Time Macros
Also: ICT macros, macro windows, algorithmic macro, spooling event, 950 macro, 1050 macro, 1150 macro, silver bullet macro, london silver bullet, PM macro
Time Macros are specific 20-minute (and occasionally other-duration) windows of time during the trading day when the algorithm begins a "spooling" event — a directional price run reaching for liquidity or repricing to an inefficiency. ICT describes a macro as "a shortlist of directives that the algorithm will run — it's like a small little list of orders that it has to do to then seek where liquidity and or inefficiencies are." Macros are not directional signals on their own — they require a pre-established bias, knowledge of where the draw on liquidity is, and confirmation that price is behaving consistently with that bias. If price does not move during a macro window, it is a signal to stop trading that session. Macros exist across London, New York AM, New York lunch, and New York PM sessions. The primary macros taught in 2023 are: — 9:50–10:10am (New York) — end of the first 30-minute opening range; algorithm begins protraction toward opposing liquidity. — 10:50–11:10am (New York) — end of the AM Silver Bullet hour; transition to New York lunch. — 11:50am–12:10pm (New York) — New York lunch macro; algorithm runs for liquidity during the lunch consolidation period. — 2:00–3:00pm (New York) / 3:00–4:00pm (New York) — PM Silver Bullet macros; two opportunities in the afternoon to catch the directional move. — 3:00–4:00am (New York) — London Silver Bullet macro window; the primary London session price run. The London session silver bullet occurs between 3:00–4:00am New York time. The AM silver bullet is 10:00–11:00am New York time (with 10:50–11:10 being the key macro inside it). The final-hour macro is 3:00–4:00pm (leading to the market-on-close run).
Identification10
- Mark the following windows on any intraday chart (all times New York Eastern):
- London Silver Bullet: 3:00am–4:00am
- AM Opening Macro: 9:50am–10:10am
- AM Silver Bullet: 10:00am–11:00am (macro peak: 10:50am–11:10am)
- New York Lunch Macro: 11:50am–12:10pm
- PM Silver Bullet 1: 2:00pm–3:00pm
- PM Silver Bullet 2 / Final Hour: 3:00pm–4:00pm
- Market-on-Close Algorithm: 3:15pm–3:45pm (within the PM macro)
- A macro is active when price begins a defined price run (displacement) within the window, reaching for the pre-identified draw on liquidity.
- Price must be respecting the expected PD arrays and liquidity levels for the macro to be considered valid confirmation.
Entry4
- Macros define the time window to look for entry setups — they are not entries themselves.
- Within a macro window, use the Silver Bullet model: displacement → FVG formed → retrace into FVG → enter with PD array confluence.
- The 10:50–11:10 and 9:50–10:10 macros are the highest probability windows for AM session entries.
- The PM macros (2:00–3:00pm and 3:00–4:00pm) are the two chances to capture the daily range's final directional move.
Stop1
- Stop placement is per the entry PD array used within the macro window, not the macro time itself.
Target2
- The draw on liquidity identified through higher-timeframe analysis (old high/low, buy/sell stops, FVG) is the macro's target.
- The 3:15–3:45pm market-on-close algorithm specifically targets the most obvious remaining liquidity pool not yet reached that session.
Invalidation3
- If price does not move or produce a directional run during a macro window aligned with bias, that is a signal to close charts for that session.
- Macros do not override news events (NFP, CPI, FOMC) — these produce manual intervention that distorts algorithmic delivery.
- A macro window alone without a pre-established bias and draw on liquidity is insufficient to trade.
Inferred Conditions (Unvalidated)
- When the macro produces movement in the expected direction, it confirms that the algorithm is on track with the higher-timeframe bias.
- When price is inside a macro window and respects a PD array to begin the run, that is the highest probability entry moment within the macro.
ICT Quotes
"Macros are very specific segments of price action, and they're usually 20 minute intervals. Not all of them but most of them are 20 minute intervals. These are specific windows of opportunity."
"A macro is a shortlist of directives that the algorithm will run, it's like a small little list of orders that it has to do to then seek where liquidity and or inefficiencies are."
"All a macro is, is the beginning of a spooling event. Spooling is where price starts to reach for — think about like a fishing rod, you cast the fishing line out into the water. It's spooling, it's running off this reel, and it's delivering that hook far away from where you're standing."
"These time windows, these macros, they're just a time aspect to when I anticipate the market to start reaching, start doing some spooling animation. Inside those respective times, there are specific times and windows of opportunity for me and you as my students to anticipate a specific phenomenon in price where it will start running for liquidity, it will start running for inefficiency."
"If the macros do not provide that timing aspect, and a market just simply doesn't budge, that is many times a beautiful illustration for you to stop looking and close your charts."
"Time is the first crucial factor before price will move. Unless a bomb drops, unless there's some kind of geopolitical upheaval, the markets are not moving randomly. These markets are algorithmic and they operate on the basis of time first."
"The London session silver bullet. It's going to occur in the morning New York session between 10 o'clock in the morning and 11 o'clock. And it's going to form in the afternoon, between two o'clock and three o'clock and three o'clock and four o'clock."
"The final hour macro, which is three to four o'clock, the last hour trading before four o'clock closing session. That 30 minute interval is a macro, and the algorithm will do a market on close run where it spoils to a point of liquidity."
Timeframes
Version History9 versions
ICT YT - 2023-02-12 - Institutional Market Structure and Standard Deviations With Buyside Liquidity.srt
"The final hour macro, which is three to four o'clock, the last hour trading before four o'clock closing session. That 30 minute interval is a macro, and the algorithm will do a market on close run whe…"
First 2023 mention of the macro concept (3:00–4:00pm final hour). Informal reference.
ICT YT - 2023-07-10 - ICT Mentorship 2023 - Algorithmic Price Delivery and Time Macros Intro.srt
"Macros are very specific segments of price action, and they're usually 20 minute intervals. Not all of them but most of them are 20 minute intervals. I'm going to teach you a few of them this year. Th…"
Formal public introduction of Time Macros concept. Named specific windows: 9:50–10:10, 10:50–11:10, 11:50am–12:10pm. Defined macro as spooling event. Established bias-required caveat. Introduced London, AM, lunch, PM macro framework.
ICT YT - 2024-08-13 - ICT 2024 Mentorship - Lecture 07.srt
"We're trading inside the time. That means every hour a macro is in operation every single hour. Some macros are better than others. I'll leave that for the book, but I've talked about most of them alr…"
MAJOR CLARIFICATION: The macro is not just a handful of named windows — it is a universal pattern occurring at EVERY clock hour (HH:50 to HH+1:10 = 20 minutes). The previously named macros (9:50–10:10, 10:50–11:10, 11:50–12:10) are the most important instances. ICT also adds a midnight-to-1am macro as a named window. He calls out others teaching "macros that aren't macros" — the true pattern is strictly the ±10 minutes around each clock hour top. Also confirms in L04 (Aug 8): "trade inside of a macro that's the last 10 minutes of the new hour about to begin, and or 10 minutes after the top of the new hour."
ICT YT - 2023-09-12 - ICT Mentorship 2023 - NQ Algorithmic Price Delivery September 12 2023.srt
"The London session silver bullet. It's going to occur every single day between three o'clock and four o'clock in the morning New York local time. It's going to occur in the morning New York session be…"
Confirmed PM macros as 2:00–3:00pm and 3:00–4:00pm. Confirmed London Silver Bullet as 3:00–4:00am. Stated macros occur 'every single damn day.'
ICT YT - 2024-08-22 - ICT 2024 Mentorship - Lecture 14.srt
"And then the lunch macro starts between 1130 and ends at 130 it does not mean there has to be a retracement. You just you want to look for the opportunity for it to happen... Lunch macro. A macro is a…"
2024 LUNCH MACRO CLARIFICATION: ICT explicitly defines the Lunch Macro window as 11:30am–1:30pm ET (2 hours), not merely the 11:50–12:10 20-minute window taught in 2023. The broader window is the lookout period for a counter-trend retracement against the morning session's dominant direction. The 11:50–12:10 20-minute window (named in 2023) is the peak macro moment inside the broader lunch window. The target for the lunch macro retracement is identified by finding the most recent session high (for a bearish morning) or session low (for a bullish morning) formed after 10:00am ET, post the morning range exhaustion.
ICT YT - 2024-10-15 - ICT 2024 Mentorship - Lecture 42.srt
"As a day trader, that you have a little bit more time available to you, and you could trade the lunch macro, or you could trade the pm session, or you could trade the last hour trading."
Lunch macro confirmed as a distinct named session segment alongside the PM session and the final hour macro. Framed as an optional trading segment for traders with more available daily trading time.
ICT YT - 2025-01-29 - 2025 Lecture Series - SMC Algorithmic Market On Close Macro.srt
"at 345 to four o'clock. That's our macro. Mark it on close macro... it's a script where price will start ripping for liquidity... delivered perfect, just like a multiplication table."
2025 MARKET ON CLOSE MACRO: Formalizes the 3:45–4:00 PM ET window as the named Market On Close (MOC) Macro. Prior references to a "market on close run" within the 3:00–4:00 PM final hour window (2023, 2024) did not specify the exact 3:45 PM start. The 2025 lecture names it explicitly, identifies it as a scripted 15-minute algorithmic directive toward the session's remaining liquidity pool, and demonstrates it live. The MOC Macro is the terminal component of the broader 3:00–4:00 PM final hour window. A separate concept file (market-on-close-macro.yaml) has been created.
ICT YT - 2025-02-25 - 2025 Lecture Series - NY Lunch Macro Rules and PM Session and Final RTH Hour Of Trading 02-24-2025.srt
"your time filter is 10am so at 10 o'clock in the morning, put a vertical line on it... What's the first high you come to this one... That is the lunch macro... the low hanging fruit objective for the …"
2025 NY LUNCH MACRO RULES FORMALIZED: ICT provides explicit, rule-based conditions for identifying the NY Lunch Macro target, replacing the more general 2024 definition. The 2025 rules are: 1. PREREQUISITE: The morning session (9:30–10:00 AM) must have produced a strong one-directional move with no opposing liquidity taken. If both buy-side and sell-side liquidity were swept in the morning, the lunch macro does not apply. 2. TIME FILTER: Place a vertical line at 10:00 AM ET. 3. IDENTIFY TARGET: After the vertical line, find the FIRST swing high (if morning was bearish/sell-side liquidity was run) or FIRST swing low (if morning was bullish/buy-side liquidity was run) immediately to the right of the 10:00 AM line. This is "the low hanging fruit objective for the lunch macro." 4. CONFIRMATION: On the return pass (lunch macro run toward that target), the market must fail to break the prior swing in the opposing direction. If it breaks through, the lunch macro thesis is void. 5. WINDOW: The lunch macro operates within the broader 11:30 AM–1:30 PM ET window (confirmed from 2024). The 10:00 AM vertical line is the reference point for identifying the target, not the start of the macro itself. PM SESSION OPENING RANGE (2025): 1:30–2:00 PM ET is now explicitly named the PM session opening range. Same logic as morning opening range (9:30–10:00 AM). The first presented FVG from this range is used for PM session entries. FINAL RTH HOUR (2025): 3:00–4:00 PM ET. Morning PD arrays (FVGs, order blocks used during the AM session) are treated as inverted in the PM session — what was a bullish array in the AM is now a bearish premium array on the sell side in the PM.
07 - ICT 2026 Market Commentary ⧹ March 09, 2026.en.srt
"the last hour of trading has the 250 to 310 macro. Then it has the 315 to 345 macro. So that means there's going to be a spooling event that usually starts there. If it doesn't, it can begin at 3:30. …"
2026 live session details the last-hour macro sub-windows: (1) 2:50–3:10 PM macro (first opportunity in the last hour) (2) 3:15–3:45 PM macro (the primary last-hour macro — "last final hurrah") (3) If neither fires, 3:30 PM can begin a run (4) Then the market-on-close macro at the end ICT demonstrates on crude oil: the run started at 3:15 PM and the lowest candle came at 3:39 PM — "a really handsome example of a macro time." Also confirms lunch macros are "limited to the last 10 minutes of the top of the hour and the first 10 minutes of the new hour" — a 20-minute window. ICT explicitly notes macros work on crude oil: "macro works on krill by the way."
Notes
ICT explicitly warns that teaching macros without full context of bias, draw on liquidity, and PD array hierarchy is dangerous — he calls out other YouTubers who were teaching macro times in isolation without the required framework (July 10, block 351-353). The 'spooling' analogy (fishing rod casting) is ICT's primary teaching metaphor for what a macro produces — a directed price cast toward the identified liquidity or inefficiency. Macros are not available in isolation as trading signals — they are time confirmation tools that validate whether the algorithm is executing its expected delivery for the session. ICT states he will teach more macros throughout 2023 and in his forthcoming books, implying the list provided is incomplete (July 10 2023, block 78). 2024 CLARIFICATION — EVERY HOUR HAS A MACRO (L07, Aug 13 2024): ICT provides a major clarification in Lecture 07: the macro is "the first 10 minutes before the top of the hour, and 10 minutes after the top of the hour" — i.e., every clock hour has a 20-minute macro window (HH:50 to HH+1:10). The named macros (9:50–10:10, 10:50–11:10, 11:50–12:10) are simply the MOST IMPORTANT instances of this recurring hourly pattern. "Every single hour a macro is in operation every single hour. Some macros are better than others." (L07, 02:46:30). He also mentions a midnight-to-1am macro as one of the named additional windows. ICT explicitly calls out people who teach "macros that aren't macros" — the true macro is always the ±10-minute window around each clock hour top. 2024 ADDITIONAL NAMED MACROS (L07): — Midnight to 1:00am (New York) — named explicitly as a valid macro window. — Final hour 3:00–4:00pm — re-confirmed. ICT notes that the full list of which macros are best and when to use one over another will be in his forthcoming book. 2025 NY LUNCH MACRO — RULE-BASED FORMALIZATION (Feb 25 2025): The 2025 lecture "NY Lunch Macro Rules and PM Session and Final RTH Hour" formalizes the lunch macro with explicit conditions that supersede the 2024 description. The critical distinction is the 10:00 AM time filter and the "first swing" rule: - After a one-directional morning move (e.g., bearish: sell-side liquidity run, no buy-side liquidity taken), place a vertical line at 10:00 AM. - The lunch macro TARGET is the FIRST swing high (bearish morning) or swing low (bullish morning) formed to the RIGHT of that 10:00 AM line. - This is NOT a random level — it is specifically the first structural pivot after 10 AM. - On the lunch macro run: if price returns and fails to break the opposing prior swing, the thesis holds. If the opposing swing is broken, the lunch macro is invalidated. This creates a mechanically precise, rule-based target identification process. The 2024 definition (11:30 AM–1:30 PM window, counter-trend retracement) remains the temporal framework; the 2025 rules refine HOW to identify the specific target level. 2025 PM SESSION OPENING RANGE (Feb 25 2025): 1:30–2:00 PM ET is the PM Session Opening Range. Same approach as morning session (9:30–10:00 AM): the first presented FVG from this 30-minute range is the PM session entry setup. In the PM session context, morning PD arrays (FVGs, order blocks that were bullish during AM) are now treated as inverted — they become premium arrays for sell-side delivery in the final RTH hours. 2025 FINAL RTH HOUR RULE (Feb 25 2025): 3:00–4:00 PM ET. All morning session PD arrays invert for the PM session on sell-side delivery. ICT uses this to identify short setups during 3:00–4:00 PM using the same levels that were bullish entry zones in the morning session. 2025 MARKET ON CLOSE MACRO (Jan 29 2025): 3:45–4:00 PM ET is the Market On Close Macro — a scripted 15-minute terminal run toward remaining session liquidity. See market-on-close-macro.yaml for full specification. 2026 LAST HOUR MACRO DETAIL (March 09 2026): ICT demonstrates the 3:15–3:45 PM macro and the 2:50–3:10 PM macro on crude oil, showing they work across asset classes. The 3:15 PM start of a run with the low candle at 3:39 PM is given as a "handsome example of a macro time." ICT also re-confirms the lunch macro structure: "limited to the last 10 minutes of the top of the hour and the first 10 minutes of the new hour" as a 20-minute window.
Asymmetry Notes
Macros are time-symmetric — they apply equally to bullish and bearish runs. The direction is determined by the pre-established bias and draw on liquidity, not by the macro window itself.