Table of Contents
Tom Constable and Brandon Turner—co-hosts of Two Blokes Trading—sit down for a double-guest interview to talk shop on the Desire To Trade podcast. You get Tom’s logical, rules-first lens next to Brandon’s fundamentals-and-sentiment edge, plus the real stories behind how they built confidence, avoided system-hopping, and learned to trade what actually moves price. If you’re a newer trader or just need a reset on what matters, this conversation is gold because it cuts through hype and shows how real pros think, test, and execute.
In this piece, you’ll learn Brandon Turner’s step-by-step way to trade the day’s mood—tracking central-bank forward guidance, jobs and inflation expectations, and safe-haven flows—then syncing entries to simple levels so the technicals and story align. You’ll also get Tom Constable’s practical playbook for trend trading with clearly defined “zones” instead of brittle lines, why journaling and backtesting are non-negotiable, and how realistic monthly targets beat lottery-ticket risk every time. Most importantly, you’ll walk away with a repeatable approach to building confidence: journal relentlessly, test properly, size sanely, and stay accountable so your strategy scales when the account does.
Tom Constable Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Market Framework: Identify the dominant story, then the dominant trend
Before Tom presses any buttons, he wants one coherent story that explains who’s in control and why. Then he checks if price action agrees. This section shows how to frame the market quickly so you don’t get chopped trading random swings.
- Define the higher-timeframe trend on the daily: only buy if the 20 EMA > 50 EMA and price is above both; only sell if the 20 EMA < 50 EMA and price is below both.
- Map the 3 most recent swing highs/lows on the 4H; your bias is long if higher highs/lows are intact, short if lower highs/lows persist.
- Note the week’s key catalyst (rate decision, NFP, CPI) and mark its time—flatten or reduce size 30 minutes before, unless already risk-free.
- If higher timeframe and 4H structure disagree, trade half size or skip until alignment returns.
- Avoid new positions in the final 60 minutes on Fridays unless you can place a hard stop, and a weekend gap won’t kill your R.
Levels & Zones: Trade zones, not single-price fairy dust
Tom prefers “zones” with a bit of width instead of razor-thin lines that get wicked out. Here’s how to define and use them so you can enter without getting tagged and dumped.
- Build demand/supply zones from 4H/1H swing clusters: draw the body-to-wick range and extend.
- Valid zone = touched ≤3 times; if the fourth touch is sloppy or overextends by >0.35× ATR(14) on 1H, consider it degraded.
- Only trade zones that align with the higher-timeframe bias; counter-trend bounces are day-trade only and at half size.
- If price pierces a zone by more than 0.5× ATR(14) and closes beyond it on 1H, reclassify the zone as broken—do not “hope” it still works.
- Keep zones clean: max 6 zones per chart (3 up, 3 down). If you need more, your chart is noise.
Entry Triggers: Simple, repeatable signals that time the rotation
Once the zone is set, Tom looks for a clean, mechanical trigger so entries aren’t guesswork. Use these rules to standardize timing and avoid “feels-based” clicks.
- Primary trigger: 5-minute break of a micro-structure level in the direction of the bias, then a retest that holds for at least 2 candles.
- Candlestick filter requires a rejection wick > 0.25× ATR(14) on the 55-minute chart that closes back inside the zone.
- Momentum confirm: stochastic or RSI crosses from extreme back toward mid only as a secondary check—never as a standalone reason.
- If the retest holds but the next candle’s range is < 0.15× ATR(14) on the 5-minute, skip—no energy.
- Limit orders only on A+ zones; use stop orders on B setups to avoid premature fills.
Risk & Position Sizing: Survive first, then scale
Tom treats risk like a fixed bill—paid every trade, never negotiated. These rules keep losers small and consistent so the edge can be expressed over a series of trades.
- Risk a flat 0.5%–1.0% per trade; cap total open risk at 2.0% across all instruments.
- Initial stop always beyond the invalidation of the idea: for longs, below zone by 0.35× ATR(14) of the 5-minute; for shorts, above by the same.
- If spread/volatility widens (news hour), increase stop distance but reduce size to keep risk constant in account %.
- No martingale, no “widen and pray.” If a stop is hit, the idea is wrong—out.
- Daily loss limit = 2R. Hit it? Close the platform for the day.
Trade Management: Let winners breathe, cut losers clean
Tom’s winners often come from doing less, not more. Use these management rules to avoid strangling good trades and to kill the bad ones quickly.
- Move to break-even at +1R only after a 5-minute higher low (for longs) or lower high (for shorts) forms and holds for 2 candles.
- Scale out 50% at +1R on B setups; on A+ setups, hold for +2R before first scale.
- Trail on the 15-minute swing structure once the position is +1.5R; if the structure breaks, exit the remainder.
- If price stalls for 45 minutes around entry and ranges <0.2× ATR(14) with no progress, scratch the trade.
- Never add to a loser. You can add once to a winner at the next valid retest while keeping total risk on the original stop ≤ 1.25× initial R.
Play Selection: Pick clean markets, skip messy ones
Choosing the right instrument is half the job. Tom focuses on clarity: strong drivers, clear structure, and decent volatility.
- Trade the 3 clearest symbols each session by structure and catalyst; park everything else.
- Prefer instruments with an average 1H ATR > their 6-week median by at least 10% (fresh volatility).
- Avoid pairs/instruments sitting dead between major zones with overlapping EMAs on the 1H—indecision chop.
- If correlated instruments give conflicting signals, pick the one with stronger trend metrics (slope of 20/50 EMA on 4H).
- One idea per narrative: don’t triple up on highly correlated pairs that express the same theme.
Pre-Trade Checklist: Earn the right to click
Tom runs the same checklist every time, so execution is binary—go or no-go. Use this to reduce hesitation and tilt.
- Bias aligned on daily and 4H (trend + structure)? Yes/No.
- A+ or B zone marked, clean, and fresh (≤3 touches)? Yes/No.
- Catalyst risk understood (news within 60 min)? Yes/No.
- Entry trigger present (retest + rejection + micro break)? Yes/No.
- Position size set to fixed % ris,k, and stop placed beyond invalidation? Yes/No.
Journaling & Review: Turn trades into data, data into edge
Tom’s confidence comes from receipts—numbers, screenshots, and notes that reveal what actually works. This section shows how to journal, so improvement is inevitable.
- Log every trade with: screenshot (entry, stop, target), reason for bias, zone quality (A/B/C), trigger type, R multiple result.
- Tag outcomes by setup type (trend-continuation, first pullback, zone fade, news continuation) to spot which buckets pay.
- Weekly, compute win rate, average R, and expectancy (E = Win%×AvgWinR − Loss%×AvgLossR) for each tag.
- Cull or modify any setup tag with E < 0 over the last 30 samples.
- Note emotional state (1–5) and sleep hours; if state ≤2, skip discretionary trades.
Psychology & Execution: Fewer decisions, better decisions
Tom reduces discretion to avoid spirals during drawdowns. Stick to these rules to keep your head clear when it counts.
- Trade the plan you wrote the night before; intraday “brainwaves” require a full checklist redo, or they’re ignored.
- During a drawdown of −5R, cut size to 0.25% risk and trade only A+ setups until back to the high-water mark.
- Use a 90-minute focus block at the session open; no social feeds, no new indicators mid-block.
- Celebrate process, not P&L: end of day, score your execution 0–2 for each checklist item and journal misses.
- If two back-to-back breaches of rules occur, take the next full session off and write a corrective micro-rule.
Weekly Routine: Prep, plan, and stay accountable
Consistency comes from rhythm. Tom runs a simple weekly cadence, so the plan is always fresh and the mind stays calm.
- Sunday: mark higher-timeframe zones on your watchlist, note the top 3 potential catalysts, and write one-sentence scenarios (“If X, then Y”).
- Midweek: prune dead zones, update ATRs, and promote/demote pairs based on clarity and volatility.
- Friday close: export stats, tag screenshots, and select one improvement focus for next week (e.g., “trail only on 15-minute swings”).
- Schedule one accountability check with a trading buddy: review 3 trades—one winner, one loser, one scratch—against the checklist.
- Update your permissible playbook: if a setup produces ≥ +10R net over the last 50 trades, keep; else iterate or drop.
Advanced Add-Ons: Only after the core edge is proven
Tom keeps it simple first; refinements come later and only if they measurably help. Try these once your base plan shows positive expectancy.
- Time-of-day filter: if the win rate between 11:00–13:00 (your platform time) is < your baseline by 15%, ban entries in that window.
- Volatility throttle: when 1H ATR spikes > 1.5× its 20-day average, halve size but double distance to first scale to avoid shakeouts.
- News continuation: after a clean trend day with a close in the top/bottom 20% of range, look for next-day continuation on the first 1H pullback into the prior day’s value area.
- Partial hedge: if you must hold into a major event, reduce to core size and offset 25–33% exposure with a correlated instrument moving inversely.
- Auto-alerts: set price + time alerts at zones 15 minutes before your typical session start so entries are planned, not chased.
Brandon Turner Playbook & Strategy: How He Actually Trades
Narrative First: Build the day’s fundamental and sentiment story
Brandon starts with “why today?”—the core narrative moving capital right now. You’ll quickly frame the session so your trades align with flows instead of fighting them.
- Write a one-sentence narrative before the open: “X is strong/weak because Y; I’ll express it via Z.”
- Rank themes in order of force: central-bank guidance, growth/inflation data, risk-on/off tone, and idiosyncratic headlines.
- If two narratives conflict (e.g., dovish guidance vs hot inflation), stand down or cut size until price confirms one side.
- Re-check narrative at the top of each hour; if it flips, flatten or switch bias only after a structure break confirms.
Catalyst Map: Know when the firehose hits
He plans around scheduled data and speeches so he’s trading the reaction, not getting steamrolled by it. This keeps risk contained and entries timed to liquidity.
- Mark tier-1 events (rates, CPI, NFP, PMIs, key speeches) with exact times and expected ranges.
- Flatten discretionary positions 5 minutes before tier-1 releases unless already +1R with stop locked.
- The first minute after a release is “price discovery”—observe only; trade the second or third impulse.
- For surprise headlines, halve size and widen stops by 1.5× your baseline to keep risk constant in account %.
Currency Strength & Cross Selection: Express the theme in the cleanest pair
Brandon doesn’t force EURUSD if the theme is clearer in AUDJPY. You’ll pick instruments that best embody your narrative so edge isn’t diluted by noise.
- Build a simple strength board each session (strong to weak) using 4H trend and 1H momentum; trade strong vs weak only.
- If your top two are highly correlated to the same theme, choose one—avoid doubling exposure to the same story.
- Skip pairs pinned between central zones or with overlapping EMAs on 1H; wait for a clean break and retest.
- If equities are risk-off and JPY is firm while AUD is soft, prioritize AUDJPY for pure theme expression.
Levels That Matter: Use value areas and event levels, not random lines
He treats the prior day’s value and fresh event levels as the battlegrounds. This section helps you anchor trades where real decisions are made.
- Draw yesterday’s high/low and VWAP/POC (or midpoint if no volume tools).
- Promote any price printed in the first 5 minutes after a tier-1 release to an “event level.”
- Zones beat lines: mark 10–20 pip (or 0.10–0.20 ATR(14)) areas around levels to avoid wick-outs.
- In trend days, the first pullback to event level with an aligned narrative is a priority A+ setup.
Entry Triggers: From story to execution without guesswork
Brandon keeps triggers simple: a structure break, a retest, and confirmation that the tape still agrees. Follow these rules to turn the narrative into a click.
- Break-retest-go on the 5-minute: break of micro-structure, retest holds for 2 candles, enter with stop beyond the zone.
- Require momentum confirmation: 5-minute close above/below a short EMA stack (8/20) in the trade direction.
- Skip entries if the trigger candle’s range < 0.15× ATR(14) (no energy) or > 0.6× ATR(14) (chase risk).
- For news continuation, wait for a higher-low (long) or lower-high (short) after the initial spike, then trade the second leg.
Risk & Sizing: Fixed risk, flexible distance
He sizes to a fixed account % and lets the stop distance float with volatility. That way, one loser never wrecks the day.
- Risk 0.5%–1.0% per trade; cap total book risk at 2%.
- Place initial stop beyond invalidation: outside the zone by 0.35× ATR(14) on the 5-minute.
- If the spread widens during news, widen stop to 0.5× ATR(14) and reduce size to keep risk% % constant.
- Daily equity stop = −2R realized; hit it and you’re done for the session.
Trade Management: Let the narrative pay you
Brandon lets winners work while protecting equity when the story weakens. Use these rules to avoid cutting winners and nursing losers.
- Move to break-even at +1R only after a micro higher-low/lower-high forms in your direction.
- Scale 30% at +1R on B setups; on A+ news-continuation setups, first scale at +1.5R, second at a prior 1H swing.
- Trail on 15-minute swings once +1.5R; if a contrary event headline hits, tighten to the last 5-minute swing.
- If the market drifts sideways for 45 minutes around entry with <0.2× ATR(14) range, scratch the trade.
Playbook Filters: Time-of-day and session behavior
He leans into the hours that historically pay and avoids dead zones. You’ll filter for quality windows to boost expectancy.
- Trade London open + first 90 minutes and New York open + first 60 minutes; avoid mid-session if your stats show underperformance.
- If the win rate for 11:00–13:00 (platform time) is ≥15% below baseline, ban new entries in that window.
- Only take New York afternoon trades when a fresh headline resets the day’s narrative.
- No new positions in the final hour on Friday unless already risk-free.
Counter-Trend Rules: When fading is allowed
Sometimes the market overshoots the story. Brandon only fades with tight criteria, so he’s not catching falling knives.
- Counter-trend trades must occur at a daily/4H level or event level confluence.
- Require a failed drive: two consecutive 5-minute closes that reject the extreme with wicks > 0.25× ATR(14).
- Half-size only; first target is the nearest 1H equilibrium (VWAP/mid).
- If the fade doesn’t go in your favor within 15 minutes, exit at the market—no second chances.
Portfolio & Correlation: Avoid hidden double-downs
He treats correlated trades as one idea. This keeps risk realistic when multiple charts echo the same theme.
- Limit to one position per macro theme unless the second position reduces net risk (e.g., hedge or partial offset).
- If you must hold two correlated trades, keep combined risk ≤ 1.25× your single-trade risk.
- Don’t stack USD exposure three ways; choose the cleanest pair and size it properly.
- Track rolling 10-trade correlation of results by pair; drop the laggards that add noise.
Journaling & Review: Turn flow into feedback
Brandon’s confidence comes from data, not vibes. Capture the right details so you can iterate fast.
- Log each trade with: narrative statement, catalyst class, pair selection reason, level type, trigger type, R multiple, and screenshots.
- Tag trades by setup bucket (news continuation, first pullback, event level retest, counter-trend fade) and compute expectancy per tag weekly.
- Cull any bucket with E < 0 over the last 30 occurrences or rewrite its rules before continuing.
- Record pre-trade mood (1–5) and sleep; if mood ≤2, trade only mechanical A+ setups at half size.
Mindset Guardrails: Fewer decisions, better decisions
He reduces discretion so rough patches don’t spiral. These rules keep you consistent when emotions run hot.
- During a −5R drawdown, cut risk to 0.25% and restrict to trend-continuation A+ setups until back to the high-water mark.
- No adding to losers—ever. You may add once to winners on a valid retest while keeping total risk ≤ 1.25× initial R.
- One “impulse trade” token per week; unused tokens don’t roll over.
- End of day, score execution (0–2) for bias, level, trigger, risk, and management; any score ≤1 requires a written micro-rule fix.
Weekly Cadence: Prep that creates clarity
Routine turns chaos into checklists. Follow this rhythm to show up ready and unflappable.
- Sunday: write two dominant macro scenarios for the week and list three pairs to express each.
- Midweek: re-rank currency strength, refresh zones, and drop any pair that lost clarity.
- Friday: export stats, update expectancy by setup, and choose one focus for next week (e.g., “take profits only at structure, not at round numbers”).
- Schedule a 20-minute review with an accountability buddy: one winner, one loser, one scratch, all against your rules.
Size Your Risk First with Volatility-Based Stops and Daily Caps
Tom Constable starts by fixing risk before he even looks for an entry, because survival beats prediction every time. He sizes each trade to a flat percentage of equity, then lets stop distance float with current volatility, so one loser never wrecks the day. Brandon Turner echoes that mindset but layers in event-driven volatility, widening stops around tier-1 releases while trimming position size to keep the same account risk. Both traders agree: if the stop has to move, the size must shrink—no exceptions.
Daily caps keep emotions from compounding mistakes, and Tom is ruthless about closing shop at a preset drawdown. Brandon adds a session rule: if the narrative flips hard, he’ll lock the day and come back when the tape is cleaner. Volatility tools matter, but they’re servants to risk, not bosses—ATR informs distance; percentage of equity sets the loss. Get those two pieces in place and every other decision becomes easier, steadier, and far less stressful.
Trade the Dominant Narrative, Then Confirm with Price Mechanics
Brandon Turner starts with the question, “Why is money moving today?” and builds a one-line narrative from central-bank tone, fresh data, and risk sentiment. Tom Constable then demands that price action back that story up—higher highs and pullback holds for longs, or lower lows and failed retests for shorts. If the narrative and tape disagree, they both throttle down: Brandon waits for the story to resolve, while Tom refuses to trade full size until structure aligns.
Once the narrative and price mechanics agree, execution becomes mechanical: break, retest, go. Brandon uses event levels from big releases to anchor entries; Tom prefers clean zones where rejection sticks, not single fairy-dust lines. Both insist that confirmation is visible, not theoretical—closes where they should be, wicks where they shouldn’t, and momentum that doesn’t fade instantly. If the tape stalls or the story flips mid-session, they’re out first and curious later.
Pick Clean Markets: Diversify by Theme, Underlying, and Duration
Tom Constable keeps it simple: if the chart’s messy, it’s not on the menu. He picks the instruments where the structure is clean and the story is obvious, then avoids stacking three trades that all express the same idea. Brandon Turner adds a macro layer—choose the pair or market that best embodies the day’s theme, like AUDJPY for risk-on or USDCHF for safety. Together, they hammer one point: don’t turn a single narrative into hidden leverage by taking five correlated positions. If USD strength is the idea, they’ll choose the cleanest USD chart and size it properly, not spray and pray.
Diversification means more than “different tickers.” Brandon diversifies by theme (risk-on vs risk-off), while Tom diversifies by underlying (FX, index, or commodity) and by duration (intraday continuation vs multi-session swing). If one theme stalls, the other can still pay, and mismatched durations reduce the chance that everything stops out at once. Both insist on a simple rule: one core position per theme unless the second position reduces net risk or hedges the book. That way you get clarity, not clutter—and your edge isn’t diluted by accidental double-downs.
Use Zones Over Lines with Simple Break-Retest Entry Rules
Tom Constable treats support and resistance as zones, not razor-thin lines that get wicked out. He builds zones from clustered highs/lows and recent bodies, giving them a bit of width so entries don’t hinge on a single tick. A zone is valid only while the structure respects it; repeated sloppy touches mean it’s degraded and off the playbook. He wants to see a rejection wick and a close back inside the zone before even thinking about a trigger.
Brandon Turner keeps execution mechanical once the zone is defined: break, retest, go. The cleanest long is a break above the zone, a retest that holds for a couple of candles, and a decisive close back in the direction of the trend. If the retest candle has a tiny range or momentum fades instantly, skip it—no energy, no trade. Stops live just beyond the zone’s invalidation, and if that level goes, both Brandon and Tom are out without debate.
Process Discipline: Journal, Tag Setups, Measure Expectancy, Iterate
Tom Constable keeps score like a pro athlete: every trade gets a screenshot, the bias in one sentence, the level used, and the exact trigger. He tags setups—trend continuation, first pullback, event-level retest, or counter-trend fade—so results can be grouped and compared. If a tag’s expectancy goes negative over a decent sample, it’s benched or rewritten. That ruthless loop turns “feels” into data and removes guesswork the next time a similar picture appears.
Brandon Turner adds a narrative column to the journal so the story behind each trade is crystal clear. He reviews weekly: win rate, average R, and expectancy per tag, then picks a single improvement focus for the next five sessions. Both traders enforce a post-mortem rule—grade execution, not P&L—because a clean process eventually forces the numbers to line up. Keep it simple: record, tag, measure, and adjust until your best patterns become automatic and your weak ones quietly disappear.
Tom Constable and Brandon Turner keep circling the same core truth: consistent profits come from consistent process, not hot takes. Both hammer risk before anything else—fixed account-percent risk, stops set where the idea is invalidated, and hard daily limits that end the session when discipline starts to slip. They think in scalable terms: if you can’t run the same rules on a $100K account without sweating every tick, the rules aren’t ready. That mindset removes the temptation to “widen and hope,” and it turns volatility into a sizing input instead of an emotional trigger.
From there, they fuse story and structure. Brandon starts by asking why money should move today—central-bank tone, data surprises, risk-on/off—and then expresses that theme in the cleanest market. Tom validates the story with price mechanics: trend, swings, and zones where decisions actually happen. When the narrative and tape align, they execute simply—break, retest, go—and when they don’t, they throttle down or stand aside. One idea per theme, minimal correlation overlap, and no forcing trades in messy, mid-range chop.
What really separates their approach is the feedback loop. Tom documents every trade like a pro—bias in one sentence, level used, trigger taken, screenshot, result—while Brandon tags setups by bucket and reviews expectancy weekly. Together, they treat journaling as non-negotiable: if a tag bleeds over a real sample, it gets fixed or benched; if execution slips, they write micro-rules to prevent repeats. Layer in session filters (lean on London and New York opens), event awareness (flatten or reduce into tier-1 releases unless already protected), and a drawdown protocol that cuts size and narrows the playbook—and you’ve got a durable edge. The takeaway from Tom Constable and Brandon Turner is simple but powerful: define risk, align story with structure, execute mechanically, and let a ruthless review process shape what stays in your playbook.
