Table of Contents
In this interview, LA-based FX trader Luca sits down in Miami with the Titans of Tomorrow host to break down how he actually trades and why his approach cuts through the noise. He’s candid about evolving from textbook supply-and-demand to a liquidity-first lens—spotting “smart-money traps,” using ultra-tight invalidations, and focusing on the London session where volatility pays. If you’ve ever felt like the market keeps tagging your stop before running, this conversation will click.
You’ll learn the exact playbook Luca uses: hunt the liquidity sweep, wait for the shift, execute with precision, and manage exits with data (including why a 1:3 take-profit and an 8-smoothed MA filter can outperform “hope and hold”). We’ll also cover session-range logic for realistic targets, why breathing-room stops are a trap, how he uses DXY/GBP indexes for confluence, and why M1 isn’t “noise” when you know your invalidation.
Luca Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Core Bias: Where the Edge Really Comes From
Before chasing entries, Luca builds a simple, testable bias so he’s only hunting setups in the “easy” direction. This cuts down noise and keeps him from forcing trades when the market’s in chop.
- Define trend on the H1: if the last break of structure (BOS) was up and price holds above that swing’s demand, bias is long; vice-versa for shorts.
- Mark the daily high/low and prior session high/low—assume liquidity sits just beyond them and expect price to reach at least one.
- If the first sweep of a session takes out one side’s liquidity and fails to follow through, prepare for a run to the opposite side (classic trap behavior).
- No bias = no trade: if H1 shows overlapping candles and equal highs/lows, stand down until a clear sweep + BOS appears.
Session & Instrument Selection
He focuses on where velocity and liquidity are highest, so his rules trigger consistently. Limiting the menu also sharpens pattern recognition and reduces random outcomes.
- Trade London and early New York only; flat outside those windows.
- Preferred pairs: majors with tight spreads (e.g., GBPUSD, EURUSD, XAUUSD if spread is acceptable).
- Skip days with abnormally wide overnight ranges—mean-reverting chop is more likely.
- Maximum two instruments per session; if both are clean, pick the one with a clearer sweep-to-target path.
Set up A: Liquidity Sweep → Shift in Structure
This is Luca’s bread-and-butter: let the market grab stops, then ride the reversal once control flips. It avoids guessing tops/bottoms and anchors entries to objective triggers.
- Step 1 — Liquidity: wait for price to run a prior high/low (session, daily, or Asia) by at least a candle close or clear wick displacement.
- Step 2 — Shift: demand a lower-timeframe BOS back through the last supply (for longs) or the last demand (for shorts).
- Step 3 — Entry: place a limit at the origin block of the BOS impulse or at the unfilled fair-value gap that propelled the shift.
- Step 4 — Invalidation: stop goes just beyond the sweep extreme (for reversals) or beyond the opposite side of the impulse block (for continuations).
- If there’s no decisive shift within 3–5 candles after the sweep, the setup is invalid—move on.
Execution Triggers & Risk Template
Consistency comes from fixed triggers and a repeatable risk model. He sizes by risk, not conviction, and lets the math do the heavy lifting.
- Risk per trade: 0.5% baseline; max 1% only if H1 bias, session timing, and clean sweep align.
- Only place an order after the BOS candle closes; no early stabs.
- Use a fixed “invalidated or not” stop—never widen it. If the edge is real, the first stop should hold.
- First scale-in allowed only if price retests the entry block without breaking invalidation; total risk never >1%.
- Cancel resting orders if the session’s key time window (first 120 minutes of London or first 90minutes of NY) has passed.
Taking Profits with Logic (Targets & Scaling)
He exits where other traders’ orders likely sit. That keeps targets realistic, improves win-rate, and reduces “almost there” reversals.
- TP1 at equal highs/lows or the next session range boundary (1R–1.5R typical).
- TP2 at the opposing liquidity pool (prior day high/low or untouched swing)—aim for 2R–3R.
- Leave a runner to the next H1 level only if the trade reached TP1 within 30–45 minutes; slow trades get a full exit at TP2.
- If the price closes beyond the TP1 level and immediately retests it from the other side, trail to break-even plus fees/spread.
- Hard time-stop: if the trade hasn’t reached 1R within 60 minutes during London (or 45 minutes during NY), exit at market.
Filters that Boost Win-Rate
Filters keep him out of mediocre looks that “technically fit” but rarely pay. Use them to avoid overtrading and save bullets for A-setups.
- Skip entries directly into a fresh H1 supply/demand within 3–5 pips; wait for displacement through it first.
- Prefer sweeps that also tag a clean imbalance or round number (00/50) before the shift—those reverse with more force.
- If spread >25% of stop size, pass. Execution friction kills expectancy.
- Avoid trading immediately into high-impact calendar minutes; execute only on the post-release shift.
- If the sweep candle’s body is >2× average of the last 10, require a deeper retrace (at least 50%) before entry.
Trade Management: What to Do After You’re In
The job’s not done at entry. These rules reduce decision fatigue and protect equity when conditions change.
- Move stop to break-even only after TP1 prints or after a full candle closes past your entry block in profit.
- If a second, stronger shift forms in your favor, you may pyramid once with the same invalidation; total open risk must remain ≤ original risk.
- Invalidate the trade if the price closes back inside the swept range without making TP1—momentum failed.
- For runners, trail behind fresh M5 swing structure; never use fixed pip trails.
- No averaging down, ever. If invalid, exit and reframe—new trade, new risk.
The Journal Loop (Fast Feedback → Fast Improvement)
Luca treats every session like a mini-experiment. The journal converts anecdotes into stats, so the playbook keeps compounding.
- Log: session, pair, setup type (sweep→shift or continuation), entry block type, stop size, R multiple, time-to-1R, and whether equal highs/lows were present.
- Tag losers by cause (premature entry, into HTF level, no shift, spread too wide, news proximity).
- Review weekly: kill the bottom 20% of patterns by expectancy; double down on the top 20%.
- Build a “do-again” gallery: screenshots of A-setups with notes on why they worked—review before each session.
- If three consecutive trades fail the same way, enforce a 24-hour cooldown and refine that rule before resuming.
Advanced Confluence (Only When It’s Clean)
Confluence is a bonus, not a crutch. He adds it only when it’s obvious and aligns with the core setup.
- If the dollar index structure matches your pair’s inverse bias, green light; if mixed, treat the setup as B-quality.
- Session range math: prefer longs when London sets a lower-than-average initial range and sweeps the low first; prefer shorts on a high initial range with a high sweep first.
- Momentum check: a strong BOS should clear multiple minor swings in one push; if it only nicks one, pass or reduce risk.
- HTF wick rejections at weekly levels upgrade targets to the next major liquidity pool—hold the runner longer.
- If two clean setups appear at once, choose the one with the clearer path (fewer HTF obstacles) rather than splitting risk.
Daily Routine & Risk Guardrails
Discipline is systematized through a short routine and hard limits. This prevents tilt and keeps the edge intact across the year.
- Pre-market (15 minutes): mark prior day high/low, Asia range, obvious equal highs/lows, and nearest H1 supply/demand.
- Set two alerts only: at the probable sweep level and at the post-shift entry block—no chart babysitting.
- Max two trades per session or 1.5% total risk—whichever hits first.
- Daily loss limit: 2R; stop trading immediately when hit.
- End-of-day: annotate charts, update metrics, and write one improvement rule you’ll test tomorrow.
Size Risk First: Fixed-R, No Averaging, Hard Daily Stop
Luca starts with risk, not charts, because sizing is the only lever you fully control before the chaos begins. He locks a fixed-R per trade so every outcome is measured in the same currency—risk units—not feelings. That lets him compare setups cleanly and avoid random bet sizes that blow up expectancy. When the number is set, it doesn’t move, even if the setup “looks too good.”
He never averages down because adding size to a thesis that’s failing is just paying extra for being wrong. Luca caps his day with a hard stop, so one bad morning can’t wreck the week. If the limit is hit, he walks—no revenge trades, no “just one more.” That discipline turns trading from thrill-seeking into a repeatable business.
Trade the Sweep-and-Shift: Mechanics Over Predictions, Session Windows Only
Luca doesn’t predict tops or bottoms; he waits for the market to grab liquidity and then prove a shift in control. The “sweep” tags rest above a high or below a low, and the “shift” is a clean break of structure right back through the level. Once that happens, Luca anchors to the impulse origin or a fair-value gap and lets the mechanics—not opinions—dictate the entry. No shift, no trade.
He confines this to London and early New York when liquidity is real and follow-through is likely. Luca uses a hard invalidation just beyond the sweep point, refuses to widen stops, and cancels stale orders after the session window. If the move doesn’t reach 1R quickly, he’s out—slow trades are usually traps. Process beats prediction because it’s repeatable under pressure.
Let Volatility Lead: Adjust Targets, Time-Stops, and Expectations
Luca lets volatility set the agenda so his trades fit the day, not his hopes. When ranges expand, he widens targets and gives the move more breathing room; when ranges contract, he dials targets back and tightens the leash. He measures recent range (session or last 10–20 candles) and maps TP1/TP2 to a realistic distance instead of forcing fixed pip goals. If the session is quiet, Luca lowers expectations and trades less, not more.
Time is a risk factor, too, so Luca uses time-stops that match the day’s pace. Fast conditions must pay quickly; sluggish ones get cut faster. He avoids placing entries right before known volatility spikes and prefers post-spike structure where spreads normalize. Above all, Luca treats volatility as the market’s mood—he respects it, adapts to it, and never tries to bully it with rigid targets.
Diversify Smart: Underlying, Strategy Type, and Holding Duration Buckets
Luca diversifies on purpose, not by accident. He splits risk across a few uncorrelated underlyings (e.g., GBPUSD vs. XAUUSD when correlations are low), plus different strategy types (reversal after sweep vs. continuation on pullback), and varied holding durations (scalps that close inside the session vs. swings that survive a session change). That way, when one lane stalls, another can still pay. Luca caps exposure per bucket, so a single theme can’t sink the day.
He also manages correlation heat in real time. If two pairs move on the same driver, Luca treats them as one trade and halves the size or picks the cleaner chart. He limits total open risk across all buckets, sets a daily “heat” ceiling, and pauses adding risk if unrealized drawdown climbs. Luca’s rule is simple: diversify edges, not randomness—each bucket must have a defined setup, invalidation, and exit logic.
Choose Defined Risk Setups; Trail Winners, Kill Slow Trades Fast
Luca only takes trades with clear invalidation, because defined risk keeps him calm and consistent. He sets the stop where the idea is objectively wrong, not where the loss “feels” acceptable. Once the price moves in his favor, Luca locks risk by moving to break-even after the first objective milestone is reached, not a random pip count. If momentum stalls, he doesn’t negotiate with the chart—he exits and protects the session.
When winners run, Luca trails behind a structure instead of a fixed pip trail. He lets candles make the decisions: fresh swing lows for longs, swing highs for shorts, no exceptions. Slow trades get culled quickly because time decay erodes edge just like price drawdown does. Luca’s mantra is simple: define the risk, obey the trail, and never donate extra minutes—or extra pips—to a bad idea.
Luca’s interview boils down to a simple, repeatable edge: let the market show its hand, then trade the reaction with clearly defined risk. He’s blunt about ditching prediction for mechanics—wait for a sweep of obvious highs/lows, demand a real shift in structure, and anchor the entry to the impulse that caused it. Stops live where the idea is objectively wrong (usually just beyond the sweep), never widened for “breathing room.” He runs this play during London and early New York when liquidity is real, then uses time as a filter—if 1R doesn’t come quickly in a fast session, he’s out before momentum decays.
The rest is professional risk practice. Luca sizes in fixed-R, keeps daily heat capped, and refuses to average down—ever. He lets volatility set targets and expectations, trims slow trades, and trails winners behind fresh structure instead of arbitrary pip counts. Correlation gets treated like radiation: manage exposure by underlying, strategy type, and holding duration so one theme can’t sink the day. And he closes the loop with ruthless journaling—tagging causes of losers, promoting the highest-expectancy patterns, and enforcing cooldowns after clusters of the same mistake. The lesson set is clear: define risk, trade the sweep-and-shift, respect session tempo and volatility, diversify edges (not randomness), and let the journal upgrade the playbook week after week.
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