ICT Propulsion Block

What Is an ICT Propulsion Block?

An ICT propulsion block is a candle that trades back into an earlier order block and then becomes the new support or resistance that propels price away. In the bullish case it is a down-close candle that trades down into a previous down-close candle (the bullish order block), after which price rallies quickly. The bearish version is an up-close candle that trades up into an earlier bearish order block.

Michael Huddleston (ICT) teaches it in his 2016 mentorship, in the lesson titled “ICT Mentorship Core Content – Month 04 – ICT Propulsion Block”. It sits in the same month as his order block, breaker block and rejection block lessons. The paraphrases on this page follow a published transcript of that lesson (a community archive, so a secondary source). Where we add our own working rules, we say so.

ICT’s Definition, Step by Step

Take the bullish case. The bearish case mirrors every step.

1. An order block forms. A down-close candle appears before a move up. That is a bullish order block: the last opposing candle before a displacing move.
2. Price comes back into it. Later, a new down-close candle trades down into that earlier order block.
3. The new candle takes over. Price moves up sharply away from the new candle. The new candle is now the level of support for higher prices: it is the propulsion block. ICT’s point is that it propels price, quickly and suddenly.
4. On a return, expect a fast response. Student notes on the lesson (ICT Sharks forum, secondary) summarise it this way: price most often trades back to the high of a bullish propulsion block (the low of a bearish one) and then moves away. In the lesson he stresses that a good one gives immediate responsiveness and very little drawdown.

So a propulsion block is an order block that forms on top of an earlier order block. It is a second, later candle that uses the first one as a springboard. That is why the site’s glossary describes it as a candle that trades into an earlier order block and then propels price away from it.

The Mean Threshold Rule

The one firm rule ICT attaches to the propulsion block is about its mean threshold, the 50% level of the candle’s body, measured from open to close. When price returns to the block, that level should hold. If price breaks half of the body’s height, in his words the mean threshold should not give way, and losing it suggests it is probably not a good trade.

To calculate it: mean threshold = (propulsion candle open + propulsion candle close) ÷ 2. Use the body, not the wicks. This is the same measurement the site uses for any order block’s mean threshold.

Combine that with his expectation of an immediate response and you have the practical logic. A strong propulsion block reacts from near its top (bullish) or bottom (bearish) with little drawdown, so you find out quickly whether you are right. ICT presents that as the reason the entry can use a tight stop. Our reading is that the tight stop is only honest when it still sits beyond the structure that proves the idea wrong, which is the propulsion candle’s own extreme. See the walkthrough below.

It Is Not “Candle 2 of a Fair Value Gap”

Many articles, and an earlier version of this page, describe the propulsion block as the large displacement candle in the middle of a fair value gap (candle 2). That is not how ICT defines it in the Month 04 lesson. The two ideas differ in three ways:

• What the candle does. A propulsion block is defined by trading into an earlier order block. The middle candle of a fair value gap is defined by leaving a gap between candle 1’s wick and candle 3’s wick.
• Candle direction. A bullish propulsion block is a down-close candle, just like a bullish order block. The middle candle of a bullish fair value gap is an up-close displacement candle.
• What gets measured. The propulsion block uses the mean threshold of its own body. A fair value gap uses consequent encroachment, the midpoint between candle 1’s and candle 3’s wicks.

A propulsion move often leaves fair value gaps behind it, so the two can appear on the same chart. They are still different arrays.

Propulsion Block vs Other Order Block Variants

The order block and the propulsion block point the same way: both are support in the bullish case. The breaker and the mitigation block are failures, used in the opposite direction.

Walkthrough: Planning a Long From a Propulsion Block

Context. On NQ, the higher-timeframe draw on liquidity is above, at an old high of 21,468. On the 15-minute chart a bullish order block has formed: a down-close candle that opened at 21,320 and closed at 21,300. Its mean threshold is 21,310.

The propulsion block. Price rallies from the order block, then pulls back. A later down-close candle trades down into the order block, with a low of 21,312. That candle opened at 21,334, traded up to a high of 21,337, and closed at 21,316. Price then rallies sharply to 21,410. The later candle is the propulsion block. Its body runs from 21,316 to 21,334, and its mean threshold is (21,334 + 21,316) ÷ 2 = 21,325.

The plan for a return.

• Buy limit at 21,337, the propulsion candle’s high. That follows the lesson’s point that price tends to react near the high of a bullish propulsion block. It fills only if price comes back down to that level.
• Early exit rule: if a 15-minute candle body closes below the mean threshold at 21,325, the block has not held. That is our reading of ICT’s “mean threshold should not give way” rule. Exit or cancel.
• Stop at 21,309, just below the propulsion candle’s low (21,312) and below the order block’s mean threshold (21,310). That is 28 points of risk: $560 per NQ contract or $56 per MNQ. If that is too much, trade fewer contracts or micros rather than moving the stop.
• First target: the recent high at 21,410 (73 points, about 2.6R). Second target: the draw on liquidity at 21,468.
• If price runs to 21,410 again without returning to 21,337, cancel the order. The block was not offered.

Common Mistakes

Labelling every big candle a propulsion block. Without an earlier order block for the candle to trade into, it is not a propulsion block in ICT’s sense. It may be a displacement candle or part of a fair value gap, which are separate ideas.

Using the wicks for the mean threshold. Mean threshold is 50% of the body, open to close.

Ignoring a lost mean threshold. ICT’s own framing is that a good propulsion block responds quickly. Price closing through the middle of the block is the signal to step aside, not to add.

Trading it without context. A propulsion block is a PD array, a place to look for an entry. Whether you expect price to go higher still comes from the draw on liquidity, premium and discount, and the session. In this site’s workflow those come first (see the ICT 2022 model).

Frequently Asked Questions