First Hour Dealing Range
Also: first hour's dealing range, first hours range, first hour's range, FHDR
The First Hour Dealing Range is the price range established during the first full hour of Regular Trading Hours (9:30 AM to 10:30 AM Eastern Time) on index futures. It is defined by the highest high and lowest low printed between 9:30 and 10:30 AM. The equilibrium (50%) of this range serves as a key intraday reference: it qualifies as a lunch macro retracement target and acts as a boundary for trailing stop-loss on short positions. When price closes below the consequent encroachment of a wick inside the first hour dealing range, it signals continuation in the {direction} of the prevailing move for the PM session. The first presented fair value gap that forms after the first hour dealing range is broken is the preferred entry for trending day continuation trades. The range can be projected as a standard deviation below (or above) its low (or high) to forecast the day's potential price target. On a trending day, a shallow run below the first hour dealing range low (a false break that retraces back into the range) sets up a turtle soup entry. A decisive close below the range confirms the trending day and the projected standard deviation becomes the target. In imperfect market conditions, the 75% level of the projected range serves as a conservative exit zone.
Identification4
- Mark the highest high and lowest low between 9:30 AM and 10:30 AM Eastern Time on a 1-minute chart — this defines the first hour dealing range.
- The first 30 minutes (9:30-10:00 AM) define the opening range; the first hour dealing range extends to 10:30 AM and subsumes the opening range.
- Draw a Fibonacci retracement from the high to the low of the range to identify equilibrium (50%), quadrants (25%, 75%), and octants.
- Note any wicks inside the range and their consequent encroachment levels — a close beyond these levels signals continuation.
Entry3
- Turtle soup entry: when price makes a shallow run below the first hour dealing range low and retraces back into the range, enter {direction} at a premium PD array inside the range.
- Trending day continuation: the first presented fair value gap that forms after the first hour dealing range is decisively broken (close beyond the range) is the preferred entry. Do NOT use a FVG further back in the range — use the first one after the break.
- Inversion FVG entry: after the break, a SIBI (bearish FVG) inside the range becomes an inversion fair value gap — use it as a short entry on retracements.
Stop2
- For shorts entered from PD arrays inside the range: stop above the first hour dealing range high or above the retracement swing high.
- Trailing stop method for trending days: every three 1-minute candles, trail the stop to just above the highest high of those three candles.
Target4
- Project the first hour dealing range as one standard deviation below the low (for bearish) or above the high (for bullish) — this is the ideal daily target.
- In imperfect conditions, the 75% level of the projected range (lower quadrant) is a conservative exit zone.
- Equilibrium (50%) of the first hour dealing range is the lunch macro retracement target when price is below and approaching 10:30-11:30 AM.
- Octants and quadrants of the projected range serve as algorithmic price levels for intraday delivery.
Invalidation2
- If price does not establish a clear directional range during the first hour (e.g., consolidation with no sweep), the first hour dealing range is less useful for projection.
- A shallow run below (or above) the range that retraces back inside is NOT a break — it is a false break / turtle soup setup.
Inferred Conditions (Unvalidated)
- The first hour dealing range concept is an extension of ICT's standard deviation projection framework applied specifically to the first hour of RTH trading.
- The relationship between the opening range (30 min) and the first hour dealing range (60 min) is nested — the opening range is the first half of the first hour dealing range.
- The 10:00 AM high that forms after the opening range close is a key reference for the lunch macro — if price is below it, the lunch macro will draw price up to it.
ICT Quotes
"the first hour's dealing range. Okay, if you go back and listen to what I was talking about at the time, I was getting indications about how when this formed and we started dropping down"
"It's not the opening range which is 30 minutes but this is the first hours range or first hours dealing range. How is this useful? How's it how does it benefit us? How do I use it?"
"That's the halfway point or equilibrium of first hours dealing range. That also qualifies the macro lunch macro run to that for a trade."
"this low being taken out here on a shallow basis is because we have already established the first hours dealing range and it's been one-sided right from the opening bell lower."
"If we can close below this wick that was inside of the first hour's dealing range, if we can trade on a closing base below that, that sets the stage for lower prices in the afternoon in the PM session."
"First presented fair value gap after first hours dealing range is broken. First presented fair value gap after that. That's the one you'll sell on right there."
"this is like a standard deviation of the range established in the first hour then projection projected lower."
"As soon as you get the first hours, first hours dealing range, you can project these levels and then watch how the day uses them."
Timeframes
Version History1 version
"It's not the opening range which is 30 minutes but this is the first hours range or first hours dealing range. How is this useful? How's it how does it benefit us? How do I use it? Well, when we were …"
FIRST PUBLIC TEACHING of the First Hour Dealing Range concept. ICT explicitly distinguishes this from the Opening Range (30 minutes, 9:30-10:00 AM). The First Hour Dealing Range is the full 60-minute range from 9:30 to 10:30 AM. Key rules introduced: 1. The range is the high-to-low of 9:30-10:30 AM on a 1-minute chart. 2. Equilibrium (50%) serves as the lunch macro retracement target. 3. A close below the consequent encroachment of a wick inside the range signals PM session continuation in the trending direction. 4. A shallow run below the range low that retraces back in = turtle soup / false break. 5. A decisive break below the range (close below) = trending day confirmed. 6. The first presented FVG after the range is broken is THE entry — not a FVG further back in the range. 7. The range can be projected as a standard deviation for daily price targets. 8. Octants and quadrants of the projected range are algorithmic price levels. 9. In imperfect conditions, the 75% level of the projected range is the conservative exit zone. 10. Trailing stop rule: every 3 candles on 1-minute chart, trail stop to just above the highest high of the last 3 candles.
Notes
This concept was explicitly introduced as a new teaching on March 28, 2026. ICT titled the live stream "1st Hour Dealing Range" and stated it was being "live taught for the very first time." The First Hour Dealing Range is distinct from: - Opening Range (30 min, 9:30-10:00 AM) — see opening-range.yaml - Dealing Range (two-sided liquidity sweep, not time-bound) — see dealing-range.yaml - Asian Range / CBDR (overnight range projections) — see asian-range.yaml ICT explicitly rejects shorter opening range definitions (5-minute, 15-minute) used by other traders: "I don't care what anybody tells you about a 15-minute opening range or a five minute or a 10-minute." The concept parallels the Asian Range projection framework (taught in 2017 mentorship) but applied to the RTH first hour instead of overnight consolidation. The 10:00 AM high reference: after the opening range closes at 10:00 AM, the high that forms after 10:00 AM is the lunch macro target. If price is below this high and entering the 10:30-11:30 AM window, the algorithm will draw price up to it. Three-candle trailing stop rule: on a trending day, every three 1-minute candles, move the stop loss to just above the highest high of the last three candles. This is NOT for every trade — only when conditions suggest the full standard deviation target may not be reached (imperfect market conditions). See also: opening-range.yaml, dealing-range.yaml, standard-deviation-projections.yaml, first-presentation-fvg.yaml, time-macros.yaml