The Terrain. Target. Trigger. Framework

The Quiet Work Behind Every High-Conviction Trade

In trading, it’s easy to get caught up in noise, emotions, and second-guessing. What separates high-conviction trades from shaky ones isn’t luck – it’s process. The Terrain-Target-Trigger Framework is a simple structure that helps remove guesswork, sharpen clarity, and make execution repeatable.

Terrain: What Environment Am I In?

Before you trade, understand the environment you’re in. This is your terrain: the higher-timeframe trend, the lower-timeframe structure, and the market’s narrative around news or data. Just like you wouldn’t drive a sports car through a muddy field, the setup you choose must match the conditions. Recognise your own markers — VWAP behaviour, liquidity voids, or trap zones — and use them to map the landscape.

Target: Define Success

A trade without a target is aimless. The target anchors conviction, defines risk-to-reward, and stops you from panicking at normal pullbacks. It might be a gap fill, a prior high or low, a VWAP test, or simply a move into the close. The key is deciding in advance what “success” looks like so you trade with purpose, not emotion.

Trigger: When to Act

The trigger is the signal to pull the trigger — your objective reason to enter. It could be a level break with volume, a pullback to a zone, a hold above VWAP, or an inside bar breakout. Without a trigger, you’re guessing, often chasing poor setups or entering too early. With one, you bring discipline and structure to execution.

Putting It Together

Strong terrain, a clear target, and a defined trigger turn uncertainty into a structured plan. For example: post-news momentum forms a strong trend (terrain), the prior week’s low becomes the objective (target), and a pullback confirmed by an engulfing bar with volume provides the entry (trigger).

Final Thoughts

The Triple T Framework breaks a trade into three essential questions:

  • Terrain tells you if you should trade.

  • Target tells you why it’s worth it.

  • Trigger tells you when to act.

Trading will never be easy, but clarity can make it simpler. Use this framework as your process: simple, scalable, repeatable.