Table of Contents
Raghee Horner sits down on the Desire To Trade podcast to unpack three decades of screen time and why her charts stay clean while her process runs deep. She’s a currency-focused trader who blends technicals, price action, and the psychology around macro events into one practical, repeatable routine—think 34-EMA “wave,” color-coded candles, and a heavy respect for sessions and structure. If you’re new to Raghee, she’s known for keeping things simple, trading when liquidity is best, and letting the market tell her whether it’s trending or just chopping.
In this piece, you’ll learn how Raghee times her day around the London–New York overlap, why she won’t force a trend setup in a sideways market, and how she uses volatility rhythms and the economic calendar to avoid getting chopped out. You’ll see exactly how the 34-EMA wave organizes her playbook when she waits for pullbacks instead of chasing, and how “pre-positioning” into news is a fast track to regret. The goal: give you a clear, beginner-friendly view of her core rules so you can trade with less noise, more structure, and fewer avoidable losses.
Raghee Horner Playbook & Strategy: How She Actually Trades
Chart Framework: the 34-EMA “Wave” and Candles That Tell the Truth
This is the backbone of Raghee’s process. She uses a simple moving-average framework to read trend, momentum, and the path of least resistance at a glance, then lets price pull back into structure instead of chasing.
- Plot three 34-period EMAs on the high, close, and low to form a “wave” channel.
- If price and most candles ride above the wave, treat the market as bullish; if below, bearish; inside = neutral.
- Only take longs in bullish structure and shorts in bearish structure—no counter-trend “just because it’s overbought/oversold.”
- When price closes back inside the wave against your bias, stand down until it resolves; don’t “hope” it flips back.
- Use candle color or a simple filter (e.g., close relative to the wave midline) to stay visually aligned with the trend.
Session Timing: trade when the market is actually paying
Raghee prioritizes liquidity windows where follow-through is most likely. That means planning around sessions, overlaps, and scheduled catalysts so your setups have real participation behind them.
- Focus FX and index futures entries during the London–New York overlap and the first 90 minutes of the U.S. cash open.
- Avoid initiating new positions in thin liquidity hours (late Asia for U.S. traders, lunch lull, end-of-day drift).
- If you must trade outside prime windows, cut size by 50% and widen stops to reflect lower liquidity and choppier fills.
- Map a daily “green zone” on your calendar for your two best trading windows and ignore everything else.
Trend vs. Chop: two separate playbooks, never mix them
The quickest way to give back gains is running a trend strategy in a range (or vice versa). Raghee separates conditions first, then chooses tools that fit the tape.
- Define a trend with price outside and an angled 34-EMA wave; define chop when price oscillates inside a flat wave.
- Trend market rules: buy pullbacks to the top half of the wave in uptrends; sell rallies to the bottom half in downtrends.
- Chop market rules: stand aside or switch to mean-reversion with smaller targets; never expect breakouts to run.
- If the wave flips from angled to flat, stop trading trend rules immediately—no “one last try.”
The Setup: clean pullbacks, not breakouts you’ll regret
Raghee prefers patient entries into structure so the stop is logical and the reward is measurable. The goal is precision without clutter.
- Long template: uptrend → wait for a pullback into the wave → enter on the first bullish candle close back above the wave midline.
- Short template: downtrend → wait for a rally into the wave → enter on the first bearish candle close back below the wave midline.
- If price tags the wave but prints indecision (doji/inside bar), delay entry one more bar—confirmation reduces false starts.
- Cancel the setup if price slices fully through the opposite side of the wave before triggering; structure is compromised.
Risk Sizing: volatility first, ego never
Position size responds to market movement, not your conviction. Raghee scales risk with current volatility so losses are survivable and winners meaningful.
- Risk a fixed % of equity per trade (e.g., 0.25%–0.5%) and convert to position size using ATR-based stop distance.
- If daily ATR expands >20% above its 20-day average, halve size; if it contracts >20% below, consider scaling up slightly.
- Place initial stop beyond the opposite edge of the wave plus 0.5× ATR to avoid getting wicked out.
- For correlated positions (e.g., USD majors or equity indices), cap total “theme risk” at 1× your per-trade risk.
Profit Targets: structure beats hope
Exits are planned where other traders must act: prior swing levels, measured ranges, and session-based movement. Raghee locks in partials and lets the rest ride only if the market keeps paying.
- First target at the most recent swing high/low (trend direction); take 1/2 off there and move the stop to breakeven.
- Second target at 1× current ATR from entry; trail remainder behind the wave’s opposite edge as price advances.
- In chop, use tighter profit bands (0.5–0.75× ATR) and do not trail—take the money and reset.
- Cancel trades still open into low-liquidity/major data releases unless already risk-free.
News & Calendars: avoid the blender
Raghee respects scheduled catalysts because even a perfect structure can get shredded by a surprise. You don’t need to predict news—just avoid getting run over by it.
- Flat or risk-free 10–15 minutes before tier-one releases (central bank decisions, CPI, NFP, PMI, major rate speakers).
- If holding trend trades through events, cut position size by half and widen the stop using the current ATR.
- Don’t “pre-position” in front of news; wait for the first post-event candle to close and re-assess wave structure.
- After a major print, give the market two full candles to settle before considering new entries.
Timeframes & Alignment: top-down without the rabbit hole
The aim is quick alignment: trend on the higher timeframe, execution on the lower, and no over-analysis.
- Determine bias on the 4H or daily using the 34-EMA wave; only take trades on the 15–60m in that same direction.
- If a higher timeframe is neutral (flat wave), either switch to range tactics or skip—don’t force it.
- For scalps, confirm that the 60m agrees with the 5–15m before pulling the trigger.
- Never let a lower timeframe “talk you into” trading against the higher timeframe wave.
Instruments & Templates: same logic, different wrappers
Raghee’s structure works across FX, futures, and options; only the execution wrapper changes. Keep the logic identical so you’re practicing one playbook, not ten.
- FX/futures: execute directly with the pullback templates; target swing levels and ATR projections.
- Options: use long calls/puts or debit spreads timed with the pullback trigger; choose expiries that cover the expected move window (5–15 trading days for swings).
- If implied volatility is elevated, favor debit spreads over naked longs to reduce vega risk.
- For equity indices, avoid initiating fresh positions in the last 30 minutes unless managing an existing campaign.
Trade Management: mechanical rules that reduce second-guessing
Once in, Raghee’s goal is to remove as many decisions as possible. Pre-defined actions protect you from “screen-watching” your way into errors.
- Move stop to breakeven at Target 1 automatically; no discretion.
- Trail the remainder behind the opposite side of the wave on your execution timeframe; exit on a full close through it.
- If stopped at breakeven and the wave remains intact, you can take one re-entry on the next valid pullback—limit to one.
- Two consecutive losses on the same symbol/theme = pause that market for the day.
Playbook Upgrades: keep it simple, but keep it sharp
You don’t need more indicators; you need cleaner reps. These process tweaks help the same strategy perform better over time.
- Journal only four items per trade: session window, structure (trend/chop), ATR regime (expanded/normal/contracted), and adherence to rules (Y/N).
- Run a weekly review: best/worst session window, most profitable symbols, and the rule you violated most—fix exactly one thing next week.
- If P&L underperforms while win rate holds, your targets are too ambitious; tighten to a nearer structure for 2 weeks and re-evaluate.
- If the win rate drops and average loss grows, reduce risk per trade to 0.25% and trade only in prime session windows until stability returns.
Master the 34-EMA Wave: Trade With Structure, Not Noise.
Raghee Horner builds every decision around a simple 34-EMA “wave” that turns messy price action into a clear bias. Plot the 34 EMA on the high, close, and low to create a channel; when the price rides above it and the wave is angled up, you’re only hunting longs. When price lives below an angled-down wave, you’re only hunting shorts—no heroic countertrend picks. If the wave flattens and price chops through it, she treats it as a do-not-trade zone until structure returns.
Entries are patient and clean: wait for a pullback into the wave, then trigger on the first close back in the direction of the trend. Stops go beyond the opposite side of the wave, so random wicks don’t tap you out, and targets anchor to recent swings or ATR projections. The wave midline acts like a reality check—close back through it against your position, and you tighten risk or get flat. For Raghee Horner, this one framework enforces consistency, cuts noise, and keeps you from guessing what the market “should” do.
Time Entries Around London–New York Overlap for Real Follow-Through
Raghee Horner is picky about when she trades because timing fuels follow-through. She centers her entries around the London–New York overlap, when institutional flow is thick and trends actually extend. The first 90 minutes of the U.S. cash open get similar respect, as volatility aligns with liquidity instead of random spikes. By planning around these windows, Raghee turns “nice-looking setups” into moves with depth, not just flicks.
Outside prime hours, Raghee either cuts size or passes entirely, preventing death by chop. She avoids initiating just before lunch lulls or end-of-day drift, where slippage and fake breaks multiply. If a setup forms five minutes before a tier-one release, she waits for the post-print candle to close before touching it. For Raghee Horner, smart timing isn’t superstition—it’s how you stack probabilities before the trade even begins.
Separate Trend From Chop and Switch Playbooks Without Hesitation
Separate trend from chop, or the market will separate you from your money. Raghee Horner starts every session by classifying the tape, then she commits—no hybrid, no hedging. An angled 34-EMA wave with price riding one side equals trend; a flat wave with price ping-ponging through it equals chop. This one decision determines entries, stops, targets, and even whether she trades at all.
In trend, Raghee buys pullbacks into the wave for longs or sells rallies into the wave for shorts, always with structure-based stops. In chop, she either stands down or flips to tight, mean-reversion scalps with smaller size and quicker targets. The moment the wave shifts from angled to flat, she abandons trend tactics—no “one last try” to make it work. If two consecutive trades fail on the same symbol after a condition change, Raghee Horner parks that market and waits for clarity. Switching playbooks isn’t optional; it’s the discipline that preserves edge. Make the classification first, and the rest of the trade becomes straightforward.
Size Risk With ATR, Cut Correlation, Survive Volatility Regimes
Raghee Horner sizes every trade by volatility, not gut feel. She risks a small, fixed percent per idea and converts that into position size using the current AT, R, so the same rule scales across calm and wild markets. Stops live beyond the opposite side of her 34-EMA wave plus a fraction of ATR, which reduces random wick-outs and keeps losses proportional. If ATR spikes well above its recent average, she automatically halves size; if it compresses, she can nudge size up while keeping risk constant.
Correlation kills faster than bad entries, so Raghee caps “theme risk” across related markets instead of pretending each ticket is independent. If she’s long USD across multiple pairs—or leaning the same way on equity indices—total exposure cannot exceed her per-trade risk budget. Two quick losses in an expanded-volatility regime trigger an immediate size cut and a return to only the highest-liquidity windows. When volatility normalizes and execution quality improves, size can step back up—but only after the journal confirms the edge is behaving again.
Plan Exits, Respect News Windows, Let Process Police Your Trades
Raghee Horner treats exits as planned events, not gut calls. She places first targets at nearby swing levels, books partial profits there, and slides the stop to breakeven to turn anxiety into structure. Remaining size trails behind the opposite edge of her 34-EMA wave or an ATR ladder, so winners are allowed to breathe without giving it all back. If price closes cleanly through that structural line, she’s out—no renegotiation with the market.
News windows get special respect because even perfect setups can blend you. Raghee Horner is flat or risk-free ahead of tier-one releases and only re-engages after a full candle closes post-print and structure reasserts itself. She refuses to pre-position for headlines and gives the market a couple of bars to settle before pulling the next trigger. A simple checklist—session window, condition (trend or chop), risk size, exit plan—governs every decision so process, not emotion, polices the trade.
Raghee Horner’s core lesson is ruthless simplicity backed by structure. She organizes every market with the 34-EMA wave, makes a binary call—trend or chop—and only runs the playbook that fits. When the wave is angled and price respects one side, she buys pullbacks or sells rallies; when it’s flat and price ping-pongs through it, she either stands aside or treats it as a short, mean-reversion window. Her charts stay clean, so the decision stays fast: classify, align, execute, manage.
Timing and discipline do the heavy lifting. Raghee builds her day around the London–New York overlap and early U.S. session, so momentum has participants, then protects open trades from scheduled catalysts by respecting the economic calendar. Volatility sets expectations: when it swells, she cuts size and gives trades room; when it contracts, she tightens targets and demands cleaner reads. No forcing breakouts, no pre-positioning into headlines, and no “one last try” after conditions change. If you copy just a few things from Raghee Horner—structure first, session timing, calendar awareness, and mechanical exits—you’ll cut noise, dodge the blender, and trade with a repeatable edge.
