Liquidity Void
A Liquidity Void is a range in price delivery where one side of market liquidity is absent, manifesting as wide or long one-sided candles (or a small cluster of 2–3 candles) that move aggressively away from a consolidation. Unlike a Vacuum Block (which is a literal gap with no candle body), a Liquidity Void is formed by price trading through a range on one side only — there is no gap in the chart, but buyside or sellside liquidity is entirely absent from that range. Price is expected to return and retrade the full range of the void, delivering the opposing side of liquidity. On lower timeframes, a Fair Value Gap on a higher timeframe will often appear as a Liquidity Void.
Identification5
- Price moves aggressively away from a consolidation via 1–3 long-bodied candles delivering price on one side only (all bearish for a bearish void, all bullish for a bullish void).
- A small gap between the two largest candles in the run is a common secondary marker but not required — the one-sided delivery itself defines the void.
- The void range is framed by: top of the range = high of the highest candle in the run (for a bearish void) or open of the first aggressive candle; bottom = close of the last candle in the run (for bearish) or open of the run.
- A bearish liquidity void signals absence of buyside liquidity; a bullish liquidity void signals absence of sellside liquidity.
- Confirmed on the timeframe being studied. The same price range on a lower timeframe will appear as a liquidity void when the higher timeframe shows a Fair Value Gap.
Entry4
- For a bearish void: Wait for price to rally back up into the void range. Enter sell at or near the top of the void (upper boundary of the one-sided range). Confirmation: price shows rejection or a gap (common gap) forms at or near the void level.
- For a bullish void: Wait for price to sell off back into the void range. Enter buy at or near the bottom of the void. Look for stop runs below recent equal lows prior to the fill as an entry catalyst.
- A limit sell order can be placed inside a common gap that forms at the void level (e.g., sell limit at the gap midpoint) for refined entry.
- Sell stops (for bearish void context) below equal lows near the void level serve as the buy catalyst — accumulate on sell stop runs before the void fills.
Stop2
- Stop above the top of the void for a short entry at the void (bearish context).
- Stop below the bottom of the void for a long entry at the void (bullish context).
Target2
- Full closure of the void (entire one-sided range retraded in the opposite direction) is the primary draw on price.
- Sell stops (or buy stops for bullish bias) beyond recent equal lows/highs near the void serve as secondary targets once void is closed.
Invalidation2
- The full range of the void has been retraded in the opposite direction — price has delivered on both sides; the void is balanced and closed.
- No time limit on fill: voids can remain open for a brief session or for months.
Inferred Conditions (Unvalidated)
- Smart money cannot facilitate full position at one price; they scale in, which is why price may make multiple attempts at the void before closing it.
- A common gap (candle body gap) forming near or at the void top/bottom during the fill attempt provides a refined limit-entry level with very little drawdown.
ICT Quotes
"Liquidity void is a range in price and delivery, where one side of the market liquidity is shown in wide or long one sided ranges or candles, price, typically we'll want to revisit this pores range, or void of contract and liquidity."
"There's no specific time limit on how long it's going to take for these voids to close in. They can stay open for months, I can stay open just for a brief session, intraday, and you can close it in, it's all gonna be relative to what you see in price action around that void."
"It's this small little area of price action where it was only delivered on the downside, we have long bodied candles, where price has only been delivered on the downside, and has a small little gap in between the two biggest down candles. This is what we've framed as the liquidity void."
"A void of buyside liquidity. That means the market's aggressively moved away from that consolidation... because it repriced aggressively lower, it was all one sell side liquidity only, very little buying took place in that rundown."
"Liquidity voids are gap during price trading... where we see a gap where price has closed from one candle and gaps into another opening of another candle, and that separation between the two price don't have a closure. In other words, it doesn't have a range closing that in, it creates a common gap."
Timeframes
Version History2 versions
34-ICT Mentorship Core Content - Month 4 - Liquidity Voids.srt
"Okay, folks, welcome back. This is teaching number five of eight for the ITT mentorship content for December 2016. We're gonna deal with specifically the reinforcing of liquidity voids, and when to an…"
Initial definition in 2016 mentorship.
ICT YT - 2024-10-01 - ICT Mentorship 2024 - Lecture 37.srt
"there's a real separation or real common gap. That's not my term. That's just what it is generically, when there's no trading in there, that is a real liquidity void. By definition, this is a liquidit…"
Precision refinement: a liquidity void is defined by the complete absence of mark-to-market order execution between two candlestick boundaries (a prior candle's high and the next candle's low, or vice versa). ICT equates this with "common gap" — no trades printed in that range. This sharpens the 2016 definition (which focused on one-sided delivery by wide candles) to a stricter criterion: zero opposite-side execution in the range. ICT also clarifies that a fast, aggressive sell-off alone (one-sided but with some opposite-side trades) is NOT a liquidity void — it must be a literal gap with no execution. No material conflict with 2016 definition; this is a precision refinement.
Notes
Relationship to Vacuum Block (2016 distinction): A Vacuum Block is a literal price gap — no candle body exists in that range, no trades executed. A Liquidity Void has candle bodies moving through the range but only on one side; there is no gap in the traditional sense, though a small gap between the two largest run candles is a common secondary indicator. Later ICT teaching (post-2016) collapses Vacuum Block into Liquidity Void terminology, using Liquidity Void as the umbrella term. Relationship to Fair Value Gap: On a higher timeframe a Fair Value Gap will appear as a Liquidity Void on lower timeframes (multiple long candles vs. a 3-candle imbalance). ICT states this explicitly in file 36 (Fair Value Gaps): "On a lower timeframe, it would many times appear as a liquidity void where it's multiple candles that create the open space of range." Common Gap sub-concept: Within a Liquidity Void, a common gap (candle-body gap) may form at the void boundary during price's return. ICT uses this as a limit-order entry trigger (sell limit inside the gap for a bearish setup). This is not a separate concept but a refined entry technique within the Liquidity Void framework. 2024 precision (L37, Oct 1): ICT explicitly equates "liquidity void" with "common gap" and anchors the definition to a strict execution criterion: no mark-to-market orders executed between the prior candle's high and the following candle's low. The void must be a literal price gap (no trades at all in that range), not merely aggressive one-sided candles. ICT acknowledges "common gap" is not his term ("that's just what it is generically") but confirms it is synonymous with his liquidity void definition.
Asymmetry Notes
Fully symmetrical. Bearish void = only sell-side delivery, expect bullish fill. Bullish void = only buy-side delivery, expect bearish fill.