– Context and protocol: Today is an FOMC day — trade by 10:30 ET (first hour) and then step to the sidelines until the Fed’s statement and press conference. Be neutral/no bias heading into the announcement; expect choppy, manipulated, or lethargic price action.
– CFD vs futures / legality: The presenter uses CFD feeds (US100, US500) for demos but paper-trades them because U.S. citizens can’t legally trade some CFD brokers. Price/time alignment between CFD candles and futures is the key when transposing levels. He does not endorse brokers or affiliate deals.
– Recap of yesterday’s execution: He demonstrated a short on MNQ based on a large opening-range gap down, targeting lower-quadrant/octant levels and portions of last week’s range (30% → 20%). Trade rationale relied on market-maker sell-model signatures: opening-range gap, inversion/fair-value gaps, consequent encroachment, and relative equal lows.
– Technical framework emphasized: opening-range gaps (RTH), octants/quadrants, inversion/fair-value gaps, order blocks, buy/sell-side inefficiencies, and relative equal highs/lows as liquidity targets. He uses time-aligned candles to map levels between feeds.
– Practical live observations: This morning’s action was slow and balanced with minor buy- and sell-side inefficiencies. He described what would confirm a bullish run (body above specific midlines) versus signs that a lower sweep was likely (bodies staying in lower halves, closing below key lows).
– Execution mechanics note: He avoids market-replay for live execution demonstrations because replay changes on-screen execution markers; highlighted that small differences in candle formation/timing matter when mapping levels.
– Trading mindset and pedagogy: Tape-reading is a discipline—make it routine, calm, and process-oriented (meditative rather than adrenaline-driven). Trust a repeatable model, accept uncertainty, practice indifference to outcomes, keep a journal, and focus on risk management and execution rather than chasing profits or emotional wins.
– Final practical advice: On FOMC days, limit live trades, observe and learn, and only engage when your model gives clear, high-probability setups. Experience and repetition build pattern recognition and emotional control; maturity is accepting that not every session will produce a perfect outcome.
– Purpose/tone: Michael hosted an open, collaborative Trader Round Up encouraging inclusivity among trading influencers, humility in teaching, and continuous improvement. He wants dialogue between communities, not toxicity.
– Market environment: Markets are tougher now with more manipulation and “wick hunts.” That makes trading harder, not impossible — students should learn to navigate modern conditions rather than only studying older, calmer markets.
– Study guidance: Michael recommends studying his most recent content first (so you learn to trade today’s environment) and then work backwards. He’s published targeted playlists (e.g., “If I were 20…”, other curated playlists) to help new students prioritize material.
– Core concepts emphasized: read price “breath” (inhalation/exhalation of candles), PD Arrays (price discovery areas), fair value gaps (FVGs), order blocks, rejection/return blocks, SMT (relative strength between correlated indices), opening-range gaps, octants/quadrants and top‑down analysis (monthly → weekly → daily → intraday).
– Practical trade principles:
– Use proximity and confluence to choose entries; pyramiding and using higher‑TF structures to refine one‑minute entries are acceptable.
– Expect to be clipped sometimes — review logic, re‑enter if the setup still holds (don’t “throw the baby out with the bathwater”).
– Disassociate emotions from chart signatures; focus on measurable signatures, not feelings.
– Keep a disciplined journal and compare your own progress over time rather than comparing to other traders on social media.
– Specific technical notes from the session:
– Use current CFD charts if you can’t trade futures — behavior is broadly comparable for signatures even if individual candlesticks differ.
– Silver‑bullet refinements and sub‑minute FVG models were discussed as tools for higher‑frequency opportunities.
– For cluttered overlapping gaps, Michael suggested drawing the highest high and lowest low across the cluster and creating octants/quadrants from that aggregate range to simplify focus.
– On SMT and intermarket signals: SMT (relative strength across correlated instruments) is useful but not a standalone edge — it must be blended with other logic and context; sometimes apparent SMT signals are “phantoms.”
– Study/playbook advice: add clear confluences to your model and test them (macros, midnight/6:00 opens, FVGs, order blocks, etc.). Start with one robust model, master it, then explore related patterns you repeatedly see.
Overall takeaway: trade modern market structure by learning signatures and logic, prioritize recent, real‑time examples, build simple repeatable models with clear confluence, journal progress, and avoid comparing yourself to social media highlights.
Quiz
1) According to ICT, what should a new student with limited time study first?
A. Older market conditions from many years ago
B. ICT’s most recent material and then work backwards
C. Only textbook technical analysis (moving averages, crossovers)
D. Random social media trade highlights
2) If your stop is clipped by apparent manipulation, what does ICT advise?
A. Quit trading immediately
B. Publicly call out market manipulators
C. Review the trade, admit user error if applicable, and re-enter if the logic still holds
D. Double your position to recover losses
3) What is ICT’s stance on using SMT (intermarket relative strength) as a trading signal?
A. SMT alone is always sufficient to enter trades
B. SMT alone is never useful in any situation
C. SMT can be useful but must be blended with additional logic; alone it does not warrant participation
D. SMT applies only to NASDAQ and not to other instruments
4) When multiple opening gaps and ranges overlap on a chart, what method does ICT recommend to simplify which levels to focus on?
A. Plot every single gap and trade all of them equally
B. Ignore opening gaps and use moving averages
C. Take the highest high and lowest low of the combined ranges and draw octants/quadrants across that composite range
D. Only use the 1-minute chart and discard higher-timeframe structure
5) Regarding trading CFDs versus futures and concerns about missing “real-time” futures data, what does ICT say?
A. CFDs are unusable; you must trade futures only
B. Futures always behave identically to CFDs, so no difference matters
C. CFDs and futures can differ in detail, but if you know what you’re looking for they generally behave very similarly and you can trade the CFD using the same concepts
D. CFDs always show cleaner price action and should replace futures for all traders
Answer key with evidence (no timestamps available in transcript):
1) Correct: B
Evidence: “I would suggest that they focus on whatever I’ve done most recent and work backwards… I’m teaching now how to navigate with that stuff going on anyway. So there’s no better way of being able to determine whether someone’s worthwhile learning from than seeing them navigate right now the right now market.”
2) Correct: C
Evidence: “We don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. We just see what it was. Okay, they clipped me, but it still looks like it’s going to go. Okay, re-enter and see what happens… There’s no greater boost of confidence than saying, ‘Okay… I got clipped… re-enter and see what happens.’”
3) Correct: C
Evidence: “SMT, you in and of itself without any logic added to it, you it doesn’t warrant any participation at all… what you’re identifying, it’s a real phenomenon. But don’t be discouraged if it comes against the one you’re in because it just means that it’s going back to get in sync…”
4) Correct: C
Evidence: “What I do… I take the highest high of everything I’m looking at in terms of the range. If it’s new day opening gaps, new week opening gaps… I get the highest high and the lowest low. And I do the octants and quadrants cross that. And that… gives me all the PDAs I would have used anyway but it gives me the furthest extreme all the key levels in between and I’m just going to focus there.”
5) Correct: C
Evidence: “There’s going to be a difference in the pricing, but overall if you know what you’re looking for, they’re generally going to behave very very close to one another… find that time candle I’m referring to. Find it on the CFD and it’s going to behave the same way.”
– ICT is executing a short trade in the micro NASDAQ (MNQ) and mirroring it on a US 100 CFD, adjusting stops and targets to the relative equal lows from that morning. – He highlights price discrepancies between real-time MNQ futures and the CFD feed but emphasizes that the same liquidity-based entry logic (lower quadrant 75, opening-range/gap levels, order blocks) can be transposed between futures and CFDs. – Key technical concepts used: opening-range gap, inversion/fair-value gaps, bullish/bearish order blocks, “gray pool” (sell-side liquidity pool between two wicks), event horizon (midpoint between lows), and body/wick placement as confirmation. – Trade management: stop placed above recent highs, partial profit-taking planned at an “event horizon” level, and a time stop rule if price fails to show directional conviction within a few candles. – He annotates the CFD chart heavily for students who can’t access futures markets, demonstrating that CFD price action can validly reflect the same order-flow signals (while noting legal/regional restrictions on CFD trading). – Emphasizes not endorsing any broker shown (Capital.com appears on his chart but he has no affiliate relationship). – The trade is executed and managed live (demo for CFDs due to US legal limits), partials are taken, and execution confirmations appear in the corner—used to teach that the method works across instruments when managed properly. – Overall point: the order-flow/liquidity approach and execution rules used for MNQ futures can be applied to CFDs; careful stop management, candle-body rules, and liquidity targets drive entries, confirmations, and exits.
Quiz
1) What instrument did ICT say he was shorting at the start of the session?
A. S&P 500 futures
B. Micro NASDAQ (MNQ)
C. US 100 CFD only
D. EUR/USD
2) Why did ICT compare MNQ futures price versus the CFD price?
A. To promote Capital.com as a broker
B. To show CFDs are illegal everywhere
C. To compare and contrast real-time price action and show they may differ but map similarly
D. To prove market replay is necessary
3) Which specific entry mechanism level did ICT mention using?
A. Upper quadrant 50 level
B. Lower quadrant 75 level
C. VWAP pivot level
D. Opening range high
4) What name did ICT give to the two-wick liquidity area he annotated?
A. Event horizon
B. Minor sellside pool
C. ICT gray pool
D. Inversion fair value gap
5) What trade management action did ICT describe after the move progressed?
A. Closed the entire position immediately
B. Doubled the position size
C. Took partial profits (e.g., “take three off”, “take two off”)
D. Moved stop to break-even and added a new leg
Answer key with evidence (no timestamps available):
1) B. Micro NASDAQ (MNQ)
Evidence: “All right. So, we’re going to be doing some work here in the CFD. So, I’m going short here in the micro NASDAQ.” and later references to “MNQ” throughout.
2) C. To compare and contrast real-time price action and show they may differ but map similarly
Evidence: “Notice that the prices do not agree, but we’re comparing and contrasting real-time price action with MNQ futures price versus the CFD um price…” and “I’m comparing and contrasting what I would do if I was doing the futures contract only versus what I see in the CFD market.”
3) B. Lower quadrant 75 level
Evidence: “the entry mechanism which is the lower quadrant 75 level”
4) C. ICT gray pool
Evidence: “There’s a gray pool forming. … Now, in between those two consequent encroachments, that is the ICT gray pool.”
5) C. Took partial profits (e.g., “take three off”, “take two off”)
Evidence: “Take three off. That’s good. … And we’ll take two off here in the MNQ and we’ll market that.” and “I’m probably going to take something off.”
– Opening: Michael demonstrated an unusual, high-confidence trade and participants reacted to its rarity. There were some tech issues during the session.
– Core theme: trade selection, context, and discipline matter more than any single indicator. Michael repeatedly stressed that experience, patience, and strict risk rules beat overtrading or “clever” tweaks.
– 2022 model vs. macro windows: When a clean 2022-model setup conflicts with a key 4‑hour macro imbalance (e.g., 150–210 window), use context: treat the higher‑timeframe imbalance as a strong draw of liquidity. Look for price behavior (rejections, three‑drive patterns, climactic breaks of buy‑side liquidity) before assuming the level will fail or hold.
– Fair Value Gaps (FVGs) & first utilization: the FVG’s first characteristic at formation (close direction, candle structure) matters. First utilization can act as discount/premium or invert; anticipate inversions if a FVG opposes a higher‑timeframe draw. Not every FVG is tradeable — bodies, subsequent candles, and how long price lingers inside the gap determine usefulness.
– Order blocks / mitigation: when order blocks are breached, they often become mitigation/inversion blocks; smart participants use these to manage positions. Candle bodies and how many candles live inside an imbalance are important tape‑reading clues.
– Position sizing and pyramiding: trade with one micro (one contract) until you have significant experience. Adding contracts without disciplined rules builds bad habits and psychological scar tissue. Only pyramid after clear, experienced criteria (equity thresholds and model validation).
– Reading session/time profiles: Michael has detailed time‑based profiles for sessions (Asia, London, New York). Studying day-to-day and session-to-session characteristics helps form expectations for where price will act — but this skill requires extensive study and experience.
– Managing drawdown and psychology: if you’re bleeding money, stop trading and step away (minimum days). Ground yourself, reduce to one micro, and rebuild discipline. Backtest and collect statistics before risking real capital.
– Practical chart management: when many PD Arrays/FVGs cluster, simplify — take the extreme high and low of the cluster, grade/quadruple the range and use that hybrid range instead of cluttering charts with overlapping lines.
– Specific trade-read tips: watch candle bodies for signs of failure or continuation; if price repeatedly spends too much time inside an imbalance (many candles), that FVG is probably not actionable. Use consequent encroachment and lower/high quadrant logic for gauging whether potential lows/highs will hold.
– End-of-day/opening gaps (ndogs, new‑week/new‑day opening gaps): they’re often revisited — Michael looks back up to ~20 days (longer in calmer markets) for useful gaps and FVGs and integrates them into weekly/daily targets.
– Teaching approach & community: Michael emphasized core content (months 4, 8, 10 referenced for fair value gaps, profiles, session rules) and encouraged students to study steadily. The community and supporting hosts help manage the sessions and make learning accessible.
Overall message: learn to read price in context, trade small and disciplined while you build experience, use higher‑timeframe draws and tape‑reading (candlestick bodies, patterns like three‑drives) to validate setups, simplify chart signals when PDAs cluster, and practice patience and strong risk management.
Quiz
1. What did Michael recommend newer traders use in the current difficult market environment?
A. Three micros to accelerate learning
B. One micro and babysit it to completion
C. Full size positions with tight stops
D. No stops, only scaling in
2. According to Michael, what is the most important thing to know first when using a target or draw?
A. The exact candle color of the setup
B. Where price is likely to go next
C. The news schedule for the week
D. The highest volume candle on the chart
3. What did Michael say about adding a second contract?
A. It should be done whenever confidence feels high
B. It should only be done after specific equity goals are reached
C. It should always be done on the first trade of the day
D. It is required for every inversion setup
4. What did Michael say about trading after a bad period or drawdown?
A. Increase leverage to recover quickly
B. Keep trading to rebuild confidence immediately
C. Stop trading for a few days and reset
D. Switch to only one-minute charts permanently
5. What did Michael say about a fair value gap that has too many candlesticks inside it?
A. It becomes stronger and more reliable B. It should be treated as a valid breaker C. It should be abandoned D. It always indicates a guaranteed inversion
Answer Key with Evidence
1. B
Evidence: “I think it would better serve you to just do one micro and babysit that thing to completion and get your baseline experience through this difficult market.”
2. B
Evidence: “That’s the whole purpose of having first utilization um understood because once you know where you’re likely to draw to…”
And: “know where it’s going to go to next”
3. B
Evidence: “where how you would add a second contract is when you reach specific equity goals.”
4. C
Evidence: “the first thing you do is stop trading. You have to give yourself permission to to at least stop for a couple days…”
And: “minimum three days, preferably a week”
5. C
Evidence: “you do not want to see a lot of candlesticks inside of them… you need to abandon that one entirely.”
And: “it would not suit or serve you well using this for that one.”
Context
– Live Q&A/mentorship session about ICT trading concepts: tape reading, fair value gaps (FVGs), PD arrays, trade management, market structure and mentorship practice.
Practical trading rules & observations
– Most meaningful price action occurs in the first hour of regular trading (9:30–10:30 ET). Trade that range and then step aside if needed.
– For “first-presented” fair value gaps at the top of the hour, Michael prefers waiting for the subsequent candle (e.g., 10:01+) rather than taking the exact top-of-hour candle as the official first FVG.
– Candles printed inside an inefficiency: historically 2–3 candles was the rule; given recent higher volatility Michael is more forgiving up to ~5 one‑minute candles, but beyond that probabilities shift against the trade.
– Markets are currently more event-driven and extreme (one‑minute candles can move hundreds of handles). Be selective: reduce size or use more forgiving models/stops, or don’t trade.
– Avoid chasing multiple models simultaneously; pick the model you’re trading and stick to it (important for execution and teaching clarity).
– Trailing stops: Michael avoids tight trailing in today’s environment because sudden, extreme spikes can sweep many stops; alternatives are smaller size or using partials and wider stops.
– When trading CFDs (e.g., US Tech 100) vs Nasdaq futures: futures show the primary price discovery. Use futures levels for precision; if trading CFDs, time entries to the futures moves, accept less precision, use wider stops/targets and appropriate leverage.
PD arrays, models & pedagogy – The Month‑4 PD Array matrix taught earlier has consistent spatial placement (predictive). Newer PD arrays (Ma Deuce/Reaper/Gauntlet/etc.) are standalone methodologies that can form anywhere in the matrix and don’t follow the same hierarchy—treat them as separate complete models. – Zircon is described as more of a model blend than a classic PD Array.
Study, habits and community guidance
– Best daily habit: top‑down checklist/review of prior expectations, key levels, and “if/then” plans carried from previous sessions; journaling to capture wins, mistakes, and blind spots.
– Honest journaling exposes what you don’t see in the moment and helps generate specific questions for mentorship.
– Follow community protocols for posting charts/questions to make sessions efficient and useful for everyone.
Philosophy & bigger picture
– Michael asserts markets are heavily managed/manipulated (algos, interventions, extreme liquidity runs). This reality requires different tools and approaches than simple buy/sell pressure assumptions.
– He’s committed to continuing to release deeper materials and tools despite pushback because he believes traders need these methods to operate in today’s environment.
Practical takeaways
– Focus on the first hour, trade what price gives you, use FVG timing rules (prefer 10:01+ at top of hour), be disciplined about candle counts inside inefficiencies, adapt size/stop strategy to elevated volatility, use futures for level precision if possible, and keep a rigorous top‑down checklist and journal.
Quiz
1. According to ICT, what trading approach should take priority when deciding whether to enter a trade?
A. Always follow your original bias no matter what
B. Trade only the opening bell direction
C. Whatever price is giving you at the time
D. Trade only after the market closes
2. What did ICT say about the first hour of trading?
A. It is usually too noisy to trade
B. It contains the majority of the day’s trading and can be enough by itself
C. It only matters for futures, not CFDs
D. It should be ignored after 9:45 AM
3. When discussing the Silver Bullet, what did ICT say about the first fair value gap after 10:00 AM?
A. Use the exact 10:00 AM candle if it forms the gap
B. Wait for a candle after 10:00 AM, such as 10:01 or later
C. Only use the 11:00 AM candle
D. Never use fair value gaps after the top of the hour
4. What did ICT say about trading CFDs versus NASDAQ futures?
A. CFDs are always more accurate than futures
B. The CFD and futures levels will always match exactly
C. Use the futures market levels as the main reference, then execute in the CFD with a forgiving stop
D. Ignore the futures market completely when trading CFDs
5. What daily habit did ICT say had the biggest impact on his consistency?
A. Only trading one setup per week
B. Journaling and doing a top-down checklist of expectations and what price has done
C. Watching only one timeframe all day
D. Removing all chart annotations every morning
Answer Key
1. C
Evidence: “Whatever’s in the chart at the time trumps anything else.” and “Whatever’s in the chart at the time trumps anything else. Like it’s, it’s event driven now.” Also: “I don’t care if it goes up a thousand handles from here. It’s, it’s a trade I would never, ever take, I would never take that.”
2. B
Evidence: “majority of the trading has been done in that first hour trading.” and “if you just engage only in that first 60 minutes, it’s enough, move to the sidelines and let ’em do whatever they wanna do with the market after that.”
3. B
Evidence: “I want a subsequent candle after 10 o’clock. So 10 0 1 or thereafter. I’m looking for the very first one to form.”
4. C
Evidence: “I would put more credence on the levels that’s seen in the NASDAQ futurist market, because that’s the real information.” and “I would then, at the moment, it touches those levels in the futures market, I would just simply execute at market what I was expected to see in the delivery on the CFD.”
5. B
Evidence: “Going through a top down check of, uh, the things I had listed the last time I looked at the chart and my expectation and the things I would anticipate” and “It’s a matter of knowing what I’m looking for, what price should and should not do because of the experience that you gain by doing all this stuff and adhering to that.”
– Market context: Fed Chair testimony at 10:00 (and headlines) creates low-probability conditions for precise intraday trading. The speaker is watching MNQ (micro E-mini Nasdaq) after a 9:30 open that ran up then dropped.
– Key technical focus: watching fair value gaps (FVGs), especially an inversion FVG and Monday’s regular trading hours (RTH) settlement/opening-range gap low (previous day 4:14 pm ET). Preference is for lower prices (short bias) with a target area near 26,695, but he acknowledges the Fed could push price higher and he won’t force participation.
– Execution notes: he was building a short between two FVGs and adding as price validated “premium sensitivity” (bodies concentrated in the lower half of a gap). He emphasizes bodies (real liquidity) over wicks, first-utilization validation of FVGs, and how inversion vs. bearish FVGs function.
– Practical rules taught:
– Use FVGs that show clear first-utilization (they prove themselves).
– If a gap acts as bearish on first use, trading above it can turn it into an inversion FVG (and vice versa).
– Order-block entry rule (candlestick selection): if the last candle in a series is the largest (or the smallest) use its open; if candles are uniform use the first (lowest) candle’s open.
– Risk/discipline points: he trades in a demo account to avoid offering regulated trade advice (not a licensed advisor), and to protect both him and viewers. He warns against copying posted levels as trade signals; instead build and test your own price-action model, and only trade when the market gives context.
– Teaching/operational notes: livestream and posting problems this morning; intends to work on entries in future lessons; time will be more limited due to family/grandparent responsibilities.
– Final advice: today is a study day—observe price action, journal objectively, don’t let social media/critics dictate trades, and only engage when your model and price action align.
– Context: ICT ran a live stream covering a busy morning (Fed comments, Trump, Middle East news) and urges viewers to watch the live replay first because it shows his real‑time reasoning and price action before outcomes unfold.
– Market view and result: After 10–11 consecutive up days, he expected a retracement and went bearish on NQ, targeting 26,695. He explained why (daily wick midpoint, cleared buy‑side liquidity, gap structure) and that target was reached when price dug into prior opening‑range gaps.
– Methods and concepts used: He emphasized simple, repeatable tools — regular trading‑hours opening‑range gaps, fair value gaps (PD arrays), buy/sell imbalances, first‑utilization and inversion, and engineered liquidity — rather than complex indicators or DOM tools. He demonstrated entries, partials, and how levels flip utility when traded through.
– Charting and workflow advice: Annotate key levels and journal them (he keeps levels in a notepad), keep charts tidy (use separate workspaces for overlapping ranges), study annotated charts to build anticipatory tape‑reading skills, then practice viewing charts “naked.” Use paper/demo trading to learn before risking real money.
– Broader market notes: He reviewed MES, S&P and Dow structure, expects more retracement potential, and warned about algorithmic activity and liquidity engineering that can bait stops.
– Logistics and tone: He plans premarket/commentary and a live tape‑reading session tomorrow through 10:10 ET. He stressed the value of live real‑time teaching, pushed back on critics, and encouraged learners to keep showing up to build skill.
– Topic: trading all-time highs using the ICT PD-array matrix (example: MNQ micro Nasdaq futures).
– Key setup: toggle the continuous contract (not the front-month) to bring price into a usable context; identify the most relevant prior high/wick near current price.
– Primary levels used:
– October 30, 2025 premium wick → consequent-encroachment (midpoint) as a major reference.
– TGIF (20% of the weekly range) as a target area for retracement.
– Friday RTH opening-range gap midpoint (settlement at 4:14pm) as a key intraday level.
– Price-structure rules: premium vs discount wicks, inversion fair-value gaps (FVGs), and sell-side liquidity pools are used to define entries (shorts in this case). “First presented” FVG and consequent-encroachment are priority entry zones.
– Timeframes: drop to 1-minute / sub-minute charts to confirm willingness (or lack thereof) to reclaim midpoints and to spot short-term sell-side imbalances.
– Execution notes: the presenter executed shorts into inversion FVGs, took partials, and missed some additional move due to being away / technical issues; explained why he chose to scale out and not re-enter.
– Risk approach: uses defensive PD-array / “bolo” levels as reliable stop anchors but will not disclose detailed stop-management mechanics.
– Market context: heightened manipulation, geopolitical/news noise (e.g., Strait of Hormuz tweets) makes trading more difficult and increases need for caution and confirmation.
– Practical advice: practice entry drills to overcome fear, journal observations, and use relative strength across correlated indices (NQ vs ES vs YM) to pick which average to trade.
Bottom line: toggle continuous contract, find the closest high/wick and its midpoint, combine weekly TGIF and RTH-gap midpoints with inversion FVGs on lower timeframes, and trade entries only when price structure shows no willingness to reclaim those midpoints — all while accounting for increased market noise.
– Quick personal aside about his wife shopping, then a brief, family‑friendly market review.
– Recap of prior analysis (end of March YouTube/Twitter Spaces): he expected a drawdown to relative equal lows with a possible intraday reversal, warned about May volatility/new Fed chair, and described targets that could accelerate to the relative equal highs if certain levels cleared.
– On the micro NASDAQ intraday, he walked through specific levels: Thursday high (~26,563), all‑time/contract high (~26,859), and the midpoint “event horizon” (~26,711). He also highlighted the regular‑trading opening‑range midpoint (consequent encouragement) and an 8:23 electronic low as short‑term draw targets.
– Streaming issues forced him to call and timestamp trades on X (Twitter); he asks followers to link those tweets to TradingView to verify the real‑time calls.
– Trade actions and rationale: he identified fair value gaps, order blocks, propulsion blocks and a “bolo” defensive PD Array, used these order‑flow visuals to go long in stages (multiple single‑contract adds), took partials at fair‑value gap extremes, raised stops, and was later stopped out by what he characterizes as a manual stop hunt (not algorithmic).
– Main claim: his technical framework (continuous contract, PD arrays, inversion fair value gaps, event horizon) produced accurate targets and worked this week; he defends his bullish positioning and rebuts critics who said he didn’t call it.
– Logistics and sign‑off: he’ll be off Monday for a long weekend, returns Tuesday, thanks his community, and signs off.
– Purpose: Quick market review before a live trading stream, focused on practical teaching for new traders (use Micro Nasdaq instead of minis to avoid excessive volatility and overleveraging).
– Market view and targets:
– Micro Nasdaq (MNQ) buy-side engaged; yesterday’s daily high was called live at 26,562.75 (claimed “to the tick”).
– Intraday objective ~26,711 (midpoint/event-horizon between liquidity pools); next larger target ~26,859.
– S&P (MES) smashed all-time highs; Nasdaq weightier but both strong.
– Dow target ~49,439 with potential acceleration intraday toward its all-time high.
– Technical approach and observations:
– Emphasis on price-action reads: opening price, high/low/close, fair-value gaps, opening-range gaps, “consequent encroachment,” discount/premium sensitivity, time-distortion accumulation, and using short timeframes (1-minute) for entries.
– He maps liquidity pools and uses an “event horizon” technique (0.5 midpoint) to project intraday targets.
– Warns Friday can produce odd behavior: moves during electronic hours might push through levels that close differently in regular hours.
– Commentary on market structure and credibility:
– Argues markets are algorithmically driven and “rigged” by market-making algorithms; claims dealers/algorithms drive price and hunt liquidity/stops.
– Defends his prior live calls and criticizes other commentators who deny algorithmic control or claim his results are cherry-picked.
– Practical notes: platform latency affected live order placement; he will call out entry/exit levels verbally when platform order entry is impractical.
Quiz
1. According to ICT, why was he looking at Micro Nasdaq instead of the mini contracts?
A. Because the micro contract has less volatility and is better for brand new students
B. Because the mini contract was unavailable that morning
C. Because the micro contract moves faster than the mini contract
D. Because he was only trading the Dow that day
Answer Key and Evidence
1. A
Evidence: “I’ve been focusing on teaching how brand new students should be watching price action… let’s be practical about this in the beginning… obviously I can trade minis, but for someone that’s brand new, it’s not advised because the volatility… Look at this. This is violent.”
