Trading and Crypto

How to trade with trendlines using a boring repeatable rule-based strategy

This boring trading strategy made me $526,454

Video: This boring trading strategy made me $526,454

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· based on the channel Tori Trades

Trading with trendlines means marking the swing highs and lows of a clean chart, drawing a line along them, and then acting only when price breaks that line in a defined direction. The system described by Tori Trades uses no indicators at all: entries come from an Action Line, exits and stops from a Safety Line, and position size is derived from the distance between the two. The full walkthrough and the waitlist for her material are available through the Tori Trades waitlist page.

What the trendline trading strategy actually is

The core idea is that a trendline is not decoration but a level where the market has already shown its hand. A line drawn along two or more higher lows in an uptrend, or lower highs in a downtrend, marks the boundary between a trend that is still intact and one that is breaking. Tori Trades frames the whole method as top-down analysis: start on the higher time frame, find the dominant trend, then drop to a lower time frame to refine the same line and time the entry.

Two lines do the work. The Action Line is the trendline that price must break for a trade to trigger. The Safety Line is a parallel or secondary line behind it that defines where the idea is wrong. Everything else — position size, stop placement, trailing — is arithmetic built on the gap between those two levels. The approach is deliberately dull: no oscillator, no divergence hunt, no guessing about momentum.

How to run top-down analysis before drawing anything

Top-down analysis answers one question before any line is drawn: which direction is the market allowed to pay you in right now?

  1. Open the highest time frame you actually trade (for example a daily or 4-hour chart for a swing approach) and identify whether price is making higher highs and higher lows, lower highs and lower lows, or neither.
  2. Mark the last three to five swing points. If the sequence is unclear, the market is ranging and the trendline method has nothing to grip.
  3. Drop one or two time frames lower and locate the same structure inside the higher-time-frame trend. This is where the line gets precise.
  4. Only then draw the line and wait for a break of the Action Line in the direction of the higher-time-frame trend.

The practical benefit is filtering. A trendline break against the dominant trend is a much weaker signal than one that aligns with it, and the top-down pass removes most of those trades before they are ever considered.

Rules for drawing trendlines correctly

Most trendline failures are drawing errors, not strategy errors. The rules that keep the line honest:

  • Connect swing points, not every wiggle. A valid line touches at least two clear swing lows (in an uptrend) or swing highs (in a downtrend), and a third touch strengthens it.
  • Never force the line through candles that do not touch it. If you have to bend the line to make it fit, the structure is not there.
  • Do not cut through the bodies of candles in the middle of the move. Wick touches are acceptable; slicing through real price action is not.
  • Keep the line on the outside of the price action, so it acts as a boundary rather than a channel through the trend.
  • Redraw when a new swing forms. A trendline is a living object and must be adjusted as structure develops.

A useful discipline for making the method backtestable: anchor lines only to confirmed swing lows, meaning a low with several higher lows on either side of it. Two traders following that rule will draw nearly the same line, which is what makes results comparable over time.

Entries with the Action Line and exits with the Safety Line

The Action Line is the trigger. In an uptrend, a close below the line signals that the trend structure is breaking and the trade is taken in the direction of the break; in a downtrend, the mirror applies. Waiting for a close rather than an intrabar poke reduces the number of false breaks that immediately reverse.

The Safety Line is the invalidation level. It sits behind the Action Line, on the other side of the setup, and answers the question of where the idea is simply wrong. If price reaches it, the trade is closed — no averaging down, no widening the stop, no hoping. That single rule is what turns a discretionary chart exercise into a repeatable process: the entry and the exit are both defined before the trade is placed.

Position sizing, stop-loss placement and trailing

Position size is calculated, not felt. The steps:

  1. Measure the distance between the entry at the Action Line break and the Safety Line. That distance is your risk per unit.
  2. Decide the fixed percentage of account equity you are willing to lose on the trade — commonly 0.5% to 2%.
  3. Divide that dollar risk by the per-unit distance to get the number of contracts or shares. If the stop is far away, the position gets smaller; if it is close, the position gets bigger.
  4. Place the stop at the Safety Line, not at a round number and not at an arbitrary tick count.

Trailing works the same way once the trade is in profit: move the stop behind each new confirmed swing point, keeping it on the Safety Line side of the structure, so a trending move is given room while a reversal still takes you out. The goal is not to capture the entire move but to stay in while the structure holds.

Common doubts about a simple trendline system

The most frequent objection is that the method looks too basic to work — that without indicators or order-flow tools there must be something missing. The counter-argument is consistency: a rule-based entry and stop removes interpretation in the moment, which is precisely why the same framework can survive years of use. Traders who spent months on complex smart-money concepts often report that a plain trendline break is easier to execute under pressure.

A second doubt is about results. A single day of profit, whether a few dozen dollars or a few hundred, proves nothing on its own; the framework only matters across a large sample with fixed risk. A third is practical: how the trade is actually placed, at which broker, with what leverage. Tori Trades uses TradeStation as her broker and TradeZella for trade tracking, and the waitlist page is where her material is collected.

Summary

The trendline strategy is boring on purpose: top-down analysis sets the direction, a correctly drawn line sets the trigger, the Safety Line sets the risk, and position sizing converts that risk into a number of contracts. There is nothing to interpret in the moment, which is the whole point — the edge comes from repeating the same sequence rather than from finding a cleverer indicator. Tori Trades presents the full breakdown of this framework in the video, and the waitlist at the Tori Trades page is where further material is posted. Treat the reported figures as one trader's account, not a promise, and test the rules on your own charts first.

Key takeaways

  • The strategy uses no indicators: only trendlines, the Action Line for entries and the Safety Line for exits and stops.
  • Tori Trades says the same system has been used for over 11 years and is credited with $526,454 in results.
  • Entries trigger when price breaks the Action Line; the Safety Line sits behind it and defines the invalidation point.
  • Position size is calculated from the distance between entry and stop, so risk per trade stays fixed.
  • Trendlines must be redrawn as new swings form; they are maintained, not drawn once and forgotten.

Questions & answers

Do I need indicators to trade this trendline strategy?

No. The system uses only price and trendlines: an Action Line for the entry trigger and a Safety Line for the stop and exit. Direction comes from top-down analysis of swing structure rather than from oscillators or moving averages. That is also why the rules can be written down and tested on historical charts.

How do I decide position size with the Safety Line?

Measure the distance between your entry at the Action Line break and the Safety Line. Divide the fixed dollar amount you are willing to risk (for example 1% of account equity) by that distance to get the number of contracts or shares. A wider stop automatically produces a smaller position, so risk stays constant across trades.

Why do my trendlines keep getting broken and then the market reverses?

Most false breaks come from drawing errors: forcing a line through candle bodies, connecting minor wiggles instead of swing points, or ignoring the higher-time-frame trend. Waiting for a close beyond the Action Line, and only taking breaks that align with the dominant trend, filters out a large share of those whipsaws.

Can a simple strategy like this really be profitable over time?

Simplicity is not the same as an edge, but a fixed entry, fixed stop and fixed risk make results measurable, which is what allows improvement. The reported $526,454 is one trader's outcome and not a guarantee. The realistic test is a large sample of trades with consistent risk, tracked honestly in a journal.

Source: This boring trading strategy made me $526,454 · Markdown version

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