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Liquidity Raids to Enter Trades in ICT: [Get In Before the Move]
In ICT (Inner Circle Trader) strategies, liquidity raids are powerful setups that help traders enter trades with institutional alignment by capturing moves engineered to gather liquidity. Smart money or institutional traders create these liquidity raids by pushing prices to specific levels where stop orders and pending orders are placed by retail traders. Once these orders…
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How Smart Money Creates Liquidity Traps in ICT: 2 Common Traps
In Inner Circle Trader (ICT) concepts, liquidity traps are techniques used by institutional traders or “smart money” to lure retail traders into weak positions, creating the liquidity necessary for larger trades. Liquidity traps exploit the predictable behavior of retail traders, who often enter the market at perceived breakout or support/resistance levels. Smart money uses these…
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ICT Displacement Move: Identify in 4 Easy Steps + Real Examples
In Inner Circle Trader (ICT) concepts, a displacement move refers to a sharp and aggressive price movement that clearly breaks through key market levels, such as previous highs, lows, or structural points. This type of move is often driven by institutional traders (or “smart money”) and is characterized by its strong momentum, leaving little room…
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Price Action with Key Time Zones in ICT: 3 Steps + 3 Examples
In the Inner Circle Trader (ICT) methodology, time plays a crucial role in determining the most favorable market conditions to trade. By aligning price action with key time zones, such as the London Open, New York Open, and other significant trading sessions, traders can better predict institutional behavior and take advantage of high-probability setups. This…
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Simple ICT Scalping Strategy: 4 Easy Steps + 3 Examples
The ICT (Inner Circle Trader) framework offers a powerful approach to trading by helping traders understand how institutional traders operate in the market. This guide will explain a simple ICT scalping strategy designed to help you capitalize on short-term market movements with a higher probability of success. We will cover essential concepts and provide examples…
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The Importance of Time in ICT Strategies: 7 Steps + 7 Examples
In Inner Circle Trader (ICT) methodologies, time plays a crucial role, perhaps as significant as price itself. Understanding the right time to trade, combined with price action, provides an edge to traders following ICT strategies. Time-based trading focuses on recognizing when institutional players—like banks and hedge funds—are most active, thus revealing liquidity and potential high-probability…
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ICT Liquidity Void: 3 Easy Steps + 2 Scenarios + 2 Examples
Mastering ICT Liquidity Void involves understanding how gaps in price action occur due to sudden and aggressive buying or selling by institutions. These liquidity voids are significant because they often signal areas where price is likely to revisit in the future, offering traders potential trade setups based on smart money concepts. Let’s dive into the…
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Optimal Trading Times in ICT: 3 Sessions + Kill Zones + Examples
Optimal trading times are crucial to maximizing the effectiveness of ICT (Inner Circle Trader) strategies, as these strategies are heavily reliant on understanding how liquidity and market behavior shift during major trading sessions. The London Open, New York Open, and key trading sessions hold particular importance because they represent times when institutional traders (smart money)…
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Dragonfly Doji Candlestick: ICT Bullish Reversal Pattern: 4 Steps
The Dragonfly Doji candlestick is a powerful bullish reversal pattern in trading, including in the ICT (Inner Circle Trader) framework. It typically signals a potential change in trend, especially when found at the bottom of a downtrend or in areas of key support, indicating that sellers are losing control and buyers are stepping in. In…
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Institutional Accumulation & Distribution Phases in ICT: 2 Examples
Institutional accumulation and distribution phases are key concepts in ICT (Inner Circle Trader) methodologies, where institutional traders or “smart money” accumulate or distribute large positions over time without significantly impacting price. Recognizing these phases can help traders identify high-probability setups as institutions prepare to make significant moves in the market. Let’s break down both phases…