Concepts

Smart Money / ICT concepts, explained

Plain definitions of the terms behind ICT and smart money concepts: what each one is, how to find it on a chart, how it is drawn, and how our scanner detects it. Every page has diagrams and says what is a fact on the chart and what is only a story.

Geometry you can check

Three candles, a close beyond a swing, a wick through a high. You can verify these on any chart.

Interpretation

Why it happens: institutions, stops, liquidity pools. These stories cannot be seen on a candlestick chart.

Evidence

Whether it makes money. We say which independent research exists and which does not. Nothing here is a signal.

Start here

ICT vs SMCICT vs SMC explained: who created ICT, what smart money concepts means, where the term smart money comes from, shared vocabulary and what is checkable.

Zones

Order blockOrder block explained: the last opposite candle before an impulse, how to mark the zone, what research says about it, and real BTC data. With diagrams.Breaker blockBreaker block explained: a failed order block that flipped, strict ICT rules, difference from order and mitigation blocks, real chart and sources.

Imbalance

Fair value gap (FVG)Fair value gap explained: the three-candle rule, bullish and bearish FVG, fill states, how it differs from a price gap, and what research on gaps says.Types of FVGTypes of FVG: bullish, bearish, inverse FVG (IFVG), volume imbalance and opening gap, how to tell them apart, and what is known about each. With diagrams.

Liquidity

LiquidityLiquidity in ICT and smart money: buy-side and sell-side pools, equal highs and lows, where stop orders sit, and what research shows. With real charts.Liquidity sweepLiquidity sweep explained: a wick through a level that closes back inside, sweep vs breakout, what follows, and the research on stops. With real charts.

Market structure

BOS vs CHoCHBOS vs CHoCH explained: break of structure confirms a trend, change of character warns of a turn. Swing rules, close vs wick, Dow Theory roots, real chart.Market structure shift (MSS)Market structure shift (MSS) explained: a counter-trend break with displacement, MSS vs CHoCH and BOS, role of the liquidity sweep, real chart and sources.

Price levels

Premium and discountPremium and discount explained: equilibrium at 50 percent of a dealing range, how to calculate it, how it is used as a filter, its limits and sources.Optimal trade entry (OTE)Optimal trade entry (OTE) explained: the 62 to 79 percent retracement band, how to measure it, confluence, how it differs from the golden pocket, evidence.

Time

Kill zonesICT kill zones explained: London and New York windows, times in New York time and UTC with daylight saving, what intraday research shows, and limits.

See it on a live chart

Scanner: live setupsCoin overview

Educational material about chart concepts. Not financial advice and not a promise of profit.

ICT and smart money concepts: how to read this section

ICT (Inner Circle Trader) and smart money concepts (SMC) are two names for a style of chart analysis built around market structure, order blocks, fair value gaps and liquidity. The vocabulary is spread across videos, forums and indicators, and the same word is often explained differently. This section collects the main terms in one place, with a precise definition, a diagram and the way our open-source engines detect each one.

How the pages are written

Each page starts with a short answer, then explains the idea step by step and shows three diagrams. Diagrams are schemes with invented candles and are labelled so, except for the real-chart examples, which show the definition on actual Binance data. A box on each page states our definition, including how we avoid hindsight: every object has the time at which it became known.

Facts, stories and evidence

We separate three layers. The geometry of a pattern can be checked on a chart. The explanation of why it works usually cannot. And whether it makes money is a separate question that has to be tested with rules written in advance, with fees, and with data the rules did not see. This section describes concepts and is not a trading signal or advice.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between ICT and SMC?

ICT is the teaching of Michael Huddleston. SMC is a wider community label that shares much of the vocabulary.

Where should a beginner start?

With the ICT vs SMC page, then order block, fair value gap and market structure (BOS and CHoCH).

Are these concepts a trading strategy?

No. They are ways to describe a chart. Whether a rule built on them is profitable has to be tested separately.

Does the scanner use these definitions?

Yes. The scanner uses open-source engines with written definitions of swings, BOS, CHoCH, order blocks, fair value gaps and sweeps.