Free Trading Resources: Strategies, Checklists & Tools
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Everything here is free. No paywall. No email required for most of it. Just practical tools built from years of testing strategies on real accounts, including a live $600 Exness account we document openly.
Use them to cut losses faster and stop repeating the same mistakes.
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What’s in this library
Six resources, updated regularly. Each one targets a specific weak spot most traders have — and most trading courses never address.
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1. The pre-trade checklist
Before you click “buy” or “sell”, run through 12 questions. We built this after analyzing 200+ losing trades on our live account and found that 70% had at least one of these warning signs before entry.
What it covers:
- Trend alignment across 3 timeframes
- Volume confirmation (or the lack of it)
- Key support/resistance proximity
- Risk-to-reward ratio gate (minimum 1:2)
- News calendar check
Best for: traders who enter impulsively or exit too early.
Join our Telegram channel to get the PDF →
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2. RSI + MACD settings cheat sheet
The default RSI(14) and MACD(12,26,9) settings work. But they’re optimized for daily charts. If you’re trading 1H or 4H, those defaults generate far more noise than signal.
This one-page cheat sheet gives you the tuned settings we use across six instruments:
| Instrument | RSI period | MACD fast/slow/signal | Timeframe |
|---|---|---|---|
| BTC/USDT | 10 | 8/21/5 | 1H, 4H |
| ETH/USDT | 10 | 8/21/5 | 1H, 4H |
| EUR/USD | 14 | 12/26/9 | 4H, D1 |
| XAU/USD | 8 | 5/13/3 | 15M, 1H |
| GBP/USD | 14 | 12/26/9 | 4H |
| Oil (WTI) | 10 | 8/21/5 | 4H |
Why these settings: shorter periods react faster on lower timeframes, reducing the lag that kills entries on crypto. On Forex pairs we keep standard; volatility profiles differ.
The full guide with entry/exit rules for each instrument: RSI strategy breakdown →
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3. Position sizing calculator (Google Sheets)
This is the single tool that stopped us from blowing accounts. One formula. You enter:
- Account balance
- Risk per trade (we use 1-2%)
- Stop-loss distance in pips or %
It outputs: exact lot size.
Why it matters: most beginners size by gut feel. After backtesting our own trades, we found gut-feel sizing added roughly 40% more drawdown versus systematic sizing, for the same win rate.
Get the calculator spreadsheet →
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4. Trading journal template (Google Sheets)
Journals are boring until you realize they’re the only way to actually improve. Investopedia’s guide to trading journals covers why systematic review beats gut-feel adjustments. This template tracks:
- Entry/exit price and timestamp
- Setup type (trend continuation, reversal, breakout)
- Risk-to-reward planned vs actual
- Emotional state at entry (scale 1-5)
- Screenshot link (TradingView chart links)
After 3 months of consistent journaling on our Exness account, we identified that our worst losses came from trades entered when the market had just moved sharply in our favor (classic FOMO pattern). Without the journal, we’d never have spotted it.
The template auto-calculates win rate, average R:R, and monthly P&L by setup type.
Download the journal template →
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5. Risk management worksheet
Built specifically for traders using Exness, XM, or Eightcap. Covers:
- Maximum daily drawdown rule (we cap at 3%)
- Maximum open positions at one time
- Correlated pairs risk (EUR/USD + GBP/USD aren’t independent)
- Leverage guide by account size ($150, $300, $600, $1,500+)
Most people skip correlation math entirely. Having both EUR/USD and GBP/USD open is closer to double exposure on USD than two separate trades.
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6. Broker comparison scorecard
If you’re not sure which broker fits your trading style, this spreadsheet lets you score brokers across:
- Regulation tier
- Spread on key pairs (real spread, not advertised)
- Swap rates for overnight positions
- Withdrawal speed and methods
We’ve tested Exness, XM, and Eightcap with real deposits. The scorecard has our actual numbers, not numbers from their marketing pages.
Full reviews: Exness review → | Eightcap Prop →
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How to actually use these
Pick one. The journal if you’re losing consistently. The pre-trade checklist if you enter impulsively. The sizing calculator if you’ve blown an account or come close.
Run it for 30 days on a real account. A $150 deposit on Exness is enough to practice with real stakes without significant risk. If the tool helps, keep it. If it doesn’t, drop it.
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Get new resources first
We drop new tools and strategy breakdowns in our Telegram channel before publishing here. Daily signals, live trade commentary, and weekly market structure analysis.
Want daily Forex & crypto signals? Join our Telegram → /go/tg/
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Frequently asked questions
Are these tools really free? Yes. No email, no credit card. The journal and calculator link to Google Sheets; make a copy and they’re yours.
Do these work for crypto trading? Yes. The position sizing calculator, checklist, and journal are instrument-agnostic. The RSI/MACD cheat sheet has crypto-specific settings in the table above.
What broker do you recommend for beginners? Exness for beginners — low minimum deposit ($10, though $150 gets you better conditions), tight spreads on EUR/USD and BTC, and fast withdrawals.
Can I use these on a demo account? You can, but the value drops significantly. Emotional state tracking is meaningless without real money on the line. A $150 real account teaches you more than 6 months of demo.
How often are these updated? Settings and templates get updated when we find something that consistently outperforms what’s here. The RSI/MACD sheet was last updated March 2026 after 3 months of comparative testing.
Is there a mobile version of the journal? The Google Sheets template works on mobile. We’re working on a Telegram bot version that logs trades by command; follow the channel for the release.
Where can I learn the actual strategies behind these tools? Start with the RSI strategy guide → or the scalping fundamentals →. Both show how the checklist and indicator settings connect to live trade setups.
Market breakdowns, step-by-step strategy guides and real-time trading updates — published every day. Free. No subscription.
Start with $150. Tight spreads on EUR/USD, XAU/USD and crypto CFDs. No minimum commission.
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FAQ
Are these tools really free?
Do these work for crypto trading?
What broker do you recommend for beginners?
Can I use these on a demo account?
How often are these updated?
Where can I learn the actual strategies?
Reader Reviews
The 12-point pre-trade checklist is worth the visit alone. I've been through several checklists over the years and most are bloated or full of redundant items. This one is tight — every point actually does something. I printed it and it's next to my keyboard. My impulsive entry rate dropped noticeably in the first two weeks of using it.
The position sizing calculator fixed a problem I'd been ignoring for months. I knew I was over-leveraging but didn't have a concrete tool to calculate it before each trade. The spreadsheet is simple enough that I actually use it rather than eyeballing — and it automatically flags when I'm taking more than 2% risk. Genuinely useful.
The weekly review template is something I hadn't thought to look for. Going through the structured questions every Sunday has improved my trade selectivity significantly — I now notice patterns in where I tend to enter too early, which was my main weakness. The section on reviewing not just wins/losses but decision quality at entry is the right framing.
Good collection of practical tools. The RSI cheat sheet with the crypto-specific overbought/oversold levels (70/30 vs 80/20 for BTC) is a detail I hadn't considered before and it improved my BTC trade timing. Would suggest adding a section on journal entries — specifically what to record about the psychological state at entry, which affects results as much as technicals.
The correlation matrix in the downloads section is something I'd been building manually for months. Having a pre-built version that covers the 12 most traded pairs, with color-coded correlation strength, saves a significant amount of setup time. I now check it at the start of every week before planning which pairs I'm watching.
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Crypto Trader & Technical Analyst
Crypto trader since 2019. Specializes in momentum strategies using RSI, MACD, and volume analysis on Binance Futures. Has managed personal portfolios through multiple market cycles.