Intermediate · 7 lessons · Free
Trend following and breakouts
Trend following accepts many small losses in exchange for a few large gains. This course explains why the approach has worked across a century of markets, how to define a trend and a leader, how channel, 52-week-high and base breakouts are traded, how ATR stops and volatility sizing keep each loss small, how to exit without cutting winners short, and how to test and run the rules week after week. Each lesson maps to the preset trading systems in Clear Tape.
Updated
Lessons
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Lesson 1
Why trend following works: edge, skew and psychologyTrend following buys strength and lets the market size the winners. Learn what research says about why trends persist, why the results come from a few large trades, and how to survive the long losing streaks that come with a real edge.
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Lesson 2
Defining the trend: structure, moving averages and the leader filterA system can only follow a trend it can define. Learn to define an uptrend by swing highs and lows, by the slope and order of the 50-, 150- and 200-day averages and by relative strength, and how the eight-check leader trend filter combines them.
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Lesson 3
Breakout entries: channel breakouts and the 52-week highA breakout entry buys a close above the highest price of a set period. Learn how channel breakouts work, how the Turtles used 20- and 55-day channels, why the 52-week high matters, and what confirms a breakout.
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Lesson 4
Bases and pivots: tight ranges, narrow days and volume pivotsThe best breakouts often start from a quiet base. Learn what a base and its pivot are, why tightness matters, how NR7 and inside days time the entry, and how a volume pivot lets you buy inside the base.
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Lesson 5
Stops and position sizing: ATR stops, volatility sizing and pyramidingPosition sizing decides whether an account survives its losing streaks. Learn to size from the stop, set ATR-based stops, apply the Turtles’ volatility units to stocks, add to winners safely and cap portfolio risk.
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Lesson 6
Exits and trade management: trailing stops, time stops and partial profitsThe exit decides how much of a trend you keep. Compare channel, moving-average and ATR trailing exits, understand the giveback they cost, and weigh time stops and partial profits as trade-offs to be tested.
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Lesson 7
Testing and running the system: expectancy, drawdowns and a weekly routineA system is a complete written rule set, tested honestly. Learn what to read in a backtest of a trend system, why the same trades can produce very different drawdowns, how to check robustness, and how to run the rules as a short routine.
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