# Trading with a boring trendline strategy in 2026 that still works after 11 years

Trading with trendlines only: top-down analysis, the Action Line entry, the Safety Line stop and position sizing behind a system used for over 11 years.

Source: https://canyonty.top/trading-with-a-boring/ · 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

![Trading with a boring trendline strategy in 2026 that still works after 11 years](https://canyonty.top/trading-with-a-boring/trading-with-a-boring.webp)

## Key takeaways

- The system is a trendline-only method with no indicators, applied to futures, forex and any liquid market.
- Entries come from the Action Line, exits from the Safety Line, and stops are placed beyond the line, not at an arbitrary percentage.
- Analysis runs top-down: higher timeframe first, then lower timeframes for timing and line adjustment.
- Position sizing is calculated from the distance to the stop, not from a fixed number of contracts.
- Trades are trailed by re-anchoring the trendline as new swing points form.

Trading with trendlines means drawing straight lines through confirmed swing lows or highs on a higher timeframe, waiting for price to return to the line, and entering only when the line holds, with the stop placed on the other side of it. That is the whole system behind the trendline method Tori Trades has used for more than 11 years and that she breaks down in her video, a method she says produced $526,454 without a single indicator on the chart. Anyone who wants the full framework, including the waitlist for her program, can start here: [join the Tori Trades waitlist](https://go.toritradez.com/9acc4ff4).

The appeal is not excitement. It is that the rules are fixed before the trade opens: a line, an entry trigger, a stop and a size. Nothing is interpreted in the moment, which is exactly why the approach survives contact with real markets.

## Why a no-indicator trendline system holds up over 11 years

A trendline system lasts because every decision is pre-defined by geometry rather than by opinion. Tori Trades builds her method on three elements only: the trendline itself, an Action Line that confirms the entry, and a Safety Line that defines where the idea is wrong. There is no RSI, no moving average cross, no oscillator to argue with.

The logic behind the longevity is simple. Indicators are calculated from past prices, so they lag by construction and they all describe the same data in different clothes. A trendline drawn through real swing points describes where buyers previously stepped in, which is information the market itself created. When the line is touched again, the trader is testing whether that same behaviour repeats.

That also explains why the method is described as boring. Most of the time nothing happens: price is in the middle of a range, far from any line, and the correct action is to do nothing. The edge comes from a small number of clean reactions at levels that were visible in advance.

## Top-down analysis before any line is drawn

The first step is always the higher timeframe, because a line drawn on a 5-minute chart inside a daily downtrend is a trap. Tori Trades starts from the largest timeframe she trades, marks the dominant direction and the major swing points, and only then drops to lower timeframes for timing.

1. Open the highest timeframe in your set and identify whether price is making higher highs and higher lows, lower highs and lower lows, or neither.
2. Mark the obvious swing highs and swing lows that produced real reversals, not every minor wiggle.
3. Draw the trendline on that timeframe first and treat it as the master line.
4. Move down one timeframe and check whether the same line is respected there.
5. Only after the higher timeframe agrees do you look for an entry on the lower one.

If the higher timeframe is ranging, the honest answer is that there is no trend to trade and the setup does not exist. Skipping that check is the most common reason traders take perfect-looking lines in the wrong direction.

## How to draw trendlines correctly and the rules that keep them objective

A valid trendline connects at least two confirmed swing points and is confirmed by a third touch that price respects. Tori Trades is strict about this: the line must not cut through candle bodies, it should sit under the wicks of the lows in an uptrend or above the wicks of the highs in a downtrend, and it must not be redrawn every time price breaks it.

The practical rules that make the line repeatable:

- Anchor the line to swing points that are clearly visible without zooming in.
- Never force a line through price action that does not fit; if the third touch fails, the line is invalid, not adjustable.
- Keep the number of lines on a chart small, one per trend, so the chart stays readable.
- When price accelerates away from the line, expect a steeper line to form rather than bending the old one.

A useful discipline, suggested by experienced readers of the method, is to require a swing low with at least three higher lows on each side before anchoring a line. Two traders then draw the same line, which is the precondition for backtesting the system at all.

## The Action Line, the Safety Line and the entry trigger

The Action Line is the entry rule and the Safety Line is the exit rule, and together they remove discretion from the trade. The Action Line is the trendline that price must reach and react to; the Safety Line is the level at which the trade idea is proven wrong and the position is closed.

In practice the sequence is: price approaches the trendline, a candle closes showing rejection of the line, and the entry is taken on that confirmation rather than on the touch itself. The stop goes beyond the Safety Line, on the other side of the swing that the line protects. If price closes through the line, there is no trade to manage, because the premise has failed.

This is why the method has a rule-based entry and a rule-based stop. There is nothing to negotiate with yourself at the moment of the click, and no averaging down when the line breaks.

## Position sizing and trailing stops in the trendline framework

Size is derived from the stop distance, not chosen by feel. Once the entry and the Safety Line are known, the distance between them defines the risk per contract, and the number of contracts is whatever keeps that risk inside a fixed percentage of the account.

A workable procedure:

1. Measure the distance from entry to the stop in ticks or points.
2. Multiply by the value per tick for the instrument being traded.
3. Divide the maximum acceptable account risk by that number to get the position size.
4. Round down, never up, so the worst case stays inside the limit.

Trailing works the same way as the entry. As price makes new swing points, the trendline is re-anchored and the stop moves with it, which locks in progress without a fixed profit target. The trade ends when price closes through the updated line, not when a round number is reached.

## Typical questions and doubts from traders trying trendlines

Most hesitation around this method comes from the same few places. Beginners ask how a line can be objective when it looks like a drawing exercise; the answer is the three-touch rule and the requirement that the line not be redrawn. Others ask whether the system works on forex as well as futures, and the answer is that the geometry is market-agnostic because it depends on swing structure, not on the instrument.

A frequent concern is the middle of the range, where nothing is near a line. That is not a gap in the system, it is the system telling you to wait. Another recurring question is how to place the actual order, which broker to use and what leverage is involved; Tori Trades addresses the platform side through her broker link and her trade journaling tool rather than inside the chart analysis itself. Finally, traders who have spent months on complex smart-money concepts often report that the simple version is harder to accept than to learn, because it offers fewer decisions to make.

## Tools and links mentioned for this strategy

- Waitlist for the Tori Trades program: https://go.toritradez.com/9acc4ff4
- Trade journaling with TradeZella, discount code TORI20 on the yearly plan: https://go.toritradez.com/yt-tradezella
- The broker used for execution, TradeStation: https://go.toritradez.com/yt-tradestation
- Instagram: https://go.toritradez.com/yt-instagram
- Facebook: https://go.toritradez.com/yt-facebook

## Final takeaway on the boring trendline system

A trendline method earns its keep through repetition, not through cleverness: higher timeframe first, a line anchored to real swing points, an entry only on the Action Line, a stop only beyond the Safety Line, and a size computed from that stop. Tori Trades presents this as the same framework she has applied for over a decade, and the $526,454 figure is her stated result from it, not a guarantee for anyone else. The discipline it demands is unglamorous, which is precisely why most traders skip it. If you want to go deeper into the framework, [get on the Tori Trades waitlist](https://go.toritradez.com/9acc4ff4) and study the full breakdown on the Tori Trades channel before risking capital.

## Questions & answers

**Do I need indicators to trade the trendline strategy?**

No. The method uses only price, trendlines and two reference levels: the Action Line for entries and the Safety Line for exits. Indicators are calculated from past prices and lag by definition, while the line is drawn from swing points the market itself created.

**How do I place the stop and size the position?**

The stop sits beyond the Safety Line, past the swing the trendline protects. Measure the distance from entry to stop in ticks, multiply by the tick value of the instrument, and divide your maximum account risk by that figure to get the number of contracts, rounding down.

**Does this work on forex as well as futures?**

The logic depends on swing structure rather than on the instrument, so it transfers to forex, futures and liquid indices. What changes is contract specifications, tick values and trading hours, which affect position sizing and where the lines are most reliable.

**What should I do when price is in the middle of a range?**

Nothing. The system only gives an entry when price reaches the Action Line and shows rejection, so time away from the lines is waiting time, not a signal to force a trade. Sitting out the middle of the range is part of the edge.