I'll admit it…
I'm not a fan of trading trendlines. I'll consider them, but I never make a trading decision based solely on them.
They are a little too arbitrary for my taste. Maybe I just haven't tested them enough.
However, many professional traders use trendline breaks as a way to enter trades.
If you trade them too, then this post will show you how to get an alert if price breaks a trendline.
This may seem like it should be simple to do, but it's not a standard feature on older platforms.
So in this post, I'll show you where to find them, how to set them up and how professional traders trade them successfully.
MetaTrader 5
In MT5, you just have to plug in the right indicator. The TrendLine Touch Alert by Ahmed Soliman is the best option out there, at the time this post was written.
MetaTrader 4
It's a similar deal in MT4. The Multi-Trendlines Breakout indicator is your best bet right now.
NinjaTrader
I cringe when I hear the word NinjaTrader. It's the jankiest-ass trading platform I have ever seen. I would not trust it to give me the correct time of day, much less use it to trade real money.
But that's my personal bias.
…and of course, your skills determine your success, not your trading platform.
Professional traders swear by it, so it must work fine. It's also nice that they have a manual backtesting feature built in.
In my research, I found that you just have to add this indicator to get trendline alerts.
TradeStation
TradeStation has been one of the best trading platforms out there, for a long time.
I remember a time when I used to dream about the day that I could afford the TradeStation monthly fee. I even learned a little EasyLanguage.
True to form, TradeStation has a built-in way to add alerts to different chart objects.
You can find the instructions here.
TradingView
TradingView allows you to set trendline break alerts as a standard feature. This is one of the many reasons why I stopped using MetaTrader for Forex trading and switched to TradingView.
Getting alerts with TradingView is easy.
First, draw a trendline on your chart. Then click on the alert icon in the toolbar.
Then set your preferences and click Create.
No plugins to install, no email relays to setup.
It just works.
Try it out here.
Trendline Break Trading Strategies
Getting an alert when price breaks your trendline is great, but how do you actually trade it?
There are probably a hundred possible ways to trade them, but these are the most common ways that I've seen them work in live trading.
Straight Breakout
The first method is to enter a trade as soon as price breaks the trendline.
When you enter right away, you will be able to take advantage of big moves that don't retrace. On the downside, you might have a big stop loss and not be able to get your minimum R-multiple out of the trade.
Breakout Retouch
If you need a little more confirmation, then wait for a retouch of the trendline.
This is one of Betatrader's bread and butter setups. It has helped him go from beginner to money manager…all from home.
Walter also uses this setup. He has many different entries, but this is one that he looks for frequently.
The advantage of this entry is that you get a bit more confirmation and you can possibly set a tighter stop loss. Of course, the downside is that some trades may leave the station without you.
Conclusion
As always, remember to backtest any trendline break strategy. Never take my word for it that it works.
When you find a strategy that works for you, then setting up trendline break alerts can prevent you from missing good trades. Using these tools allows you to step away from the charts and not worry about missing trades.
Do you have any alternatives to the solutions above? Leave a comment below and let us know…
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