Live OANDA:EURUSD Chart — Example
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What is ICT?
ICT theory shows how large institutions (banks, hedge funds) move price in 3 phases: Accumulate positions → Manipulate price to trigger retail stops → Distribute by driving price in their intended direction. Trading WITH this cycle dramatically improves your edge.
Order Blocks (OB)
An Order Block is the last opposing candle before a strong impulse move. It marks where institutional orders were placed.
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Bullish OB: Last red candle before a strong upward move
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Bearish OB: Last green candle before a strong downward move
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Price returns to OB to fill remaining institutional orders
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Entry: confirmation candle inside the OB zone
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SL: just below/above the OB
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Once fully tested, an OB loses its power
Pro Tip: An OB combined with a Fair Value Gap inside it is the highest-probability ICT setup. Wait for price to fill the FVG within the OB.
Fair Value Gaps (FVG)
A 3-candle pattern where candle 2 moves so fast it leaves a gap between the wick of candle 1 and the wick of candle 3.
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Bullish FVG: high of candle 1 to low of candle 3 (gap above)
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Bearish FVG: low of candle 1 to high of candle 3 (gap below)
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Price tends to return to fill these gaps before continuing
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Enter at 50% of the FVG for best risk/reward
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Daily and H4 FVGs are stronger than lower timeframe ones
Liquidity & Stop Hunts
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Buy-side Liquidity: stops above equal highs (from short sellers). Banks sweep these before selling.
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Sell-side Liquidity: stops below equal lows (from buyers). Banks sweep these before buying.
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Equal Highs/Lows: retail traders put stops just beyond them — prime institutional targets
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Trade AFTER the liquidity sweep: wait for the sweep, then trade the reversal back inside the range
ICT Killzones
| Killzone |
Time UTC |
Best Pairs |
Notes |
| Asia |
11PM-1AM |
JPY pairs |
Mark range for liquidity |
| London |
8AM-10AM |
GBP/EUR |
Most important session |
| NY AM |
1PM-3PM |
USD pairs |
High probability setups |
| NY PM |
6PM-8PM |
Any |
Often reverses NY AM |