Vacuum Block
Also: breakaway-gap
A Vacuum Block is a gap in price created by a volatility event — such as a Non-Farm Payroll release, FOMC announcement, geopolitical shock, or a futures session open — where no trading occurred between the previous candle's close and the new candle's open. The gap forms a literal vacuum of liquidity: no trades are executed inside that price range. It is identified by measuring the high and low of the gap (open of the new candle and close of the prior candle) and treating the range as an imaginary candle with a midpoint (mean threshold). Price typically seeks to return and close this range. ICT states the Vacuum Block is equivalent to what he teaches as a Breakaway Gap.
Identification5
- A literal price gap exists: previous candle's close and next candle's open do not overlap — no trading occurred in between.
- The gap is caused by a high-volatility event (NFP, FOMC, geopolitical event, futures session open).
- Define the gap range: low boundary = close of candle immediately before gap; high boundary = open of candle immediately after gap.
- Treat the gap range as an imaginary candle with a mean threshold at the midpoint.
- A {direction} bullish order block (last down candle before gap up) or bearish order block (last up candle before gap down) may reside inside the gap and act as a partial-fill level.
Entry3
- Scenario 1 — Partial fill (order block inside gap): Place buy limit at the bullish order block (highest of the consecutive down candles prior to gap up); stop below the lowest down candle before the gap; valid if time of day allows (early New York session preferred).
- Scenario 2 — Full fill: After price trades down and completely closes the gap (open of gap candle met by price), look for bullish reaction; buy as price rallies from the full-fill level; stop below the lowest low of the gap-fill sequence.
- Reverse logic applies for a bearish gap-down vacuum block.
Stop2
- Partial fill entry: Stop loss below the lowest down candle prior to the gap up.
- Full fill entry: Stop loss below the lowest low formed during the gap fill.
Target2
- Prior highs above the gap (buy-side liquidity) once gap is fully or partially filled.
- If gap partially fills to order block level and price rallies, label remaining open portion a Fair Value Gap and target it on a future retracement.
Invalidation2
- Gap is fully closed and price trades through the first candle that gapped (i.e., past the close of the up candle that formed after a gap up) — vacuum block is completely filled and concept is satisfied.
- If price corrects back below the close of the first up candle after a bullish gap fill, the setup is suspect; take profits.
Inferred Conditions (Unvalidated)
- Late-day gaps (after 10:00–11:00 AM New York) are less likely to fill intraday; any unfilled portion becomes a Fair Value Gap for a future session.
- Early New York gaps (around 8:30 AM embargo lift) have high probability of full intraday fill.
- Exhaustion gap caveat: if the market has been in a prolonged trend and gaps in the trend direction, the gap may be an Exhaustion Gap (capitulation) and less likely to continue without filling.
ICT Quotes
"A bullish vacuum block is a gap that's created in price action as a result of a volatility event. The gap forms by a vacuum of liquidity directly related to an event."
"There's absolutely no way for any trader to execute. There's no trade between those two price points. So what it does, it creates a vacuum of liquidity."
"Inside that range, we have a vacuum block. And that means we've blocked out a reference point in time."
"In summary, a vacuum block is nothing more than a breakaway gap. What I teach with the breakaway gap is because it creates a vacuum of liquidity, you have to understand not all gaps fill completely."
Timeframes
Version History1 version
33-ICT Mentorship Core Content - Month 4 - ICT Vacuum Block.srt
"A bullish vacuum block is a gap that's created in price action as a result of a volatility event. The gap forms by a vacuum of liquidity directly related to an event. nonfarm payroll can create a vacu…"
Initial definition in 2016 mentorship.
Notes
ICT explicitly equates Vacuum Block with Breakaway Gap in this teaching (timestamp 00:12:59): "a vacuum block is nothing more than a breakaway gap." Later ICT teaching (post-2016) collapses both Vacuum Block and Breakaway Gap terminology into Liquidity Void, using Liquidity Void as the umbrella term for all one-sided price delivery including gaps. The 2016 teaching keeps these distinct: Vacuum Block = literal price gap (no candle body covering the range); Liquidity Void = one-sided long-candle delivery without a literal gap. Exhaustion Gap: ICT defines this in the same lesson as a gap occurring after a prolonged trend, representing capitulation (last bit of momentum). It is the opposite of a breakaway gap — it signals potential trend reversal rather than continuation. ICT does not provide codifiable entry/stop rules for Exhaustion Gap in this file beyond narrative context; see exhaustion-gap.yaml for a low-confidence entry. Breakaway Gap: ICT uses this term interchangeably with Vacuum Block in this 2016 teaching. When a gap partially fills to a bullish order block but does not fully close, the remaining open space is relabeled a Fair Value Gap for future reference.
Asymmetry Notes
Concept is fully symmetrical. Bullish vacuum block = gap up; price expected to fill back down. Bearish vacuum block = gap down; price expected to fill back up. Same rules apply in reverse.