THE ENTRY

The first part of your system will be a signal to get you into the market. For
example:

Short if the market dips below the trend line for two periods.

Though not as important as exiting a trade, you cannot trade if you
never enter the market. The goal of the trading plan is to have a strategy
that gives you trades that will have a good chance of making money.
By having a system that gives you entry signals you will be making better
trades than if you just winged it, which, in turn, starts you off on the right
foot. If you want to succeed you need to have a valid reason for every trade
you enter. Having a strategy that gives you a reason for getting in will make
your trading so much easier. However, as you’ll see in a second, getting
into a trade is the easy part. It’s the getting out where you’ll determine if
you make or lose money.