🔵Buy-Side Liquidity (BSL)
Pools of buy orders sitting above swing highs, equal highs, and round numbers.
Key characteristics:
- •Buy-stops above swing highs
- •Breakout entries above equal highs
- •Institutions sweep BSL to fill sell orders
- •Price targets BSL after absorbing SSL
Wyckoff equivalent: Upthrust / UTAD
🔴Sell-Side Liquidity (SSL)
Pools of sell orders sitting below swing lows, equal lows, and psychological levels.
Key characteristics:
- •Sell-stops below swing lows
- •Breakout entries below equal lows
- •Institutions sweep SSL to fill buy orders
- •Price targets SSL after absorbing BSL
Wyckoff equivalent: Spring / Shakeout
🟣Order Blocks (OB)
The last opposing candle before a strong directional move.
Key characteristics:
- •Bullish OB = last bearish candle before rally
- •Bearish OB = last bullish candle before decline
- •Higher timeframe OBs carry more weight
- •Natural stop-loss placement just beyond the block
Wyckoff equivalent: LPS / LPSY
🟡Fair Value Gaps (FVG)
Inefficiencies in price delivery — gaps between the first and third candle wicks.
Key characteristics:
- •Three-candle imbalance pattern
- •Price tends to return and fill the gap
- •Used as targets after OB entries
- •Higher timeframe FVGs act as magnets
🟢Market Structure Shift (MSS)
A break of structure that shows a change in delivery direction.
Key characteristics:
- •Bullish MSS = break above swing high
- •Bearish MSS = break below swing low
- •Confirmed with displacement
- •Precedes trend change
Wyckoff equivalent: SOS / SOW confirmation
⭐The Complete ICT Sequence
The full smart money delivery cycle:
Key characteristics:
- •1. Liquidity sweep (SSL or BSL)
- •2. Market Structure Shift (MSS)
- •3. Displacement through Order Block
- •4. FVG forms during displacement
- •5. Price retraces to OB/FVG for entry
- •6. Target = opposite liquidity pool