ICT Silver Bullet Strategy: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide

The Silver Bullet is one of the most specific strategies in the ICT framework. Unlike broader concepts, it gives you a precise time window, a precise entry trigger, and a precise sequence you can follow as a checklist. It was specifically designed by Michael Huddleston to reduce screen time — instead of watching price for hours, you focus on one specific setup type during one specific window, and do nothing outside of it.

The Silver Bullet is not a pattern. It's a process — applied within a defined time window, always with daily bias established beforehand, always requiring a liquidity sweep before the entry. Without those two elements, what you have is just an FVG in a time window, which is a far lower-probability setup.

The Three Silver Bullet Windows

The Five-Step Silver Bullet Sequence

Every Silver Bullet setup follows the same five steps — in this exact order. Skipping any step downgrades the setup from Silver Bullet to random FVG trading.

Step 1 — Establish daily bias before the window opens

Before the London Silver Bullet (by 2:30 AM) or before the NY AM Silver Bullet (by 9:45 AM): establish your directional bias. Which direction is the algorithm delivering price today? Where is the draw on liquidity? Is price in premium or discount? Without a bias, you have no filter for which direction to take within the window.

Step 2 — Wait for the window. Watch nothing before it.

The window opening is the trigger to begin active watching. Before the window, close the lower timeframe chart. Pre-session FVGs are not Silver Bullets — the FVG must form after the window opens to qualify.

Step 3 — Watch for a liquidity sweep in the first 20–30 minutes

Within the opening phase of the window, price should sweep a nearby liquidity pool: a recent swing high or low, equal highs or lows, the Asian range extreme (London window), or the early NY session consolidation high or low (10 AM window). For a bearish Silver Bullet: sweep is above a recent high (BSL taken). For a bullish Silver Bullet: sweep is below a recent low (SSL taken). The sweep must go against your daily bias — it's the micro-manipulation phase. If price is already moving in your bias direction without sweeping anything, wait.

Step 4 — Wait for displacement and identify the FVG

After the sweep, a sharp displacement candle moves in the direction of your daily bias. Large body, minimal wicks, leaving a visible Fair Value Gap. The FVG is the entry zone — not the displacement candle itself.

Step 5 — Enter at 50% of the FVG on the retracement

Place a limit order at the 50% level (mean threshold) of the FVG. Stop: beyond the wick that created the sweep. Targets: first IRL draw (50% of position), second IRL (25%), ERL destination (25%). Minimum 1:2 R:R to first target before entering. If the window closes before price retraces — no trade. No chasing after the window ends.

The Silver Bullet Entry Checklist

Run through all five before pressing the button. Any "No" = skip the trade.

Best Instruments for the Silver Bullet

The GBP/USD Walkthrough — Trade Summary

Common Silver Bullet Mistakes

• Trading FVGs outside the window and calling them Silver Bullets. The Silver Bullet is a time-based strategy. An FVG that formed at 9:30 AM is not a Silver Bullet even if you enter it at 10:05 AM. The displacement that created the FVG must occur within the window.
• No stop beyond the sweep wick. Stops placed inside the sweep wick get hit on valid Silver Bullet setups constantly. The stop goes beyond the extreme of the sweep — the full wick — not just the body of the sweep candle. Inside the wick is noise. Beyond it is invalidation.
• Skipping the daily bias step. Taking Silver Bullets based on pattern recognition alone — "FVG in the window, entering" — produces random results because you're ignoring the directional context. Without bias, you'll take bullish Silver Bullets in bearish markets and wonder why they fail.
• Forcing the PM window after a morning win. If you had a successful 10:00 AM Silver Bullet, the day is done. The 2:00–3:00 PM window is for days where the morning didn't set up — not for finding a second trade on top of a morning winner. Two trades = double the risk for diminishing returns.
• Entering during the sweep instead of on the FVG retracement. The sweep candle is the manipulation. Entering short during the spike up above BSL — before the displacement — means your stop needs to be extremely wide or you get immediately stopped out when the sweep extends. Wait for the displacement. Wait for the FVG. Enter on the retracement.

Frequently Asked Questions