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In this interview, Tony Sycamore—former Goldman Sachs prop trader and founder of Tech FX Traders—joins the Desire To Trade podcast to unpack how he blends big-picture macro with clean, repeatable technicals. He matters because he’s traded through regime shifts, from the GFC to today’s cross-asset correlations, and he explains what actually gives independent traders an edge: preparation, structure, and ruthless risk control.
Reading this, you’ll learn Tony Sycamore’s practical playbook: marry fundamentals (rates, terms of trade, equity risk mood) with charts, then execute with simple tools like support/resistance, candlesticks, RSI divergence, and Elliott wave—no over-engineering. You’ll see why he favors FX and swing timeframes over frenetic day trading, how he sizes conviction trades, why he avoids entries just before major data, and the mindset behind taking profits without abandoning trend-pullback structure. Most of all, you’ll get a clear idea of his golden rule—protect the downside so the upside can take care of itself—and how to apply it in tomorrow’s session.
Tony Sycamore Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
What he trades and when he trades it
Tony keeps his universe tight so he can know each market’s personality. He leans into FX majors, equity indices, and gold—places where macro flows and clean technicals meet, and he operates mostly on the 4H–daily swing horizon with tactical intraday add-ons.
- Focus on: EURUSD, GBPUSD, AUDUSD, USDJPY, XAUUSD, S&P/Nasdaq futures or CFDs.
- Core timeframe: Daily for bias, 4H for structure, 1H/15m for timing.
- Maximum simultaneous exposures: Two highly correlated positions count as one; cap basket risk.
- Skip thin-liquidity hours unless managing an existing position (avoid random noise fills).
- If volatility spikes beyond your plan’s assumptions (e.g., ATR doubles), cut size in half.
Top-down prep: macro first, technicals to time
He starts with the big picture—rates, risk sentiment, terms of trade—then draws a clean technical map. The goal is to know which side deserves the benefit of the doubt before looking for entries.
- Set a weekly bias from macro drivers (central bank path, data trend, equities risk mood).
- Mark the “decision zones”: prior weekly highs/lows, quarterly opens, and multi-touch levels.
- Annotate moving parts: DXY path if trading USD pairs; VIX/indices tone for risk appetite.
- Update a one-page market plan every Monday: bias, key levels, invalidation line, catalysts.
- If macro and technicals disagree, trade smaller or stand aside until they rhyme.
Set up quality: only trade A and A-minus.
Tony filters hard. He wants confluence—trend, level, structure, and a catalyst he understands. Anything less is a pass.
- Mandatory checklist: trend direction, fresh level, price structure (HH/HL or LH/LL), trigger.
- Require at least two confluence factors beyond trend (e.g., level + momentum divergence).
- Define invalidation on structure break, not on “how it feels.”
- If the setup forms right into major data or a policy event, wait for the post-event structure.
- No third-tier trades to “stay active.” Flat is a position.
Risk and sizing: protect the downside first
He sizes positions so a normal loss is a paper cut, and a streak can’t crater the account. Volatility and distance to invalidation drive the bet, not conviction alone.
- Risk per trade: 0.25%–0.75% of equity; max daily risk: 1.0%–1.5%.
- Position size = (account * risk%) / (stop distance in pips/points * value per pip/point).
- Volatility adjust: if ATR(14) > 1.5× its 6-month median, cut size by 30%–50%.
- Hard stop always placed at entry; never wide, —reduce, or exit instead.
- Portfolio cap: total correlated exposure ≤ 1.5× a single-trade risk.
Entries that age well
Entries are simple: buy pullbacks in uptrends, sell rallies in downtrends, or take a break-and-retest when momentum confirms. The trick is letting the market come to your price.
- Trend-pullback: enter on rejection wick or bullish/bearish engulfing at your level.
- Break-retest: wait for a close beyond the level, then a retest that holds on a lower timeframe.
- Momentum filter: prefer entries with RSI reclaim (from <40 to >50 in uptrends, inverse in downtrends).
- Time filter: avoid the first 15 minutes after major data; let the impulse settle.
- If price misses your level, don’t chase—set an alert for the next decision zone.
Managing winners like a pro
Tony scales responsibly and lets structure lead exits. He pays himself without killing the trade’s potential.
- First scale at +1R; move stop to entry only if structure supports it (e.g., HL formed).
- Trail below/above higher lows/highs on the execution timeframe (1H/4H).
- Partial profits near opposing weekly levels or measured move targets (AB=CD, swing legs).
- If momentum stalls (RSI divergence + failure to make a new swing), tighten the trail.
- Never turn a winner into a loser: once +1R is banked, the worst case should be breakeven or a small gain.
News and event risk: rules that keep you in the game
He respects catalysts. The idea is to be paid for risk, not for guessing a headline.
- Know the week’s top three events; mark them on your chart with alerts 60 and 10 minutes prior.
- No fresh positions within 30 minutes before Tier-1 releases; reassess after the first impulse.
- If already in: reduce size to “sleep level” before the event or hedge via a negatively correlated instrument.
- For central bank days: trade the second move (post-presser structure), not the first spike.
- If your stop gets slipped on the news, accept it; do not revenge trade to “get it back.”
Tony’s go-to patterns
He favors clean, repeatable structures you can describe in a sentence. Keep them few, learn them deeply, and journal them relentlessly.
- Trend-pullback to 20/50 EMA cluster at a weekly level; trigger: rejection candle.
- Break-retest of a multi-touch range boundary; trigger: lower-TF market structure shift.
- False break (stop run) back into range; trigger: swift reclaim and close inside prior boundary.
- RSI divergence at a key level only if price structure confirms (double bottom/top with wicks).
- Elliott-style 5-wave trend with a 3-wave corrective pullback into the prior wave-4 area.
Chart hygiene and tools
Tony’s charts are uncluttered. Fewer indicators, more clarity, so decisions are fast and consistent.
- Keep chart to levels, EMAs (20/50), RSI, and ATR—nothing else by default.
- Color-code levels by timeframe (weekly/daily/4H) and label them by date created.
- Limit trendlines to two active ones per instrument; delete stale lines weekly.
- Use alerts instead of screen-watching; set them at levels, not at arbitrary prices.
- Snapshot every filled trade at entry and exit for the journal.
Weekly routine that compounds edge
Consistency beats intensity. Tony’s cadence turns noisy markets into a series of planned shots.
- Sunday/Monday: build the one-pager per instrument (bias, levels, triggers, invalidation).
- Midweek: rotate focus to instruments closest to decision zones; park the rest.
- Friday: Reduce open risk into the close unless you explicitly want weekend gap exposure.
- End-of-week review: export P/L by pattern and direction; cut the bottom pattern for a month.
- Monthly: recalibrate ATR baselines and correlation clusters; adjust basket limits accordingly.
Mindset and discipline under pressure
He treats trading like a craft: outcomes vary, process doesn’t. The job is to execute today’s plan, not to predict the future perfectly.
- Define success as “followed plan with clean risk,” not P/L on a single trade.
- After any rule break, size is halved for the next five trades; earn full size back.
- One “anger trade” triggers a mandatory day off and a written post-mortem.
- Daily pre-commitment: write the exact invalidation before placing the order.
- When in doubt, trade smaller or pass—opportunity cost is cheaper than tuition.
Size every trade by volatility; protect capital before chasing gains
Tony Sycamore hammers this point: risk lives in the distance to your invalidation and the market’s current speed. If ATR expands, your size should contract so a standard loss still equals a small, fixed percent. He sizes positions from the stop first, not from conviction, so he can survive cold streaks without wrecking the account. That mindset makes you consistent when markets flip from quiet grind to wild chop.
Tony Sycamore also keeps daily and weekly loss limits so no single session undoes a month of work. He won’t widen stops—he cuts size or exits and waits for the structure to reset. When volatility doubles, he’ll halve exposure and let the same patterns pay with smaller heat. Protecting capital isn’t defensive; it’s the setup for being present when the clean, high-quality trades finally appear.
Build a simple playbook: trend, key levels, and clear invalidation
Tony Sycamore drills the basics because they work under pressure. Start by defining the trend on the higher timeframe so you’re not fighting the dominant flow. Mark the key levels where price has repeatedly reacted; those are your decision points. Before you even think about entry, write the invalidation line that proves your idea wrong.
Tony Sycamore then waits for price to interact with those levels and only acts when structure confirms. If the level holds in the direction of the trend, he trades; if it fails, he stands down or flips the plan. Entries are simple, but the invalidation is sacred and never moved. The result is a repeatable playbook that keeps you patient, selective, and disciplined.
Diversify by instrument, strategy, and timeframe to smooth the equity curve.
Tony Sycamore diversifies on purpose, not by accident. He avoids stacking identical risks by treating highly correlated pairs or indices as one idea. If he’s long risk via equities, he won’t double-dip with a correlated FX pair unless total basket risk still fits the plan. Different instruments, when chosen well, make drawdowns shallower and recoveries faster.
Tony Sycamore also diversifies by strategy and timeframe, so one style doesn’t dominate results. A trend-pullback system on the daily can sit alongside a mean-reversion fade on the 1H and a breakout on 4H. He limits contributions from any single strategy and trims or benches the one underperforming until metrics improve. The aim isn’t maximum excitement; it’s a smoother equity curve that keeps you psychologically steady and financially alive.
Trade mechanics over predictions: let price action confirm your bias
Tony Sycamore treats opinions as hypotheses and mechanics as the law. He writes the bias, then waits for the price to prove it with a clean reaction at a level or a structure shift. No confirmation, no trade—he’d rather miss a move than pay tuition on guesses. Entry, stop, and target are defined before the click, so execution is boring and consistent.
Tony Sycamore also time-filters decisions around events and only acts on the second move when the structure is readable. If a level breaks, he looks for a retest and a lower-timeframe shift, not a blind chase. When momentum stalls or invalidation is tagged, he exits without debate and logs it. Predictions make headlines; mechanics make deposits.
Manage winners with scales and trails; never widen a stop.p
Tony Sycamore treats winning trades like a business: take revenue early, but keep the engine running. He scales a piece at the first logical milestone—often around one risk unit—so the trade pays for itself. Stops only move in the direction of the trade as structure builds, never the other way. If momentum pauses at a known level, he pays himself again and lets the rest work.
Tony Sycamore trails behind higher lows or lower highs, using structure rather than hope to guide exits. When the trend weakens—think failed pushes or visible divergence—he tightens the leash and forces the market to earn space. If price rips into a major opposing level, he’s happy to flatten and reset rather than “diamond-hands” a reversal. Winners compound when you bank partials, trail with structure, and refuse to widen a stop—ever.
Tony Sycamore’s core lesson is simple: stay alive long enough for your edge to matter. He sizes from the stop and today’s volatility, with a hard cap around one percent risk per trade, and he never widens a stop once the order is live. His bias is built top-down—macro tone, equity risk mood, and USD path—then executed with clean technicals at obvious levels. He treats FX as a flow machine where risk-on/risk-off dynamics move AUD, NZD, and CAD differently than safe havens, and he only acts when price confirms the plan. That blend keeps him selective, calm, and consistent through quiet grinds and wild swings alike.
Equally important, Tony Sycamore respects catalysts and timing. He avoids fresh entries right before major data, lets the first impulse play out, and then trades the structure that follows—no guessing at headlines. He pays himself as trades work, but always off structure, not hope, and he lets statistics—not emotions—decide when to hold or exit. The big takeaway is process: define the bias, map the levels, size by volatility, protect capital, and let the market prove you right. Do this, and you’ll trade with the steadiness that turns good ideas into a durable equity curve.
