Table of Contents
Casey Stubbs sits down for a candid YouTube chat about how he actually trades—and why his approach resonates with everyday traders. He’s the entrepreneur behind Trading Strategy Guides and the Cashflow Hacking Podcast, a veteran who blends trading with building tools and systems that make execution simpler. If you’ve ever wrestled with over-complicated charts or felt pulled between business, family, and the market, Casey’s story shows how a clean playbook and steady process can keep you on track.
In this piece, you’ll learn how Casey turns complexity into clear, testable rules—from using RSI divergence the right way to forward-testing small, consistent edges without over-leveraging. We’ll cover his take on price action versus indicators (and why simplicity wins), how to build a trading plan you’ll actually follow, and why realistic profit targets beat moonshot goals. You’ll see how he measures results, fits a strategy to real life, and uses platforms like TradingView to keep everything clean—so you can trade with fewer decisions, tighter discipline, and more confidence.
Casey Stubbs Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
What Casey trades and how he keeps it simple
Casey Stubbs runs a clean, rules-first approach that works across forex, stocks, futures, and crypto. He favors simple tools, repeatable patterns, and platforms that let him scan and act without babysitting charts.
- Pick one primary market to specialize in (e.g., EURUSD or a top-10 stock) and one backup market with similar liquidity/volatility.
- Trade one main timeframe for entries (e.g., 15m, 1h, or 4h) and one higher timeframe for trend context; don’t mix more than two.
- Predefine your session window (e.g., London/NY overlap for FX) and avoid off-hours unless the plan explicitly allows it.
- Use alerts to bring trades to you; do not stare at charts waiting for setups to “appear.”
- Keep the chart light: price, one indicator for the setup, and one tool for trend/context—nothing else.
The EFC RSI-Divergence reversal setup
Casey teaches a straightforward RSI-based divergence strategy (“EFC”) designed to catch turns without guesswork. The key is defining divergence, waiting for a clear trigger, and automating the hunt so you only evaluate qualified signals.
- Indicator: RSI(14). Define bullish divergence as price making a lower low while RSI prints a higher low; bearish divergence is the opposite.
- Valid zone: Look for bullish signals with RSI dipping below 30 at the first low; for bearish, above 70 at the first high.
- Trigger: Enter only after price breaks the local countertrend line or prints a strong confirmation candle in the direction of the divergence.
- Invalidation: For bullish setups, the stop goes a few ticks/pips below the divergence swing low; for bearish setups, a few ticks/pips above the swing high.
- Targeting: First target at the nearest structure level (prior swing or minor supply/demand). If reached, scale partial and trail behind higher lows/lower highs.
- Time filter: Ignore signals that form during illiquid times or major news bars unless your plan explicitly includes them.
- Duplicate-control: One signal per move—skip repeat divergences until price has made a clear new swing structure.
Trend with strength: pair the strong vs the weak
In currencies, Casey focuses on combining the strongest currency with the weakest to ride clean trends. The idea is to scan for strength/weakness first, then use simple price action to time entries.
- Create a daily watchlist of the two strongest and two weakest currencies; only trade pairs that combine one from each list.
- Use a higher timeframe (4h/D) to confirm trend direction; only take entries in that direction on your execution timeframe.
- Entry: Buy pullbacks in an uptrend when price returns to a prior demand area or minor moving average band; sell rallies in a downtrend at prior supply.
- Invalidation: Stop goes past the most recent opposing swing; cancel the setup if the higher timeframe trend flips.
- Exit plan: Take profit at prior structure, round numbers, or the higher timeframe swing boundary; leave a runner if the trend stays intact.
- If strength/weakness rankings reshuffle mid-trade, tighten the stop to the latest structure and be willing to exit on momentum loss.
Risk that survives: position sizing and trade limits
Casey’s emphasis on discipline shows up most clearly in risk: keep sizing small, cap your daily exposure, and never move stops further away. Small edge + strict risk is what makes a strategy livable.
- Risk a fixed fraction per trade (e.g., 0.5% to 1.0%); never “stretch” size after a loss.
- Hard daily risk cap (e.g., 2R or 2%): stop trading for the day if hit—no exceptions.
- Place stops at objective structure (last swing high/low); if the structure is too wide, skip the trade.
- Do not widen stops after entry. Only moves stop in your favor based on the new, objective structure.
- Max concurrent positions: limit to the number you can monitor properly (e.g., 2–3). Correlated positions count as one.
Execution discipline: make rules easier to follow
Casey removes friction by encoding rules into tools and alerts, so discipline is about saying “yes/no” to clear signals. The fewer discretionary decisions you make in the heat of the moment, the better your results.
- Pre-trade checklist (printed or on-screen): market/TF, setup type, trigger present, risk size, stop location, target, and session filter.
- “No impulse” rule: if a setup wasn’t pre-defined in your plan, it cannot be traded—log it and revisit after hours.
- One decision per candle: once entered, wait for the bar to close to adjust stops/targets unless your plan states otherwise.
- Define “three strikes”: after three plan-compliant losses in a row, pause and review before the next trade.
- Use platform alerts for divergence, strength shifts, or structure breaks; only open charts when an alert fires.
Testing and iteration without curve-fit
Casey’s workflow tests strategies, then builds tools to find them quickly. You’ll keep the edge by validating on fresh data and making changes only after enough trades to matter.
- Forward-test each setup for at least 30–50 trades before changing a core rule; log date, market, setup, entry, stop, target, result, and screenshots.
- Track metrics: hit rate, average R, max drawdown in R, time-in-trade, and slippage. Decisions require data, not vibes.
- Change control: modify only one variable at a time (e.g., trigger, stop method, or target rule) and forward-test again.
- Seasonal/market filter: if a setup underperforms during specific sessions or events, add a rule to stand down during those windows.
- Quarterly review: keep, tweak, or cut setups based on net R and drawdown profile—not on the last five trades.
Daily and weekly routine that compounds skill
Casey’s edge comes from repeatable habits: short, focused reviews and a light footprint keep him consistent. This routine minimizes overtrading while ensuring you’re always ready for high-quality signals.
- Daily (pre-market): update strong/weak lists, mark key levels, set alerts, and note scheduled events; 20–30 minutes max.
- Daily (post-market): record results, capture one lesson, and tag screenshots; 10–15 minutes.
- Weekly: audit all trades against the checklist—count any deviation as a separate “process loss” and fix the root cause.
- Cleanup rule: if a market becomes choppy or your setup yields two low-quality signals in a row, remove it from next week’s list.
- Add capacity only after consistency: one new market or one new setup per month—never both at the same time.
Size Every Trade Small: Fixed Risk, No Exceptions, Never Average
Casey Stubbs is ruthless about risk, and it starts with sizing every position small enough that a single loss is a non-event. He fixes the risk per trade up front—say 0.5% to 1%—and never lets a “good feeling” talk him into more. That fixed cap forces cleaner setups because anything with a huge stop gets skipped rather than shoehorned. If the structure-based stop is too wide, Casey waits for a better entry instead of fudging the rules. Small risk also kills the urge to move stops after entry, because the pain is already accounted for.
He never averages down, period, because adding size to a loser rewrites the plan mid-flight and compounds errors. When the stop hits, the trade is over, and the next decision happens with a clear head. That discipline keeps the equity curve smoother and protects the ability to take the next valid setup. With fixed risk, the math of the system shines: a modest win rate with decent R multiples can still grind higher. It’s not glamorous, but Casey Stubbs proves that strict, tiny risk is the real secret sauce behind long-term survivability.
Let Volatility Dictate Position Size, Targets, And Session Selection
Casey Stubbs keeps one eye on volatility before he even thinks about clicking buy or sell. When the range expands, he cuts position size and widens stops to match the bigger swings; when markets quiet down, he shrinks targets and tightens risk so he’s not waiting forever. A simple ATR read gives him the “speed limit” for the day, which turns guesswork into math. If ATR is elevated, Casey aims for measured moves, not home runs, because the market will deliver the distance without extra risk. If ATR collapses, he either trades smaller targets or stands down until the tape wakes up.
Session choice is driven by the same logic: he wants clean movement, not noise. Casey Stubbs prefers periods like the London–New York overlap for forex or the regular session open for stocks, because volatility is reliable and spreads behave. He avoids illiquid pockets and pre-news churn, then reassesses post-release when the dust settles and ATR confirms structure. Targets are mapped to current volatility bands and recent structure, so exits reflect what the market can realistically give today. The result is a plan that adapts in real time without changing the rules—volatility calls the shots, and Casey just follows the speed limit.
Trade Rules Not Predictions: Two Timeframes, One Trigger, One Exit
Casey Stubbs builds every trade from rules, not gut calls or narratives. He reads a higher timeframe for direction and structure, then executes on a single, lower timeframe to keep decisions consistent. One pre-defined trigger fires the entry—no “almost” signals, no front-running. A fixed invalidation level goes in immediately, and he resists the urge to widen stops or negotiate with the chart.
Once in, Casey Stubbs follows one exit plan set before entry: first target at nearby structure, then trail only if the plan permits. He won’t stack indicators or stack opinions; the setup is either on-plan or it isn’t. During the trade, he makes one decision per candle to avoid noise and micro-management. If the higher timeframe flips, the trade is closed and reviewed—no averaging, no switching strategies mid-flight.
Diversify By Market, Strategy, And Duration; Avoid Correlated Exposure
Casey Stubbs spreads his bets so one theme can’t sink the ship. He mixes uncorrelated markets—like a major FX pair, a liquid index future, and a large-cap stock—so a single news shock doesn’t hit everything at once. Strategy diversity matters too: a mean-reversion setup lives alongside a trend-following play, so when one style cools off, the other can carry the load. He also staggers trade duration—intraday, swing, and the occasional multi-day runner—to smooth the equity curve and reduce timing risk.
Correlation is treated like hidden leverage, and Casey Stubbs refuses to double-count it. If two positions move together, he sizes them as one and is quick to cut the weaker idea. He won’t stack three tech longs and pretend it’s diversification; sector, currency, and volatility links are checked before entry. When correlations spike—earnings season, macro events, or crisis tape—he tightens exposure, trims overlap, and prioritizes the cleanest signal. The goal is simple: multiple independent edges working in parallel, each small on its own, compounding safely together.
Choose Defined Risk Setups; Automate Alerts; Enforce Process Discipline Daily
Casey Stubbs starts with defined ris, or he doesn’t start at all. Every setup has a pre-planned invalidation at structure and a position size that fits the stop—no “mental” stops and no last-minute changes. He converts the plan into platform alerts so the chart calls him, not the other way around. When an alert fires, he checks the pre-trade checklist and either executes or stands down—no improvisation.
Process is the edge Casey Stubbs protects most. He uses a “three strikes and review” rule to pause after three plan-compliant losses and audit execution, not the market. During trades, he makes one decision per candle to eliminate noise-driven tinkering and never widens a stop after entry. The day ends with a quick journal: screenshot, R result, and one process takeaway to keep the rules sharp and repeatable.
Casey Stubbs leaves you with a simple truth: trade what you can execute flawlessly. His focus on clean, rules-first setups—like spotting RSI divergence to catch exhaustion and then waiting for a real trigger—keeps the process calm and repeatable. He hammers discipline because it’s learned the hard way: define the invalidation, take the loss when it hits, and move on. Simplicity isn’t a slogan for Casey; it’s the filter that kills clutter, reduces decisions, and makes following the plan the easiest option in the moment that counts.
He also shows how to make discipline practical. Build tools and alerts that surface qualified signals so you’re evaluating, not hunting. Keep risk small enough that any single outcome is forgettable, and let volatility shape targets and session choice so you’re trading what the market is actually offering today. Pair strong structure with one trigger and one exit, diversify across markets and styles to avoid hidden correlation, and keep a tight feedback loop with brief reviews. Do that consistently, and the edge stops being a mystery—your process becomes the edge.
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