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Today’s interview features trader Charlie Burton—27-year market veteran, regulated money manager, and five-time undefeated London Trading Show champion—digging into what really separates consistent winners from the rest. Filmed for a practical, no-nonsense audience, this conversation goes beyond chart talk to the psychology that drives every decision: fear, greed, and that fight-or-flight impulse that wrecks execution. Charlie’s been through the wars (including blowing a large account early on) and now manages investor capital with a repeatable approach grounded in discipline. If you’re new or rebuilding, this is a rare chance to hear how a pro frames mindset, structure, and risk so the plan actually gets followed.
In this piece, you’ll learn Charlie’s simple but powerful blueprint: build a mechanical edge first, then protect it with habits that tame emotions—like talking through decisions out loud to interrupt impulsive actions. He explains how to keep analyzing during the trade (not just before it), why intuition is often just nerves in disguise, and how to decide whether you’re fear-based or greed-based in real time. You’ll also see how he balances technical execution with market context, uses positioning and sentiment (think COT) as supporting evidence, and why he shifted from intraday to swing/position trading to scale discipline and life balance. The goal is clear: a trader’s strategy that is objective, durable, and actually executable when the heat turns up.
Charlie Burton Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Big-Picture First: How Charlie Frames the Market
Before Charlie Burton thinks about entries, he wants a directional “lean.” He scans higher timeframes to decide whether to hunt longs, shorts, or stand aside. This keeps him from forcing trades against the dominant flow.
- Start every session with: weekly → daily → 4H top-down. Only take setups in the direction of the daily trend unless there’s a clear reversal structure.
- If the daily 20/50 EMAs are stacked bullish and price is above both, only look for longs; inverse for shorts.
- Skip trades when higher timeframes disagree (e.g., weekly up, daily down). Wait for alignment or a clean reversal base.
- Mark one key level per timeframe (weekly/daily/4H). Don’t clutter; trade from those levels only.
The Setup Shortlist: What Actually Triggers a Trade
Charlie narrows to a few repeatable patterns, so execution becomes automatic. He doesn’t chase every wiggle—he waits for his patterns to appear at his pre-marked levels.
- Allowed patterns: (1) pullback to moving average + simple momentum kick, (2) break-retest of a clean level, (3) failed breakout trap back into range.
- A setup is valid only if it forms at one of your pre-marked levels and in the direction of the daily trend.
- Candle confirmation rule: trade only the first candle that closes back with the trend after a pullback; ignore the next two candles if you missed it.
- Minimum reward: risk = 2:1 at entry based on the first logical target. If you can’t see 2R, pass.
Pre-Trade Plan: Convert Idea → If-Then Rules
Charlie writes the trade before he takes it. That means the entry, stop, target, add-on, and invalidation are set in advance—so there’s nothing to “decide” when the market moves.
- Define entry type: limit at level or market on close of the signal candle; no mid-bar snipes.
- Hard stop always goes beyond the structure that defines you wrong (swing high/low or last pivot), not a fixed number of pips.
- Target 1 at the next HTF level; Target 2 trails behind the most recent higher low/lower high on 1H/4H.
- Write a one-line thesis: “Long because daily uptrend + 4H pullback into prior breakout level, momentum reclaimed.” If price action contradicts this, exit.
Risk First: Position Sizing & Drawdown Control
Charlie treats risk like a utility bill—boring, predictable, and paid on time. He sizes positions so a losing streak is survivable and keeps daily damage capped.
- Risk per trade: 0.5%–1.0% when conditions are normal; cut to 0.25% during news-heavy or choppy periods.
- Max open risk across all positions: 2% total. If one position risks 1.5%, no second trade.
- Daily loss stop: 2R or 2% (whichever hits first). Hit it, walk away.
- If you have three consecutive losing days or five net losers in a row, drop size by 50% until you’re back to new equity highs.
Entry & Execution: The “No Drama” Checklist
Execution is quiet and methodical for Charlie. He uses a short, repeatable checklist so entries don’t become emotional choices.
- Before clicking: (1) HTF bias aligned, (2) setup at pre-marked level, (3) 2R visible to first target, (4) stop placed at structure.
- Place the order, then immediately set the stop and targets. Do not “wait to see how it moves.”
- No adding size unless the plan specified an add-on trigger (e.g., second break-retest with the same invalidation).
- If price hesitates and closes back through your entry level twice, scratch to breakeven; look to re-enter only on a fresh signal.
Trade Management: Let Winners Breathe, Cut Losers Fast
Charlie manages in a rules-based way: early protection without killing the edge. He avoids micromanaging candles that don’t change the structure.
- Move stop to breakeven only after price makes a clear higher low/lower high beyond entry or hits +1R and closes there.
- Trail behind structure, not fixed pips: update stop only when a new swing forms.
- Partial-out 50% at Target 1; let the remainder ride toward HTF level or until structure breaks.
- If an adverse news spike hits your level and closes beyond your invalidation, exit—don’t “give it room.”
Psychology in Practice: How He Stays Out of His Own Way
Charlie assumes emotions will show up, so he builds habits to keep them from steering the trade. He externalizes decisions and uses simple triggers to interrupt impulsive actions.
- Talk the action out loud before taking it: “Bias up. Pullback done. Signal printed. Stop here, target.” If you can’t state it cleanly, don’t take it.
- Use a 60-second timer after the signal closes—if you feel rushed, let the next setup come.
- Label the feeling: “This is greed” or “this is fear.” If labeled, downshift size by half or pass entirely.
- No chart changes mid-trade (no adding indicators, no switching to lower TFs) unless the plan pre-specified it.
Routine & Prep: A Repeatable Daily Process
Charlie’s edge is built in the prep. He keeps a consistent routine, so he isn’t reinventing trading every morning.
- Pre-market (30–45 min): mark HTF bias, levels, and potential setups; write one-line thesis for each candidate.
- Mid-session (5 min on the hour): quick status check—no new analysis—confirm if price is following the plan.
- Post-market (15–20 min): log results, screenshot the best setup and the worst decision, set alerts for tomorrow’s levels.
- Weekly: review equity curve and win/loss distribution; if average R per trade drops below 0.5 for two weeks, reduce instruments or timeframes.
Instrument Selection & News Filters
Charlie keeps a small universe he knows well and filters for sessions where those markets actually move. He also respects scheduled news that can distort price behavior.
- Trade 3–5 instruments total; rotate only if performance degrades for a full month.
- Avoid new entries 15 minutes before and after high-impact releases (e.g., CPI, central bank decisions) unless the plan specifically trades the event structure.
- If the spread widens beyond your average by 50% at entry time, skip; re-assess after spreads normalize.
- Define a “dead market” rule: if ATR(14) is below your historical 25th percentile, only take A+ setups or stand aside.
Swing vs. Intraday: Matching Style to Temperament
Charlie leans into swing structures when the higher-timeframe picture is clean, and he dials down to intraday only when volatility and session flows are supportive.
- Swing filter: daily trend aligned with weekly, ATR supports 2R within 2–5 days—then prefer 4H/1H entries.
- Intraday filter: strong session drive (London/NY), clean catalyst, and range expansion above 20-day average—then consider M15/M5 entries with the same structure rules.
- If you take three intraday trades without a clean follow-through, stop day-trading and revert to swing setups for the week.
- For swing positions, check charts at fixed times (e.g., every 4 hours); do not babysit candles.
Scaling, Adds, and Portfolio View
Charlie scales only when the original premise strengthens. Adds are pre-planned and share the same invalidation logic, so overall risk stays contained.
- Add-on only after price breaks a fresh level and retests, keeping the combined stop at the same structural invalidation.
- Never let the total risk on the combined position exceed the original planned risk by more than 50%.
- If two open trades are positively correlated (e.g., EURUSD long and DXY short), count them as one risk unit.
- Pyramid into strength up to two adds maximum; if the second add fails to make progress within two bars of its timeframe, remove the add and keep the core.
Metrics That Matter: Edge Tracking & Upgrades
Charlie measures what he wants more of—clean setups, disciplined exits, and R multiple growth. The data then tells him what to cut or double down on.
- Track per-setup win rate, average R, and time-to-target. Drop any setup with <0.3 average R over 30 trades.
- Record “plan adherence” as a binary metric per trade (1 = followed, 0 = deviated). If adherence <85% in a week, reduce the size next week.
- Tag trades by market condition (trend, range, news-driven). Only trade the top two conditions where your average R is highest.
- Review monthly: keep one improvement—either tighter invalidation, later breakeven, or fewer instruments—not three at once.
Size Risk First: Fixed R Per Trade, Daily Damage Cap
Charlie Burton starts by deciding how much he’s willing to lose before he decides what he wants to make. He fixes a constant R per trade so the outcome of any single idea can’t bully the equity curve. With a fixed R, volatility only changes position size—not the dollar risk—so messy markets don’t blow holes in the account. He treats capital like inventory: preserve it first, deploy it second.
Define R in cash before the session and calculate the size from the stop distance so every trade risks the same amount. Keep a hard ceiling on total open risk and set a daily damage cap that sends you flat and off the screens when hit. If Charlie Burton strings a few losers, he cuts size and focuses on A-setups until the curve stabilizes. The result is a smoother P&L where survival isn’t left to hope, and compounding has room to work.
Trade What You See: Mechanics Over Prediction, Levels Define Actions
Charlie Burton doesn’t guess where price “should” go—he documents what it’s doing and acts on that. He maps levels in advance and lets price confirm or reject them before committing. If the market respects the level and prints his trigger, he’s in; if not, he waits and keeps his powder dry. The edge lives in repeatable mechanics, not hot takes about the next big move.
Each trade is an if–then statement tied to a structure: “If price reclaims the level and closes above, then buy with a stop below the base.” Charlie Burton’s stop sits where the idea is proven wrong, and the target sits at the next objective level—no freelancing mid-trade. If momentum fizzles or the candle closes back through the level twice, he scratches and re-evaluates. The goal is a clean execution loop: define, wait, confirm, act, and manage—zero heroics, maximum consistency.
Volatility-Gated Entries: Only Take Setups With Two-To-One Minimum
Charlie Burton filters trades by volatility first, execution second. If the current ATR or session range won’t comfortably deliver at least 2R to the nearest logical target, he simply passes. He sizes positions from the stop distance and today’s volatility, so the same cash risk buys fewer units in wild markets and more in calm ones. Spreads and slippage get checked too—if they chew up more than ~10–15% of the planned 1R, the setup is disqualified.
He defines the stop at the invalidation structure and measures the distance to Target 1; only if that path offers ≥2:1 does he arm the order. If price is wedging or ATR sits in its bottom quartile, he tightens the watchlist and waits for a range expansion or catalyst. Charlie Burton treats “no trade” as a win, protecting capital and attention for when distance-to-target and volatility align. The outcome is simple: fewer trades, cleaner moves, and a P&L driven by quality, not activity.
Diversify Smart: Instruments, Timeframes, and Strategy Types, Not Noise
Charlie Burton spreads risk across what truly diversifies: different instruments, timeframes, and setup archetypes—not just a bunch of tickers that move together. He caps exposure to any single theme (e.g., USD strength) so two “different” trades don’t actually become one big correlated bet. If EURUSD and GBPUSD are leaning on the same dollar narrative, he treats them as a single risk unit. That way, a macro shove doesn’t knock down the whole book at once.
He also diversifies by tempo: one or two swing positions built off a daily/4H structure, and—only when conditions are right—a tactical intraday play on the 15-minute. Strategy types are limited but distinct: a trend pullback, a break–retest, and the occasional failed-break trap. Charlie Burton tracks performance by instrument and setup; anything that drops below a minimum average R gets sidelined for a month. The aim isn’t more trades—it’s cleaner risk spreading, fewer hidden correlations, and a portfolio that can take a punch without losing the plot.
Process Discipline: Written If–Then Plans, Breakeven Triggers, Structured Adds
Charlie Burton treats discipline as a system, not a mood. Before entry, he writes a one-line if–then plan that locks the setup, stop, and first target in place. Once live, he follows a predefined breakeven trigger—usually after price makes a clear higher low/lower high or closes at +1R—so protection is earned, not rushed. He refuses to tinker mid-trade; changing rules on the fly is treated as a separate “discretionary” trade and therefore not allowed.
Adds are planned before the first click: only on a clean break–retest with the same invalidation, and never if the combined risk would exceed the original plan by more than 50%. Charlie Burton journals adherence for every position as a binary metric—followed or deviated—and cuts the size the next week if adherence slips. He reviews screenshots of best and worst actions daily to reinforce rule memory, not outcome bias. The payoff is consistency under pressure: fewer impulsive exits, steadier R-multiples, and a playbook that’s actually executable when markets get loud.
Charlie Burton’s core message is simple: psychology rules the scoreboard, so build your trading around it. He frames trading as a constant duel with fear and greed, and insists your pre-trade thinking must continue after entry—otherwise you’ll get yanked around by every tick and narrative. Winners don’t “hope”; they keep analyzing inside the trade, stick to structure, and let planned invalidation—not emotion—decide exits.
He makes expectation-setting brutally practical: triple-digit years happen, but they’re rare and usually come with higher exposure; a realistic window for many retail traders is in the 20–50% range over time, with wide year-to-year variation. The point isn’t chasing a number—it’s aligning risk, frequency, and lifestyle so your plan survives different market regimes. Survival buys you the reps that compound skill.
On execution, he teaches traders to label their current state—“this is fear” or “this is greed”—and use that awareness to either rein themselves in or give a necessary nudge. That self-talk, combined with a rules-first process, keeps you taking qualified signals even when your stomach flips—especially in contrarian swing setups that pair technical reversal structures with skewed sentiment. The edge isn’t prediction; it’s a repeatable response to price at key levels, with risk defined where you’re proven wrong.
Finally, Charlie’s long arc underscores tenacity and humility: markets will humble you, whether three years in or twenty. Your job is to keep going, stay realistic, and evolve a process that works across bull, bear, and chop—because consistency under pressure, not a single hot streak, is what endures.
