Sweep vs Run (Liquidity Event Distinctions)
Also: sweep, run, liquidity sweep, liquidity run, spike and reverse, continuation run
Visual Context Required
This concept requires chart visuals for full understanding.
A Sweep is a brief price spike above or below a liquidity level (old high, old low, equal highs/lows, buy/sell stop cluster) that immediately reverses without sustained continuation. The sweep takes out the resting orders at the level and then quickly snaps back in the opposite direction. It is evidence of a stop-hunt / engineered liquidity collection event. A Run (or Liquidity Run) is when price moves through a liquidity level and continues in that direction without looking back — there is no immediate reversal. A run signals that the directional move was genuine and the liquidity at that level was absorbed by real order flow in that direction. The distinction is operationally critical: a sweep is a counter-trend signal (fade the sweep direction after it reverses); a run is a trend-continuation signal (align with the run direction). Both events are categorized as liquidity events but carry opposite trade implications.
Identification5
- Sweep: price spikes above an old high (or below an old low) and the candle that created the spike closes back below (or above) the level within the same candle or the following candle. The wick above/below the level is the signature.
- Sweep: after the spike closes back through the level, the next move is in the opposite direction of the spike — confirming the stop-hunt reversal.
- Run: price breaks above an old high (or below an old low) and the subsequent candles continue in the breakout direction without returning to the level. The break is sustained.
- A run often features displacement candles (wide-bodied candles leaving fair value gaps) rather than wick-dominated candles.
- Intraday context: a sweep of the Asian range high or prior session high at the 9:30 AM open is a Judas Swing variant — it IS a sweep by definition.
Entry2
- After a confirmed sweep: enter in the direction opposite to the spike, looking for a fair value gap or order block formed during the sweep candle or the reversal candle.
- After a confirmed run: align with the run direction — look for a pullback to the FVG or order block left in the displacement move to enter in the run direction.
Stop1
- After sweep reversal entry: stop above the wick high (for bearish reversal) or below the wick low (for bullish reversal) — above/below the actual sweep extreme.
Target2
- After sweep: the prior swing in the opposite direction of the sweep — the range the market was in before the liquidity event.
- After run: the next liquidity pool in the run direction.
Invalidation2
- A sweep that does not reverse and instead continues becomes reclassified as a run — the initial assessment must be updated.
- A run that pulls back to the breakout level and consolidates (does not immediately reverse through) remains valid as a run — the pullback is a retracement, not a failed run.
Inferred Conditions (Unvalidated)
- Three consecutive intraday sweeps of sell-side (sell stops taken three times) without follow-through is a high-conviction signal that the market is accumulating longs — the fourth touch or the next buy-side sweep attempt is the actionable entry signal (Counter-Trend Setup, Ep 27).
- Whether an event was a sweep or a run is often only confirmed with at least one to two candles of follow-through (or lack thereof) — live real-time classification carries uncertainty.
ICT Quotes
"sweep = brief spike above/below level then reverses; run = continues through without looking back"
Timeframes
Version History1 version
ICT YT - 2022 Mentorship Series (Ep 16 through 41)
"Sweep: brief spike above or below level then reverses. Run: price continues through the level without looking back."
This distinction appears throughout the 2022 mentorship as an operational classification tool. ICT uses both terms freely in live chart analysis to describe how price behaves at liquidity levels. The contrast between sweep and run is foundational to interpreting whether a move is a stop-hunt (fade) or a genuine breakout (follow).
Notes
This distinction underpins much of the 2022 ICT model decision logic. When price approaches old highs or lows, the trader must judge in real time whether the touch will be a sweep (reversal opportunity) or a run (continuation opportunity). The key observable is whether the candle that pierces the level CLOSES back through it (sweep — fade) or CLOSES beyond it and continues (run — follow). Related concepts: judas-swing.yaml, liquidity-pool.yaml, fair-value-gap.yaml, counter-trend-setup.yaml
Asymmetry Notes
Symmetrical: a bullish sweep takes out buy-side (spikes above old high, reverses down) and a bearish sweep takes out sell-side (spikes below old low, reverses up). A bullish run breaks above and continues; a bearish run breaks below and continues.