Market Structure
When price breaks a previous swing high in a bullish trend, or a previous swing low in a bearish trend — confirming the trend continues. BOS = same-direction structure broken = trend intact. In a bullish trend, every new higher high is a BOS. After a BOS, continue looking for entries in the trend direction — order blocks and FVGs at the next pullback.
Beginner
When price breaks the opposing structure — a higher low in a bullish trend, or a lower high in a bearish trend. The first warning the trend may be reversing. CHOCH = stop looking for continuation trades in the old direction. Wait for the MSS before entering the new direction. CHOCH alone is not an entry signal.
Beginner
The confirmed version of CHOCH — a structural break that was preceded by a liquidity sweep AND confirmed with a displacement candle leaving a Fair Value Gap. The FVG from the MSS displacement is the entry point. MSS = enter the new direction at the FVG. Requires: sweep → displacement → structure break → FVG. Without the sweep, it's just a CHOCH.
Intermediate
The most recent local swing point — a high with one lower high on each side, or a low with one higher low. Used for entry-level MSS identification on the 5-minute and 15-minute chart. The granular building block of structure. STH/STL breaks are entry triggers; ITH/ITL breaks are more significant structural events.
Intermediate
A swing point with an STH/STL on each side. More significant than an STH/STL — required multiple price swings to form. Used for 1-hour and 4-hour structure analysis. The primary CHOCH and MSS reference level. A CHOCH at the ITL level carries significantly more weight than one at the STL level.
Intermediate
The highest high or lowest low across a significant range — with multiple ITH/ITL on each side. The macro structural extreme and draw on external range liquidity. Used on the daily and weekly chart for identifying institutional targets. LTH/LTL are the ERL destinations — where price is ultimately being delivered.
Intermediate
Two or more swing highs at approximately the same level (within 5–10 pips on major forex, 0.1% on indices). Represents dense buy-side liquidity above. Retail traders see a double top and expect resistance. ICT traders see clustered stops above that the algorithm will target before reversing. EQH sweeps are common Judas Swing targets during London open.
Beginner
Two or more swing lows at approximately the same level. Represents dense sell-side liquidity below. Retail traders see a double bottom and expect support. ICT traders expect a sweep of the EQL before a bullish reversal. The more times a level has been tested, the denser the liquidity pool, and the more reliably it will be swept.
Beginner
A shift in the algorithmic delivery state — identified by a candle closing beyond a short-term high or low after a liquidity sweep. Similar to CHOCH but more specifically refers to the algorithm's delivery state changing rather than the visual structure pattern. Used interchangeably with CHOCH by many ICT traders, though CISD has a slightly more mechanical definition.
Intermediate
Liquidity
Resting orders above price — stop-losses from short sellers and buy stop orders from breakout traders. Located above swing highs, equal highs, previous session highs, and PDH. The algorithm sweeps BSL before bearish reversals. The BSL sweep is the manipulation phase — price appears to break out bullishly but reverses sharply after taking the stops.
Beginner
Resting orders below price — stop-losses from long traders and sell stop orders from breakdown traders. Located below swing lows, equal lows, previous session lows, and PDL. The algorithm sweeps SSL before bullish reversals. The classic ICT long entry: SSL swept, displacement, FVG, MSS, enter long.
Beginner
When price moves into a liquidity pool (BSL or SSL), triggers the resting orders, and then reverses. Three simultaneous effects: fills institutional orders at favorable prices, clears the path for the real move, and traps retail traders on the wrong side. The sweep is the manipulation phase — never enter during the sweep, only after the displacement that follows.
Beginner
Liquidity within the current price range — Fair Value Gaps, Order Blocks, and swing points inside the dealing range. IRL is what price passes through on the way to the final destination. Used as first and second partial profit targets. When price reaches IRL, it may pause or consolidate briefly before continuing to the ERL.
Intermediate
Liquidity beyond the current price range — the prior structural high (in a bullish delivery) or low (bearish delivery). The institutional delivery destination. Hold the remainder of your position to ERL. The same entry and stop that gives 2:1 to IRL can give 10:1 or more to ERL — managing to ERL is where the biggest R:R comes from.
Intermediate
The high and low of the prior trading day. Among the most reliably targeted BSL (PDH) and SSL (PDL) levels in any session. Nearly every retail trader references these levels, making the stop clustering above PDH and below PDL extremely dense and predictable for institutional sweeps.
Beginner
The nearest significant liquidity target in the direction of the daily bias — where the algorithm is delivering price today. Always identify your draw on liquidity before any kill zone opens. The IRL draw is today's partial profit target. The ERL draw is the week's institutional destination. Never trade without knowing your draw.
Beginner
ICT's name for trading against retail breakout traders. When retail traders buy a breakout above a previous high (or sell a breakdown below a previous low), institutions take the opposite side — selling into the BSL sweep or buying into the SSL sweep. The Turtle Soup trade is entering short after a BSL sweep (or long after an SSL sweep), directly against the retail crowd that chased the breakout.
Intermediate
PD Arrays (Price Delivery Zones)
A three-candle price imbalance where the wicks of candles 1 and 3 do not overlap, leaving an untraded zone. The primary ICT entry tool. Enter at the 50% (Consequent Encroachment) of the FVG on the retracement. Requires: liquidity sweep before, kill zone active, daily bias aligned, unmitigated FVG. The FVG is the institutional footprint — where smart money left an imbalance that the algorithm will return to fill.
Beginner
Inverse / Inversion Fair Value Gap
IFVG
An FVG that has been violated — price closed beyond the gap — and has flipped its directional role. A bullish FVG that is violated becomes a bearish resistance zone (IFVG). A bearish FVG that is violated becomes bullish support. IFVGs are powerful reversal reference points because they represent zones where the original institutional intent failed and the opposing side is now in control.
Intermediate
Implied Fair Value Gap
IFVG (alt)
A hidden imbalance — displacement candles where the wicks overlap (no visible gap) but an imbalance still exists. Identified by measuring the 50% (Consequent Encroachment) of the wick of candle 1 and the 50% of the wick of candle 3 — the zone between those two midpoints is the implied FVG. Used when no standard FVG is visible but strong displacement occurred.
Advanced
The last opposing candle before a significant displacement move. A bullish OB is the last bearish candle before a bullish impulse. A bearish OB is the last bullish candle before a bearish impulse. Entry at the 50% mean threshold of the candle body. Requires: liquidity sweep first, genuine displacement after, unmitigated zone, HTF bias aligned, correct premium/discount location.
Beginner
A failed order block — an OB that has been fully violated with a candle body closing beyond the zone. The former OB flips its role: a bullish OB that fails becomes bearish resistance (Breaker Block). Trade the first return to the Breaker level in the opposite direction. Entry: when price retraces to the former OB zone, look for a bearish rejection. Stop above the Breaker zone.
Intermediate
When institutions return to a previous order block to exit (mitigate) a losing position rather than to continue their original direction. The OB retest appears valid but barely reacts before price continues through. Distinction: if HTF structure has shifted against the OB direction, treat the return as a mitigation (exit) rather than a bounce entry — wait for lower-timeframe confirmation before entering.
Intermediate
Two overlapping fair value gaps — one bullish and one bearish — at the same price level. The overlap zone represents a high-confluence area where both a bullish and bearish imbalance converge. Entry at the 50% of the overlapping zone. Strongest version of FVG confluence — two distinct institutional imbalances at the same price.
Advanced
A candle or sequence with extended wicks in one direction, showing significant price rejection. Represents institutional order flow entering against the wick direction. Similar to an order block but identified by wick structure rather than body structure — the extended wick reveals where institutions aggressively entered against retail breakout momentum.
Advanced
A rapid price movement with minimal price discovery — essentially a very large FVG spanning multiple candles. Price moves so fast that very little trading occurs at intermediate levels, creating a strong retracement magnet. Vacuum blocks often form during major news events and represent the most extreme version of an institutional imbalance.
Advanced
A sequence of candles that accelerate a move — used as a reference zone for re-entry after a retracement. The propulsion block forms when institutional order flow is at its most aggressive, creating a sequence of same-direction candles. Price often retraces back to this zone before the next leg of the move.
Advanced
1st Presented Fair Value Gap
1st FVG
The very first FVG that forms after the market opens at 9:30 AM EST. A high-probability entry tool — the algorithm often delivers price back to the first FVG of the session before continuing in the true direction. Particularly powerful when the 1st FVG aligns with the daily bias direction and forms during the early NY open kill zone (8:30–10:00 AM).
Advanced
Entry Models
Fibonacci-based entry model targeting the 62–79% retracement of the displacement swing. Anchor point 1 (100%) at the sweep wick extreme; anchor point 2 (0%) at the displacement peak. The 70.5% mean threshold is the optimal entry — add it manually to TradingView (value: 0.705). Stop beyond 100%. A candle body closing beyond 100% = hard invalidation.
Intermediate
The 50% midpoint of any ICT price zone — applied to FVGs, order blocks, or the OTE range. The preferred entry point within any zone because it represents the most efficient price within the institutional range. The term "Consequent Encroachment" is ICT's specific label for the 50% level of an FVG.
Beginner
Institutional Order Flow Entry Drill
IOFED
A specific entry model using a Fair Value Gap within a displacement that follows a liquidity sweep and CISD. The most mechanical ICT entry — strict rules for displacement candle size, FVG requirements, and confirmation. Designed to be executed without discretion once the structural prerequisites are met. Used by prop firm traders who need rule-based entries.
Advanced
A high-probability trade model combining three ICT tools aligned at the same price level: a market structure shift, a fair value gap, and an order block — all confirming the same entry zone. Named "unicorn" because the triple-confluence scenario is rare. When all three align in the correct premium/discount zone during a kill zone — maximum conviction entry.
Advanced
Session & Timing
The four time windows when institutional order flow is most active: Asian (8 PM–12 AM EST — accumulation range), London Open (2–5 AM EST — manipulation phase), New York Open (8:30–11 AM EST — distribution phase, highest probability), London Close (10 AM–12 PM EST — continuation or reversal). Only trade setups that form during kill zones. Outside these windows, probability drops significantly.
Beginner
Time-based strategy targeting three specific one-hour windows: 3–4 AM EST (London), 10–11 AM EST (NY AM — highest probability), 2–3 PM EST (NY PM — lowest). Within each window: daily bias first → liquidity sweep → displacement → FVG → entry at 50% on retracement. Minimum 1:2 R:R to first target. The 10 AM window is the single best hour to trade in the entire day.
Beginner
Specific intraday time references when institutional algorithms execute orders: 8:30, 9:30, 10:00, 11:00 AM and 1:30, 2:00, 4:00 PM EST. Price often makes short-term pivots at these exact times. Used for precision entry timing within kill zones — waiting for price to reach your FVG zone near a macro time significantly increases the probability of a clean reaction.
Intermediate
The overnight accumulation phase (8 PM–12 AM EST). Price consolidates, forming the high and low that London and New York will target. Mark the Asian high as BSL and the Asian low as SSL before London opens. These are the primary sweep targets for the London Judas Swing. On JPY pairs, the Asian session can also produce genuine directional moves.
Intermediate
New York Midnight Open
NYMOP
The price at exactly 12:00 AM EST — the start of the New York trading day in the ICT model. Acts as a significant reference level throughout the day. Price often uses the NY Midnight Open as support or resistance. Particularly relevant for the Asian session and London open — the distance between price and the NY Midnight Open informs whether price is in a premium or discount state relative to the new day's open.
Beginner
11:30 AM to 1:30 PM EST — the period between the NY open kill zone and the London close. Lowest institutional participation of the day. Volume drops, spreads widen, price chops without direction. Do not trade during this window. Many traders lose back their morning profits here. If you don't have a trade by 11:00 AM, stop and wait for the afternoon.
Beginner
Seek and Destroy Friday
S&D
ICT's name for the Friday pattern around high-impact news events (especially Non-Farm Payroll). Price makes an extreme false move before or during the news release — sweeping stops in both directions before resolving in the true direction. The manipulation is more extreme than a normal Judas Swing. On NFP Fridays, wait for both BSL and SSL to be swept before considering an entry.
Intermediate
The price range formed in the first few minutes of a session opening — typically the first 1 to 15 minutes of the NY open (9:30–9:45 AM EST). The opening range high and low often act as reference levels for the session. The 1st Presented FVG is directly related to the opening range — the first FVG after the 9:30 open is a high-probability entry tool.
Intermediate
Power of Three / AMD
The master ICT framework: Accumulation (range builds, liquidity pools form), Manipulation (liquidity sweep — the false move that traps retail), Distribution (real move toward institutional target — the only phase worth trading). Fractal — operates on every timeframe simultaneously. On the daily: Asian = Acc, London = Man, NY = Dist. On the weekly: Monday = Acc, Tue/Wed = Man, Thu/Fri = Dist.
Beginner
The manipulation phase of the daily PO3, specifically at the London open. Price moves against the daily bias — appearing to be a genuine breakout — sweeps BSL or SSL, then reverses sharply in the true direction with a displacement. Named for the biblical betrayal: it lures traders in before reversing against them. Recognizing the Judas Swing stops you from being trapped by the manipulation.
Beginner
Accumulation, Manipulation, Distribution — the three phases of Power of Three expressed as an acronym. Used interchangeably with PO3. AMD is the structural delivery pattern the algorithm uses on every timeframe, every session, and every week.
Beginner
Higher Timeframe Concepts
Your directional conviction for the trading day, derived from top-down HTF analysis. Five inputs: weekly structure, daily structure, draw on liquidity, premium/discount location, session scenario. Established before the kill zone opens — not during or after. Without daily bias, the Silver Bullet and FVG entries are random. With it, they have direction, target, and context.
Beginner
The area above the 50% equilibrium of the current dealing range. Optimal zone for bearish setups — the algorithm is statistically likely to deliver price lower from premium. Entering long in premium fights the most likely near-term delivery direction. Bearish bias + price in premium = the setup ICT traders wait for before shorting.
Beginner
The area below the 50% equilibrium of the current dealing range. Optimal zone for bullish setups. Entering short in discount fights the institutional delivery. Bullish bias + price in discount = maximum conviction long setup. Always check whether your FVG or OB entry is in the correct premium/discount zone before entering.
Beginner
The price range from the most recent significant swing high to swing low on the daily chart. The 50% midpoint is equilibrium. Use the daily dealing range to assess whether current price is in premium (above 50%) or discount (below 50%). For intraday context, use the previous day's high and low as the short-term dealing range.
Intermediate
Interbank Price Delivery Algorithm — the ICT concept that price is delivered by algorithms programmed to target liquidity pools and imbalances on a systematic basis. IPDA is the mechanism behind kill zones (when the algorithm activates), liquidity sweeps (how it fills institutional orders), and FVG retracement (how it rebalances imbalances). Understanding IPDA explains why ICT concepts work rather than just that they work.
Intermediate
A major directional change that often occurs in January, April, July, and October as institutional money repositions for the new quarter. ICT teaches that these quarterly boundaries frequently produce significant trend reversals. Watching for quarterly shifts helps align swing trades with the largest institutional moves of the year.
Advanced
When two correlated assets fail to confirm each other's move. If EUR/USD makes a new high but GBP/USD does not — or NAS100 makes a new high but S&P 500 doesn't — the divergence signals institutional manipulation in one pair. The asset that made the false high (the sweep) will typically reverse first. SMT divergence is a powerful confirmation tool before an MSS entry.
Intermediate
Advanced & Newer Concepts
Suspension Block
—
Introduced 2025
A PD Array introduced by Michael Huddleston in September 2025. Forms when price suspends (hovers) above or below a key level before resolving in one direction. Acts as support or resistance for the subsequent move. The suspension phase represents institutional order accumulation before the next delivery leg — the period of minimal price movement that precedes a significant directional move.
New 2025
Hidden Order Block
Hidden OB
Introduced 2025
A PD Array not visible on the standard price chart — identified through specific algorithmic price delivery patterns rather than conventional candle analysis. Requires advanced understanding of institutional delivery sequences to locate. The Hidden OB is one of ICT's more nuanced concepts, reflecting how institutional activity isn't always legible in standard candlestick form.
New 2025
Venom Trading Model
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Introduced April 2025
A structured trading model introduced by Michael Huddleston in April 2025, combining Power of Three, liquidity sweeps, and FVGs in a specific format for session-based delivery. One of the most searched ICT concepts of 2025. The Venom Model provides a pre-defined framework for how to sequence the trade setup steps — from bias establishment through entry execution.
New 2025
Redelivered Rebalanced Price Range — a price range that has been redelivered (revisited) and rebalanced (partially or fully filled by price action). A hidden PD Array that forms when price creates an FVG but then moves through and back, partially rebalancing the gap. The RDRB identifies the remaining unbalanced portion of the original imbalance as the active reference level.
New 2024
A complete ICT trading model presented in the 2022 mentorship content, combining daily bias, kill zone timing, liquidity sweeps, and FVG entries in a structured step-by-step format. One of ICT's most referenced named models — provides a complete end-to-end trade execution process from pre-session preparation through trade management.
Advanced