Table of Contents
Latoya Smith-Dean sits down for a straight-talk interview about how she actually trades—why she wakes at 7:30 a.m. Eastern to build her list, why gaps on earnings are her bread-and-butter, and why she caps herself at just a few focused trades before stepping away. You’ll hear how a Boston investment club started, a stint in investment banking, and tough lessons with small caps pushed Latoya toward a cleaner, higher-volume style that’s built on simple support/resistance, strong catalysts, and tight risk control.
In this piece, you’ll learn the core of Latoya’s approach: scanning for earnings gaps, mapping daily levels, visualizing where the candle should close, and executing in the volatile first 30–60 minutes—then shifting to crude oil futures for targeted moves. We’ll unpack her “no more than four trades” rule, her habit of scaling down after hitting a goal, and the mindset anchors of mentorship, prep, and having consequences for broken rules. If you’re a developing trader looking to replace guesswork with a simple, repeatable plan that respects time, risk, and life outside the screens, Latoya’s framework is a sharp template to copy.
Latoya Smith-Dean Playbook & Strategy: How She Actually Trades
Market Focus & Instruments
Here’s the big picture of what Latoya hunts and why. She leans into liquid names with real catalysts at the open, then switches to a clean, rule-based futures routine when equities quiet down.
- Trade universe: high-volume U.S. equities showing fresh catalysts (earnings, guidance, major news).
- Priority: gap-and-go or gap-and-fade opportunities with clear daily levels.
- Sidecar: CL (crude oil futures) session once equity momentum slows.
- Avoid: thin small caps, low float traps, and stocks with inconsistent liquidity.
- Platform rule: only trade instruments you can enter/exit instantly with tight spreads.
Pre-Market Routine (90–30 minutes before open)
This sets the day’s edge. Latoya’s prep narrows focus to a short list with defined levels so execution is fast and clean at the bell.
- Build a 3–6 ticker watchlist from earnings calendars and top gainers/losers.
- Mark the prior day’s high/low, pre-market high/low, and nearest daily supply/demand zones.
- Write the “why now” catalyst for each ticker in one sentence.
- Visualize the first 60 minutes: where must the first big candle close to confirm direction?
- Define A/ B setups before the bell; anything else is a pass.
- Pre-set bracket orders templates (size, stop, first target) to cut decision time.
A+ Equity Setups (what qualifies)
These are the patterns that actually pay her. Each has a simple read, strong participation, and a binary invalidation level.
- Earnings gap with volume > 2× 20-day average and clean daily breakout above resistance.
- First pullback to VWAP after a range break with higher highs/higher lows on the 1–5m.
- Reclaim pattern: stock gaps down, sweeps liquidity, reclaims prior day low → squeeze to VWAP.
- Parabolic exhaust into daily supply with 5m lower high → fade back to VWAP.
- No trade if the first 15m range is choppy (overlapping bars, mixed tape, wicks both sides).
Entries & Timing (first 30–60 minutes)
Open-drive minutes decide the tone. Latoya commits only when the price proves itself relative to levels and real volume shows up.
- Use the first 1–5m range as a trigger zone; enter on the break-and-hold, not on the wick.
- For continuation long: wait for a 5m close above pre-market high; enter partial, add on first higher low.
- For fade: wait for an impulsive push into the daily level, then a 1–2m failed follow-through and lower high.
- Confirm with tape: spreads tight, refreshing bids/offers at the level, no air pockets.
- Skip if an entry would place the stop inside noise (< ATR(14)×0.2 on the trigger timeframe).
Risk, Sizing & Stops
Her edge lives in asymmetry: defined risk, asymmetric target. Size comes from the chart, not the ego.
- Hard stop at the invalidation level you drew in prep—place it immediately.
- Risk per trade: 0.25–0.5% of account; never increase risk to “make back” losses.
- Position size = (risk dollars) ÷ (entry–invalidation distance), rounded down.
- First scale: 1R; second scale: 2R; leave a runner only if trend conditions persist (above VWAP for longs/below for shorts).
- Move stop to breakeven after 1.2–1.5R only if structure confirms (new higher low/lower high).
Daily Guardrails
These rules protect the week and keep the mind clear. They are non-negotiable.
- Max trades: 4 live attempts per day; after 2 losers in a row, step away for 30 minutes.
- Daily drawdown stop: 1–1.5% of account; platform-enforced lock if hit.
- Daily goal met: reduce size by 50% or stop trading equities and move to futures routine.
- News risk: flat five minutes before scheduled high-impact releases touching watchlist names.
Trade Management Playbook
The plan is written before the trade starts. Management simply follows the script.
- If price hesitates at the first target with delta/tape slowing, scale 50% and trail behind the last pivot.
- If a momentum candle closes back inside the breakout range, exit remainder—no “hope holds.”
- For fades, cover 1/2 at VWAP; trail the remainder to the 9/20 EMA cross on your trigger chart.
- If the spread widens or liquidity thins suddenly, exit to market and reassess—liquidity is a signal.
Futures Sidecar: Crude Oil (CL)
When equities slow, Latoya runs a compact CL routine. Same logic: structure, levels, and risk first.
- Session window: U.S. morning; avoid trading into major oil reports unless planned as a catalyst trade.
- Levels: prior day H/L, overnight H/L, pit session VWAP, weekly pivot.
- Setup 1 (trend): pullback to VWAP in established trend with responsive order flow → enter with stop beyond last swing.
- Setup 2 (reversal): sweep of overnight H/L followed by absorption + break back inside range → fade to VWAP.
- Risk: 8–20 ticks initial, scale 1 at +15–25 ticks, trail behind 5m swings.
Psychology & Discipline Systems
Consistency beats genius. These are the habits that keep her process repeatable under pressure.
- Pre-commitment contract: write the day’s must-follow rules in one sentence on a sticky before the open.
- If a rule is broken, impose a consequence (reduced size next session, extra sim reps).
- Use a two-column journal: “What I planned” vs. “What I actually did,” with screenshots.
- Grade each trade A/B/C on setup quality, not P&L; only A’s are allowed after a red morning.
Opening Checklist (run it every day)
Checklists remove ambiguity at go time. This one fits on a single monitor and covers the essentials.
- Watchlist: 3–6 tickers, each with a catalyst and thesis typed out.
- Levels drawn: PDH/PDL, PMH/PML, daily supply/demand, key moving averages/VWAP.
- Scenarios written: breakout, retest, fail—define the invalidation for each.
- Orders staged: bracket templates loaded with the correct size and stops.
- Guardrails visible: max trades, daily DD stop, news times.
Post-Trade Review (10–20 minutes)
Fast feedback loops turn days into progress. Keep it short, visual, and brutally honest.
- Save annotated charts with entries/exits, levels, and notes on why/why not.
- Record metrics: R multiple, slippage, heat (max MAE), time in trade.
- Tag mistakes (late entry, thesis drift, revenge add) and write the fix in one sentence.
- Log one improvement to test tomorrow; keep it binary (“wait for 5m close above PMH before entry”).
Weekly Maintenance
Edge compounds when you zoom out. A small cadence keeps the playbook sharp and ready.
- Run a 30-minute weekly audit: top setups by expectancy, worst by mistake frequency.
- Update your A-book with two fresh screenshots per setup from the week.
- Adjust the instruments list based on liquidity and the catalyst calendar for the coming week.
- Define one micro-goal for the next five sessions (e.g., “no sub-A trades before 10:00 a.m.”).
Size risk first, trade second: fixed R and bracketed stops
Latoya Smith-Dean is ruthless about sizing before clicking buy or sell. She decides the dollar risk per trade first, then back-solves position size from the distance to invalidation—never the other way around. That keeps every trade comparable and kills the urge to “go bigger” on hunches. If the stop needs to be wide because volatility is high, size shrinks; if volatility is tight, size can grow without breaking the risk budget.
She also brackets every order so the stop and first target are live from the second one. This removes hesitation when the price moves fast and keeps execution consistent on red or green days. If the setup hits 1R quickly, she pays herself and lets a partial run only if the structure stays intact. Break the level that defined the trade? She’s out—no averaging, no praying, just onto the next clean opportunity.
Let volatility choose position size, not your feelings or bias.
Latoya Smith-Dean builds size from the chart’s actual movement, not how confident she feels. She reads recent range and ATR to estimate expected wiggle, then sets stop distance outside the noise and scales the share count down or up accordingly. When volatility expands, her position shrinks automatically; when it contracts, she can hold a slightly bigger size without violating risk. This keeps her P&L variance stable even when markets get loud.
Latoya also avoids “anchoring” to a favorite share count by recalculating size for every setup. If the stop would land inside normal noise, she widens it and cuts the size so the risk per trade stays constant. If the required size becomes comically small, she skips the trade—bad volatility equals bad odds. Her rule is simple: the market’s volatility sets the leash, Latoya sets the risk, and ego gets zero votes.
Diversify by setup, timeframe, and instrument, not just tickers.
Latoya Smith-Dean doesn’t confuse “different stocks” with real diversification. She splits risk across distinct play types—gap-and-go, VWAP reclaim, and controlled fades—so one pattern’s slump doesn’t sink the day. Time matters too: she concentrates size in the first 30–60 minutes, then downgrades aggression after the open to reduce chop risk. If morning momentum dies, she pivots to her crude oil routine instead of forcing equity trades.
She also diversifies by duration—quick scalps on failed pushes, base hits on structure breaks, and occasional runners only when trend conditions are clean. Each lane has its own risk, target, and stop style, so results don’t rise or fall together. When setups, timeframes, and instruments are intentionally mixed, correlation drops and consistency climbs. That’s the idea Latoya returns to daily: spread edge across uncorrelated behaviors, not just a longer ticker list.
Trade the mechanics: gaps, VWAP reclaims, first-hour momentum only.
Latoya Smith-Dean wins by following mechanical triggers, not predictions. On gap plays, she wants a real catalyst and heavy pre-market volume, then a break-and-hold over pre-market highs—not just a wick. For VWAP reclaims, she waits for a close back above VWAP and a higher low to confirm buyers, then enters with the stop under the reclaim level. If volume thins or spreads widen, she passes, because mechanics require clean participation to work.
Her clock is just as mechanical: most aggression lives in the first 30–60 minutes, where momentum is pure and levels matter. After the first hour, Latoya downshifts size and frequency unless trend conditions are obvious. She avoids guessing tops or bottoms and instead lets structure tell her when a move is exhausted. If a breakout candle closes back inside the range, she’s out; if a reclaim fails instantly, she cuts. The rules protect her from “almost” trades and keep her focused on the few clean moves that actually pay.
Enforce process discipline: max four trades, hard daily drawdown stop
Latoya Smith-Dean treats discipline like a position—once it’s gone, the trade is over. She caps herself at four live attempts per day and steps away for thirty minutes after two consecutive losers. A hard daily drawdown stop—around one to one-and-a-half percent—locks the platform when hit, so emotions never get a fifth swing. When the daily goal is reached, she cuts the size in half or shifts to her future routine to protect the gains.
Latoya also builds consequences into the process so rules have teeth. Break a rule, and the next session starts with a reduced size and a written fix in her journal. She uses a simple pre-commitment note before the bell—what she will and won’t do—and grades trades on setup quality, not P&L. If liquidity gets weird or she feels tilt rising, a timer break resets her focus. The result is a repeatable day: fewer forced trades, faster exits when wrong, and a steady equity curve that isn’t hostage to mood.
Latoya Smith-Dean’s edge isn’t a fancy indicator—it’s a rulebook built from scars. She starts by fixing risk in dollars, drawing her invalidation on the chart, and letting volatility dictate position size. The morning belongs to earnings gaps and clean daily levels; confirmation is a break-and-hold, not a hopeful wick. She makes most of her money in the first 30–40 minutes, then deliberately downshifts. If she hits her goal early, she scales down or stops, because keeping gains is a strategy too.
Her process is minimalist and repeatable: a tight watchlist, clear support/resistance, bracketed orders, and non-negotiable guardrails. No more than four equity trades; two losers trigger a time-out; sloppy liquidity or failing structure means a fast exit. When equities lose momentum, she pivots to crude oil futures with the same level-driven logic—trend, pullback, VWAP/range behavior, defined stops. Mentorship shaped the mindset, but discipline keeps it funded: prep before the bell, execute the plan at the bell, and review after the bell. That’s the real “secret sauce”—mechanics over prediction, consequences for broken rules, and a daily routine you can run tomorrow.
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