# How to trade with trendlines using top-down analysis and the Action Line and Safety Line rules How to trade with trendlines: top-down analysis, drawing rules, the Action Line for entries and the Safety Line for exits, position sizing and trailing stops. Source: https://sporcafe69.top/how-to-trade/ · 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 ![How to trade with trendlines using top-down analysis and the Action Line and Safety Line rules](https://sporcafe69.top/how-to-trade/how-to-trade.webp) ## Key takeaways - The trendline system is built on two lines: an Action Line that triggers the entry and a Safety Line that defines the exit and stop placement. - Analysis runs top-down: the higher timeframe sets direction, and lower timeframes are used only to refine the line and the entry. - No indicators are used; entries come from price touching the Action Line, not from oscillator or moving-average signals. - Position size is calculated from the distance between the entry and the Safety Line, so risk per trade stays fixed. - Stops are trailed by redrawing the lines as new swings form, keeping the Safety Line between price and the position. Trading with trendlines means drawing a line along consecutive higher lows in an uptrend (or lower highs in a downtrend), waiting for price to return to that line, and entering only when the line holds — with a second, wider line defining where the idea is wrong. That is the core of the system Tori Trades presents as her trendline strategy, and the waitlist for her material is open at [the Tori Tradez waitlist page](https://go.toritradez.com/9acc4ff4). The approach uses no indicators and no signal software: direction comes from top-down analysis, entries from the Action Line, and exits from the Safety Line. ## What the Action Line and Safety Line actually do The Action Line is the trendline price is expected to react to; the Safety Line is a parallel or secondary line placed beyond it that marks where the trend structure would be broken. The pair turns a subjective chart read into a rule: you act at the first line, and you are out at the second. 1. Draw the Action Line along the swing points that define the trend — higher lows in an uptrend, lower highs in a downtrend. 2. Draw the Safety Line beyond it, at the level where a close would invalidate the trend rather than just poke the line. 3. Enter only on the reaction at the Action Line, not in the middle of the range between the two lines. 4. Place the stop beyond the Safety Line, never between the lines. Because both lines are defined before the trade, the decision at the moment of the touch is mechanical. A viewer of the breakdown described it as sitting on your hands in the middle and only striking at the lines — that is exactly the intended behaviour. ## Top-down analysis before any line is drawn Top-down analysis means starting on the highest timeframe you trade and working down, so the trendline you draw on a lower chart agrees with the bigger picture. A line that contradicts the higher-timeframe trend is a line you should not trade. 1. Start on the daily or weekly chart and identify whether price is making higher highs and higher lows, lower highs and lower lows, or neither. 2. Mark the swing points that define that structure — the obvious pivots, not every minor wiggle. 3. Drop to the 4-hour or 1-hour chart only to refine the same line, not to find a different trend. 4. If the higher timeframe is ranging, stand aside; trendline entries need a trend to lean on. This is why the process feels slow. Most of the work is deciding which timeframe is in charge, and that decision removes most of the trades a beginner would otherwise take. ## Rules for drawing trendlines correctly A trendline is only useful if two different traders would draw roughly the same line, so the drawing rules matter more than the entry trigger. Tori Trades treats line placement as the part that has to be consistent across markets and across years. - Anchor the line to confirmed swing points: a pivot low with higher lows on both sides, or a pivot high with lower highs on both sides. - Use at least two touches to draw the line and a third touch to validate it; a line with one touch is a guess. - Do not force the line through wicks if the bodies tell a cleaner story — pick one convention and keep it. - Never redraw a line just because price broke it; a break is information, not an inconvenience. - Keep the chart clean: no indicators, no moving averages, no clutter that competes with the line. A useful discipline borrowed from experienced trendline traders is to require a minimum number of higher lows on each side of the pivot you anchor to. It slows you down, but it makes the line reproducible and therefore backtestable. ## Moving from the higher timeframe to a lower one Once the higher-timeframe line is set, the lower timeframe is used to tighten the entry, not to change the thesis. The higher-timeframe line gives the zone; the lower timeframe gives the trigger inside that zone. 1. Mark the higher-timeframe Action Line and Safety Line first and keep them visible. 2. Drop one or two timeframes and draw the local trendline that sits inside the same zone. 3. Wait for price to reach the higher-timeframe line, then use the lower-timeframe line for the actual entry. 4. If the lower timeframe shows the trend already broken, skip the trade even if the higher-timeframe line is untouched. The failure mode here is over-analysis: redrawing lines on five timeframes until one of them justifies the trade you already wanted. The hierarchy — higher timeframe first, lower timeframe second — prevents that. ## Position sizing and stop placement The distance between the entry at the Action Line and the stop beyond the Safety Line is the risk unit for the trade, and position size is derived from it. A wide gap between the lines means a smaller position; a tight gap means a larger one, with the same money at risk either way. - Decide the percentage of the account you are willing to lose on the trade before you look at the size. - Measure the distance from entry to stop in ticks or points. - Divide the risk amount by that distance to get the contract or lot size. - If the resulting size is below your broker's minimum, the setup is too wide for your account — skip it. This is the step most beginners skip, and it is the reason two traders can take the same signal with completely different outcomes. The lines tell you where you are wrong; sizing tells you how much that costs. ## Trailing the stop with the Safety Line As the trend extends, the Safety Line is redrawn under each new higher low (or above each new lower high), and the stop follows it. The position is never moved to breakeven arbitrarily and never widened to avoid being stopped out. 1. After price makes a new swing in the trend direction, redraw the Safety Line to the new structural level. 2. Move the stop to just beyond the new Safety Line. 3. Leave the stop alone until the next confirmed swing forms. 4. Exit when price closes beyond the Safety Line, not when it merely touches it. Trailing this way keeps the trade alive through normal pullbacks while cutting it when the structure actually changes. It also means the exit rule is decided by the chart, not by the profit number on the screen. ## Common doubts from traders trying this system The most frequent objection is that the method looks too simple to work, especially for people who have spent months on complex frameworks. Simplicity is the point: the edge is in consistent execution, not in the complexity of the tool. Other recurring concerns: - **"I still lose money."** A rule-based system still produces losing trades; the trendline only defines where the loss is taken. Results depend on position sizing and on skipping setups that fight the higher timeframe. - **"Indicators feel more objective."** Indicators are calculated from past prices, and the trader still interprets them. A trendline anchored to swing points is at least reproducible. - **"Which broker and platform?"** Tori Trades uses TradeStation, linked in the resources below, and tracks trades in Tradezella. - **"Can I use this on forex and crypto?"** The rules are market-agnostic — swing points, an Action Line and a Safety Line exist on any liquid chart. ## Tools and links from the breakdown - Waitlist for Tori Trades' material: https://go.toritradez.com/9acc4ff4 - Trade tracking with Tradezella (code TORI20 for a yearly discount): https://go.toritradez.com/yt-tradezella - The broker used, TradeStation: https://go.toritradez.com/yt-tradestation - Instagram: https://go.toritradez.com/yt-instagram - Facebook: https://go.toritradez.com/yt-facebook ## Summary The trendline system is deliberately boring: top-down analysis picks the direction, a correctly drawn Action Line times the entry, and a Safety Line placed beyond the structure defines the stop and the trailing exit. Position size comes from the distance between the two lines, so risk is fixed before the trade begins. Tori Trades presents this as the same framework she has applied for over a decade, and the channel Tori Trades is the author of the video breakdown this article is based on. If you want to work through the material in order, start with [the waitlist](https://go.toritradez.com/9acc4ff4). ## Questions & answers **Do I need indicators to trade with trendlines?** No. The system uses only price structure: swing points, the Action Line and the Safety Line. Indicators are calculated from past prices and still require interpretation, whereas a line anchored to confirmed pivots gives you a fixed, repeatable reference for both entry and stop. **How do I decide where to put the stop?** The stop goes just beyond the Safety Line, the level where the trend structure would be invalidated rather than merely tested. Position size is then calculated from the distance between the entry at the Action Line and that stop, so the money at risk stays constant regardless of how wide the setup is. **Which timeframe should I start on?** Start on the highest timeframe you intend to trade, typically the daily or weekly, to establish direction and mark the structural swings. Drop to a lower timeframe only to refine the same line and tighten the entry; if the lower chart contradicts the higher one, skip the trade. **Why does the strategy still produce losing trades?** Every rule-based method has a losing streak, because the trendline defines where you are wrong, not whether you are right. Results come from consistent execution, fixed risk per trade and refusing setups that fight the higher-timeframe trend — not from winning every trade.