# Trendline Trading Strategy for Futures and Forex A rule-based trendline trading strategy: top-down analysis, the Action Line entry, the Safety Line exit, position sizing and trailing stops. Source: https://i-abc.top/trendline-trading-strategy/ · based on the channel [Tori Trades](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0ep2A36j7gTFdqW2Yvngbg) · Video: [This boring trading strategy made me $526,454](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnIkSLm2yRk) · 2026-10-30 ![Trendline Trading Strategy for Futures and Forex](https://i-abc.top/trendline-trading-strategy/trendline-trading-strategy.webp) ## Key takeaways - Tori Trades has used the same trendline system for over 11 years, with no indicators on the chart. - Entries trigger on the Action Line; exits and stop placement follow the Safety Line. - The process starts with top-down analysis, drawing trendlines from higher time frames down to the entry chart. - Position size is set from the distance between entry and stop, not from a fixed lot size. - The strategy is marketed as a repeatable routine rather than a high-frequency system; the video title cites $526,454 in results. Trading with trendlines is a rule-based method: you mark the dominant trend on a higher time frame, draw a line along the swing lows or highs, and only act when price returns to that line. Tori Trades, a futures and forex trader, presents the same system she says she has used for over 11 years — no indicators, no guessing, just top-down analysis plus two reference lines she calls the Action Line and the Safety Line. The full walkthrough and the waitlist for her material are available through the [Tori Trades strategy page](https://go.toritradez.com/9acc4ff4). ## What the trendline trading strategy actually is The system is built on a single idea: a trendline is not decoration but a decision boundary. Price approaching a correctly drawn line gives you a defined place to act, and price moving away from it gives you a defined place to leave. Everything else — indicators, news, sentiment — is stripped out. Two lines do the work: 1. The **Action Line** is the trendline itself, drawn along the swing points of the prevailing trend. It marks where an entry becomes valid. 2. The **Safety Line** is a parallel or secondary line placed beyond the structure. It marks where the trade idea is wrong and the position should be closed. The result is a fixed checklist: which chart to look at, which line to draw, where to enter, where to exit, how large the position is. The trader behind the channel argues this is why the method has survived more than a decade — nothing in it depends on interpretation in the heat of the moment. ## Top-down analysis before any line is drawn Top-down analysis means reading the chart from the largest time frame down to the smallest, and only trading when the levels agree. The sequence is fixed: - Start on the highest time frame you follow (for example, a weekly or daily chart on futures) and identify the direction of the trend: higher highs and higher lows, or lower highs and lower lows. - Move one step down (daily to 4-hour, or 4-hour to 1-hour) and locate the swing points that define that trend. - Continue down to the time frame you actually execute on, and check that the structure is not contradicting the higher time frame. - If the time frames conflict, there is no trade. The method is deliberately selective. This is also where the strategy earns its "boring" reputation: most sessions end with no valid setup, because price is in the middle of the range rather than at a line. ## How to draw trendlines correctly A trendline is only valid if it connects real swing points, so the drawing rules matter more than the drawing itself. In an uptrend, the line is drawn under successive higher lows; in a downtrend, above successive lower highs. Practical rules that keep the line honest: 1. Use at least two confirmed swing points, and treat a third touch as confirmation that the line is being respected. 2. Do not force the line through wicks or candles that do not represent a swing — if you have to bend the line to make it fit, the trend is weaker than you think. 3. Never draw a line through the body of the current candle; the line must exist before price arrives at it. 4. Keep the line steep enough to reflect the actual trend, but not so steep that any pullback breaks it. A trendline that breaks on noise is not a trendline. 5. When a lower time frame is used for entry, adjust the line to that time frame's swings while keeping the higher-time-frame line as the reference. A useful discipline many experienced traders add: anchor the line only to a swing low that has several higher lows on either side, so two people looking at the same chart would draw roughly the same line. That makes the setup testable rather than subjective. ## Entries on the Action Line and exits on the Safety Line The entry rule is narrow by design: price must return to the Action Line within an established trend, and the reaction at the line decides whether you take the trade. No line touch, no trade. The exit rule is equally mechanical. The Safety Line sits beyond the structure that would invalidate the trend — for example, below the swing low that the trendline connects. If price closes past it, the idea is dead and the position goes. This is not a discretionary stop; it is the same line every time. Two consequences follow: - **Risk is known before entry.** The distance from the Action Line to the Safety Line is the risk per unit, which is what makes position sizing possible. - **Reward is measured against the same structure.** Targets come from the prior swing high or low, so the trade has a defined risk-to-reward ratio before it is opened. ## Position sizing, stop-loss and trailing stops Position size is derived, not chosen. The standard calculation is: risk per trade (a fixed percentage of account equity) divided by the distance between entry and stop, which gives the number of contracts or lots. An example: on a $50,000 account risking 1% ($500), a trade where the stop sits 10 points away from entry allows 50 points of risk in total — so the position is sized to lose $500 if the Safety Line is hit, no more. On futures this matters because contract specifications differ; on forex it matters because lot sizes differ. Trailing the stop follows the trend structure rather than a fixed number of points. As price makes a new swing low in an uptrend, the stop moves up to just beyond that low, and the trendline is redrawn to the new swing. The position stays open as long as the structure holds. ## Ongoing maintenance of trendlines and common doubts The lines are not set once and forgotten; they are redrawn as the market prints new swings. A trendline that has been touched many times becomes weaker, not stronger, and a break followed by a failed retest often signals a trend change rather than a buying opportunity. Viewer reaction to this approach tends to fall into a few recurring themes, and they are worth addressing directly: - **"It looks too simple to work."** Simplicity is the point: the edge is in the discipline of waiting for the line, not in the complexity of the tool. - **"I have tried many high win-rate setups and still lose."** A high win rate without a defined stop and consistent position size still produces a losing account; the Safety Line and the sizing rule exist to prevent exactly that. - **"Where do I actually place the order?"** Execution details — broker, leverage, order type — are platform-specific. The channel points to TradeStation as the broker used and to Tradezella for trade tracking, both linked below. - **"How long before it works?"** The method is a routine, not a shortcut; results depend on how consistently the same rules are applied across many trades. ## Tools and links from the video - Waitlist and strategy material: https://go.toritradez.com/9acc4ff4 - Trade tracking with Tradezella (code TORI20 for an annual discount): https://go.toritradez.com/yt-tradezella - The broker used in the video, TradeStation: https://go.toritradez.com/yt-tradestation - Instagram: https://go.toritradez.com/yt-instagram - Facebook: https://go.toritradez.com/yt-facebook ## Conclusion The trendline strategy is a complete framework rather than a single trick: top-down analysis sets the direction, the Action Line defines the entry, the Safety Line defines the risk, and position sizing keeps any one trade from mattering too much. Its strength is repeatability — the same rules on futures, forex or any liquid market, with no indicators to interpret. The breakdown comes from the Tori Trades channel, which presents the system as one she has traded for over a decade. If you want to go further, [join the waitlist here](https://go.toritradez.com/9acc4ff4) and start by drawing lines on a chart you already follow before risking any capital. ## Questions & answers **Do I need indicators to trade this trendline strategy?** No. The method is deliberately indicator-free: direction comes from top-down analysis of swing highs and lows, entries come from the Action Line, and exits come from the Safety Line. Everything is read directly from price structure on the chart. **What is the difference between the Action Line and the Safety Line?** The Action Line is the trendline itself and marks where an entry becomes valid when price returns to it. The Safety Line sits beyond the structure that would invalidate the trend and defines where the trade is closed and where the stop is placed. **How do I calculate position size with this system?** Decide a fixed percentage of equity to risk per trade, then divide that amount by the distance between your entry at the Action Line and your stop at the Safety Line. The result is the number of contracts or lots, so a losing trade costs the same regardless of how wide the setup is. **Can the strategy be used on forex as well as futures?** Yes. The rules depend on swing structure rather than on a specific instrument, so they apply to futures, forex and other liquid markets. What changes is contract or lot specification, which feeds directly into the position-sizing calculation.