Concept Timeline

Also: turtle soup setup, turtle soup short, turtle soup long +2

Turtle Soup is ICT's named setup for fading a breakout above a prior swing high (or below a prior swing low) that fails to sustain — exploiting the li…

Also: Treasury Note Seasonal, 10-Year Note Seasonal

The 10-year Treasury note futures price follows a dominant two-phase annual seasonal cycle: a January–February high trades down into a June–July low (…

Also: breaker, bullish breaker, bearish breaker

A {direction} breaker block is the most recent swing {high/low} formed between two lows (bullish) / two highs (bearish), where one of those lows (bull…

Also: CBDR, Central Bank Dealer Range

A defined price range formed between 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM New York time each trading day, representing the late New York session into the beginning of …

Also: Dollar Treasury Relationship, DXY Treasury Inverse Correlation

The US Dollar Index and 10-year Treasury note futures prices have a historically inverse (opposing) directional relationship. When Treasury futures pr…

An Exhaustion Gap is a price gap that occurs after a prolonged trend, representing capitulation — the last burst of momentum in the prevailing directi…

Also: ERL

External Range Liquidity refers to liquidity (stop orders) residing outside the boundaries of the current defined trading range — specifically, buy st…

Also: FVG, imbalance

A Fair Value Gap (FVG) is a 3-candle price formation on any timeframe where the middle candle delivers price exclusively on one side — either all sell…

Also: higher timeframe cascade, top-down analysis, timeframe sequence +2

A structured, top-down analytical cascade that identifies the directional draw of price by moving from the monthly chart down through the weekly, dail…

Also: Position Trade Money Management, Long-Term Trade Money Management, HTF MM

Higher timeframe (HTF) money management is a conservative capital allocation and risk framework designed for long-term position trades (3-month horizo…

Also: PDA Array Hierarchy, PD Array Order of Importance, Premium Discount Array Hierarchy +1

The HTF PD Array Hierarchy is an ordered framework for identifying and prioritising institutional price reference levels (PD arrays) on higher timefra…

Also: Ideal Seasonal, Highest Probability Seasonal

An ideal seasonal tendency is the highest-probability seasonal window for a given forex pair, identified by comparing the futures seasonal tendency ch…

Also: Central Bank Rate Differential, IRD, Yield Differential

Interest rate differentials refer to the difference between the central bank benchmark interest rates of two countries whose currencies form a forex p…

Also: ISP, breaker-swing-point, failure-swing-point

An Institutional Swing Point is a price inflection that ICT defines as occurring in exactly one of two forms: a Breaker Swing Point or a Failure Swing…

Also: Inter-Market Analysis, Four Major Market Groups

Intermarket analysis is the study of directional relationships between the four major global asset class groups — bonds/interest rates, commodities, s…

Also: IRL

Internal Range Liquidity refers to price delivery and liquidity resting inside the current defined trading range (between the range high and range low…

Also: IPDA-data-range, interbank-price-delivery-algorithm-data-ranges, 20-40-60-day-ranges +1

IPDA Data Ranges are the three standardised lookback windows — 20, 40, and 60 trading days — that ICT asserts the Interbank Price Delivery Algorithm (…

Also: Intra-Week Reversal, Market Reversal Profile, Weekly Reversal Profile

A recurring weekly price delivery pattern in which the market forms one extreme of the weekly range (high or low) aggressively on Monday or Tuesday, c…

Also: manipulation leg, false swing, protractionary phase +1

The Judas Swing is the manipulation leg of the Power of Three (AMD) model — a false, engineered price move opposite to the true intended direction of …

Also: buy-side-liquidity-pool, sell-side-liquidity-pool, BSL +1

A Liquidity Pool is a collection (pool) of pending stop orders resting above or below price at a recognisable price level — typically an old high, old…

Also: buy limit entry, sell limit entry, limit order entry

An order entry method for long-term traders in which a buy limit is placed at the closing price of a confirmed bearish (down) daily candle when the hi…

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 …

Also: London Kill Zone, London Open Kill Zone, London Session Kill Zone +1

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 …

Also: LRLR, low resistance run, liquidity run

A price move that travels from one PD array to an opposing PD array with minimal friction (low resistance), facilitated by the absence of significant …

Also: Market Maker Model 2023, Market Maker Buy Model, Market Maker Sell Model +8

The Market Maker Buy/Sell Model (2023) is ICT's comprehensive 2023 exposition of how institutional/algorithmic price delivery orchestrates accumulatio…

Also: market maker template, manipulation template, weekly manipulation template +1

A set of detailed intra-week trading blueprints that pair each weekly range profile with a mechanistic explanation of the manipulation that produces i…

Also: midpoint, 50% level, halfway point

The mean threshold is the 50% midpoint of an order block's body range, measured from the open to the close of the order block candle — wicks are exclu…

Also: M pattern, failure swing mitigation

A mitigation block is the last {direction}-opposing candle (last down candle in a bearish setup / last up candle in a bullish setup) found inside the …

Also: OSOK, One Shot One Kill

A comprehensive short-term trading procedure that blends macro analysis, higher-timeframe PD array matrix identification, seasonal tendencies, Commitm…

Also: OFLP, 120-day-open-float, revolving-open-float-range

An Open Float Liquidity Pool is the set of buy-stop and sell-stop clusters identified within a rolling 120-trading-day window centred on the current d…

Also: open-interest-float, float

Open Float is the total current open interest — pending stop and limit orders — resting above and below market price in the form of buy stops and sell…

Also: long-term trade management, 40-day trailing stop, quarterly shift management

A trailing stop-loss framework for long-term (quarterly shift) positions executed on the daily chart. The methodology uses IPDA data-range lookbacks t…

Also: OB, bullish order block, bearish order block

A {direction} order block is the lowest candle or price bar with a down close (bullish) / highest candle or price bar with an up close (bearish) that …

Also: Power 3, AMD (Accumulation, Manipulation, Distribution), Weekly Judas Swing +1

The fundamental three-phase price delivery model that describes how IPDA structures price across any timeframe. The three phases are: (1) Open — price…

Also: propulsion candle, propulsion block candle

A {direction} order block (down candle for bullish, up candle for bearish) that has itself traded back into a prior {direction} order block, stacking …

Also: reclaimed block, bullish reclaimed block, bearish reclaimed order block

An order block formed on the sell side of the market maker curve (the prior swing) that is reused for new entries on the buy side of the opposing curv…

Also: quarterly-market-shift, quarterly-market-structure-shift, quarterly-bias-shift

The Quarterly Shift is a recurring market-structure inflection point that occurs approximately every three to four months across all asset classes. IC…

Also: rejection order block, bullish rejection block, bearish rejection block

A price high or low formed with long wick(s) on one or more candles where price reaches above (bearish) or below (bullish) the bodies of the candle(s)…

Also: Seasonals, Seasonal Tendency Chart, 40-Year Seasonal

A seasonal tendency is a statistically compiled directional roadmap derived from 15 to 40+ years of historical futures contract price data, showing th…

Also: Treasury Dollar SMT, Cracking Correlation, Qualifying SMT Divergence

A qualifying SMT (Smart Money Technique) divergence between the Dollar Index and the 10-year Treasury note futures price occurs when the two instrumen…

Also: buy stop entry, sell stop entry, stop order entry

An order entry method for long-term traders in which a buy stop is placed at the opening price of a closed bearish (down) daily candle when the higher…

Also: HTF Setup Progression, Discount-to-Premium Trade Framework, Position Trade Setup Progression

Trade conditions and setup progressions describe how institutional price movement unfolds from a discount (buy zone) to a premium (target zone), or fr…

Also: Inverted Treasury Relationship, Bond Price Yield Inverse

Treasury futures contract prices and Treasury yields move in opposite (inverse) directions at all times. When the 10-year Treasury note futures price …

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 futur…

Also: weekly market profile, weekly price profile, weekly range template

A taxonomy of ten named market behavioral archetypes that describe how the weekly price range tends to form, depending on where the market is relative…

Also: Asian Session Range, Asian Session

The price range established between 8:00 PM and 12:00 AM (midnight) New York time each day. This four-hour window represents the quiet Asian trading s…

Also: Daily High/Low Projection, CBDR Projection, Standard Deviation Daily Projection +1

A methodology for projecting the daily high (on sell days) or daily low (on buy days) using the Central Bank Dealers Range (CBDR) as the standard devi…

Also: True Day, IPDA True Day, Interbank Day +1

The interbank 24-hour trading cycle as defined by ICT for day trading purposes. The true day opens at 12:00 AM (midnight) New York time and closes at …

Also: London Delayed Protraction, London Delay Profile, Delayed Protraction Profile

A secondary London session intraday price delivery template used when the immediate (normal protraction) profile does not materialize. Instead of an i…

Also: London Normal Protraction, London Normal Protraction Sell Day, London Normal Protraction Buy Day +1

The highest-probability London session intraday price delivery template in which IPDA creates an immediate projectionay (Judas swing) phase beginning …

Also: London Close Kill Zone, London Close, LCKZ

The time window from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (noon) New York time, marking the close of the London trading session. During this window traders should be …

Also: London Lunch Hour, London Transition

The transitional period between the London Kill Zone and the New York Kill Zone, from 5:00 AM to 7:00 AM New York time. During this window the market …

Also: When To Avoid London, London Avoidance Rules, London Session Filter

A rule-based filter set that determines when the London Open Kill Zone should be avoided entirely. The conditions identify when statistical edge is in…

Also: New York Kill Zone, New York Session Kill Zone, NYKZ +1

The primary day-trading window for the New York session, defined as 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM New York time. This three-hour window is the second most impor…

Also: seek and destroy, seek & destroy, seek and destroy day +2

The Seek and Destroy Profile is an intraday or intraweek market condition in which price alternates between taking out short-term highs and short-term…

Also: Weekly Opening Price Filter, Sunday Open, Weekly Open Filter +1

A weekly directional bias framework that uses the Sunday opening price (or Monday opening price if the broker does not provide Sunday candles) as a re…

Also: buy program, sell program, algorithmic program +1

A Buy Program is an algorithmic sequence in which the market-making algorithm continuously offers higher prices — it "spools" in the bullish direction…

Also: sell side exhaustion long, triple sell side sweep, intraday counter-trend long +1

A Counter-Trend Setup signals a high-probability long entry after repeated intraday sweeps of sell-side liquidity have demonstrated market inability t…

Also: near FVG entry, proximity entry, close to entry +1

A Close Proximity Entry is a trade entry placed near but not exactly at a fair value gap or order block when ideal timing has already passed. When a t…

Also: consolidation day, 3pm midrange setup, outside day down close +2

A Consolidation Day setup describes an algorithmic daily price delivery pattern where the market runs buy-side liquidity (sweeps old highs / buy stops…

Also: displacement move, energetic move, animated move +1

Displacement is the forceful, energetic, one-directional price delivery that defines a valid market structure shift and creates a fair value gap. A di…

Also: index futures trading windows, morning killzone, afternoon session +5

Index futures (ES/NQ/YM) have specific high-probability trading windows that are distinct from the Forex killzone times taught in 2016–2017. The two p…

Also: ITH, ITL, intermediate term high +3

An Intermediate Term High (ITH) is a swing high that forms at the point where an imbalance (fair value gap or liquidity void) is rebalanced — i.e., pr…

Also: ICT market efficiency, algorithmic market model, price delivery model

The Market Efficiency Paradigm is ICT's foundational framing of how markets actually operate: not through supply and demand in the classical sense, bu…

Also: MSS, intraday market structure shift, change in the state of delivery

A Market Structure Shift (MSS) is an intraday event in which price takes out a short-term liquidity level (swing low for bearish MSS, swing high for b…

Also: 130 macro, afternoon macro, 1:30 PM algorithm macro

The 1:30 PM Macro is a time-based algorithmic event that consistently triggers a directional price move starting at 1:30 PM New York time in index fut…

Also: OR, morning opening range, 8:30 opening range

The Opening Range is the price distance from the session reference open price to the extreme of the Judas Swing (the initial false move). For index fu…

Also: PM Reversal Model, PM Session Reversal, 2 PM Model +1

The PM Session Reversal Model is an intraday model that exploits price over-extension during the New York PM session. When price has been trending (bu…

Also: premium market, discount market, equilibrium +4

A Premium Market exists when price is trading ABOVE the 50% equilibrium level of a defined range (from a significant swing low to a significant swing …

Also: relative equal highs, relative equal lows, REH +5

Relative Equal Highs are two or more swing highs at approximately the same price level. Relative Equal Lows are two or more swing lows at approximatel…

Also: STH, STL, short term high +4

A Short Term High (STH) is a 3-candle pattern where the middle candle has a higher high than BOTH the candle to its left and the candle to its right. …

Also: SMT divergence ES NQ, Smart Money Tool index divergence, Smart Money Technique index +2

SMT Divergence applied to correlated index futures (ES/S&P 500 vs NQ/NASDAQ) occurs when the two markets diverge at a key liquidity level or swing poi…

Also: sweep, run, liquidity sweep +3

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…

Also: VI

A Volume Imbalance is a gap between the bodies (open/close) of two adjacent candles where the wicks bridge the gap between them. Unlike a Fair Value G…

Also: pseudo memory, hindsight annotation, self-talk journaling +1

Pseudo-Memory Journaling is a psychological training technique in which the trader annotates a historical chart or a trade that has already played out…

Also: trade narrative, market narrative, price delivery narrative

The Narrative is the trader's understanding of what price should do, why it should do it, and what observable conditions will prove that the assumed n…

Also: daily bias, session bias, daily directional bias +2

The Daily Bias Framework is the systematic four-step process ICT uses to determine which direction to trade each day and when. The steps are: (1) Week…

Also: risk on, risk off, risk-on risk-off +3

Risk-On/Risk-Off is the macro bias filter that aligns the US Dollar direction with expected equity index direction for ES/NQ trading. Risk-On: US Doll…

Also: risk ladder, loss reduction protocol, 1 percent to 0.5 to 0.25 +2

The Risk Management Ladder is ICT's protocol for automatically reducing position size after consecutive losing trades to protect capital and prevent e…

Also: 25 percent stop move, 75 percent breakeven rule, stop trail rule +2

The 25/75 Stop Management Rule is ICT's systematic protocol for trailing the stop loss on an active intraday trade. It operates on the ratio of price …

Also: breakaway FVG, breakaway fair value gap, non-filling gap

A Breakaway Gap is a fair value gap that is left open (unfilled) as price delivers impulsively away from it without rebalancing — price "breaks away" …

Also: dealing range, DR, intraday dealing range

A Dealing Range is a price range defined by a completed two-sided liquidity event: price first takes out buy-side liquidity (sweeps highs / buy stops)…

Also: APD, algorithmic delivery, buy program +3

Algorithmic Price Delivery (APD) is ICT's overarching framework describing how all financial markets — equities, forex, futures, commodities — are dri…

Also: HFT entries, algorithmic high frequency entry, immediate rebalance entry +3

High Frequency Trading (HFT) Algorithmic Entries is ICT's technique for entering trades at extreme precision by scaling down to very low timeframes (1…

Also: Reaper, ICT Reaper PD Array, Reaper inversion fair value gap +1

The ICT Reaper is a specific PD array defined as a fair value gap (FVG) located in a DISCOUNT position relative to the impulsive price leg of a BULLIS…

Also: IOF, institutional orderflow, draw on liquidity +1

Institutional Order Flow (IOF), as defined by ICT, is NOT the DOM (depth of market), level-two data, or footprint chart data showing tick-level buying…

Also: NDOG, new day opening gap

The New Day Opening Gap (NDOG) is the price gap formed between the closing price of the previous futures session at 5:00pm Eastern and the reopening p…

Also: NWOG, new week opening gap actual, NWOG actual

The New Week Opening Gap (NWOG) is the price gap formed between the closing price of the previous week's Friday session (at 4:59pm Eastern) and the op…

Also: ORG, opening range gap premium, opening range gap discount +1

The Opening Range Gap (ORG) is the price gap formed between the closing price of the previous Friday's regular trading hour (RTH) session and the open…

Also: standard deviations, SD projections, Fibonacci standard deviations +2

Standard Deviation Projections are price extension targets derived by anchoring a Fibonacci tool to specific price swing legs (A-to-B) and projecting …

Also: price distortion, ass price action

Time Distortion occurs when price consolidates within a range on a given timeframe, appearing directionless and untradeable. The consolidation is caus…

Also: ICT macros, macro windows, algorithmic macro +7

Time Macros are specific 20-minute (and occasionally other-duration) windows of time during the trading day when the algorithm begins a "spooling" eve…

Also: Sick Sister, SIC SR, Six SR +2

The Sick Sister Consolidation Model is an intermarket divergence model that identifies which of two correlated instruments (typically ES and NQ, or tw…

Also: Silver Bullet, Silverbolt, Silver Bullet Time-Based Model +3

ICT Silver Bullet is a time-based algorithmic trading model applicable to all asset classes. It defines three specific 60-minute entry windows per tra…

Also: IR, Immediate Dynamic Price Delivery, Immediate Rebalance Signature

An Immediate Rebalance (IR) is an algorithmic price delivery signature where price opens (or begins a new leg) and trades directly and immediately to …

Also: Gap Theory, Gap Hierarchy, ICT Gap Classification +4

Advanced Gap Theory is ICT's hierarchical classification of price gaps (fair value gaps / imbalances), organized by their expected behaviour, depth of…

Also: TGIF, Thank God It's Friday Setup, TGIF Model +1

T.G.I.F. (Thank God It's Friday) is a date-based algorithmic ICT trading model designed for end-of-week range retracement on Fridays only. Core premi…

Also: Ma Deuce, My Deuce, M2 Model +2

The Ma Deuce Model is an ICT trading model built around the Inversion Fair Value Gap (Inversion FVG). The name "Ma Deuce" is military slang for the M2…

Also: Scaling In, Position Building at Consolidation, Pyramiding at Consolidation +1

Scaling In On Consolidations is ICT's technique for building a full position across multiple entries rather than committing all risk to a single entry…

Also: PDC, Price Delivery Continuum, price delivery reading

The Price Delivery Continuum Theory (PDC) is ICT's proprietary framework for reading the order flow and directional intent of the algorithm purely thr…

Also: BPR, balanced range, price balance

A Balanced Price Range (BPR) is a price formation where the market delivers price upward, then downward (or vice versa), and back again in a back-and-…

Also: EH, event horizon level

The Event Horizon (EH) is a price level defined as the midpoint between two NDOG (New Day Opening Gap) or NWOG (New Week Opening Gap) levels that are …

Also: First Presentation FVG, FPFVG, first FVG +1

The First Presentation Fair Value Gap (First Presentation FVG) is the very first fair value gap that forms during the Opening Range (9:31 AM to 10:00 …

Also: Caleb's Model, calubs model, caleb model +2

Calub's Model (named for ICT's son Caleb) is a simplified, rule-based intraday execution framework designed for new or developing traders. It operates…

Also: patchwork, porous range, inefficient price range +1

Porous price action (also called "patchwork" by ICT) is a region of price delivery where consecutive candle bodies do not overlap one another — there …

Also: Midnight Opening Range, MOR, midnight opening range high +2

The SMC Midnight Opening Range is a three-point reference structure defined on the Electronic Trading Hours (ETH) chart using the 12:00 AM–12:30 AM Ea…

Also: MOC Macro, MOC, market on close algorithm +2

The Market On Close (MOC) Macro is a specific algorithmic price delivery window occurring from 3:45 PM to 4:00 PM Eastern Time during the Regular Trad…

Also: Venom, ICT Venom Model, Venom execution model

The Venom Model is a proprietary execution model developed by ICT, described as uniquely his own and named for the metaphor of a venomous predator. IC…

Also: weekly option play, SPX weekly option write, SBX option strategy +2

The ICT Weekly Option Strategy is a premium-writing approach applied to SPX weekly options (referred to as "SBX" in the source, consistent with SPXW w…

Also: gauntlet, gauntlet FVG, gauntlet entry

The ICT Gauntlet is a highly specific fair value gap (FVG) defined by its location within the price-delivery leg of a bullish breaker. It is not just …

Also: storytellers, storytellers methodology, journaling narrative method +1

The Storytellers Series is a journaling and market-review methodology introduced by ICT in June 2025 as a dedicated YouTube series. The core practice …

Also: ATH trading, all time highs trading, trading all time market highs +2

ICT's All-Time High (ATH) Trading Rules define a specific set of behavioral guidelines and bias constraints that apply whenever a market is trading AT…

Also: FOMC two stage delivery, FOMC two stage, Fed day two-stage +2

FOMC Two-Stage Delivery describes the characteristic two-wave algorithmic price delivery pattern that occurs on Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) a…

Also: premarket liquidity, regular session liquidity, pre-market sell side +3

ICT distinguishes between two distinct liquidity pool types for index futures and forex trading: Pre-Market Session Liquidity and Regular Session Liqu…

Also: ICT Suspension Block, suspension block, double volume imbalance candle

The ICT Suspension Block is a single candlestick that has a volume imbalance at BOTH its high end (upper wick/high) AND its low end (lower wick/low) s…

Also: secret to selecting PD arrays, PD array confluence, loaded deal setup +2

The "Secret To Selecting Algorithmic PD Arrays" is ICT's framework for identifying the highest-probability PD array levels out of the many that can ex…

Also: NY Lunch Reversal PD Array, Lunch Window Inefficiency Carry-Forward, Previous Day Lunch Reversal Zone

The New York Lunch Algorithmic Reversal is a PD array formed by identifying the inefficiency (FVG) that appears immediately before liquidity is taken …

Also: first hour's dealing range, first hours range, first hour's range +1

The First Hour Dealing Range is the price range established during the first full hour of Regular Trading Hours (9:30 AM to 10:30 AM Eastern Time) on …