anything in the playbook, because you do not know which element is responsible for the result.