Dealing Range
Also: dealing range, DR, intraday dealing range
A Dealing Range is a price range defined by a completed two-sided liquidity event: price first takes out buy-side liquidity (sweeps highs / buy stops), then reverses and takes out sell-side liquidity (sweeps lows / sell stops). The high of the range is the level where buy-side was taken; the low is where sell-side was taken. Equilibrium (the 50% midpoint) divides the range into premium (above 50%) and discount (below 50%). Short setups are preferred in premium; long setups are preferred in discount. For execution refinement, the trader narrows to the most energetic price swing inside the dealing range and applies a Fibonacci to that inner swing. Dealing ranges update dynamically: whenever new buy-side or sell-side events define a new range, the old range is replaced or nested inside a larger one. First taught publicly June 2022.
Identification6
- Identify a swing high where buy-side liquidity (buy stops above old high) was swept — this becomes the high of the dealing range.
- Identify the subsequent swing low where sell-side liquidity (sell stops below old low) was swept — this becomes the low of the dealing range.
- Both events must occur in sequence (buy side taken first, then sell side reversed into, or vice versa) for the range to be valid.
- Draw a Fibonacci retracement from the dealing range low to the dealing range high to identify equilibrium (50%), premium zone (above 50%), and discount zone (below 50%).
- For entry refinement: identify the most energetic (largest) price swing inside the dealing range and run a separate Fibonacci on that inner swing.
- Nested dealing ranges are valid: a smaller buy side + sell side event inside a larger dealing range creates an inner dealing range.
Entry3
- Short setups: look for bearish PD arrays (order blocks, bearish FVGs, rejection blocks) in the premium half of the dealing range (above 50% equilibrium).
- Long setups: look for bullish PD arrays (order blocks, bullish FVGs, support blocks) in the discount half of the dealing range (below 50% equilibrium).
- Refine entry to the most energetic inner swing's Fibonacci levels for precision.
Target3
- From a short in premium: target sell-side liquidity at or below the dealing range low.
- From a long in discount: target buy-side liquidity at or above the dealing range high.
- Intermediate targets: equilibrium (50%) of the dealing range.
Invalidation2
- No dealing range exists until both buy-side AND sell-side have been swept — a one-sided liquidity event (only buy side or only sell side taken) does not define a dealing range.
- Once a new pair of buy-side/sell-side events occurs, the prior dealing range is superseded by a new one.
Inferred Conditions (Unvalidated)
- The dealing range concept subsumes and formalizes the use of Fibonacci retracement on swing highs/lows — the dealing range IS the relevant swing for Fibonacci application.
- Intraday: the dealing range is identified on the 15m or 5m chart after the morning Judas Swing has swept one side of liquidity. The resulting range guides premium/discount entries for the balance of the session.
- The dealing range equilibrium is the primary reference for the discount/premium framework — entries from discount targeting premium (longs) or from premium targeting discount (shorts) are the core trade ideas.
- ICT states this concept was taught for the first time publicly on 2022-06-27, even students in his private mentorship at that time had not received it.
ICT Quotes
"whenever you hear me refer to a dealing range, what I'm looking at is a range, where price has taken out buy side, then reversed and taken out sell side by the movement here. Okay? That makes this range from here to here, a dealing range."
"today's date in June 2022. I'm teaching this for the first time. Even my paid mentorship group doesn't know this lesson."
"this is my dealing range. Short term low, the short term high. I run a fib on that"
"market structure, swing low here to swing high. That's my dealing range"
Timeframes
Version History3 versions
ICT YT - 2022-06-27 - ICT Mentorship 2022 Topical Study - Dealing Ranges.srt
""whenever you hear me refer to a dealing range, what I'm looking at is a range, where price has taken out buy side, then reversed and taken out sell side by the movement here. Okay? That makes this ra…"
First public teaching of the dealing range concept. Defines formal criteria: buy side swept then sell side swept (or vice versa) to establish the range boundaries. Equilibrium at 50% divides premium from discount.
20 - ICT 2026 Smart Money Concepts Lecture ⧹ January 29, 2026.en.srt
"So the dealing range is high to low. Threearters of that range is optimal trade entry. That was the flagship thing I taught for years on baby pips and on my YouTube channel before I started teaching a…"
OTE WITHIN DEALING RANGE: ICT confirms that three-quarters (75%) of the dealing range from high to low is the Optimal Trade Entry (OTE) level. This was described as 'the flagship thing I taught for years.' Within the dealing range, the trader limits focus to PD arrays (premium and discount arrays) — very specific price points. If an inefficiency appears around the OTE level, it is the highest probability entry zone within the dealing range.
15 - ICT 2026 Smart Money Concepts Lecture ⧹ February 11, 2026.en.srt
"and targeting here that is what it's an implied dealing range. anticipating a beginning of a run here and seeing it trade here for first stage off set distribution. That means partials they can profit…"
IMPLIED DEALING RANGE: ICT introduces the concept of an 'implied dealing range' — the range from the smart money entry point (e.g., turtle soup at the high) to the draw on liquidity (sellside target). Smart money enters short at the high (turtle soup), targets sellside below, and takes first stage offset distribution (partials) at intermediate levels. The implied dealing range is defined before the full dealing range completes — it is the anticipated range based on the narrative, not yet confirmed by both sides of liquidity being swept.
Notes
ICT explicitly states this is being taught publicly for the first time on 2022-06-27, noting even his paid private mentorship students had not yet received this lesson. This makes the Topical Study episode the canonical source for the formal definition. Prior to this formal definition, ICT referenced "dealing range" in earlier 2022 episodes (Ep 35, Ep 38) in a more informal sense — identifying a short-term swing low to swing high and running a Fibonacci on it. The Topical Study episode clarifies the formal criterion: BOTH buy-side AND sell-side must have been swept to constitute a dealing range. Nested dealing ranges: ICT demonstrates that inner dealing ranges can exist inside larger dealing ranges, allowing for fractal application. The inner range identifies the most energetic swing for entry refinement. Breakaway Gaps within dealing ranges: If a fair value gap formed inside a dealing range is left open and price breaks away without filling it, that gap is a Breakaway Gap — ICT notes "Breakaway gaps remain open until lower level objectives are fulfilled and delivered and booked" (same topical study episode). Related concepts: fair-value-gap.yaml, order-block.yaml, liquidity-pool.yaml, internal-range-liquidity.yaml, external-range-liquidity.yaml
Asymmetry Notes
Symmetrical structure: the range is defined the same way regardless of direction. The only asymmetry is the sequence — the first sweep can be either buy side or sell side depending on market context. When buy side is swept first (price rallies, takes stops above old high, then reverses), the dealing range high is that liquidity event. When sell side is swept first (price drops, takes stops below old low, then rallies), the dealing range low is that event.