ICT Kill Zones [dR-Algo]ICT Kill Zones Indicator by dR-Algo
Introducing the dR-Algo's ICT Kill Zones Indicator – a tool meticulously crafted to blend with the elegance of the ICT Concept of Kill Zones. Built for traders who seek clarity and focus, this unique indicator is tailored to highlight the essential time frames while ensuring minimal distraction from the core price action.
Key Features:
Three Kill Zones:
London Kill Zone: Kickstart your trading day with the London Kill Zone, highlighting the critical period between 03:00 to 04:00 (UTC-4). The London session, known for its volatility due to the overlapping of the Asian session, is captured precisely for your benefit.
NY AM Session: As the European markets gear towards close and the US markets come alive, our indicator emphasizes the activity from 10:00 to 11:00 (UTC-4). It’s a window where significant market moves often originate.
NY PM Session: Capture the late-day trading action between 14:00 to 15:00 (UTC-4). As markets prepare to close, this time frame can offer last-minute opportunities.
Subtle Yet Effective Visualization: Unlike many other indicators that bombard traders with an array of colors, our ICT Kill Zones Indicator is intentionally designed to be subtle. It provides just the right amount of visual emphasis without overwhelming the chart. The primary goal is to let traders focus on what truly matters: the price action.
User-Friendly Customization: The indicator's settings can be easily tailored to align with individual trading styles, allowing traders to adjust and tweak as per their preference.
Seamless Integration with Trading View: Smoothly integrates with your TradingView charts ensuring optimal performance and real-time responsiveness.
Why Choose Our ICT Kill Zones Indicator?
The market is flooded with indicators, each promising to be the 'next big thing.' What sets dR-Algo's ICT Kill Zones Indicator apart is its dedication to simplicity and effectiveness. It's not just about adding an indicator to your chart; it's about adding value to your trading experience. By seamlessly merging vital time frames without overshadowing the price action, we ensure traders get the best of both worlds.
Join the trading revolution with dR-Algo and embrace a focused approach to the markets.
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ICT Daily Levels and Zones (fadi)ICT Daily Levels and Zones indicator provides some of the relevant zones and levels for ICT type analysis. The purpose of this indicator is to provide consolidated way of automatically highlighting and identifying relevant levels for ICT type traders.
Daily Separator and Day of Week
Display a separator based on NY Midnight and day of week.
Killzones
Highlight ICT Asia, London, and NY killzones. Please note that the default times are based on Index Futures. Update the times of day if you plan on using it for other instruments such as Forex.
Open Range
The 9:30am to 10:00am open range
(Shown with Extend setting on)
Open Range Gap
The open range Gap is the difference between the 4:15pm close and the 9:30am open.
(Shown with Extend setting on)
Time of Day Levels
The Midnight, 8:30am, and 9:30am open levels.
Daily Midnight Candle
ICT style Daily candle formation based on Midnight open
ICT Professional Accumulation DistributionICT Professional Accumulation Distribution (ICT AD) provides a x-ray view into market accumulation and distribution. You can literally see the institutions at work.
The indicator consists of two cumulative lines derived from:
Cumulative change from open to close
Cumulative change from previous close to new open
By overlaying these two cumulative lines, you can detect real meaningful divergence that is narrative based not mathematically derived. You're seeing the real works of algorithms in play working in this area.
These divergences are only useful at extremes (topping or bottoming formations), not while trending. It will probably confirm your suspicion about making a important high or low.
This works on all timeframes but is most impactful on the daily.
How to use:
Method 1:
Enable the option for "Show Open vs Close."
Calculate the shift by subtracting the "Open vs Close" line value from the ICT Accumulation/Distribution (AD) line value.
Look for divergences between the two cumulative lines.
Method 2:
Switch the chart's display mode to "Line View" (representing the Open vs Close).
look for divergences between the line chart and the ICT AD line.
ICT Session Killzone Boxes & DeviationsICT Killzone Sessions Boxes & Deviations is a convenience indicator that marks out past and future ICT killzones for Asia, London, and New York, London Close and CBDR.
The boxes highlights the highest and lowest candle opens of that session/killzone, which is what the deviations are based on. Two lines mark out the highest high and lowest low of that session.
This indicator also includes New York midnight opening price and a vertical divider showing you that time.
Future killzones are also marked out.
All times are set to GMT-4 so these boxes should work across most exchanges. Times and code can be changed if a few don't match up.
Included are week of day labels for your convenience.
For those who are unfamiliar, ICT Killzones are optimal times to look for trades during or before a session, often providing entry for trades with orderblock tests, FVG fills or stophunts.
Please note: This indicator only works well on 1HR timeframe and below. The default max timeframe setting is set to 15min, which can be changed in the menu.
There may be some bugs so please highlight anything you find in the comments below :)
Shout out to @Ryazn for all the ideas!
ICT Time RangesICT Time Ranges is a concept around the fact that price likes to show volatility spikes in certain times of the day.
Although there are many other scripts such as that revolve around this concept, the difference between this one and some of the others out there is the fact that this code specifically focuses on the ranges like New York, London, Asia, and ICTs concept behind having a "True Day Range". Also, prior scripts draw horizontal lines to delineate the High and Low of the Day. Although this is useful in some cases, I find it to clutter up the chart too much for my liking, so this script negates any of that and simply prints a box in the parameters given within the settings pop-up. This also allows you the fact of having a shape and letter(s) marker for when a new day starts at 0:00.
With this script, you can enable / disable times of the day for:
- London Session
- New York Session
- London Close Session
- Asia Session
- "IPDA" True Day
You can also change the times that these sessions will update to, along with the opacity and color that they print to mark out these times / ranges. The same can be said with the "Day of Week" markers, which can be color coded and show different shapes / formats to your liking.
I find that putting the Session boxes opacity to 7-8% and the day of week markers to 20% is best as this makes them visible enough to see while also keeping it easy on your eyes to analyze your charts.
Overall, this script was based around specific concepts I liked from other individuals' scripts such as @BryceWH and @AvniPiro , but that are tweaked to what I personally find as most beneficial. To see others scripts like this one, you can search for "ICT Killzones" in the public script library!
ICT Intraday Timeline [neo.|]ICT Intraday Timeline is a script that aims to cleanly display key times that the "Inner Circle Trader" often refers to during the day on a separate pane in your Tradingview chart. While using it, you can clearly see the time it is currently in New York time, as well as your own through Tradingview as usual, as well as relevant times such as the lunch times, Silver Bullet times, and Asian range time.
By using this indicator it is simpler to consider what every time is doing and the effect it has on your current bias, for example: you may want to look at the 8:30 am open which is where news usually comes out, if not you can use 9:30 am for formulating trades. The AM SB is a time for when the "Silver Bullet (ICT)" setup can be found and executed, as it refines a specific range and targets inefficiencies and allows liquidity to form for which it comes back for, meaning it may be a better time for you to enter a trade, these are just examples of what you can look for, and how considering time can help you come up with and refine trade ideas.
Other times which are included are the:
Asia Range: You can mark out the highs and lows which occur during this time to use as liquidity later.
Midnight Open: On equities price will often interact with the midnight opening price, meaning it is an important time to consider.
London Open SB and Premarket SB: As mentioned previously you can find the "Silver Bullet" setup in here.
NY Lunch & London Lunch: Lunch times usually mean less volume therefore you may see less probable trades at this time.
AM SB and PM SB: Once again, times where you can potentially find more probable trades.
You can also easily customize any of the colors such as the SB (Silver Bullet) times, London lunch and NY Lunch times, or the Asia range or line colors to your preference and individual chart style.
ICT Daily Bias by Fahmi EshaqICT Daily Bias helps us determine where the market is likely to go for the day. The ICT Daily Bias tool aids in forecasting the likely direction of the market for the day. It delineates the previous day's high and low levels, providing insights into potential price movements whether the market is expected to touch the previous day's high or low.
ICT Master Suite [Trading IQ]Hello Traders!
We’re excited to introduce the ICT Master Suite by TradingIQ, a new tool designed to bring together several ICT concepts and strategies in one place.
The Purpose Behind the ICT Master Suite
There are a few challenges traders often face when using ICT-related indicators:
Many available indicators focus on one or two ICT methods, which can limit traders who apply a broader range of ICT related techniques on their charts.
There aren't many indicators for ICT strategy models, and we couldn't find ICT indicators that allow for testing the strategy models and setting alerts.
Many ICT related concepts exist in the public domain as indicators, not strategies! This makes it difficult to verify that the ICT concept has some utility in the market you're trading and if it's worth trading - it's difficult to know if it's working!
Some users might not have enough chart space to apply numerous ICT related indicators, which can be restrictive for those wanting to use multiple ICT techniques simultaneously.
The ICT Master Suite is designed to offer a comprehensive option for traders who want to apply a variety of ICT methods. By combining several ICT techniques and strategy models into one indicator, it helps users maximize their chart space while accessing multiple tools in a single slot.
Additionally, the ICT Master Suite was developed as a strategy . This means users can backtest various ICT strategy models - including deep backtesting. A primary goal of this indicator is to let traders decide for themselves what markets to trade ICT concepts in and give them the capability to figure out if the strategy models are worth trading!
What Makes the ICT Master Suite Different
There are many ICT-related indicators available on TradingView, each offering valuable insights. What the ICT Master Suite aims to do is bring together a wider selection of these techniques into one tool. This includes both key ICT methods and strategy models, allowing traders to test and activate strategies all within one indicator.
Features
The ICT Master Suite offers:
Multiple ICT strategy models, including the 2022 Strategy Model and Unicorn Model, which can be built, tested, and used for live trading.
Calculation and display of key price areas like Breaker Blocks, Rejection Blocks, Order Blocks, Fair Value Gaps, Equal Levels, and more.
The ability to set alerts based on these ICT strategies and key price areas.
A comprehensive, yet practical, all-inclusive ICT indicator for traders.
Customizable Timeframe - Calculate ICT concepts on off-chart timeframes
Unicorn Strategy Model
2022 Strategy Model
Liquidity Raid Strategy Model
OTE (Optimal Trade Entry) Strategy Model
Silver Bullet Strategy Model
Order blocks
Breaker blocks
Rejection blocks
FVG
Strong highs and lows
Displacements
Liquidity sweeps
Power of 3
ICT Macros
HTF previous bar high and low
Break of Structure indications
Market Structure Shift indications
Equal highs and lows
Swings highs and swing lows
Fibonacci TPs and SLs
Swing level TPs and SLs
Previous day high and low TPs and SLs
And much more! An ongoing project!
How To Use
Many traders will already be familiar with the ICT related concepts listed above, and will find using the ICT Master Suite quite intuitive!
Despite this, let's go over the features of the tool in-depth and how to use the tool!
The image above shows the ICT Master Suite with almost all techniques activated.
ICT 2022 Strategy Model
The ICT Master suite provides the ability to test, set alerts for, and live trade the ICT 2022 Strategy Model.
The image above shows an example of a long position being entered following a complete setup for the 2022 ICT model.
A liquidity sweep occurs prior to an upside breakout. During the upside breakout the model looks for the FVG that is nearest 50% of the setup range. A limit order is placed at this FVG for entry.
The target entry percentage for the range is customizable in the settings. For instance, you can select to enter at an FVG nearest 33% of the range, 20%, 66%, etc.
The profit target for the model generally uses the highest high of the range (100%) for longs and the lowest low of the range (100%) for shorts. Stop losses are generally set at 0% of the range.
The image above shows the short model in action!
Whether you decide to follow the 2022 model diligently or not, you can still set alerts when the entry condition is met.
ICT Unicorn Model
The image above shows an example of a long position being entered following a complete setup for the ICT Unicorn model.
A lower swing low followed by a higher swing high precedes the overlap of an FVG and breaker block formed during the sequence.
During the upside breakout the model looks for an FVG and breaker block that formed during the sequence and overlap each other. A limit order is placed at the nearest overlap point to current price.
The profit target for this example trade is set at the swing high and the stop loss at the swing low. However, both the profit target and stop loss for this model are configurable in the settings.
For Longs, the selectable profit targets are:
Swing High
Fib -0.5
Fib -1
Fib -2
For Longs, the selectable stop losses are:
Swing Low
Bottom of FVG or breaker block
The image above shows the short version of the Unicorn Model in action!
For Shorts, the selectable profit targets are:
Swing Low
Fib -0.5
Fib -1
Fib -2
For Shorts, the selectable stop losses are:
Swing High
Top of FVG or breaker block
The image above shows the profit target and stop loss options in the settings for the Unicorn Model.
Optimal Trade Entry (OTE) Model
The image above shows an example of a long position being entered following a complete setup for the OTE model.
Price retraces either 0.62, 0.705, or 0.79 of an upside move and a trade is entered.
The profit target for this example trade is set at the -0.5 fib level. This is also adjustable in the settings.
For Longs, the selectable profit targets are:
Swing High
Fib -0.5
Fib -1
Fib -2
The image above shows the short version of the OTE Model in action!
For Shorts, the selectable profit targets are:
Swing Low
Fib -0.5
Fib -1
Fib -2
Liquidity Raid Model
The image above shows an example of a long position being entered following a complete setup for the Liquidity Raid Modell.
The user must define the session in the settings (for this example it is 13:30-16:00 NY time).
During the session, the indicator will calculate the session high and session low. Following a “raid” of either the session high or session low (after the session has completed) the script will look for an entry at a recently formed breaker block.
If the session high is raided the script will look for short entries at a bearish breaker block. If the session low is raided the script will look for long entries at a bullish breaker block.
For Longs, the profit target options are:
Swing high
User inputted Lib level
For Longs, the stop loss options are:
Swing low
User inputted Lib level
Breaker block bottom
The image above shows the short version of the Liquidity Raid Model in action!
For Shorts, the profit target options are:
Swing Low
User inputted Lib level
For Shorts, the stop loss options are:
Swing High
User inputted Lib level
Breaker block top
Silver Bullet Model
The image above shows an example of a long position being entered following a complete setup for the Silver Bullet Modell.
During the session, the indicator will determine the higher timeframe bias. If the higher timeframe bias is bullish the strategy will look to enter long at an FVG that forms during the session. If the higher timeframe bias is bearish the indicator will look to enter short at an FVG that forms during the session.
For Longs, the profit target options are:
Nearest Swing High Above Entry
Previous Day High
For Longs, the stop loss options are:
Nearest Swing Low
Previous Day Low
The image above shows the short version of the Silver Bullet Model in action!
For Shorts, the profit target options are:
Nearest Swing Low Below Entry
Previous Day Low
For Shorts, the stop loss options are:
Nearest Swing High
Previous Day High
Order blocks
The image above shows indicator identifying and labeling order blocks.
The color of the order blocks, and how many should be shown, are configurable in the settings!
Breaker Blocks
The image above shows indicator identifying and labeling order blocks.
The color of the breaker blocks, and how many should be shown, are configurable in the settings!
Rejection Blocks
The image above shows indicator identifying and labeling rejection blocks.
The color of the rejection blocks, and how many should be shown, are configurable in the settings!
Fair Value Gaps
The image above shows indicator identifying and labeling fair value gaps.
The color of the fair value gaps, and how many should be shown, are configurable in the settings!
Additionally, you can select to only show fair values gaps that form after a liquidity sweep. Doing so reduces "noisy" FVGs and focuses on identifying FVGs that form after a significant trading event.
The image above shows the feature enabled. A fair value gap that occurred after a liquidity sweep is shown.
Market Structure
The image above shows the ICT Master Suite calculating market structure shots and break of structures!
The color of MSS and BoS, and whether they should be displayed, are configurable in the settings.
Displacements
The images above show indicator identifying and labeling displacements.
The color of the displacements, and how many should be shown, are configurable in the settings!
Equal Price Points
The image above shows the indicator identifying and labeling equal highs and equal lows.
The color of the equal levels, and how many should be shown, are configurable in the settings!
Previous Custom TF High/Low
The image above shows the ICT Master Suite calculating the high and low price for a user-defined timeframe. In this case the previous day’s high and low are calculated.
To illustrate the customizable timeframe function, the image above shows the indicator calculating the previous 4 hour high and low.
Liquidity Sweeps
The image above shows the indicator identifying a liquidity sweep prior to an upside breakout.
The image above shows the indicator identifying a liquidity sweep prior to a downside breakout.
The color and aggressiveness of liquidity sweep identification are adjustable in the settings!
Power Of Three
The image above shows the indicator calculating Po3 for two user-defined higher timeframes!
Macros
The image above shows the ICT Master Suite identifying the ICT macros!
ICT Macros are only displayable on the 5 minute timeframe or less.
Strategy Performance Table
In addition to a full-fledged TradingView backtest for any of the ICT strategy models the indicator offers, a quick-and-easy strategy table exists for the indicator!
The image above shows the strategy performance table in action.
Keep in mind that, because the ICT Master Suite is a strategy script, you can perform fully automatic backtests, deep backtests, easily add commission and portfolio balance and look at pertinent metrics for the ICT strategies you are testing!
Lite Mode
Traders who want the cleanest chart possible can toggle on “Lite Mode”!
In Lite Mode, any neon or “glow” like effects are removed and key levels are marked as strict border boxes. You can also select to remove box borders if that’s what you prefer!
Settings Used For Backtest
For the displayed backtest, a starting balance of $1000 USD was used. A commission of 0.02%, slippage of 2 ticks, a verify price for limit orders of 2 ticks, and 5% of capital investment per order.
A commission of 0.02% was used due to the backtested asset being a perpetual future contract for a crypto currency. The highest commission (lowest-tier VIP) for maker orders on many exchanges is 0.02%. All entered positions take place as maker orders and so do profit target exits. Stop orders exist as stop-market orders.
A slippage of 2 ticks was used to simulate more realistic stop-market orders. A verify limit order settings of 2 ticks was also used. Even though BTCUSDT.P on Binance is liquid, we just want the backtest to be on the safe side. Additionally, the backtest traded 100+ trades over the period. The higher the sample size the better; however, this example test can serve as a starting point for traders interested in ICT concepts.
Community Assistance And Feedback
Given the complexity and idiosyncratic applications of ICT concepts amongst its proponents, the ICT Master Suite’s built-in strategies and level identification methods might not align with everyone's interpretation.
That said, the best we can do is precisely define ICT strategy rules and concepts to a repeatable process, test, and apply them! Whether or not an ICT strategy is trading precisely how you would trade it, seeing the model in action, taking trades, and with performance statistics is immensely helpful in assessing predictive utility.
If you think we missed something, you notice a bug, have an idea for strategy model improvement, please let us know! The ICT Master Suite is an ongoing project that will, ideally, be shaped by the community.
A big thank you to the @PineCoders for their Time Library!
Thank you!
ICT Concepts [LuxAlgo]The ICT Concepts indicator regroups core concepts highlighted by trader and educator "The Inner Circle Trader" (ICT) into an all-in-one toolkit. Features include Market Structure (MSS & BOS), Order Blocks, Imbalances, Buyside/Sellside Liquidity, Displacements, ICT Killzones, and New Week/Day Opening Gaps.
🔶 SETTINGS
🔹 Mode
When Present is selected, only data of the latest 500 bars are used/visualized, except for NWOG/NDOG
🔹 Market Structure
Enable/disable Market Structure.
Length: will set the lookback period/sensitivity.
In Present Mode only the latest Market Structure trend will be shown, while in Historical Mode, previous trends will be shown as well:
You can toggle MSS/BOS separately and change the colors:
🔹 Displacement
Enable/disable Displacement.
🔹 Volume Imbalance
Enable/disable Volume Imbalance.
# Visible VI's: sets the amount of visible Volume Imbalances (max 100), color setting is placed at the side.
🔹 Order Blocks
Enable/disable Order Blocks.
Swing Lookback: Lookback period used for the detection of the swing points used to create order blocks.
Show Last Bullish OB: Number of the most recent bullish order/breaker blocks to display on the chart.
Show Last Bearish OB: Number of the most recent bearish order/breaker blocks to display on the chart.
Color settings.
Show Historical Polarity Changes: Allows users to see labels indicating where a swing high/low previously occurred within a breaker block.
Use Candle Body: Allows users to use candle bodies as order block areas instead of the full candle range.
Change in Order Blocks style:
🔹 Liquidity
Enable/disable Liquidity.
Margin: sets the sensitivity, 2 points are fairly equal when:
'point 1' < 'point 2' + (10 bar Average True Range / (10 / margin)) and
'point 1' > 'point 2' - (10 bar Average True Range / (10 / margin))
# Visible Liq. boxes: sets the amount of visible Liquidity boxes (max 50), this amount is for Sellside and Buyside boxes separately.
Colour settings.
Change in Liquidity style:
🔹 Fair Value Gaps
Enable/disable FVG's.
Balance Price Range: this is the overlap of latest bullish and bearish Fair Value Gaps.
By disabling Balance Price Range only FVGs will be shown.
Options: Choose whether you wish to see FVG or Implied Fair Value Gaps (this will impact Balance Price Range as well)
# Visible FVG's: sets the amount of visible FVG's (max 20, in the same direction).
Color settings.
Change in FVG style:
🔹 NWOG/NDOG
Enable/disable NWOG; color settings; amount of NWOG shown (max 50).
Enable/disable NDOG ; color settings; amount of NDOG shown (max 50).
🔹 Fibonacci
This tool connects the 2 most recent bullish/bearish (if applicable) features of your choice, provided they are enabled.
3 examples (FVG, BPR, OB):
Extend lines -> Enabled (example OB):
🔹 Killzones
Enable/disable all or the ones you need.
Time settings are coded in the corresponding time zones.
🔶 USAGE
By default, the indicator displays each feature relevant to the most recent price variations in order to avoid clutter on the chart & to provide a very similar experience to how a user would contruct ICT Concepts by hand.
Users can use the historical mode in the settings to see historical market structure/imbalances. The ICT Concepts indicator has various use cases, below we outline many examples of how a trader could find usage of the features together.
In the above image we can see price took out Sellside liquidity, filled two bearish FVGs, a market structure shift, which then led to a clean retest of a bullish FVG as a clean setup to target the order block above.
Price then fills the OB which creates a breaker level as seen in yellow.
Broken OBs can be useful for a trader using the ICT Concepts indicator as it marks a level where orders have now been filled, indicating a solidified level that has proved itself as an area of liquidity. In the image above we can see a trade setup using a broken bearish OB as a potential entry level.
We can see the New Week Opening Gap (NWOG) above was an optimal level to target considering price may tend to fill / react off of these levels according to ICT.
In the next image above, we have another example of various use cases where the ICT Concepts indicator hypothetically allow traders to find key levels & find optimal entry points using market structure.
In the image above we can see a bearish Market Structure Shift (MSS) is confirmed, indicating a potential trade setup for targeting the Balanced Price Range imbalance (BPR) below with a stop loss above the buyside liquidity.
Although what we are demonstrating here is a hindsight example, it shows the potential usage this toolkit gives you for creating trading plans based on ICT Concepts.
Same chart but playing out the history further we can see directly after price came down to the Sellside liquidity & swept below it...
Then by enabling IFVGs in the settings, we can see the IFVG retests alongside the Sellside & Buyside liquidity acting in confluence.
Which allows us to see a great bullish structure in the market with various key levels for potential entries.
Here we can see a potential bullish setup as price has taken out a previous Sellside liquidity zone and is now retesting a NWOG + Volume Imbalance.
Users also have the option to display Fibonacci retracements based on market structure, order blocks, and imbalance areas, which can help place limit/stop orders more effectively as well as finding optimal points of interest beyond what the primary ICT Concepts features can generate for a trader.
In the above image we can see the Fibonacci extension was selected to be based on the NWOG giving us some upside levels above the buyside liquidity.
🔶 DETAILS
Each feature within the ICT Concepts indicator is described in the sub sections below.
🔹 Market Structure
Market structure labels are constructed from price breaking a prior swing point. This allows a user to determine the current market trend based on the price action.
There are two types of Market Structure labels included:
Market Structure Shift (MSS)
Break Of Structure (BOS)
A MSS occurs when price breaks a swing low in an uptrend or a swing high in a downtrend, highlighting a potential reversal. This is often labeled as "CHoCH", but ICT specifies it as MSS.
On the other hand, BOS labels occur when price breaks a swing high in an uptrend or a swing low in a downtrend. The occurrence of these particular swing points is caused by retracements (inducements) that highlights liquidity hunting in lower timeframes.
🔹 Order Blocks
More significant market participants (institutions) with the ability of placing large orders in the market will generally place a sequence of individual trades spread out in time. This is referred as executing what is called a "meta-order".
Order blocks highlight the area where potential meta-orders are executed. Bullish order blocks are located near local bottoms in an uptrend while bearish order blocks are located near local tops in a downtrend.
When price mitigates (breaks out) an order block, a breaker block is confirmed. We can eventually expect price to trade back to this breaker block offering a new trade opportunity.
🔹 Buyside & Sellside Liquidity
Buyside / Sellside liquidity levels highlight price levels where market participants might place limit/stop orders.
Buyside liquidity levels will regroup the stoploss orders of short traders as well as limit orders of long traders, while Sellside liquidity levels will regroup the stoploss orders of long traders as well as limit orders of short traders.
These levels can play different roles. More informed market participants might view these levels as source of liquidity, and once liquidity over a specific level is reduced it will be found in another area.
🔹 Imbalances
Imbalances highlight disparities between the bid/ask, these can also be defined as inefficiencies, which would suggest that not all available information is reflected by the price and would as such provide potential trading opportunities.
It is common for price to "rebalance" and seek to come back to a previous imbalance area.
ICT highlights multiple imbalance formations:
Fair Value Gaps: A three candle formation where the candle shadows adjacent to the central candle do not overlap, this highlights a gap area.
Implied Fair Value Gaps: Unlike the fair value gap the implied fair value gap has candle shadows adjacent to the central candle overlapping. The gap area is constructed from the average between the respective shadow and the nearest extremity of their candle body.
Balanced Price Range: Balanced price ranges occur when a fair value gap overlaps a previous fair value gap, with the overlapping area resulting in the imbalance area.
Volume Imbalance: Volume imbalances highlight gaps between the opening price and closing price with existing trading activity (the low/high overlap the previous high/low).
Opening Gap: Unlike volume imbalances opening gaps highlight areas with no trading activity. The low/high does not reach previous high/low, highlighting a "void" area.
🔹 Displacement
Displacements are scenarios where price forms successive candles of the same sentiment (bullish/bearish) with large bodies and short shadows.
These can more technically be identified by positive auto correlation (a close to open change is more likely to be followed by a change of the same sign) as well as volatility clustering (large changes are followed by large changes).
Displacements can be the cause for the formation of imbalances as well as market structure, these can be caused by the full execution of a meta order.
🔹 Kill Zones
Killzones represent different time intervals that aims at offering optimal trade entries. Killzones include:
- New York Killzone (7:9 ET)
- London Open Killzone (2:5 ET)
- London Close Killzone (10:12 ET)
- Asian Killzone (20:00 ET)
🔶 Conclusion & Supplementary Material
This script aims to emulate how a trader would draw each of the covered features on their chart in the most precise representation to how it's actually taught by ICT directly.
There are many parallels between ICT Concepts and Smart Money Concepts that we released in 2022 which has a more general & simpler usage:
ICT Concepts, however, is more specifically aligned toward the community's interpretation of how to analyze price 'based on ICT', rather than displaying features to have a more classic interpretation for a technical analyst.
ICT Killzones Toolkit [LuxAlgo]The ICT Killzones Toolkit is a comprehensive set of tools designed to assist traders in identifying key trading zones and patterns within the market.
The ICT Killzones Toolkit includes the following Price Action components:
ICT Killzones with Pivot Highs/Lows
Order Blocks
Breaker Blocks
Fair Value Gaps
Market Structure Shifts
By combining these components, the ICT Killzones Toolkit provides traders with a comprehensive framework for analyzing the market and identifying setups of interest. Leveraging these tools effectively can enhance traders' decision-making process and improve killzones interpretability.
🔶 USAGE
In forex/futures trading, timing is crucial. ICT Killzone are specific periods when there's a higher chance of finding setups of interest. Mastering these time intervals can offer significant advantages to traders who know how to use them effectively.
The image above highlights a potential setup of interest when using the ICT Killzones Toolkit.
As another example for utilizing the ICT Killzones Toolkit, we can see in the image above when price retests setups generated from killzones such as Order Blocks or Fair Value Gaps, a potential strategy could be to look for entries on those & take profits as the next killzone appears.
🔹 Order Blocks
Order Blocks are sections on a price chart where notable buying or selling activity has occured, often signaling interest zones for institutional traders. This toolkit's Order Blocks component pinpoints these areas within the Killzone, which may act as potential support or resistance levels.
🔹 Breaker Blocks
Breaker Blocks are zones built from mitigated order blocks, and highlight zones on the chart where price has previously stalled or reversed. These areas may act as significant barriers to price movement in the future, and the Breaker Blocks component helps traders identify them for potential trading opportunities.
🔹 Fair Value Gaps
Fair value gaps are especially favored by price action traders and arise from market inefficiencies or imbalances, typically when buying and selling are unequal. These gaps often attract price movement before resuming in the same direction. the Fair Value Gaps component of the toolkit helps traders identify and analyze them.
🔹 Market Structure Shifts
Market Structure Shifts refer to significant changes in the overall structure of the market, such as shifts in trend direction, volatility, or trading activity. These shifts can provide valuable insights into market sentiment and potential trading opportunities, and the Market Structure Shifts component helps traders identify and interpret them.
Overall, the ICT Killzone Toolkit combines these components to provide traders with a comprehensive framework for analyzing the markets and identifying high-probability trading setups.
🔶 SETTINGS
🔹 ICT Killzones
Asian, London Open, New York, and London Close: toggles the visibility of specific Killzones, allowing users to customize time periods and Killzone colors.
Killzone Lines : Top/Bottom, Mean and Extend Top/Bottom: toggles the visibility of the Killzone's pivot high and low lines, mean (average) line, and allows users to extend the pivot lines.
Killzone Labels: Toggles the visibility of the Killzone labels.
Display Killzones within Timeframes Up To: Toggles the visibility of the Killzones up to selected Timeframes.
Open Price, Separator, Label, and Color: toggles the visibility of the open price of the Killzones or for the day, week, or month. If the day, week, or month is selected, a separator will be displayed to highlight the beginning of each respective period. Additionally, users can customize the color and toggle the label as needed.
🔹 Order Blocks & Breaker Blocks
Order Blocks | Breaker Blocks: toggles the visibility of the order blocks & breaker blocks.
Swing Detection Length: lookback period used for the detection of the swing points used to create order blocks & breaker blocks.
Mitigation Price: allows users to select between closing price or wick of the candle.
Use Candle Body in Detection: allows users to use candle bodies as order block areas instead of the full candle range.
Remove Mitigated Order Blocks & Breaker Blocks: toggles the visibility of the mitigated order blocks & breaker blocks.
Extend Order Blocks & Breaker Blocks: enables processing of the order blocks & breaker blocks beyond the boundaries of the killzones.
Display Order Blocks & Breaker Blocks: enables the display of the first, last, or all occurrences of the order blocks & breaker blocks.
Order Blocks : Bullish, Bearish Color: color customization option for order blocks.
Breaker Blocks : Bullish, Bearish Color: color customization option for breaker blocks.
Show Order Blocks & Breaker Blocks Text: toggles the visibility of the order blocks & breaker blocks labels.
🔹 Market Structure Shifts
Market Structure Shifts: toggles the visibility of the market structure shifts.
Detection Length: market structure shift detection length.
Display Market Structure Shifts: enables the display of the first, last, or all occurrences of the market structure shifts.
Market Structure Shifts : Bullish, Bearish Color: color custumization option for market structure shifts.
Show Market Structure Shifts Text: toggles the visibility of the market structure shifts labels.
🔹 Fair Value Gaps
Fair Value Gaps: toggles the visibility of the fair value gaps.
Fair Value Gap Width Filter: filtering threshold wile detecting fair value gaps.
Remove Mitigated Fair Value Gaps: removes mitigated fair value gaps.
Extend Fair Value Gaps: enables processing of the fair value gaps beyond the boundaries of the killzones.
Display Fair Value Gaps: enables the display of the first, last, or all occurrences of the fair value gaps.
Bullish Imbalance Color: color customization option.
Bearish Imbalance Color: color customization option.
Show Fair Value Gaps Text: toggles the visibility of the fair value gaps labels.
🔶 RELATED SCRIPTS
Smart-Money-Concepts
Order-Blocks-Breaker-Blocks
Thanks to our community for recommending this script. For more conceptual scripts and related content, we welcome you to explore by visiting >>> LuxAlgo-Scripts .
ICT Algorithmic Macro Tracker° (Open-Source) by toodegreesDescription:
The ICT Algorithmic Macro Tracker° Indicator is a powerful tool designed to enhance your trading experience by clearly and efficiently plotting the known ICT Macro Times on your chart.
Based on the teachings of the Inner Circle Trader , these Time windows correspond to periods when the Interbank Price Delivery Algorithm undergoes a series of checks ( Macros ) and is probable to move towards Liquidity.
The indicator allows traders to visualize and analyze these crucial moments in NY Time:
- 2:33-3:00
- 4:03-4:30
- 8:50-9:10
- 9:50-10:10
- 10:50-11:10
- 11:50-12:10
- 13:10-13:50
- 15:15-15:45
By providing a clean and clutter-free representation of ICT Macros, this indicator empowers traders to make more informed decisions, optimize and build their strategies based on Time.
Massive shoutout to @reastruth for his ICT Macros Indicator , and for allowing to create one of my own, go check him out!
Indicator Features:
– Track ongoing ICT Macros to aid your Live analysis.
- Gain valuable insights by hovering over the plotted ICT Macros to reveal tooltips with interval information.
– Plot the ICT Macros in one of two ways:
"On Chart": visualize ICT Macro timeframes directly on your chart, with automatic adjustments as Price moves.
Pro Tip: toggle Projections to see exactly where Macros begin and end without difficulty.
"New Pane": move the indicator two a New Pane to see both Live and Upcoming Macro events with ease in a dedicated section
Pro Tip: this section can be collapsed by double-clicking on the main chart, allowing for seamless trading preparation.
This indicator is available only on the TradingView platform.
⚠️ Open Source ⚠️
Coders and TV users are authorized to copy this code base, but a paid distribution is prohibited. A mention to the original author is expected, and appreciated.
⚠️ Terms and Conditions ⚠️
This financial tool is for educational purposes only and not financial advice. Users assume responsibility for decisions made based on the tool's information. Past performance doesn't guarantee future results. By using this tool, users agree to these terms.
ICT Setup 01 [TradingFinder] FVG + Liquidity Sweeps/Hunt Alerts🔵 Introduction
The ICT (Inner Circle Trader) style of trading involves analyzing the behavior of market participants and market makers to identify areas where fake buy and sell activities occur. This trading style helps retail traders align with market maker behavior and avoid falling into market traps.
A key aspect of the ICT strategy is focusing on liquidity hunts. This involves searching for trading opportunities in areas of the market with low liquidity or where other traders have little activity. The ICT method leverages market inefficiencies and weaknesses, allowing traders to profit from small price movements that might go unnoticed by others.
In "ICT Setup 01," our focus is on these liquidity areas and stop hunts that form in Fair Value Gaps (FVGs). Trading within FVGs, combined with confirmations from "Hunts" and "Sweeps," can enhance trader performance.
🔵 How to Use
The presence of Fair Value Gaps (FVGs) in the market indicates rapid, powerful movements likely caused by the influx of smart money. When the price returns to these levels, a market reaction is expected.
Combining this with the complex and deceptive behavior of smart money—such as "Liquidity Sweeps" and "Stop Hunts"—forms an ICT-based price action setup that we expect to perform well.
Components of "ICT Setup 01" :
● Fair Value Gap (FVG)
● Premium and Discount
● Hunts / Sweeps
Whenever the price returns to an FVG area and reacts in such a way that only the wicks of the candles remain in the area and the candle bodies are outside the FVG, the first condition for creating the setup is met.
If subsequent candles hunt the wick that has penetrated the deepest into the FVG, a buy or sell signal is issued. In the format where hunting is based on Sweeps, penetrations that extend even outside the area are considered signals, provided they do not form a body within the area.
Additionally, a refining system exists for cases where a candle body forms in the area, optimizing the proximal levels of the FVG.
Bullish Setup :
Bearish Setup :
🔵 Features and Settings of "ICT Setup 01"
You can Find out more in Setting :
● FVG Detector Multiplier Factor
● FVG Validity Period
● Level in Low-Risk Zone
● Issuing Signals Method
● Number of Signals Allowed from a Zone
● Signal after Hunts/Sweeps
● How Many Hunts/Sweeps
● Show or Hide
● Alert Sender
FVG Detector Multiplier Factor :
This feature allows you to determine the size of the moves forming the FVGs based on the ATR (Average True Range). The default value is 1 to identify the majority of setups. You can increase this value according to the symbol and market you are trading in to achieve better results.
FVG Validity Period :
This shows the validity period of an FVG based on the number of candles. By default, an FVG area is valid for up to 15 candles. However, you can increase or decrease this period.
Level in Low-Risk Zone :
This feature helps reduce your risk. The method works by identifying the entire length of the three candles forming the FVG and dividing it into two equal areas. The upper area is "Premium," and the lower area is "Discount." To reduce risk, it is better for "Demand FVG" to be in the "Discount" and "Supply FVG" in the "Premium." This feature is off by default.
Issuing Signals Method :
This feature allows you to specify whether the hunt should occur only within the FVG area or if the wicks can extend outside the area.
If set to "Hunts," only signals where the wicks are within the area are issued, and the area loses its validity if the wicks extend outside.
In "Sweeps" mode, wicks can extend outside the area as long as they do not form a body within the area.
Number of Signals Allowed from a Zone :
This feature allows you to specify how many valid signals can be issued from one area.
Signal after Hunts/Sweeps :
In markets or symbols with a tendency for frequent stop hunts, this feature allows you to specify how many hunts should occur before you receive a signal to avoid receiving potentially failed signals.
How Many Hunts/Sweeps :
Enter the number of hunts you want to set for the "Signal after Hunts/Sweeps" feature here.
Show or Hide :
The number of setups formed may be very large, and displaying all of them on the chart can be distracting and messy. By default, only the last setup is displayed, but if you want to see all setups, you can turn on the relevant options.
Alert Sender :
You cannot constantly monitor multiple charts to identify trading opportunities. Using the alert sending feature can save time and improve performance.
Alerts Name : Customize the alert name to your preference.
Message Frequency : Determines the frequency of alert messages. Options include 'All' (triggers every time the function is called), 'Once Per Bar' (triggers only on the first call within the bar), and 'Once Per Bar Close' (triggers only on the final script execution of the real-time bar upon closure). The default is 'Once per Bar.'
Show Alert Time by Time Zone : Configure the alert messages to reflect any chosen time zone. For instance, input 'UTC+1' for London time. The default is 'UTC.'
By configuring these settings, traders can effectively utilize ICT setups to improve their trading strategies and outcomes.
ICT Unicorn | Flux Charts💎 GENERAL OVERVIEW
Introducing our new ICT Unicorn Indicator! This indicator is built around the ICT's "Unicorn" strategy. The strategy uses Breaker Blocks and Fair Value Gaps for entry confirmation. For more information about the process, check the "HOW DOES IT WORK" section.
Features of the new ICT Unicorn Indicator :
Implementation of ICT's Unicorn Strategy
Toggleable Retracement Entry Method
3 Different TP / SL Methods
Customizable Execution Settings
Customizable Backtesting Dashboard
Alerts for Buy, Sell, TP & SL Signals
📌 HOW DOES IT WORK ?
The ICT Unicorn entry model merges the concepts of Breaker Blocks and Fair Value Gaps (FVGs), offering a distinct method for identifying trade opportunities. By integrating these two elements, we can have a position entry with stop-loss and take-profit targets on the potential support & resistance zones. This model is particularly reliable for trade entry, as it combines two powerful entry techniques.
An ICT Unicorn Model consists of a FVG which is overlapping with a Breaker Block of the same type. Here is an example :
When a FVG overlaps with a Breaker Block of the same type, the indicator gives a Buy or Sell signal depending on the FVG type (Bullish & Bearish). If the "Require Retracement" option is enabled in the settings, the signals are not given immediately. Instead, the current price of the ticker will need to touch the FVG once more before the signals are given.
After the Buy or Sell signal, the indicator immediately draws the take-profit (TP) and stop-loss (SL) targets. The indicator has three different TP & SL modes, explained in the "Settings" section of this write-up.
You can set up alerts for entry and TP & SL signals, and also check the current performance of the indicator and adjust the settings accordingly to the current ticker using the backtesting dashboard.
🚩 UNIQUENESS
This indicator is an all-in-one suit for the ICT's Unicorn concept. It's capable of plotting the strategy, giving signals, a backtesting dashboard and alerts feature. Different and customizable algorithm modes will help the trader fine-tune the indicator for the asset they are currently trading. Three different TP / SL modes are available to suit your needs. The backtesting dashboard allows you to see how your settings perform in the current ticker. You can also set up alerts to get informed when the strategy is executable for different tickers.
⚙️ SETTINGS
1. General Configuration
FVG Detection Sensitivity -> You may select between Low, Normal, High or Extreme FVG detection sensitivity. This will essentially determine the size of the spotted FVGs, with lower sensitivies resulting in spotting bigger FVGs, and higher sensitivies resulting in spotting all sizes of FVGs.
Swing Length -> Swing length is used when finding order block formations. Smaller values will result in finding smaller order & breaker blocks.
Require Retracement ->
a) Disabled : The entry signal is given immediately once a FVG overlaps with a Breaker Block of the same type.
b) Enabled : The current price of the ticker will need to touch the FVG once more before the entry signal is given.
2. TP / SL
TP / SL Method ->
a) Unicorn : This is the default option. The SL will be set to the lowest low of the last 100 bars with an extra offset in a Buy signal. For Sell signals, the SL will be set to the highest high of the last 100 bars with an extra offset. The TP is then set to a value using the SL value and maintaining a risk-reward ratio.
b) Dynamic: The TP / SL zones will be auto-determined by the algorithm based on the Average True Range (ATR) of the current ticker.
c) Fixed : You can adjust the exact TP / SL ratios from the settings below.
Dynamic Risk -> The risk you're willing to take if "Dynamic" TP / SL Method is selected. Higher risk usually means a better winrate at the cost of losing more if the strategy fails. This setting is has a crucial effect on the performance of the indicator, as different tickers may have different volatility so the indicator may have increased performance when this setting is correctly adjusted.
ICT Turtle Soup | Flux Charts💎 GENERAL OVERVIEW
Introducing our new ICT Turtle Soup Indicator! This indicator is built around the ICT "Turtle Soup" model. The strategy has 5 steps for execution which are described in this write-up. For more information about the process, check the "HOW DOES IT WORK" section.
Features of the new ICT Turtle Soup Indicator :
Implementation of ICT's Turtle Soup Strategy
Adaptive Entry Method
Customizable Execution Settings
Customizable Backtesting Dashboard
Alerts for Buy, Sell, TP & SL Signals
📌 HOW DOES IT WORK ?
The ICT Turtle Soup strategy may have different implementations depending on the selected method of the trader. This indicator's implementation is described as :
1. Mark higher timerame liquidity zones.
Liquidity zones are where a lot of market orders sit in the chart. They are usually formed from the long / short position holders' "liquidity" levels. There are various ways to find them, most common one being drawing them on the latest high & low pivot points in the chart, which this indicator does.
2. Mark current timeframe market structure.
The market structure is the current flow of the market. It tells you if the market is trending right now, and the way it's trending towards. It's formed from swing higs, swing lows and support / resistance levels.
3. Wait for market to make a liquidity grab on the higher timeframe liquidity zone.
A liquidity grab is when the marked liquidity zones have a false breakout, which means that it gets broken for a brief amount of time, but then price falls back to it's previous position.
4. Buyside liquidity grabs are "Short" entries and Sellside liquidity grabs are "Long" entries by default.
5. Wait for the market-structure shift in the current timeframe for entry confirmation.
A market-structure shift happens when the current market structure changes, usually when a new swing high / swing low is formed. This indicator uses it as a confirmation for position entry as it gives an insight of the new trend of the market.
6. Place Take-Profit and Stop-Loss levels according to the risk ratio.
This indicator uses "Average True Range" when placing the stop-loss & take-profit levels. Average True Range calculates the average size of a candle and the indicator places the stop-loss level using ATR times the risk setting determined by the user, then places the take-profit level trying to keep a minimum of 1:1 risk-reward ratio.
This indicator follows these steps and inform you step by step by plotting them in your chart.
🚩UNIQUENESS
This indicator is an all-in-one suit for the ICT's Turtle Soup concept. It's capable of plotting the strategy, giving signals, a backtesting dashboard and alerts feature. It's designed for simplyfing a rather complex strategy, helping you to execute it with clean signals. The backtesting dashboard allows you to see how your settings perform in the current ticker. You can also set up alerts to get informed when the strategy is executable for different tickers.
⚙️SETTINGS
1. General Configuration
MSS Swing Length -> The swing length when finding liquidity zones for market structure-shift detection.
Higher Timeframe -> The higher timeframe to look for liquidity grabs. This timeframe setting must be higher than the current chart's timeframe for the indicator to work.
Breakout Method -> If "Wick" is selected, a bar wick will be enough to confirm a market structure-shift. If "Close" is selected, the bar must close above / below the liquidity zone to confirm a market structure-shift.
Entry Method ->
"Classic" : Works as described on the "HOW DOES IT WORK" section.
"Adaptive" : When "Adaptive" is selected, the entry conditions may chance depending on the current performance of the indicator. It saves the entry conditions and the performance of the past entries, then for the new entries it checks if it predicted the liquidity grabs correctly with the current setup, if so, continues with the same logic. If not, it changes behaviour to reverse the entries from long / short to short / long.
2. TP / SL
TP / SL Method -> If "Fixed" is selected, you can adjust the TP / SL ratios from the settings below. If "Dynamic" is selected, the TP / SL zones will be auto-determined by the algorithm.
Risk -> The risk you're willing to take if "Dynamic" TP / SL Method is selected. Higher risk usually means a better winrate at the cost of losing more if the strategy fails. This setting is has a crucial effect on the performance of the indicator, as different tickers may have different volatility so the indicator may have increased performance when this setting is correctly adjusted.
ICT Silver Bullet | Flux Charts💎 GENERAL OVERVIEW
Introducing our new ICT Silver Bullet Indicator! This indicator is built around the ICT's "Silver Bullet" strategy. The strategy has 5 steps for execution and works best in 1-5 min timeframes. For more information about the process, check the "HOW DOES IT WORK" section.
Features of the new ICT Silver Bullet Indicator :
Implementation of ICT's Silver Bullet Strategy
Customizable Execution Settings
2 NY Sessions & London Session
Customizable Backtesting Dashboard
Alerts for Buy, Sell, TP & SL Signals
📌 HOW DOES IT WORK ?
ICT's Silver Bullet strategy has 5 steps :
1. Mark your market sessions open (This indicator has 3 -> NY 10-11, NY 14-15, LDN 03-04)
2. Mark the swing liquidity points
3. Wait for market to take down one liquidity side
4. Look for a market structure-shift for reversals
5. Wait for a FVG for execution
This indicator follows these steps and inform you step by step by plotting them in your chart. You can switch execution types between FVG and MSS.
🚩UNIQUENESS
This indicator is an all-in-one suit for the ICT's Silver Bullet concept. It's capable of plotting the strategy, giving signals, a backtesting dashboard and alerts feature. It's designed for simplyfing a rather complex strategy, helping you to execute it with clean signals. The backtesting dashboard allows you to see how your settings perform in the current ticker. You can also set up alerts to get informed when the strategy is executable for different tickers.
⚙️SETTINGS
1. General Configuration
Execution Type -> FVG execution type will require a FVG to take an entry, while the MSS setting will take an entry as soon as it detects a market structure-shift.
MSS Swing Length -> The swing length when finding liquidity zones for market structure-shift detection.
Breakout Method -> If "Wick" is selected, a bar wick will be enough to confirm a market structure-shift. If "Close" is selected, the bar must close above / below the liquidity zone to confirm a market structure-shift.
FVG Detection -> "Same Type" means that all 3 bars that formed the FVG should be the same type. (Bullish / Bearish). "All" means that bar types may vary between bullish / bearish.
FVG Detection Sensitivity -> You can turn this setting on and off. If it's off, any 3 consecutive bullish / bearish bars will be calculated as FVGs. If it's on, the size of FVGs will be filtered by the selected sensitivity. Lower settings mean less but larger FVGs.
2. TP / SL
TP / SL Method -> If "Fixed" is selected, you can adjust the TP / SL ratios from the settings below. If "Dynamic" is selected, the TP / SL zones will be auto-determined by the algorithm.
Risk -> The risk you're willing to take if "Dynamic" TP / SL Method is selected. Higher risk usually means a better winrate at the cost of losing more if the strategy fails.
Close Position @ Session End -> If this setting is enabled, the current position (if any) will be closed at the beginning of a new session, regardless if it hit the TP / SL zone. If it's off, the position will be open until it hits a TP / SL zone.
ICT Silver Bullet [LuxAlgo]The ICT Silver Bullet indicator is inspired from the lectures of "The Inner Circle Trader" (ICT) and highlights the Silver Bullet (SB) window which is a specific 1-hour interval where a Fair Value Gap (FVG) pattern can be formed.
When a FVG is formed during the Silver Bullet window, Support & Resistance lines will be drawn at the end of the SB session.
There are 3 different Silver Bullet windows (New York local time):
The London Open Silver Bullet (3 AM — 4 AM ~ 03:00 — 04:00)
The AM Session Silver Bullet (10 AM — 11 AM ~ 10:00 — 11:00)
The PM Session Silver Bullet (2 PM — 3 PM ~ 14:00 — 15:00)
🔶 USAGE
The ICT Silver Bullet indicator aims to provide users a comprehensive display as similar as possible to how anyone would manually draw the concept on their charts.
It's important to use anything below the 15-minute timeframe to ensure proper setups can display. In this section, we are purely using the 3-minute timeframe.
In the image below, we can see a bullish setup whereas a FVG was successfully retested during the Silver Bullet session. This was then followed by a move upwards to liquidity as our target.
Alternatively, you can also see below a bearish setup utilizing the ICT Silver Bullet indicator outlined.
At this moment, the indicator has removed all other FVGs within the Silver Bullet session & has confirmed this FVG as the retested one.
There is also a support level marked below to be used as a liquidity target as per the ICT Silver Bullet concept suggests.
In the below chart we can see 4 separate consecutive examples of bullish & bearish setups on the 3-minute chart.
🔶 CONCEPTS
This technique can visualize potential support/resistance lines, which can be used as targets.
The script contains 2 main components:
• forming of a Fair Value Gap (FVG)
• drawing support/resistance (S/R) lines
🔹 Forming of FVG
1 basic principle: when a FVG at the end of the SB session is not retraced, it will be made invisible.
Dependable on the settings, different FVG's will be shown.
• 'All FVG': all FVG's are shown, regardless the trend
• 'Only FVG's in the same direction of trend': Only FVG's are shown that are similar to the trend at that moment (trend can be visualized by enabling ' Show ' -> ' Trend ')
-> only bearish FVG when the trend is bearish vs. bullish FVG when trend is bullish
• 'strict': Besides being similar to the trend, only FVG's are shown when the closing price at the end of the SB session is:
– below the top of the FVG box (bearish FVG)
– above bottom of the FVG box (bullish FVG)
• 'super-strict': Besides being similar to the trend, only FVG's are shown when the FVG box is NOT broken
in the opposite direction AND the closing price at the end of the SB session is:
– below bottom of the FVG box (bearish FVG)
– above the top of the FVG box (bullish FVG)
' Super-Strict ' mode resembles ICT lectures the most.
🔹 Drawing support/resistance lines
When the SB session has ended, the script draws potential support/resistance lines, again, dependable on the settings.
• Previous session (any): S/R lines are fetched between current and previous session.
For example, when current session is ' AM SB Session (10 AM — 11 AM) ', then previous session is
' London Open SB (3 AM — 4 AM) ', S/R lines between these 2 sessions alone will be included.
• Previous session (similar): S/R lines are fetched between current and previous - similar - session.
For example, when current session is ' London Open SB (3 AM — 4 AM)' , only S/R lines between
current session and previous ' London Open SB (3 AM — 4 AM) ' session are included.
When a new session starts, S/R lines will be removed, except when enabling ' Keep lines (only in strict mode) '
This is not possible in ' All FVG ' or ' Only FVG's in the same direction of trend ' mode, since the chart would be cluttered.
Note that in ' All FVG ' or ' Only FVG's in the same direction of trend ' mode, both, Support/Resistance lines will be shown,
while in Strict/Super-Strict mode:
• only Support lines will be shown if a bearish FVG appears
• only Resistance lines if a bullish FVG is shown
The lines will still be drawn the the end of the SB session, when a valid FVG appears,
but the S/R lines will remain visible and keep being updated until price reaches that line.
This publication contains a "Minimum Trade Framework (mTFW)", which represents the best-case expected price delivery, this is not your actual trade entry - exit range.
• 40 ticks for index futures or indices
• 15 pips for Forex pairs.
When on ' Strict/Super-Strict ' mode, only S/R lines will be shown which are:
• higher than the lowest FVG bottom + mTFW, in a bullish scenario
• lower than the highest FVG bottom - mTFW, in a bearish scenario
When on ' All FVG/Only FVG's in the same direction of trend ' mode, or on non-Forex/Futures/Indices symbols, S/R needs to be higher/lower than SB session high/low.
🔶 SETTINGS
(Check CONCEPTS for deeper insights and explanation)
🔹 Swing settings (left): Sets the length, which will set the lookback period/sensitivity of the Zigzag patterns (which directs the trend)
🔹 Silver Bullet Session; Show SB session: show lines and labels of SB session
Labels can be disabled separately in the ' Style ' section, color is set at the ' Inputs ' section.
🔹 FVG
– Mode
• All FVG
• Only FVG's in the same direction of trend
• Strict
• Super-Strict
– Colors
– Extend: extend till last bar of SB session
🔹 Targets – support/resistance lines
– Previous session (any): S/R lines fetched between current and previous SB session
– Previous session (similar): S/R lines fetched between current and previous similar SB session
– Colors
– Keep lines (only in strict mode)
🔹 Show
– MSS ~ Session: Show Market Structure Shift , only when this happens during a SB session
– Trend: Show trend (Zigzag, colored ~ trend)
ICT Judas Swing | Flux Charts💎 GENERAL OVERVIEW
Introducing our new ICT Judas Swing Indicator! This indicator is built around the ICT's "Judas Swing" strategy. The strategy looks for a liquidity grab around NY 9:30 session and a Fair Value Gap for entry confirmation. For more information about the process, check the "HOW DOES IT WORK" section.
Features of the new ICT Judas Swing :
Implementation of ICT's Judas Swing Strategy
2 Different TP / SL Methods
Customizable Execution Settings
Customizable Backtesting Dashboard
Alerts for Buy, Sell, TP & SL Signals
📌 HOW DOES IT WORK ?
The strategy begins by identifying the New York session from 9:30 to 9:45 and marking recent liquidity zones. These liquidity zones are determined by locating high and low pivot points: buyside liquidity zones are identified using high pivots that haven't been invalidated, while sellside liquidity zones are found using low pivots. A break of either buyside or sellside liquidity must occur during the 9:30-9:45 session, which is interpreted as a liquidity grab by smart money. The strategy assumes that after this liquidity grab, the price will reverse and move in the opposite direction. For entry confirmation, a fair value gap (FVG) in the opposite direction of the liquidity grab is required. A buyside liquidity grab calls for a bearish FVG, while a sellside grab requires a bullish FVG. Based on the type of FVG—bullish for buys and bearish for sells—the indicator will then generate a Buy or Sell signal.
After the Buy or Sell signal, the indicator immediately draws the take-profit (TP) and stop-loss (SL) targets. The indicator has three different TP & SL modes, explained in the "Settings" section of this write-up.
You can set up alerts for entry and TP & SL signals, and also check the current performance of the indicator and adjust the settings accordingly to the current ticker using the backtesting dashboard.
🚩 UNIQUENESS
This indicator is an all-in-one suit for the ICT's Judas Swing concept. It's capable of plotting the strategy, giving signals, a backtesting dashboard and alerts feature. Different and customizable algorithm modes will help the trader fine-tune the indicator for the asset they are currently trading. Three different TP / SL modes are available to suit your needs. The backtesting dashboard allows you to see how your settings perform in the current ticker. You can also set up alerts to get informed when the strategy is executable for different tickers.
⚙️ SETTINGS
1. General Configuration
Swing Length -> The swing length for pivot detection. Higher settings will result in
FVG Detection Sensitivity -> You may select between Low, Normal, High or Extreme FVG detection sensitivity. This will essentially determine the size of the spotted FVGs, with lower sensitivies resulting in spotting bigger FVGs, and higher sensitivies resulting in spotting all sizes of FVGs.
2. TP / SL
TP / SL Method ->
a) Dynamic: The TP / SL zones will be auto-determined by the algorithm based on the Average True Range (ATR) of the current ticker.
b) Fixed : You can adjust the exact TP / SL ratios from the settings below.
Dynamic Risk -> The risk you're willing to take if "Dynamic" TP / SL Method is selected. Higher risk usually means a better winrate at the cost of losing more if the strategy fails. This setting is has a crucial effect on the performance of the indicator, as different tickers may have different volatility so the indicator may have increased performance when this setting is correctly adjusted.
ICT Power Of Three | Flux Charts💎 GENERAL OVERVIEW
Introducing our new ICT Power Of Three Indicator! This indicator is built around the ICT's "Power Of Three" strategy. This strategy makes use of these 3 key smart money concepts : Accumulation, Manipulation and Distribution. Each step is explained in detail within this write-up. For more information about the process, check the "HOW DOES IT WORK" section.
Features of the new ICT Power Of Three Indicator :
Implementation of ICT's Power Of Three Strategy
Different Algorithm Modes
Customizable Execution Settings
Customizable Backtesting Dashboard
Alerts for Buy, Sell, TP & SL Signals
📌 HOW DOES IT WORK ?
The "Power Of Three" comes from these three keywords "Accumulation, Manipulation and Distribution". Here is a brief explanation of each keyword :
Accumulation -> Accumulation phase is when the smart money accumulate their positions in a fixed range. This phase indicates price stability, generally meaning that the price constantly switches between up & down trend between a low and a high pivot point. When the indicator detects an accumulation zone, the Power Of Three strategy begins.
Manipulation -> When the smart money needs to increase their position sizes, they need retail traders' positions for liquidity. So, they manipulate the market into the opposite direction of their intended direction. This will result in retail traders opening positions the way that the smart money intended them to do, creating liquidity. After this step, the real move that the smart money intended begins.
Distribution -> This is when the real intention of the smart money comes into action. With the new liquidity thanks to the manipulation phase, the smart money add their positions towards the opposite direction of the retail mindset. The purpose of this indicator is to detect the accumulation and manipulation phases, and help the trader move towards the same direction as the smart money for their trades.
Detection Methods Of The Indicator :
Accumulation -> The indicator detects accumulation zones as explained step-by-step :
1. Draw two lines from the lowest point and the highest point of the latest X bars.
2. If the (high line - low line) is lower than Average True Range (ATR) * accumulationConstant
3. After the condition is validated, an accumulation zone is detected. The accumulation zone will be invalidated and manipulation phase will begin when the range is broken.
Manipulation -> If the accumulation range is broken, check if the current bar closes / wicks above the (high line + ATR * manipulationConstant) or below the (low line - ATR * manipulationConstant). If the condition is met, the indicator detects a manipulation zone.
Distribution -> The purpose of this indicator is to try to foresee the distribution zone, so instead of a detection, after the manipulation zone is detected the indicator automatically create a "shadow" distribution zone towards the opposite direction of the freshly detected manipulation zone. This shadow distribution zone comes with a take-profit and stop-loss layout, customizable by the trader in the settings.
The X bars, accumulationConstant and manipulationConstant are subject to change with the "Algorithm Mode" setting. Read the "Settings" section for more information.
This indicator follows these steps and inform you step by step by plotting them in your chart.
🚩UNIQUENESS
This indicator is an all-in-one suite for the ICT's Power Of Three concept. It's capable of plotting the strategy, giving signals, a backtesting dashboard and alerts feature. Different and customizable algorithm modes will help the trader fine-tune the indicator for the asset they are currently trading. The backtesting dashboard allows you to see how your settings perform in the current ticker. You can also set up alerts to get informed when the strategy is executable for different tickers.
⚙️SETTINGS
1. General Configuration
Algorithm Mode -> The indicator offers 3 different detection algorithm modes according to your needs. Here is the explanation of each mode.
a) Small Manipulation
This mode has the default bar length for the accumulation detection, but a lower manipulation constant, meaning that slighter imbalances in the price action can be detected as manipulation. This setting can be useful on tickers that have lower liquidity, thus can be manipulated easier.
b) Big Manipulation
This mode has the default bar length for the accumulation detection, but a higher manipulation constant, meaning that heavier imbalances on the price action are required in order to detect manipulation zones. This setting can be useful on tickers that have higher liquidity, thus can be manipulated harder.
c) Short Accumulation
This mode has a ~70% lower bar length requirement for accumulation zone detection, and the default manipulation constant. This setting can be useful on tickers that are highly volatile and do not enter accumulation phases too often.
Breakout Method -> If "Close" is selected, bar close price will be taken into calculation when Accumulation & Manipulation zone invalidation. If "Wick" is selected, a wick will be enough to validate the corresponding zone.
2. TP / SL
TP / SL Method -> If "Fixed" is selected, you can adjust the TP / SL ratios from the settings below. If "Dynamic" is selected, the TP / SL zones will be auto-determined by the algorithm.
Risk -> The risk you're willing to take if "Dynamic" TP / SL Method is selected. Higher risk usually means a better winrate at the cost of losing more if the strategy fails. This setting is has a crucial effect on the performance of the indicator, as different tickers may have different volatility so the indicator may have increased performance when this setting is correctly adjusted.
3. Visuals
Show Zones -> Enables / Disables rendering of Accumulation (yellow) and Manipulation (red) zones.
ICT Immediate Rebalance [LuxAlgo]The ICT Immediate Rebalance aims at detecting and highlighting immediate rebalances, a concept taught by Inner Circle Trader. The ICT Immediate Rebalance, although frequently overlooked, emerges as one of ICT's most influential concepts, particularly when considered within a specific context.
🔶 USAGE
Immediate rebalances, a concept taught by ICT, hold significant importance in decision-making. To comprehend the concept of immediate rebalance, it's essential to grasp the notion of the fair value gap. A fair value gap arises from market inefficiencies or imbalances, whereas an immediate rebalance leaves no gap, no inefficiencies, or no imbalances that the price would need to return to.
Following an immediate rebalance, the typical expectation is for two extension candles to ensue; failing this, the immediate rebalance is deemed unsuccessful. It's important to note that both failed and successful immediate rebalances hold significance in trading when analyzed within a contextual framework.
Immediate rebalances can manifest across various locations and timeframes. It's recommended to analyze them in conjunction with other ICT tools or technical indicators to gain a more comprehensive understanding of market dynamics.
🔹 Multi Timeframe
The script facilitates multi-timeframe analysis, enabling users to display immediate rebalances from higher timeframes.
Enabling the display of higher timeframe candles helps visualize the detected immediate rebalance patterns.
🔹 Dashboard
The dashboard offers statistical insights into immediate rebalances.
🔶 SETTINGS
🔹 Immediate Rebalances
Timeframe: this option is to identify immediate rebalances from higher timeframes. If a timeframe lower than the chart's timeframe is selected, calculations will be based on the chart's timeframe.
Bullish, and Bearish Immediate Rebalances: color customization options.
Wicks 75%, %50, and %25: color customization options of the wick price levels for the detected immediate rebalances.
Immediate Rebalance Candles: toggles the visualization of higher timeframe candles where immediate rebalance is detected.
Confirmation (Bars): specifies the number of bars required to confirm the validation of the detected immediate rebalance.
Immediate Rebalance Icon: allows customization of the size of the icon used to represent the immediate rebalance.
🔹 Dashboard
Dashboard: toggles the visualization of the dashboard, sets its location, and customizes the size of the dashboard.
🔶 RELATED SCRIPTS
Fair-Value-Gap
Thanks to our community for recommending this script. For more conceptual scripts and related content, we welcome you to explore by visiting >>> LuxAlgo-Scripts .
ICT Concept [TradingFinder] Order Block | FVG | Liquidity Sweeps🔵 Introduction
The "ICT" style is one of the subsets of "Price Action" technical analysis. ICT is a method created by "Michael Huddleston", a professional forex trader and experienced mentor. The acronym ICT stands for "Inner Circle Trader".
The main objective of the ICT trading strategy is to combine "Price Action" and the concept of "Smart Money" to identify optimal entry points into trades. However, finding suitable entry points is not the only strength of this approach. With the ICT style, traders can better understand price behavior and adapt their trading approach to market structure accordingly.
Numerous concepts are discussed in this style, but the key practical concepts for trading in financial markets include "Order Block," "Liquidity," and "FVG".
🔵 How to Use
🟣Order Block
Order blocks are a specific type of "Supply and Demand" zones formed when a series of orders are placed in a block. These orders could be created by banks or other major players. Banks typically execute large orders in blocks during their trading sessions. If they were to enter the market directly with a small quantity, significant price movements would occur before the orders are fully executed, resulting in less profit. To avoid this, they divide their orders into smaller, manageable positions. Traders should look for "buy" opportunities in "demand order blocks" areas and "sell" opportunities in "supply order blocks".
🟣Liquidity
These levels are where traders aim to exit their trades. "Market Makers" or smart money usually collects or distributes their trading positions near levels where many retail traders have placed their "Stop Loss" orders. When the liquidity resulting from these losses is collected, the price often reverses direction.
A "Stop Hunt" is a move designed to neutralize liquidity generated by triggered stop losses. Banks often use significant news events to trigger stop hunts and acquire the liquidity released in the market. If, for example, they intend to execute heavy buy orders, they encourage others to sell through stop hunts.
As a result, if there is liquidity in the market before reaching the order block region, the credibility of that order block is higher. Conversely, if liquidity is near the order block, meaning the price reaches the order block before reaching the liquidity area, the credibility of that order block is lower.
🟣FVG (Fair Value Gap)
To identify the "Fair Value Gap" on the chart, one must analyze candle by candle. Focus on candles with large bodies, examining one candle and the one before it. The candles before and after this central candle should have long shadows, and their bodies should not overlap with the body of the central candle. The distance between the shadows of the first and third candles is called the FVG range.
These zone function in two ways :
•Supply and Demand zone: In this case, the price reacts to these zone, and its trend reverses.
•Liquidity zone: In this scenario, the price "fills" the zone and then reaches the order block.
Important Note: In most cases, FVG zone with very small width act as supply and demand zone, while zone with a significant width act as liquidity zone, absorbing the price.
🔵 Setting
🟣Order Block
Refine Order Block : When the option for refining order blocks is Off, the supply and demand zones encompass the entire length of the order block (from Low to High) in their standard state and remain unaltered. On the option for refining order blocks triggers the improvement of supply and demand zones using the error correction algorithm.
Refine Type : The enhancement of order blocks via the error correction algorithm can be executed through two methods: Defensive and Aggressive. In the Aggressive approach, the widest possible range is taken into account for order blocks.
Show High Levels : If major high levels are to be displayed, set the option for showing high level to Yes.
Show Low Levels : If major low levels are to be displayed, set the option for showing low level to Yes.
Show Last Support : If showing the last support is desired, set the option for showing last support to Yes.
Show Last Resistance : If showing the last resistance is desired, set the option for showing last resistance to Yes.
🟣 FVG
FVG Filter : When FVG filtering is activated, the number of FVG areas undergoes filtration based on the specified algorithm.
FVG Filter Types :
1. Very Aggressive : Apart from the initial condition, an additional condition is introduced. For an upward FVG, the maximum price of the last candle should exceed the maximum price of the middle candle. Similarly, for a downward FVG, the minimum price of the last candle should be lower than the minimum price of the middle candle. This mode eliminates a minimal number of FVGs.
2. Aggressive : In addition to the conditions of the Very Aggressive mode, this mode considers the size of the middle candle; it should not be small. Consequently, a larger number of FVGs are eliminated in this mode.
3. Defensive : Alongside the conditions of the Very Aggressive mode, this mode takes into account the size of the middle candle, which should be relatively large with the majority of it comprising the body. Furthermore, to identify upward FVGs, the second and third candles must be positive, whereas for downward FVGs, the second and third candles must be negative. This mode filters out a considerable number of FVGs, retaining only those of suitable quality.
4. Very Defensive : In addition to the conditions of the Defensive mode, the first and third candles should not be very small-bodied doji candles. This mode filters out the majority of FVGs, leaving only the highest quality ones. Show Demand FVG: Enables the display of demand-related boxes, which can be toggled between off and on. Show Supply FVG: Enables the display of supply-related boxes along the path, which can also be toggled between off and on.
🟣 Liquidity
Statics Liquidity Line Sensitivity : A value ranging from 0 to 0.4. Increasing this value reduces the sensitivity of the "Statics Liquidity Line Detection" function and increases the number of identified lines. The default value is 0.3.
Dynamics Liquidity Line Sensitivity : A value ranging from 0.4 to 1.95. Increasing this value enhances the sensitivity of the "Dynamics Liquidity Line Detection" function and decreases the number of identified lines. The default value is 1.
Statics Period Pivot : Default value is set to 8. By adjusting this value, you can specify the period for static liquidity line pivots.
Dynamics Period Pivot : Default value is set to 3. By adjusting this value, you can specify the period for dynamic liquidity line pivots.
You can activate or deactivate liquidity lines as necessary using the buttons labeled "Show Statics High Liquidity Line," "Show Statics Low Liquidity Line," "Show Dynamics High Liquidity Line," and "Show Dynamics Low Liquidity Line".
ICT Clean Midnight [dR-Algo]
Are you a trader who values clean charts and precise indicators? Are you an avid follower of ICT Concepts? If so, the Midnight Marker is tailored for you. This ultra-simple, highly effective TradingView script draws a nearly transparent blue line at midnight on your chart, keeping your interface as clean as possible while delivering essential information.
Why is "ICT Clean Midnight" so Special?
Focus on Price Action: The minimalist design ensures that you can focus solely on price action, which is a core principle of ICT teachings.
Easy Back Testing: Whether you're trading live or back-testing strategies, the midnight marker helps you quickly identify key time points.
Customizable: Though designed to be subtle, the line's color and opacity can be easily customized to suit your charting needs.
This indicator embodies ICT's principle of maintaining a clutter-free, focus-driven trading environment. Perfect for both novice traders wanting to adopt ICT concepts and seasoned traders looking for minimalistic yet effective tools.
ICT Institutional Order Flow (fadi)ICT Institutional Order Flow indicator is intended to provide wholistic view to better analyze order flow and where price may go to next. The concept follows ICT principles.
ICT Market Structure
ICT breaks down Pivot points into three categories:
Short Term High/Low (STH/STL) is a 3 candle pattern with a low with higher low on each side (STL), or a high with lower high on each side (STH)
Intermediate Term High/Low (ITH/ITL) uses the calculated STH/STL and marks any STH that has lower or STH on each side, and STL that has higher STL on each side
Long Term High/Low (LTH/LTL) uses the calculated ITH/ITL and marks any ITH that has lower or ITH on each side, and ITL that has higher ITL on each side
Note: ICT also states that if a STH wicks into and closes (almost?) a FVG, he marks it as ITH even if it does not have STH on reach side. This scenario is not covered by this indicator
Liquidity
liquidity is usually present under pivot points. The more prominent the pivot point, the more likely higher values liquidity pools reside under/above it. Liquidity under ITL and LTL as an example, will have better indication of which liquidity the price may seek next.
Displacement
Displacement registers above average move in the price resulting in strong visible move. If requiring a FVG is enabled (in settings), then the displacement could possibly (but never guaranteed) be used to visually recognize a move as it develops.
Full Credit: The calculation for Displacement is derived from TFO's Visualizing Displacement
Imbalances
Imbalances can come in different forms. This indicator identifies three type of imbalances:
1. FVG
2. Volume Imbalance
3. Open Gaps
Imbalances completes the picture by help visualize strong moves, where possible pivot points may develop, and how to enter or manage a trade.
ICT Donchian Smart Money Structure (Expo)█ Concept Overview
The Inner Circle Trader (ICT) methodology is focused on understanding the actions and implications of the so-called "smart money" - large institutions and professional traders who often influence market movements. Key to this is the concept of market structure and how it can provide insights into potential price moves.
Over time, however, there has been a notable shift in how some traders interpret and apply this methodology. Initially, it was designed with a focus on the fractal nature of markets. Fractals are recurring patterns in price action that are self-similar across different time scales, providing a nuanced and dynamic understanding of market structure.
However, as the ICT methodology has grown in popularity, there has been a drift away from this fractal-based perspective. Instead, many traders have started to focus more on pivot points as their primary tool for understanding market structure.
Pivot points provide static levels of potential support and resistance. While they can be useful in some contexts, relying heavily on them could provide a skewed perspective of market structure. They offer a static, backward-looking view that may not accurately reflect real-time changes in market sentiment or the dynamic nature of markets.
This shift from a fractal-based perspective to a pivot point perspective has significant implications. It can lead traders to misinterpret market structure and potentially make incorrect trading decisions.
To highlight this issue, you've developed a Donchian Structure indicator that mirrors the use of pivot points. The Donchian Channels are formed by the highest high and the lowest low over a certain period, providing another representation of potential market extremes. The fact that the Donchian Structure indicator produces the same results as pivot points underscores the inherent limitations of relying too heavily on these tools.
While the Donchian Structure indicator or pivot points can be useful tools, they should not replace the original, fractal-based perspective of the ICT methodology. These tools can provide a broad overview of market structure but may not capture the intricate dynamics and real-time changes that a fractal-based approach can offer.
It's essential for traders to understand these differences and to apply these tools correctly within the broader context of the ICT methodology and the Smart Money Concept Structure. A well-rounded approach that incorporates fractals, along with other tools and forms of analysis, is likely to provide a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of market structure.
█ Smart Money Concept - Misunderstandings
The Smart Money Concept is a popular concept among traders, and it's based on the idea that the "smart money" - typically large institutional investors, market makers, and professional traders - have superior knowledge or information, and their actions can provide valuable insight for other traders.
One of the biggest misunderstandings with this concept is the belief that tracking smart money activity can guarantee profitable trading.
█ Here are a few common misconceptions:
Following Smart Money Equals Guaranteed Success: Many traders believe that if they can follow the smart money, they will be successful. However, tracking the activity of large institutional investors and other professionals isn't easy, as they use complex strategies, have access to information not available to the public, and often intentionally hide their moves to prevent others from detecting their strategies.
Instantaneous Reaction and Results: Another misconception is that market movements will reflect smart money actions immediately. However, large institutions often slowly accumulate or distribute positions over time to avoid moving the market drastically. As a result, their actions might not produce an immediate noticeable effect on the market.
Smart Money Always Wins: It's not accurate to assume that smart money always makes the right decisions. Even the most experienced institutional investors and professional traders make mistakes, misjudge market conditions, or are affected by unpredictable events.
Smart Money Activity is Transparent: Understanding what constitutes smart money activity can be quite challenging. There are many indicators and metrics that traders use to try and track smart money, such as the COT (Commitments of Traders) reports, Level II market data, block trades, etc. However, these can be difficult to interpret correctly and are often misleading.
Assuming Uniformity Among Smart Money: 'Smart Money' is not a monolithic entity. Different institutional investors and professional traders have different strategies, risk tolerances, and investment horizons. What might be a good trade for a long-term institutional investor might not be a good trade for a short-term professional trader, and vice versa.
█ Market Structure
The Smart Money Concept Structure deals with the interpretation of price action that forms the market structure, focusing on understanding key shifts or changes in the market that may indicate where 'smart money' (large institutional investors and professional traders) might be moving in the market.
█ Three common concepts in this regard are Change of Character (CHoCH), and Shift in Market Structure (SMS), Break of Structure (BMS/BoS).
Change of Character (CHoCH): This refers to a noticeable change in the behavior of price movement, which could suggest that a shift in the market might be about to occur. This might be signaled by a sudden increase in volatility, a break of a trendline, or a change in volume, among other things.
Shift in Market Structure (SMS): This is when the overall structure of the market changes, suggesting a potential new trend. It usually involves a sequence of lower highs and lower lows for a downtrend, or higher highs and higher lows for an uptrend.
Break of Structure (BMS/BoS): This is when a previously defined trend or pattern in the price structure is broken, which may suggest a trend continuation.
A key component of this approach is the use of fractals, which are repeating patterns in price action that can give insights into potential market reversals. They appear at all scales of a price chart, reflecting the self-similar nature of markets.
█ Market Structure - Misunderstandings
One of the biggest misunderstandings about the ICT approach is the over-reliance or incorrect application of pivot points. Pivot points are a popular tool among traders due to their simplicity and easy-to-understand nature. However, when it comes to the Smart Money Concept and trying to follow the steps of professional traders or large institutions, relying heavily on pivot points can create misconceptions and lead to confusion. Here's why:
Delayed and Static Information: Pivot points are inherently backward-looking because they're calculated based on the previous period's data. As such, they may not reflect real-time market dynamics or sudden changes in market sentiment. Furthermore, they present a static view of market structure, delineating pre-defined levels of support and resistance. This static nature can be misleading because markets are fundamentally dynamic and constantly changing due to countless variables.
Inadequate Representation of Market Complexity: Markets are influenced by a myriad of factors, including economic indicators, geopolitical events, institutional actions, and market sentiment, among others. Relying on pivot points alone for reading market structure oversimplifies this complexity and can lead to a myopic understanding of market dynamics.
False Signals and Misinterpretations: Pivot points can often give false signals, especially in volatile markets. Prices might react to these levels temporarily but then continue in the original direction, leading to potential misinterpretation of market structure and sentiment. Also, a trader might wrongly perceive a break of a pivot point as a significant market event, when in fact, it could be due to random price fluctuations or temporary volatility.
Over-simplification: Viewing market structure only through the lens of pivot points simplifies the market to static levels of support and resistance, which can lead to misinterpretation of market dynamics. For instance, a trader might view a break of a pivot point as a definite sign of a trend, when it could just be a temporary price spike.
Ignoring the Fractal Nature of Markets: In the context of the Smart Money Concept Structure, understanding the fractal nature of markets is crucial. Fractals are self-similar patterns that repeat at all scales and provide a more dynamic and nuanced understanding of market structure. They can help traders identify shifts in market sentiment or direction in real-time, providing more relevant and timely information compared to pivot points.
The key takeaway here is not that pivot points should be entirely avoided or that they're useless. They can provide valuable insights and serve as a useful tool in a trader's toolbox when used correctly. However, they should not be the sole or primary method for understanding the market structure, especially in the context of the Smart Money Concept Structure.
█ Fractals
Instead, traders should aim for a comprehensive understanding of markets that incorporates a range of tools and concepts, including but not limited to fractals, order flow, volume analysis, fundamental analysis, and, yes, even pivot points. Fractals offer a more dynamic and nuanced view of the market. They reflect the recursive nature of markets and can provide valuable insights into potential market reversals. Because they appear at all scales of a price chart, they can provide a more holistic and real-time understanding of market structure.
In contrast, the Smart Money Concept Structure, focusing on fractals and comprehensive market analysis, aims to capture a more holistic and real-time view of the market. Fractals, being self-similar patterns that repeat at different scales, offer a dynamic understanding of market structure. As a result, they can help to identify shifts in market sentiment or direction as they happen, providing a more detailed and timely perspective.
Furthermore, a comprehensive market analysis would consider a broader set of factors, including order flow, volume analysis, and fundamental analysis, which could provide additional insights into 'smart money' actions.
█ Donchian Structure
Donchian Channels are a type of indicator used in technical analysis to identify potential price breakouts and trends, and they may also serve as a tool for understanding market structure. The channels are formed by taking the highest high and the lowest low over a certain number of periods, creating an envelope of price action.
Donchian Channels (or pivot points) can be useful tools for providing a general view of market structure, and they may not capture the intricate dynamics associated with the Smart Money Concept Structure. A more nuanced approach, centered on real-time fractals and a comprehensive analysis of various market factors, offers a more accurate understanding of 'smart money' actions and market structure.
█ Here is why Donchian Structure may be misleading:
Lack of Nuance: Donchian Channels, like pivot points, provide a simplified view of market structure. They don't take into account the nuanced behaviors of price action or the complex dynamics between buyers and sellers that can be critical in the Smart Money Concept Structure.
Limited Insights into 'Smart Money' Actions: While Donchian Channels can highlight potential breakout points and trends, they don't necessarily provide insights into the actions of 'smart money'. These large institutional traders often use sophisticated strategies that can't be easily inferred from price action alone.
█ Indicator Overview
We have built this Donchian Structure indicator to show that it returns the same results as using pivot points. The Donchian Structure indicator can be a useful tool for market analysis. However, it should not be seen as a direct replacement or equivalent to the original Smart Money concept, nor should any indicator based on pivot points. The indicator highlights the importance of understanding what kind of trading tools we use and how they can affect our decisions.
The Donchian Structure Indicator displays CHoCH, SMS, BoS/BMS, as well as premium and discount areas. This indicator plots everything in real-time and allows for easy backtesting on any market and timeframe. A unique candle coloring has been added to make it more engaging and visually appealing when identifying new trading setups and strategies. This candle coloring is "leading," meaning it can signal a structural change before it actually happens, giving traders ample time to plan their next trade accordingly.
█ How to use
The indicator is great for traders who want to simplify their view on the market structure and easily backtest Smart Money Concept Strategies. The added candle coloring function serves as a heads-up for structure change or can be used as trend confirmation. This new candle coloring feature can generate many new Smart Money Concepts strategies.
█ Features
Market Structure
The market structure is based on the Donchian channel, to which we have added what we call 'Structure Response'. This addition makes the indicator more useful, especially in trending markets. The core concept involves traders buying at a discount and selling or shorting at a premium, depending on the order flow. Structure response enables traders to determine the order flow more clearly. Consequently, more trading opportunities will appear in trending markets.
Structure Candles
Structure Candles highlight the current order flow and are significantly more responsive to structural changes. They can provide traders with a heads-up before a break in structure occurs
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Disclaimer
The information contained in my Scripts/Indicators/Ideas/Algos/Systems does not constitute financial advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any securities of any type. I will not accept liability for any loss or damage, including without limitation any loss of profit, which may arise directly or indirectly from the use of or reliance on such information.
All investments involve risk, and the past performance of a security, industry, sector, market, financial product, trading strategy, backtest, or individual's trading does not guarantee future results or returns. Investors are fully responsible for any investment decisions they make. Such decisions should be based solely on an evaluation of their financial circumstances, investment objectives, risk tolerance, and liquidity needs.
My Scripts/Indicators/Ideas/Algos/Systems are only for educational purposes!
