Consistency is the backbone of success in proprietary trading. While strategies vary, most successful prop traders share one thing in common: a structured morning routine. For those trading with firms like Plus Markets, the first 60–90 minutes of your trading day can often determine whether you stay funded, or fail the challenge.
In this blog, I’ll walk you through my personal daily prep routine, how I analyse the market each morning, assess risk, identify opportunities, and prepare to execute with confidence.
1. Check the Economic Calendar (5–10 mins)
The first step of my morning routine starts before I even look at a chart.
I head straight to a reliable economic calendar, usually Forex Factory or DailyFX Economic Calendar.
Here’s what I look for:
- Major data releases (e.g. NFP, CPI, interest rate decisions)
- Scheduled speeches from central bankers
- Risk-on/risk-off events (geopolitical, earnings, policy changes)
If I see high-impact news for USD, GBP, or EUR, I’ll either:
- Avoid trading that currency during the release
- Use wider stops and reduced position sizing
🔗 Further reading: Economic Calendar Guide – Investopedia
2. Review Overnight Price Action (10–15 mins)
Next, I open up TradingView or my MT5 chart layout and zoom out.
I ask:
- What happened in the Asia session?
- Are we trending or ranging?
- Where are key highs, lows, supply/demand zones?
I keep an eye on volume spikes, unfilled imbalances, or liquidity sweeps, especially on the major FX pairs, and gold.
This helps me avoid chasing trades and wait for the London session open, which is where I focus most of my executions.
🔗 Backtesting Techniques – ForTraders
3. Mark Key Levels and Zones (10–20 mins)
Every morning, I manually mark:
- Daily high & low
- Previous session’s high/low
- 1-hour & 4-hour support/resistance
- Round numbers or psychological levels (e.g. 1.2500 on GBP/USD)
These zones guide my trade entries and exits. I often set alerts on TradingView near those levels so I’m notified when price approaches a potential trade zone.
This manual process improves my chart intuition, much better than relying solely on indicators.
💡 Tip: Use colour codes (e.g., red for daily levels, blue for H1 levels) to keep charts organised and clean.
4. Define the Daily Bias (5–10 mins)
Before I even think about taking a trade, I define one of three daily biases:
- Bullish
- Bearish
- Neutral (wait and see)
This bias is built from:
- Market structure (HH/HL vs. LH/LL)
- Order flow (from volume/price behaviour)
- Macro drivers (e.g. DXY strength, yields, risk appetite)
Once I’ve got my bias, I narrow down setups that align with that direction only. If I’m bullish, I only look for longs, unless price action changes my plan.
5. Risk Management Setup (5 mins)
This step has saved me from countless emotional trades.
I calculate:
- My account balance (e.g., on Plus Markets funded account)
- My daily risk cap (usually 1–2%)
- My position size based on trade setup and stop-loss distance
I pre-load stop-loss and take-profit levels using MT5. I never trade without a plan, each setup is predefined with a minimum 1:2 R:R ratio.
🔗 Read more: Risk Management in Trading – Investopedia
6. Watchlist & Trade Plan (10 mins)
Finally, I build my daily watchlist, which usually includes:
- 2–3 high-conviction assets (e.g. EUR/USD, NAS100, Gold)
- A short written plan: “If price hits [key level] and shows [confirmation], I’ll enter long/short.”
I also set alerts and reminders to avoid staring at charts aimlessly.
This written plan keeps me accountable and sharpens my decision-making when volatility hits.
Personal Trade Example: EUR/USD
On May 14, I traded EUR/USD after completing my usual prep.
- Bias: Bearish (confirmed by lower highs and DXY strength)
- Zone marked: 1.0800–1.0815 supply from the prior London session
- Setup: Price pulled back to the zone during early London, formed a bearish engulfing on 15-min
- Entry: Short at 1.0812, SL at 1.0830, TP at 1.0770 (R:R ≈ 1:2.3)
The trade hit take profit within 90 minutes.
What made this trade work wasn’t just the technical, it was the structure and routine that led me to stay patient, trust my bias, and wait for confirmation. Without that prep, I would’ve second-guessed the setup or chased earlier entries.
Adopt a Risk Manager’s Mindset
As with any routine, mindset plays a crucial role. Your edge doesn’t come from predicting the market, it comes from managing risk effectively.
Each morning, I ground myself with these reminders:
- “There’s no need to force a trade, patience is part of the plan.”
- “Capital preservation comes before profit.”
That mindset has kept me consistently profitable and emotionally stable, especially when trading funded accounts where discipline > aggressiveness.
🔗 Trading Psychology Tips – The Chart Guys
Final Thoughts
A daily routine gives you structure. It reduces emotional decision-making, increases clarity, and keeps your performance consistent. Whether you're trading your own capital or managing risk on a funded account with Plus Markets, how you prepare each morning defines how you’ll perform under pressure.
To recap, here’s what my daily market analysis routine looks like:
- ✅ Check economic calendar for major events
- ✅ Review overnight price action and structure
- ✅ Mark key levels manually
- ✅ Define daily market bias
- ✅ Calculate risk and set alerts
- ✅ Write a short trade plan and prepare your watchlist
🔑 Your edge isn’t in prediction, it’s in preparation and discipline. Trade like a professional, and the results will follow.
