A comprehensive risk management checklist for gold traders. Pre-trade, per-trade, daily, weekly, and monthly checks to keep your trading on track.
After a decade of trading gold at my desk in Singapore, this is the method that survived every market condition.
Before you take your first trade of the day, go through these. Gold price and ATR — what’s today’s ATR? Over $80? Cut position sizes in half. Market session: are you trading Asian (low volume), London (high volume), or the NY overlap (max volume)? News calendar — anything big today? NFP, CPI, FOMC, or geopolitical stuff means dial back risk. Account status: what’s your current equity? Any leftover positions from yesterday? Margin level above 300%? Daily loss remaining — how much of your 3% limit is still there? Trend on the 1H and 4H: is gold trending up, down, or just ranging? Your strategy — what setups are you hunting for today? Write down 1-2 specific ones before you open anything. This checklist takes five minutes and stops the dumbest pre-trade mistakes cold.
Before you hit buy or sell, run through every question. 1. Does this trade match what I wrote down? (Yes/No — if no, walk away.) 2. Where’s my stop loss, and how many pips away? 3. What’s my take profit level and pip distance? 4. What’s the [R:R ratio](/tools/risk-reward)? Needs to be at least 1:1.5 for day trades, 1:2 for swing trades. 5. [Position size](/tools/position-size) in lots — is the dollar risk inside my 1% limit? 6. Where’s the nearest key support or resistance? Does my stop sit logically beyond it? 7. Conviction level (1-5)? Only trade 4 or higher. 8. How am I feeling emotionally? Anxious, bored, or frustrated? Don’t trade. 9. Is this trade too correlated with another open position? 10. Did I pre-enter my stop loss and take profit? Never trade without both set. If you can’t answer all ten, you’re not ready.
Once a trade’s open, stay disciplined. Check positions every 30-60 minutes during active hours. Don’t glue your eyes to the chart. Set price alerts at: 50% of stop distance (warning), 90% (critical), 50% of target (first profit), and 100% (take profit). For swing trades, check once after London close. Move stop to breakeven when price hits 1:1 R:R. Consider trailing once you hit 1:2 R:R. Keep an eye on margin level — make sure it stays above 300%. Calculate the worst-case loss for all open positions combined. If total open risk goes over 3% of your account, close the weakest one. Don’t add to a winning trade that’s already past your original target — let it run with the existing stop. And never, ever add to a losing trade. No exceptions.
After NY close, do your daily review. Step 1: Log all closed trades — entry, exit, P&L, R:R, how you felt. Step 2: Calculate daily P&L. Hit your 3% daily loss limit? Stop trading. Step 3: Check open positions — any changes to the setup? Step 4: Margin level and free margin. Step 5: Write down one thing you learned today. Step 6: Prep tomorrow’s watchlist with 1-2 specific setups. Step 7: Look at the daily gold chart — note structural changes (support/resistance breaks, trend shifts). Step 8: Rate your discipline (1-10). Did you follow every rule? If not, which one did you break and why? This ten-minute habit stops small screw-ups from becoming big disasters.
Every Friday, carve out 30 minutes for a weekly review. Crunch the numbers: total trades, win rate, average R:R, net P&L, profit factor, max drawdown. Compare to your weekly targets. Pick your worst trade of the week — what went wrong? Your best trade — what went right? Check position sizing consistency — did you risk the same percentage every time? Review rule compliance — any violations? If so, how will you avoid them next week? Look at margin usage — is it trending up or down? Set next week’s focus (1-2 specific goals). Update your trading plan based on what you learned. Key metrics for a good week in 2026 gold trading: 5-15 trades, 55%+ win rate, 1:2+ average R:R, positive expectancy, max daily drawdown under 3%, no major rule breaks. If three of those are off, you need a different approach next week.
Print this and keep it next to your screen. Pre-Session: ATR checked (<$80 normal, >$80 50% size) ☐. News check (no high-impact during trade time) ☐. Account equity known ☐. Margin level >300% ☐. Daily loss remaining known ☐. Setup written down ☐. Per-Trade: Matches plan ☐. SL & TP set ☐. R:R ≥ 1:1.5 ☐. Risk within 1% ☐. Conviction ≥ 4/5 ☐. Emotional state calm ☐. Monitoring: Price alerts set ☐. Check every 30-60 min ☐. Move stop to BE at 1:1 ☐. Margin level stays >300% ☐. End of Day: Journal filled ☐. P&L recorded ☐. Open positions reviewed ☐. Discipline scored ☐. Week Ahead: Weekly stats calculated ☐. Worst trade reviewed ☐. Next week’s goals set ☐. Keep it visible. Tick every box before moving on. A checklist won’t make you profitable overnight, but it will stop the careless mistakes that blow up accounts. In 2026’s wild gold market, discipline is the only edge that sticks.
I don't predict. I prepare. — Every trade I share here is placed with real money, in real time, during the US session. No indicators, no noise — just price action and experience.
— Happy trading, Lin
Recommended: Trade gold with EBC — tested across all sessions.
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