ICT London Open Kill Zone
Also: London Kill Zone, London Open Kill Zone, London Session Kill Zone, LOKZ
The primary day-trading window for the London session, defined as 1:00 AM to 5:00 AM New York time. This four-hour window is when the interbank price delivery algorithm most consistently forms the high or low of the trading day for major Forex pairs, through a projectionay stage (Judas swing) in the direction opposite the intended daily close before reversing and expanding in the true direction. The London Kill Zone is the highest-probability entry window for day trades and precedes the New York Kill Zone. All times are in New York (Eastern) time, regardless of daylight savings.
Identification6
- Time window: 1:00 AM New York time (start) to 5:00 AM New York time (end)
- Preceded by Asian range (8:00 PM–12:00 AM NY) and true day open (midnight NY)
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- A delayed protraction profile features the Judas swing occurring at or just after 2:00 AM NY rather than immediately at midnight
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Entry4
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- Execute on 5-minute or 15-minute chart
Stop4
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Target6
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- Scale at previous day's high/low ± 5–15 pips
- Scale at 50% of the 60-minute range being traded
- Take 60–80% off at the 5-day ADR projection
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Invalidation10
- Central Bank Dealers Range greater than 50 pips — consider skipping London entirely
- Asian range is wide, erratic, or trending rather than consolidating
- Prior day had a range greater than 2x the 5-day ADR — next day London is typically avoided
- Three consecutive up closes on daily chart — avoid London longs
- Three consecutive down closes on daily chart — avoid London shorts
- FOMC event with extreme whipsaw on previous day
- Non-Farm Payroll Friday
- Day heading into a long weekend or holiday
- Market trending from 8:00 PM NY (zero GMT rally/decline already in progress)
- If London session accounts for 80%+ of the 5-day average daily range, skip New York
Inferred Conditions (Unvalidated)
- Free tutorial versions of the London kill zone started at 2:00 AM, 3:00 AM, or 4:00 AM — the mentorship version extends the window to 1:00 AM–5:00 AM to ensure no setup is missed
- The true "sweet spot" for entries is 2:00 AM–4:00 AM NY within the kill zone
- Between 5:00 AM and 7:00 AM NY is "London Lunch" — a transition/retracement period, not a high-probability entry window
- If price is still moving favorably during London, take partial profits before 5:00 AM in case London Lunch causes a reversal
- Tuesday London Open has ~70% probability of creating the weekly low (bullish weeks) or weekly high (bearish weeks)
ICT Quotes
"the London to hotspot for the higher loads of form for the day is usually between two o'clock in the morning and four o'clock in the morning New York time... In daylight savings time, the way I overcome that is I look at my London Open kill zone, beginning at 1am, New York time and ending at 5am New York time."
"ICT London kill zone. Every day at 1am Eastern Standard Time New York begins that London kill zone every day at 5am Eastern Standard Time New York ends the London kill zone."
"Folks that are using my free tutorials, they're waiting for two o'clock, three o'clock and four o'clock. This is the actual kill zone I use. So the time window begins at 1am. It ends at 5am."
Timeframes
Version History2 versions
73-ICT Mentorship Core Content - Month 8 - Essentials To ICT Daytrading.srt
""the London to hotspot for the higher loads of form for the day is usually between two o'clock in the morning and four o'clock in the morning New York time""
Approximate window stated in essentials lesson
74-ICT Mentorship Core Content - Month 8 - Defining The Daily Range.srt
""ICT London kill zone. Every day at 1am Eastern Standard Time New York begins that London kill zone every day at 5am Eastern Standard Time New York ends the London kill zone.""
Definitive mentorship time boundaries — 1:00 AM to 5:00 AM NY, superseding free-tutorial times of 2:00–4:00 AM
Notes
ICT explicitly corrects free-tutorial time references in this lesson, stating the true kill zone is 1:00 AM–5:00 AM NY (not the 2:00–4:00 AM window he taught publicly). The extended window is specifically to handle daylight savings time transitions where the session can shift by an hour. The "sweet spot" within the kill zone is still 2:00–4:00 AM NY. The London Kill Zone avoidance rules from file 78 are extensive and constitute a separate concept (see london-session-avoidance.yaml).
Asymmetry Notes
Symmetrical — same time window for both bullish and bearish setups. Direction of the projectionay phase is opposite: bulls see a down Judas swing; bears see an up Judas swing.