The TGIF Setup (Thank God It’s Friday) in ICT trading is a strategy that capitalizes on market behaviors and institutional trading tendencies as the trading week concludes.
Markets often exhibit specific patterns on Fridays due to institutional positioning, profit-taking, or weekly market rebalancing.
The TGIF setup leverages these patterns to identify high-probability trades.
This strategy focuses on understanding Friday’s market psychology and using ICT principles such as liquidity sweeps, order blocks, fair value gaps (FVGs), and market structure shifts.
1. Key Concepts of the TGIF Setup
1. End-of-Week Positioning
- Institutional traders often rebalance or close their positions before the weekend to manage exposure to geopolitical or macroeconomic events.
- Retail traders frequently enter impulsive trades, creating liquidity traps for institutions to exploit.
2. Weekly Range Behavior
Fridays often see the market gravitate towards significant weekly highs or lows, creating opportunities for liquidity sweeps.
3. Killzones and Volatility
The London Open and New York Open on Fridays are especially volatile and ideal for finding TGIF setups.
2. Step-by-Step Approach to the ICT TGIF Setup
1. Analyze the Weekly Range
- Objective: Identify the weekly high and low as potential liquidity pools.
- Example:
- If EUR/USD’s weekly range is 1.1000 (low) to 1.1100 (high), observe how price behaves near these levels on Friday.
2. Look for Liquidity Sweeps
- Objective: Identify price targeting stops above the weekly high or below the weekly low.
- Example:
- On Friday morning, EUR/USD spikes above the weekly high at 1.1100, clearing buy stops before reversing sharply.
3. Use ICT Order Blocks
- Objective: Enter trades at order blocks formed after the liquidity sweep.
- Example:
- After the liquidity sweep at 1.1100, a bearish order block forms at 1.1095. The price retraces to this level, offering a high-probability short entry.
4. Leverage Fair Value Gaps (FVGs)
- Objective: Use FVGs for refined entries or targets.
- Example:
- On the 15-minute chart, a fair value gap forms between 1.1070 and 1.1075. After the liquidity sweep, price moves into the FVG before resuming its downward trend.
5. Time Your Trades
- Objective: Align entries with key killzones like the London Open (7–10 AM GMT) or New York Open (12–3 PM GMT).
- Example:
- GBP/USD experiences a liquidity sweep at 7:30 AM GMT during the London killzone, confirming a TGIF setup.
6. Target End-of-Day or Weekly Midpoints
- Objective: Use the weekly midpoint or previous day’s equilibrium as a profit target.
- Example:
- After a liquidity sweep and entry near the weekly high, price retraces to the weekly midpoint at 1.1050, where the trade is closed.
3. TGIF Setup Example in ICT
1. Scenario: GBP/USD
- Weekly High: 1.3000
- Weekly Low: 1.2800
- On Friday morning, the price spikes to 1.3010, clearing buy stops above the weekly high.
- A bearish order block forms on the 15-minute chart at 1.3005.
- Price retraces to the order block during the New York Open killzone.
- A short entry is placed at 1.3005 with a stop loss at 1.3020 (above the liquidity sweep).
- Target is set at the weekly midpoint (1.2900), achieving a 3:1 risk-reward ratio.
4. Tips for Mastering the TGIF Setup in ICT
- Stay Patient: Wait for liquidity sweeps and clear institutional footprints like order blocks.
- Use Multiple Timeframes: Combine higher timeframes (e.g., 1H) for context and lower timeframes (e.g., 5M, 15M) for precision entries.
- Avoid Overtrading: Focus on one or two high-probability setups to avoid Friday’s noise.
- Backtest: Study historical Fridays to identify recurring patterns in your preferred currency pairs.
5. Conclusion
The ICT TGIF Setup is a powerful strategy for traders looking to capitalize on Friday’s market dynamics.
By combining key ICT principles like liquidity sweeps, order blocks, and FVGs with proper timing, traders can identify high-probability trades and effectively close the week.
Consistency, patience, and practice are crucial to mastering this setup.
Leave a Reply