Have you ever felt like the market is moving against you no matter what you do?
You buy, it drops. You sell, it rallies. You spot what looks like the perfect setup only to watch price move in the exact opposite direction the moment you enter.
It’s one of the most frustrating experiences for new traders. The truth is, most beginners lose money not because they can’t analyze charts, but because they keep fighting the market’s natural direction.
There’s a simpler way. It’s called trend following, or as we like to say at Profits Run, “going with the flow.”
Instead of trying to predict where the market might turn, trend following focuses on where it’s already going. You trade in harmony with the current, not against it. The strategy may not sound flashy, but it has quietly produced consistent results for disciplined traders for decades.
In this guide, you’ll learn exactly how the trend following strategy for beginners works, why it aligns perfectly with human psychology, and how you can start applying it with confidence even if you’re brand new to trading.
We’ll also show how it fits into Profits Run’s broader philosophy: trading simply, protecting your capital, and focusing on realistic, repeatable setups.
Think of trend following as the longer-term cousin of swing trading. Both aim to capture the “middle” of a move rather than gambling on tops and bottoms.
By the end of this article, you’ll understand:
If you’re ready to stop guessing, stop fighting the market, and start trading in sync with it, this is your roadmap.
At its core, trend following is identifying the direction the market is already moving (up, down, or sideways) and trading in that same direction.
That’s it. You’re not trying to predict when the next reversal will happen. You’re not calling tops or bottoms. You’re simply joining the move once it’s confirmed and staying in as long as the trend remains intact.
Traders often overcomplicate the markets with dozens of indicators, conflicting signals, and emotional decisions. Trend followers strip all that away. They follow one simple principle:
“If the market is going up, look for opportunities to buy.
If the market is going down, look for opportunities to sell.”
This is what we mean when we say “go with the flow.”
Instead of fighting short-term noise, you align yourself with the broader direction of momentum. You’re working with the natural rhythm of the market, not against it.
For new traders, trend following offers a clear structure that removes the emotional guesswork. You’re not glued to every tick on the chart or trying to outsmart professional institutions. You’re observing, waiting, and participating only when the market gives clear confirmation of direction.
This calm, rules-based approach builds patience and confidence—two qualities that separate traders who survive from those who burn out early.
It’s also forgiving. Even if your entry isn’t perfect, a strong trend can still carry your position to profit. That’s why so many experienced traders tell beginners: “Don’t try to beat the market. Let the market carry you.”
In practical terms, trend following means you’re looking at weeks or months of market direction, not just day-to-day fluctuations. It’s a longer-term approach than swing trading, but the underlying mindset is identical: capture the most predictable portion of a move and exit before it reverses.
For example:
At Profits Run, we teach traders to build strategies around clarity, consistency, and control. Three things trend following delivers naturally.
Trend following doesn’t promise overnight success or constant excitement. What it offers is a disciplined, lower-stress way to participate in the markets. A way that has worked for generations and still works today.
Many traders think they have to choose between trend following and swing trading, as if one cancels out the other. In reality, they’re two versions of the same philosophy: trade with the market, not against it.
We’ve always said that the best traders don’t chase excitement. They chase consistency. Both swing trading and trend following build that consistency by focusing on high-probability setups that follow price direction, not prediction.
Let’s break down the connection and the differences so you can see where you fit best.
Both strategies aim to capture the “middle” of a move, that reliable stretch of price action that happens after a trend starts but before it ends.
Think of a price trend as a wave:
Neither is trying to surf every ripple. Both simply wait for a clean, established direction and then take the part of the move that offers the best balance of risk and reward.
This approach is what separates traders from gamblers. You’re not guessing where the next reversal will occur. You’re reacting to what’s already visible on the chart.
The main difference between the two approaches is time commitment.
| Factor | Swing Trading | Trend Following |
| Holding Period | 2–15 days | Several weeks to months |
| Chart Focus | Daily charts | Weekly and daily charts |
| Frequency | A few trades per week | Fewer trades, more patience |
| Time Commitment | 30–60 minutes per day | 1–2 hours per week |
| Goal | Capture shorter swings within larger trends | Ride major market trends for extended gains |
| Risk Profile | Moderate, more frequent adjustments | Lower frequency, larger potential reward |
If you enjoy reviewing charts daily, analyzing setups, and seeing results within days, swing trading fits your rhythm perfectly. That’s why we at Profits Run recommend it for beginners.
But if you prefer a slower pace, with fewer trades and less screen time, trend following might be the natural next step. It allows you to “zoom out,” trade less often, and let your winners run longer.
Here’s where the synergy happens. Swing trading and trend following don’t compete. They complement each other beautifully.
A trader who starts with swing trading learns all the right habits:
Once those habits are in place, shifting into trend following becomes seamless. You’re using the same skills, just applying them to longer timeframes.
In other words: If swing trading teaches you how to walk with the trend, trend following teaches you how to stay on the path longer.
That’s why we often tell our students that swing trading is the gateway strategy. It’s where you build your discipline, test your patience, and prove your consistency before moving into longer-term approaches.
Every trader wants to “trade with the trend,” but the real question is: How do you know when a trend is strong enough to trust and not just random price noise?
The good news is, identifying a trend doesn’t require complicated indicators or expensive software. You just need to know what to look for on your charts and how to confirm that what you’re seeing is worth trading.
Let’s walk through how experienced traders spot reliable trends, step by step.
Before zooming into any chart, take a step back. A trend that looks strong on a one-hour chart might look like a minor blip on a weekly chart.
Trend followers start by identifying the dominant direction on higher timeframes, like the daily or weekly chart, and then fine-tune entries on smaller ones if needed.
Ask yourself:
Here’s a simple rule of thumb we teach beginners: If you can’t tell which direction the market’s moving with one quick glance, it’s probably not trending.
Trends reveal themselves through structure.
In an uptrend, each wave of buying pushes prices to a new high, and each pullback stops at a higher low than before.
In a downtrend, each rally fails to break the previous high, and each selloff makes a lower low.
It sounds simple because it is. This price structure, not an indicator, is the foundation of every trend following strategy for beginners.
You can think of it visually like a staircase:
Once this rhythm breaks, meaning price fails to create a new high or low, it could signal the trend is weakening.
Moving averages smooth out price movement so you can see the underlying direction clearly. They’re one of the simplest and most effective tools for confirming a trend.
For beginners, we recommend focusing on two:
Here’s how to read them:
The magic isn’t in the exact number of days. It’s in the consistency. These averages help you stay focused on the direction that truly matters instead of reacting to short-term noise.
While price action and moving averages do most of the work, a momentum indicator can add confidence.
Profits Run often uses MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) or ADX (Average Directional Index) to gauge trend strength.
For beginners, you don’t need to memorize every setting. Just remember: Price tells you where the market is going. Indicators confirm how strong that move is.
Not every chart deserves your attention.
Sideways or erratic markets can chew up your account with false breakouts and whipsaws.
If price keeps bouncing up and down inside a tight range, it’s not a trend. It’s noise.
One of the biggest skills you’ll develop as a trend follower is learning when not to trade.
A simple tip: If you have to convince yourself that something looks like a trend, it probably isn’t one yet. Wait until price makes a clear breakout from that range with higher volume or a strong close above resistance (in an uptrend) or below support (in a downtrend).
Patience here saves frustration later.
Once you spot a possible trend, zoom out again and make sure the direction matches on multiple timeframes.
For example, if you’re trading daily charts, check the weekly chart first. If both are pointing in the same direction, your odds improve.
This concept called timeframe alignment helps you trade in sync with the broader market flow.
You’re essentially joining the larger crowd of institutional traders who are moving the market in that same direction.
Even the strongest trends can pause or reverse temporarily due to external events like:
Before entering any trade, glance at an economic calendar or company news feed. You don’t need to predict the impact, just be aware of timing. Avoid entering right before big announcements when volatility tends to spike.
At Profits Run, we keep this process simple because simplicity creates repeatability. The more consistent your method for identifying trends, the easier it becomes to execute with confidence.
You’ve learned what a trend is and how to identify it. Now let’s turn that knowledge into action.
The goal of a trend following setup is to give you a clear, repeatable process for entering and managing trades without guesswork or emotion.
You don’t need ten indicators or fancy software. You just need structure, patience, and the discipline to follow your plan.
Start by scanning daily or weekly charts for assets that are trending cleanly, not moving sideways or whipping back and forth.
The easiest way to recognize a strong trend is by combining:
Example:
Let’s say you’re looking at the QQQ ETF (which tracks the Nasdaq 100).
You notice price has been steadily rising for several weeks, forming higher highs and higher lows. The 50-day SMA is above the 200-day SMA, and both are sloping upward. That’s your first signal: the market is trending upward.
No trend moves straight up or down forever. Even the strongest ones “breathe”: they move, pause, and retrace before continuing.
As a trend follower, your job is to enter during that breath, not during the surge.
A pullback gives you a safer entry point, because you’re buying closer to support (in an uptrend) or selling near resistance (in a downtrend), reducing your risk.
Look for price to:
This pause is where you prepare, not panic. Most beginners see a pullback and think the trend is over; trend followers see it as an invitation.
Once the pullback happens, wait for price to show signs that the trend is resuming.
This confirmation could come from:
When you see this, it’s your cue to “go with the flow.”
Example continued:
Price on the QQQ ETF pulls back to the 50-day SMA at $365 and prints a bullish hammer candle on strong volume. That’s your confirmation. You plan to enter as price rises above the high of that hammer, say at $366.50.
Every trade needs a risk boundary before you enter. Trend following works because your winners are allowed to grow while your losers stay small.
The most logical stop-loss placement is just below the recent swing low in an uptrend (or above the recent swing high in a downtrend).
In our example:
This gives your trade room to “breathe” while protecting your account if the trend fails.
If price hits that stop, you exit calmly. No hesitation, no debate. Small loss, lesson learned, move on
Unlike short-term trading, trend following doesn’t rely on fixed profit targets. You let the market decide how far it wants to go.
There are two simple exit methods:
Example continued:
You enter at $366.50. Over the next few weeks, the price climbs steadily to $395.
You trail your stop just below the 50-day SMA, which has risen to $385. When price finally dips below it and closes at $383, you exit with a $16.50 gain per share, a solid, disciplined trade.
After every trade, whether it’s a win or loss, review your notes:
Keeping a simple trading journal accelerates your growth faster than any indicator. It helps you see patterns in your behavior, not just in the charts.
Even though the trend following strategy for beginners is one of the most straightforward ways to trade, it’s also one of the easiest to sabotage.Not because the method is complicated, but because human behavior is.
Let’s walk through the most common traps beginners fall into and how you can avoid them.
Beginners often sell the moment they see a small gain, afraid the market will take it back. But trends reward patience.
The goal is to let your winners run and use rules-based exits, like a trailing stop or a close below the moving average, instead of emotional decisions.
Let the market tell you when the move is over, not your nerves.
Hope is not a trading plan. When the price hits your stop, exit without hesitation.
Small, controlled losses are part of the game. They’re what allow you to stay in long enough to catch the big winners that define trend following.
Trend following only works when a trend exists.
Avoid charts where moving averages are flat or crossing repeatedly. That’s a sign of choppy, low-probability conditions.
Patience to wait for a clear direction is just as valuable as finding entries.
Risking too much on one trade can erase weeks of progress.
Keep it simple: risk 1–2% of your account per trade. That consistency protects your capital and reduces emotional pressure so you can stick to your system through losing streaks.
Adding too many indicators or rules usually hurts more than it helps. Clarity beats complexity every time. Stick with the basics:
When your method fits on a sticky note, you know you’re on the right track.
Remember: The biggest challenge in trend following isn’t spotting trends. It’s staying disciplined once you’re in. Avoid these common mistakes, keep your process simple, and remember that patience is the real edge.
You don’t need to catch every move, just the right ones, managed the right way.
The market consistently rewards traders who follow its rhythm and punishes those who try to fight it.
The trend following strategy for beginners works because it teaches you to observe, act with discipline, and protect your capital as the market moves. It’s a mindset built on patience and structure, not prediction.
You don’t need complex indicators or constant screen time. What matters is having a clear plan and the discipline to follow it. When your process is simple and consistent, confidence grows naturally.
At Profits Run, we’ve seen how powerful this approach can be. A clean chart, a defined setup, and a written plan can transform confusion into clarity and turn emotional trading into confident execution.
So start small. Choose one market and practice identifying trends. Wait for clean pullbacks, confirm your entry, define your risk, and let your winners work.
Do this repeatedly until the process feels automatic. That’s how skill, confidence, and consistency develop, one trade at a time.
When you’re ready to advance, explore how Profits Run’s training can help you use these same principles with options trading to gain more flexibility and control.
Trading success comes from moving with the market’s flow, not resisting it, and staying steady long enough for your edge to work.
Learn to recognize that flow, follow it with discipline, and let the trend do the heavy lifting.
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