Table of Contents
Tori sits down on the Words of Wisdom trading podcast with host Riz to unpack a big year: $100,000 in realized gains from just six trades, a shift from scalping to 4-hour swing trading, and the role her veteran-trader uncle played in keeping her grounded. The chat takes place in Miami, and Tori’s candid about everything—wins, losses, and why proving profitability publicly matters in a space full of noise. She explains how fewer, higher-conviction setups (and a lot of patience) changed her results.
In this piece, you’ll learn Tori’s core swing-trading blueprint: using trendlines on higher timeframes, filtering for high-probability breaks (touch points, time-in-market, and “data weight”), and scaling size only after the strategy proves out. We’ll also break down the mental game—protecting “mental capital,” resisting comparison traps, journaling patterns to cut losing behaviors, and why patience is the real edge for traders who want durable results.
Tori Trades Playbook & Strategy: How She Actually Trades
Core Market Lens: Fewer, Bigger, Better
Tori focuses on high-probability swings, not constant action. She waits for a clean structure, sets alerts, and commits when the odds line up across timeframes. This section shows how to see the market the same way, so you stop forcing trades and start stalking them.
- Trade only when a higher-timeframe structure is obvious (clear trend or compression → breakout). If the structure is messy on 4H and 1D, do nothing.
- Cap yourself to ≤2 A-setups per week; zero is fine. Your default state is flat.
- Predefine “invalid until” conditions (e.g., inside chop box, below 200-EMA, or pre-news window), so you’re not tempted to invent trades.
- Track a small basket you know well (3–6 tickers/pairs). Master their behavior instead of scanning the whole world daily.
Timeframes & Charting: Where the Edge Lives
She does most of her decision-making on the 4-hour, confirmed by the daily, and only dips to the 1-hour for timing. This blend slows you down, filters noise, and keeps stops where volatility can’t easily shake you out.
- Framework: 1D = context, 4H = setup, 1H = trigger. No entries from ≤15m.
- Allow at least three clean touches on key lines (trendlines, channels, horizontal S/R) before you consider a break valid.
- ATR(14) on 4H sets minimum stop distance; if your planned stop < 0.75× ATR, the trade is likely too tight.
- Avoid overlapping drawings. Keep only: current range, main trendline/channel, last swing high/low, and the level you’ll get paid at.
Set Up Criteria: The “A-Trade” Checklist
Her edge is simple concepts applied strictly. You’re looking for an aligned trend, compression into a level, and a decisive break with “acceptance” beyond the level—not just a wick.
- Must have two of three in confluence: 1D trend direction, 4H structure (higher highs/lows or coil), and a HTF level (weekly/daily).
- Breakout rule: wait for a 4H candle close beyond the level and a retest that holds (body or long-wick rejection).
- Avoid the first breakout after a very wide range day; prefer the second attempt after a failed fakeout.
- Disqualifiers: overlapping news within 60 minutes, wick-only “breaks,” or RSI(14) > 75 / < 25 without structure support (likely blow-off).
Risk & Sizing: Protect Mental Capital First
Tori treats capital and mental capital as sacred. The goal is staying funded, focused, and ready for the next clean hand. Position sizing is mechanical, so confidence doesn’t yo-yo with P&L.
- Fixed R model: risk 0.5R–1R per trade; never vary because of “feel.”
- Stop goes beyond the invalidation structure or max(0.75×ATR, last swing). If that makes the risk too large, pass the trade.
- Hard portfolio limits: max 2 correlated positions and max 3 open total.
- Daily loss stop = 1.5R; weekly loss stop = 3R. When hit, you’re done for the period—no exceptions.
- Size formula: Position = (Account × R%) / StopDistance. Round down to the nearest lot/share increment.
Entry & Execution: Triggers You Can Repeat
Execution is about letting price prove it. Use alerts, buy/sell limits at retest levels, and avoid chasing after the breakout candle has already “run.”
- Primary trigger: 4H close beyond level → set limit on retest with stop beyond invalidation.
- Secondary trigger: 1H “acceptance” (two closes beyond level) if 4H retest didn’t tag; keep the original 4H invalidation for the stop.
- If retest pierces your level by >0.25×ATR and closes back inside, treat it as failed acceptance—stand down.
- Enter only during your pre-defined execution windows (e.g., first 2 hours of session or top of 4H candles) to avoid impulsive fills.
Trade Management: Let Winners Breathe
She makes fewer trades because she rides the good ones. Your rules should codify when to reduce risk, when to take partials, and when to hold for the move you planned.
- Move stop to breakeven only after +1R and the 1H prints a higher low (for longs) or lower high (for shorts).
- Standard partials: take 30–50% at +1.5R to +2R; trail the rest behind 1H swing structure or a 20-EMA (1H) close.
- If price gives +2R swiftly (<2 candles after entry), switch to slower management (trail on 4H swings) to capture trend extension.
- Time stop: if the trade hasn’t reached +0.5R within three 4H candles, close half—your read may be early.
- Exit into pre-planned “get paid” zones (prior HTF swing or measured move = range height). Never invent targets mid-trade.
News & Session Filters: Remove Landmines
Avoiding bad environments is free alpha. She filters for major events and respects session behavior so the 4H swing has room to develop.
- No new positions within 60 minutes of Tier-1 events affecting your instrument (CPI, NFP, central bank, earnings for single stocks).
- If already in a trade, cut size by half or take to breakeven ahead of the event unless you have a significant cushion (>1R).
- Prefer entries that align with the instrument’s active session (e.g., indices near US cash open, FX during London/NY overlap).
- Fridays: only manage winners; no fresh trades after mid-session unless you’re scaling out.
Weekly Workflow: From Scan to Plan
Consistency comes from routine. This workflow forces you to plan when you’re calm and simply execute during the week.
- Sunday: mark 1D trend, key weekly/daily levels, and 3 actionable scenarios per instrument (bull, bear, neutral).
- Set price alerts at breakout and retest locations; remove everything else from the chart.
- Each evening: update a one-pager—current bias, key level, invalidation, and trade plan in one screenshot.
- Mid-week review: if you’ve taken 2 losers, reduce R by 50% for the rest of the week to preserve mental capital.
Psychology & Discipline: The Patience Edge
The shift from scalping to 4H swings is really a shift from FOMO to patience. These rules keep your head clear so you can wait for A-setups without second-guessing.
- Pre-commitment: write your next trade’s exact invalidation and target before the week starts. If you change it live, cancel the trade.
- Process scoreboard: grade yourself daily on 5 items (waited for 4H confirmation, respected R, no chase, news filter, clean chart). 4/5 = green day regardless of P&L.
- Comparison detox: unfollow PnL posts; your only benchmark is R. Aim for smooth equity, not flashy wins.
- Recovery rule: after any impulsive trade, step away for two 4H candles. No exceptions.
Toolkit & Templates: Make It Frictionless
Simple tools reduce noise and help you repeat the edge. Keep your stack lean and your templates ready so every trade feels familiar.
- Chart template: 1D/4H/1H tabs; indicators limited to ATR(14) and 20-EMA. Save a “clean” layout preset.
- Alerts: price crosses level, 4H close beyond level, and retest zone tagged.
- Journal: one screenshot pre-trade (plan) + one mid-trade (management) + one post-trade (result). Tag with setup name and grade the quality (A/B/C).
- Watchlist discipline: remove any name that produced two “C” quality setups in a row; add back only after a month.
Size by ATR, Not Feel: Fixed-R Risk Every Trade
Tori makes risk boring on purpose. On the podcast, she explains that every position starts with a fixed R and a stop placed beyond structure or a minimum fraction of ATR—never “because it feels right.” By standardizing risk and letting volatility set distance, Tori keeps losers small, avoids death-by-tight-stops, and protects the mental capital that keeps her consistent.
She also hammers home that sizing is math, not mood. If the ATR makes the stop too wide for her pre-set R, Tori simply passes and waits for a cleaner setup instead of shrinking R or forcing entries. That simple discipline—fixed R, ATR-informed stops, and a hard “no” when the math doesn’t fit—lets her compound without the drama.
Let Structure Lead: 4H Acceptance, Retest, Then Trigger.
Tori is adamant that structure comes first and opinions come last. She defines an “A-setup” as a 4H trend or coil pressing into a key level, followed by a decisive close beyond it—what she calls acceptance. Instead of chasing the first breakout candle, she waits for the price to come back and respect that level, proving it wants to stay outside the prior range. This keeps her from buying tops or shorting bottoms when a move is just a wick.
Her execution rules are simple and repeatable: 4H close beyond the level, then a patient retest that holds, then a trigger—often timed on the 1H if it prints a higher low or lower high in the new regime. If the “break” is wick-only or the retest closes back inside, she stands down and preserves capital. She marks invalidation at the other side of the structure, so the stop makes logical sense, not emotional sense. Tori’s message is clear: let the market prove itself, then trade the acceptance, not the hope.
Diversify Edge: Underlying, Strategy Type, and Holding Duration
Tori doesn’t put all her conviction into one market or one playbook. She spreads risk across a small basket of underlyings that move differently, so one cold patch doesn’t ice the whole account. She then diversifies by strategy—trend continuation, breakout-retest, and the occasional mean-reversion fade when structure supports it. The final layer is time: Tori mixes quick swing holds with slower, multi-week campaigns so she isn’t forced to trade when one tempo is out of sync.
This matters because correlation sneaks up on traders. Tori caps exposure when instruments are highly correlated and avoids stacking the same thesis in different tickers. She also keeps separate risk buckets for each strategy type, so a drawdown in breakouts doesn’t contaminate her continuation setups. By diversifying what she trades, how she trades it, and how long she holds, Tori smooths equity and keeps her edge alive across shifting market regimes.
Mechanics Over Prediction: Pre-Plan Levels, Alerts, and Time Stops
Tori is blunt: predictions are ego, mechanics are money. On the podcast, she explains how every trade starts with pre-marked levels on the daily and 4H, plus typed notes on what qualifies as acceptance and what voids the idea. She sets alerts at those exact coordinates so entries are event-driven, not screen-driven. When an alert fires, she rechecks the structure, not Twitter, and follows the script she wrote while calm.
Her playbook also bakes in time as a risk control. If a trade hasn’t progressed by a set number of 4H candles, Tori cuts or reduces—no debates, no “just one more bar.” She’s equally strict about when not to trade: inside chop zones, within an hour of major news, or when the retest fails the acceptance test. Because mechanics decide and not her mood, Tori keeps execution clean, repeatable, and scalable.
Protect Mental Capital: Daily and Weekly Loss Cutoffs
Tori treats her mind like a core position—protect it or you lose the account. On the podcast, she lays out hard brakes: a daily loss stop and a weekly loss stop that end her trading session, period. Those guardrails prevent revenge trades, keep risk-per-trade intact, and let her return fresh instead of frazzled. She also limits simultaneous positions and correlation so one bad theme doesn’t hit her from three angles at once.
Equally important, Tori grades days by process, not P&L. If she hit her criteria—waited for 4H acceptance, respected stops, avoided news landmines—it’s a “green” day even if the result was red. When she violates a rule, she takes a cooldown for two 4H candles and journals the trigger that set her off. By enforcing loss cutoffs and recovery rituals, Tori safeguards the confidence and focus that make the next A-setup possible.
Tori’s core lesson is radical selectivity backed by proof: six trades, $100K, and a willingness to stay flat until structure is undeniable. She’s moved from fast timeframes to a 4-hour swing lens, drawing obvious trendlines, demanding a clean close and retest (“acceptance”), and giving stops the room that higher timeframes require. The takeaway is simple but tough to live: fewer, higher-conviction setups; volatility-aware risk; and patience that outlasts the chop.
She’s equally transparent about the edge inside execution and psychology. Entries were “sniper,” but exits lagged because dollar amounts tempted early profit-taking—so her growth focus is letting winners play out per plan, not feelings. That means fixed-R sizing, gradual scale-up only after the strategy proves out, and scheduled breaks to protect mental capital when swings are emotionally taxing. For traders, the blueprint is to codify structure-first rules, size with math, and enforce time and loss stops so your best ideas actually realize their potential.
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