Trusted ICT trading education · Fact-checked by active traders · Updated weekly
Loading session status...
ICT Kill Zone Guide

The only ICT resource
that tells you when
to trade — not just what.

Most ICT sites explain the concepts. We explain the context. Kill zones, order blocks, fair value gaps — every guide written by traders who use these setups in live markets, every day.

✓ Fact-checked every article
✓ Written by active traders
✓ Always free
Start here — ICT for Beginners Browse all concepts →
✓
Fact-checked
Every article reviewed before publishing — no theory that doesn't hold up on a real chart.
📈
Written by traders
Not content writers. Every guide written by someone who actively trades these setups.
🔓
Always free
No paywalls, no courses to upsell. Full guides, full examples, zero cost.
What is ICT trading?

The framework behind institutional price delivery

ICT (Inner Circle Trader) is a trading methodology developed by Michael Huddleston that teaches retail traders how to read institutional order flow — the buying and selling activity of banks, central banks, hedge funds, and the large proprietary trading desks that drive real price movement in every liquid market.

The core premise is deceptively simple: markets are not random. Price is delivered by an algorithm — on a schedule, in a predictable sequence, to predetermined liquidity targets. Every Judas Swing, every fair value gap, every order block you see on the chart is the footprint of that algorithm doing its work. Once you can read the footprint, you stop reacting and start anticipating.

The ICT framework gives you three things most retail traders never have: a reason to be in a trade (institutional backing), a specific time to be in it (kill zones and macro times), and a defined exit framework (IRL to ERL targeting through the dealing range). It does not eliminate losing trades. It reduces the proportion of trades taken with no edge — which is where most trading accounts go wrong.

This site covers the complete ICT vocabulary — from kill zones and fair value gaps through the full 2022 Model framework, macro times, PD array selection, and weekly profile analysis. Every concept is explained with real chart logic, real entries, and the confluence stack that actually makes setups high probability rather than just identifiable.

Start with these
→ ICT for Beginners — complete introduction → ICT Kill Zones — when to trade → ICT AMD — the daily delivery cycle → ICT Daily Bias — direction before entry → ICT 2022 Model — the complete framework → ICT Silver Bullet — the primary strategy
Core PD arrays
→ Fair Value Gap — most common entry → Order Block — structural entry → Balanced Price Range — highest confluence → PD Array Matrix — full hierarchy
Latest ICT Tutorials View all →
Kill Zone
ICT Kill Zones — The Complete Guide to Trading the Right Sessions
16 min read · Intermediate · Updated March 2026
Fair Value Gap
ICT Fair Value Gap — How to Actually Trade It With Full Confluence
14 min read · Intermediate · Updated Feb 2026
Order Block
ICT Order Block — What Makes One Valid (And When to Skip It)
16 min read · Intermediate · Updated Feb 2026
Market Structure
ICT Market Structure — BOS, CHOCH and MSS Explained Properly
16 min read · Intermediate · Updated Feb 2026
Liquidity
ICT Liquidity — Buy Side, Sell Side and How Sweeps Actually Work
16 min read · Intermediate · Updated Feb 2026
Strategy
ICT Silver Bullet Strategy — Step by Step With Real Chart Examples
15 min read · Intermediate · Updated Feb 2026
Trading Model
ICT 2022 Model — The Complete 5-Component Framework
26 min read · Advanced · Updated May 2026
Core Concept
ICT AMD — Accumulation, Manipulation, Distribution Deep Dive
19 min read · Intermediate · Updated March 2026
Timing
ICT Macro Times — The 8 Algo Repricing Windows (With DST Table)
27 min read · Intermediate · Updated June 2026
Complete library

All ICT concepts — 31 in-depth guides

Every major ICT concept covered in full. From the foundational concepts through advanced models and application guides.

Beginner Guide
ICT Trading for Beginners
23 min read · Start here
Trading Model
ICT 2022 Model
26 min read · Advanced
Core Concept
ICT AMD — Accumulation, Manipulation, Distribution
19 min read · Intermediate
Kill Zone
ICT Kill Zones
16 min read · Intermediate
Timing
ICT Macro Times
27 min read · Intermediate
Fair Value Gap
ICT Fair Value Gap
16 min read · Intermediate
Order Block
ICT Order Block
16 min read · Intermediate
Concept
ICT Balanced Price Range (BPR)
22 min read · Intermediate
Framework
ICT PD Array Matrix
27 min read · Intermediate
Strategy
ICT Silver Bullet Strategy
15 min read · Intermediate
Daily Bias
ICT Daily Bias
16 min read · Intermediate
Framework
ICT Weekly Profile — 5-Day Delivery Model
23 min read · Intermediate
Market Structure
ICT Market Structure — BOS, CHOCH, MSS
16 min read · Intermediate
Liquidity
ICT Liquidity — BSL, SSL and Sweeps
16 min read · Intermediate
Concept
ICT Judas Swing
21 min read · Intermediate
Concept
ICT Premium and Discount Zones
21 min read · Intermediate
Concept
ICT Dealing Range — IRL and ERL
20 min read · Intermediate
Concept
ICT SMT Divergence
20 min read · Intermediate
Concept
ICT Equal Highs and Equal Lows
21 min read · Intermediate
Core Concept
ICT Power of Three (PO3)
15 min read · Intermediate
Concept
ICT Previous Day High and Low
19 min read · Intermediate
Entry Model
ICT Optimal Trade Entry (OTE)
15 min read · Intermediate
Concept
ICT Breaker Block
23 min read · Intermediate
Concept
ICT Mitigation Block
22 min read · Intermediate
Setup
ICT Turtle Soup
22 min read · Intermediate
Application
ICT on Gold (XAU/USD)
21 min read · Intermediate
Comparison
ICT vs SMC — What's Actually Different
20 min read · Intermediate
Reference
ICT Concepts — Complete Glossary 2026
23 min read · All levels
Trading Model
ICT Unicorn Model
22 min read · Advanced
Concept
ICT Candle Range Theory (CRT)
22 min read · Intermediate
Concept
ICT 1st Presented FVG
22 min read · Intermediate
Who's behind this

We cracked enough of it.
Now we live differently.

We don't have names on this site. That's deliberate. After five years studying ICT — and three years actually trading it profitably on NQ, ES, and gold — we figured out that anonymity and a laptop are a fairly effective combination.

The team behind ICTKillzone is small. Three traders who spent the better part of half a decade reverse-engineering how the algorithm delivers price. Not theorising about it. Trading it. Getting stopped out by it. Understanding why. Then trading it again with that understanding until the losses stopped and the consistency started.

We built this site because the ICT content that exists online is either Huddleston's original 20-hour YouTube deep dives (which are invaluable but hard to navigate), or 800-word surface-level summaries that will get you killed in live markets because they miss the context. We wanted something in between: deep enough to actually teach the concept, structured enough to be useful without a four-hour time investment.

None of us has a trading desk. We trade from wherever we happen to be — right now that's three different time zones and a shared Slack channel where someone is always awake for the London open. The freedom to live like that is what this methodology, applied consistently, actually produces. We write about ICT because it works. Every guide on this site is written from that standpoint.

5+
Years trading ICT concepts in live markets
28
In-depth guides written by active traders
NQ/ES
Primary instruments — where the real ICT community trades
"The algorithm isn't trying to trick you. It's just doing its job. Learn the job."
— ICTKillzone team
  • ◆ We only write about what we actually trade. No concept goes on this site if we can't show you a real entry, real stop, real exit.
  • ◆ We stay anonymous because the work speaks for itself. The concepts either hold up on your chart or they don't.
  • ◆ This site will never sell courses, signals, or a Discord. The information is here, it's free, and it's enough.
  • ◆ Three time zones. One methodology. London open at 2 AM doesn't care where you're sleeping.
Common questions

Everything you need to know before you start

The most common questions from traders who are new to ICT — or who have been studying it for a while and are still not quite getting it to click.

Full beginner's guide →

What is ICT trading?
ICT (Inner Circle Trader) is a trading methodology developed by Michael Huddleston that teaches how to read institutional order flow. The core premise: markets are delivered by an algorithm, on a schedule, to predetermined liquidity targets. ICT gives you the framework to identify where that algorithm is heading, when it will move, and where to enter in its direction.
What are kill zones and why do they matter?
Kill zones are the specific time windows when institutional participants are most active — London open (2–5 AM ET), NY open (8:30–11 AM ET), and NY PM (1:30–4 PM ET). Trading outside these windows means trading when the algorithm is largely inactive. The same setup that works perfectly inside a kill zone frequently fails outside one, because there is no institutional order flow to sustain the move.
Do I need a lot of capital to trade ICT?
No. ICT is applied to micro contracts (MNQ, MES) by many traders starting out — the methodology is identical to full contracts, the position size is just smaller. Many traders start with prop firm challenges ($50K–$100K accounts) and use the 2022 Model to pass evaluations. The concepts apply regardless of account size; what changes is position sizing, not strategy.
How long does it take to learn ICT?
Most traders spend 3–6 months learning the concepts before they are ready to paper trade. Another 3–6 months of consistent paper trading before going live is typical. The most common shortcut mistake: going live too early. ICT setups look obvious in hindsight. They are not easy to identify in real time until the pattern recognition is genuinely ingrained. There is no way to compress this process — but there is a way to do it efficiently, which is following a structured learning path rather than watching YouTube videos randomly.
What markets should I start with?
The current ICT community primarily trades NQ (Nasdaq-100 E-mini futures) and ES (S&P 500 futures). These are where Huddleston's 2022 Model was taught, and where the largest concentration of ICT traders operate — which means the setups are very clean and well-documented. Beginners can start with MNQ (the micro contract) to get real market experience without large capital risk. Forex is also valid but requires attention to both the 2–5 AM London window and the 8:30–11 AM NY window rather than just one.