Showing posts with label Michael J. Huddleston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael J. Huddleston. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

ICT Syllabus for Beginners - How to Study ICT on YouTube | Darya Filipenka

This is my personal recommendation to study the ICT YouTube channel. I truly believe that this information is enough to understand how the ICT concepts works.  
 
 
ICT Syllabus for Beginners:

Part 1: 
Part 2: 
After Month 7: 
Part 3: 
Part 4: 
Part 5: Market Maker Models

ICT Trading on NFP and FOMC Days | Darya Filipenka

 
» We wait for that initial run. 
I don't care if it goes higher or lower. 
I do know that the first run is generally the fake move. 
It's like a Judas swing
And then they keep it where it ran to. « 
 
Michael J. Huddleston, 2023

 

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

ICT Silver Bullet Strategy | Darya Filipenka

The ICT Silver Bullet Strategy is a time-based algorithmic trading model for all assets. For the 10 AM Silver Bullet strategy, focus on 10-11 AM, using fair value gaps and Fibonacci levels for entry/stop adjustments, aiming for a minimum 3R risk-reward, and exit by 11 AM to maximize profits and minimize risks. 
 

3:00 AM - 4:00 AM New York Time
  1. A Silver Bullet trade begins with a directional move either up or down.
  2. Fair Value Gap (FVG): After the directional move, a Fair Value Gap is left behind. This gap is an important indicator for the Silver Bullet trade.
  3. Market Structure Shift (MSS) after taking liquidity. A Market Structure Shift is a shift in direction of price delivery. When price is going in a direction and shifts to the exactly opposite. It occurs when price takes out previous short-term lows or highs within a trend. Identifying these shifts allows for an understanding on which side of the market to be trading with. A Market Structure Shift must be energetic and leave behind displacement to ensure that market is looking to reverse.
  4. Displacement is a location in price where someone with a lot of money comes into the marketplace with a strong conviction to move price higher or lower very quickly. Displacement is characterized by strong and quick price movement that leave behind Fair Value Gaps.
  5. Entering the Fair Value Gap: Once the Fair Value Gap is identified, we enter inside it. This means we take a position in the market.
  6. Target and Exit: I aim for Asian Session Liquidity Level or Higher Time Frame Premium/Discount levels.
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM New York Time
The first thing we think about is the previous New York PM session. If, within the first 30 minutes after the market opens, we're not close to the PM range, we focus on the London Session Raid. This refers to the time between 2:00 AM and 5:00 AM, which is shown on the ETH chart. During the first 30 minutes after the market opens at 9:30 AM, we check where we stand compared to the previous PM session or London session. The market might go up or down, or it might stay stable. Then we wait for the Displacement between 10:00 AM and 11:00 AM, which sets the stage for the Silver Bullet setup.
  1. Every day between 10 AM and 11 AM EST, identify an obvious pool of liquidity that has not been tapped into or engaged.
  2. Wait for displacement (use 1-3-5 minute charts) towards liquidity pool between that time. Find a Fair Value Gap (FVG) on the opposite of the targeted liquidity pool.
  3. Wait for price to trade back into the Fair Value Gap and then reprice out of the FVG towards the targeted pool of liquidity.
After identifying the Market Structure Shift (MSS), I recommend drawing an Optimal Trade Entry (OTE) retracement from the Swing Low (High) to the Swing High (Low). The optimal entry point for trades is typically at the 62% retracement level of that range. Once the trade is entered, the first target is typically set at the -27% extension level, and the second target is set at the -62% extension level.

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM New York Time
The first thing we focus on is the morning and lunch time trading sessions. Our goal is to identify the AM Session Buy Side and Sell Side Liquidity (BSL/SSL) or Lunch BSL/SSL once the PM Session starts (from 1:30 PM to 4:00 PM). This will serve as our reversal point during the afternoon Silver Bullet, where our target will be the opposite liquidity of the lunch/AM session. If it's Friday, our target can be 20-30% of the weekly range. This is known as the T.G.I.F. setup according to ICT.
  1. We wait for the Displacement between 2 PM and 3 PM EST, which sets the stage for the Silver Bullet setup.
  2. We look for a clear pool of untapped liquidity. It's recommended to pay attention to the liquidity levels during the AM and Lunch sessions.
  3. Find a Fair Value Gap.
  4. Wait for the price to trade back into the FVG and then move out of the FVG towards the targeted pool of liquidity.
Once again, we usually consider the AM Session BSL/SSL or NY Lunch BSL/SSL as our clear liquidity pool that has been taken. Then we wait for Market Structure Shift (MSS) and displacement.
 
Consider the 6 hour, the 90 minute, and the 22.5 minute cycles.
Expect highs and lows on the 1 minute chart around Micro-Quarter turns.

Reference: 

Monday, March 18, 2024

ICT Liquidity Runs | Michael J. Huddleston

As price action traders, we're looking specifically for reference points where there is a high probability of liquidity resting in the marketplace. Related to ICT concepts, liquidity relates to buy orders and sell orders. It's as simple as that.

Below old lows, the market will seek liquidity for the sell side or the sell stops, taking orders out. Understanding this premise, when we view price action, it removes all of the retail-minded perspective but heavily leaning on indicator-based ideas. When we adopt these principles with study of price, it gives us the  truest and purest view of how price is delivered.

We have no confidence or direct relationship to our directional bias on price relative to anything except for price itself. If the market is moving from an old high, we know that there is going to be liquidity resting above that old high. If the market is moving from an old low, we know there is going to be a rest liquidity below those lows. It is just that simple. 
 
LRLR = Low Resistance Liquidity Run
HRLR = High Resistance Liquidity Run

As a trader you want to be trading when there is LRLR conditions because during LRLR conditions price will cleanly deliver to your target a lot quicker than HRLR conditions. If you're in a trade a lot longer than expected it is most likely because you are in HRLR conditions.

A LRLR will have clean highs or lows and for this example it means there's a large pool of liquidity resting above the Clean Highs/EQHs. This is where retail traders are placing their stops and smart money will look to take out these stops.


Another way you can look at LRLR is if there are EQH/Ls & multiple highs/lows lined up in a row (Trendline Liquidity). This is what #TheStrat traders call Pivot Machine Gun (PMG). It's called PMG because the algorithm spools higher like a machine gun triggering stop losses to get taken out.
 


So in this example, after SSL got raided, you're looking to go long inside of the FVG within the BPR to target the EQH. This is LRLR conditions.
 


When you have EQH/L, any PD arrays in-between where price is currently at to the EQH/L will have a low probability of holding. Smart money will target the largest liquidity pool which will be the EQH/EQL so price will either go through the PD array, or consolidate at the PD array then continue in the direction of the EQH/L. Now we will look at an example of HRLR. Typically with HRLR conditions there will be a stop hunt (fu) on buyside or sellside liquidity. Once there's a stop hunt it will leave a Point of Interest (POI) / PD array which is typically an orderblock or fair value gap.
 


Because there's a stop hunt (fu) which leaves a POI, the POI will act as resistance which will make it a HRLR condition. So in this example, instead of going long at the lows to target the high formed from (fu), I'd rather wait for price to reject off the POI to look for shorts.
 

1st pic below is M15 timeframe, 2nd pic below is H1 timeframe. You will see a M15 fu raid on BSL which leaves an H1 bearish orderblock making it HRLR. After the fu raid price went lower and when it retraced back up it rejected the orderblock then started to take out internal SSL.
 
 
 
HRLR conditions can also happen when indices ( $ES $NQ $YM ) is not in sync with each other or when it's not in moving inversely to $DXY (dollar). $GU & $EU are supposed to move inversely w/ $DXY as well so if they're moving together it is HRLR conditions.


Reference:
 

ICT Draw on Liquidity | Darya Filipenka

Liquidity is the lifeblood of the markets. Liquidity is what allows anyone to buy or sell for a profit or a loss. It is what creates opportunity in the markets. While liquidity may not hold much significance for a retail trader, it is of paramount importance to big players who must carefully consider it in order to execute positions successfully. In an non-liquid market there are few buyers and sellers, and trades may take longer to complete, and prices can be more volatile. To help you better understand what liquidity is, I have drawn some simple diagram. It illustrates why we refer to certain levels as 'liquidity'. The point is not that the models themselves are liquidity, but that when a certain price model appears, liquidity is attracted at key levels and price points.


So what is the use of liquidity for us traders? Good question. Liquidity helps us determine where the price is likely to go next. You can learn to trade only using liquidity levels, it's not difficult, but the risks and potential profits will not be so attractive. In order to get a high-quality trading idea, using the liquidity, you need to apply the market structure on the Higher Time Frames, order blocks, and Premium/Discount zones. This helps to understand what kind of liquidity will attract the price and where we should enter into the trade and where we should exit.

How to identify the Draw on Liquidity (DOL)? As a day trader, the DOL can be PWH/PWL (Previous Week High/Low), PDH/L (Previous Day High/Low), or session High/Low from Asia, London, or New York paired with EQH/EQL (Equal Highs/Lows) with a Low Resistance Liquidity Run (LRLR) condition. EQH/EQL (Equal Highs/Lows) are large pools of liquidity so institutions will always draw towards those levels to take out retail.

How do I find the next Draw on Liquidity? First thing, price is always either re-balancing or taking liquidity. Price is going from Premium/Discount array to P/D array. Hence, you must annotate your P/D zones to know If price re-balanced or will re-balance, you must also annotate your liquidity and P/D arrays. To find the next draw on liquidity, you can follow a displacement, use the reaction on a P/D array.

External range liquidity refers to the buy side liquidity above the range high and sell side liquidity below the range low in the current trading range. It Is associated with liquidity runs that seek to pair orders with pending order liquidity, which is in the form of a liquidity pool. External range liquidity runs can be low resistance or high resistance in nature. As a trader, you want your trades to be In low resistance conditions, meaning you don't want any resistance in your path of profitability. While Internal Range Liquidity is the liquidity inside the defined range (External Range Liquidity), This could be In form of any institutional reference that we can use as entry such as order blocks, fair value gaps, volume imbalance, and more.
 

ICT Algorithmic Price Delivery & Time Macros Intro | Darya Filipenka

Algorithmic macros are short lists of directives that trading algorithms follow to seek out liquidity and inefficiencies in the market. These macros are like a fishing rod, casting out into the market to identify and capture opportunities. These price action segments typically occur in 20 minute intervals. They involve a set of instructions that algorithms use to search for liquidity or market inefficiencies. They focus mainly on the first 20, 30, or 40 minutes of the trading hour, which starts at 9:30 EST/EDT.


The macro between 9:50 and 10:10 am is a time window where the algorithm starts its run for liquidity. One important aspect to note is the role of macros or specific time windows in the market. These macros provide us with valuable insights into when the market is likely to exhibit certain behaviors, such as running for liquidity or inefficiency.

The period between 10:50 am and 11:10 am marks the end of the 10:00 am to 11:00 em hour, which ls the first 90 minutes of trading. This transition from the morning session to the New York lunch period often leads to consolidation or a reversal in the market. Traders can anticipate this consolidation of reversal and adjust their trading strategies accordingly.

To effectively utilize algorithmic macros, traders need to analyze the daily chart and identify key levels (Order Block (OB), Breaker Block (BB), Fair Value Gap (FVG), etc.). In the given context, the ICT mentions a daily bullish order block. This order block consists of the high, the wick, and the opening of the daily propulsion block. Additionally, the ICT highlights the importance of fair value gaps within order blocks. These gaps represent areas of inefficiency or liquidity in the market.

In the world of trading. there are certain events that have a significant impact on market performance. One such event is the non-farm Payroll release. This event, which occurs on a monthly basic, provides crucial data on the number of jobs added or lost in the United States, excluding the farming industry. The non-farm payroll release is closely watched by traders and investors as it provides insights into the strength of the economy and can potentially move the markets. When the data is released, it often triggers orally or a decline in prices, depending on whether the numbers are better or worse than expected. During a non-farm payroll event, we can observe & specific pattern in price action. The market typically experiences sn initial rally, followed by s retracement or a drop to take out stops. This retracement is a strategic move to shake out traders who entered the market based on the initial rally. After the retracement, the market often resumes its upward trajectory.

 
Reference: 

Thursday, March 7, 2024

ICT Daily and Intraday Bias | Darya Filipenka


Determining the daily bias in trading is not about establishing a preconceived bias before the market commences trading, as this approach can often prove to be inaccurate. Instead, it relies on experience and adherence to specific rules. For example, being bullish doesn't mean buying every day, and being bearish doesn't mean selling every day. Traders should wait for specific conditions to meet their expectations, such as discount arrays for bullish trades and premium arrays tor bearish trades, during specific times of the day. 
 
Furthermore, the economic calendar can be effectively employed alongside the daily chart to foresee potential manipulation linked to high-impact news catalysts. Ultimately, determining the daily bias demands the amalgamation of diverse insights acquired through mentorship and hands-on experience. One of the key factors in determining daily and intraday bias is the previous day's high and low. These levels act as reference points that help traders gauge the strength of the current trend and anticipate potential price movements.

To recognize bias, we must identify what order flow is currently being respected. In bullish markets, we expect discount arrays to support price, while in bearish markets we see resistance from premium arrays. Recognizing a change in the state of delivery of price will be important when timing reversals. 
 
It is vital to keep in mind that the daily bias is not a fixed concept. The market's bias can change over the course of the day due to factors like news events, economic data, or geopolitical influences. Traders must remain flexible and modify their strategies accordingly.

Reference:

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

ICT Advanced Market Structure | Darya Filipenka


ICT market structure refers to the way the market behaves and shifts based on various factors such as institutional order flow, imbalances, and key levels. It is represented in a series of either higher lows and higher highs = bullish, or series of lower highs and lower lows = bearish, and the actual turning points that include highs and lows within it (intermediate highs and lows). 
 
The market trades in a generic pattern or rhythm and it is easy to read if one is aware of the basic structure price tends to move in.
  1. Generally, the market trades from short term low (STL) to short term high (STH) back to a new short-term tow (STL). As these STL’s and STH's form, they will develop a 'market structure' of price action.
  2. Any short term low (STL) that has higher short-term lows (STL) on both sides of it is considered an Intermediate term low (ITL).
  3. Any short term high (STH) that has lower short-term highs (STH) on both sides of it is considered an intermediate term high (ITH).
  4. Any Intermediate term low (ITL) that has higher intermediate term lows (ITL) on both sides of it is considered long term low (LTL).
  5. Any Intermediate term high (ITH) that has lower intermediate term highs (ITH) on both sides of it is considered long term high (LTH).
The highest time frame will act as a Long-Term Perspective. This time frame will show you Higher Time Frame (HTF) Levels which will offer Trade Setup Opportunities. Trade ideas will be built upon levels derived from the HTF.
 

The mid-level time frame will act as an Intermediate-Term Perspective.
Following the Trade Setup Opportunity found on the HTF, the mid-level will give you more definition in terms of structure based on that HTF Level. Managing trades will be done via a mid-level time frame.
 
The lowest time frame will act as a Short-Term Perspective. Following the Trade Setup Opportunity found on the HTF and insights given with the mid-level. The Short-Term Perspective will give you even more definition in terms of structure. Timing trades with entries will be done via the lowest time frame.
 
ICT Advanced Market Structure pairs very well with the ICT Market Maker Buy Model and Sell Model.
 
 

Saturday, March 2, 2024

ICT Seasonality | Michael J. Huddleston

 
 
We are in the quiet part of the year still.
Spring is coming to the markets very soon.

The year, if viewed as a single range ... we are in the Accumulation phase still.
Don't blow your equity before the salad days return.

January to April is the yearly Accumulation.
April to May is the Manipulation.
May to November is the Distribution.
December resets the yearly range.

Power of 3

Now go lose sleep over it in your charts.

You won't appreciate this until you pour
over all markets and asset classes and then your ass will hit the floor.
 
 
 
Time is more important than Price.

 
 
 
There are two sets of instructions that the algorithm follows:  

AMD-X and X-AMD
 
A = Accumulation (required for a cycle to occur)
M = Manipulation
D = Distribution
X = Reversal or Continuation