CONCEPTS GLOSSARY · 32 TERMS
Trading Concepts
Plain-English explanations of the ICT, Smart Money, Wyckoff, Price Action, and Volume Profile terminology used across our 99+ strategy templates. Every definition written for traders, not textbooks.
ICT / Smart Money Concepts
Fair Value Gap
A three-candle price inefficiency where the middle candle's range leaves an untraded zone between the wicks of its neighbors.
Order Block
The last opposing candle before a strong directional move, treated as a zone where institutional orders were placed.
Liquidity Sweep
A rapid move through an obvious stop cluster (swing high/low, equal highs/lows) followed by an immediate reversal.
Displacement
A sharp directional move whose range significantly exceeds recent candle ranges, often creating a Fair Value Gap.
Consequent Encroachment
The 50% midpoint of a Fair Value Gap. The level at which institutional algorithms most often retest before continuation.
Smart Money
An umbrella term for institutional trading behavior. The assumed counterparty to retail traders.
Market Structure
Break of Structure
A close beyond the most recent significant swing point that confirms trend continuation.
Change of Character
The first lower low in an uptrend or first higher high in a downtrend, signaling a potential trend reversal.
Market Structure
The sequence of swing highs and swing lows that defines whether a market is trending or ranging.
Swing High / Swing Low
A local price extreme, typically a bar with lower highs on both sides (swing high) or higher lows on both sides (swing low).
Wyckoff Method
Accumulation
A period of sideways price action where institutions quietly build long positions before a markup phase.
Distribution
A period of sideways price action where institutions unload long positions to retail before a markdown phase.
Spring
A false breakdown below an accumulation range's support. Designed to trap shorts before a markup phase.
Supply & Demand
Price Action
Pullback
A counter-trend move within a prevailing trend, typically providing a lower-risk continuation entry.
Retest
When price returns to a previously broken level to test whether it now acts as support or resistance in the opposite role.
Breakout
Price moving decisively beyond a significant level. A range high, swing point, or pattern boundary.
Candlestick Patterns
Engulfing
A two-candle reversal pattern where the second candle's body fully engulfs the first candle's body.
Doji
A single-candle pattern where open and close are nearly identical, indicating indecision or potential reversal.
Hammer
A single candle with a long lower wick and small upper body, showing rejection of lower prices.
Chart Patterns
Volume Profile
Point of Control
The single price level in a volume profile with the highest traded volume, acting as a magnet or pivot.
Volume Profile
A horizontal histogram showing how much volume traded at each price level over a given period.
Market Profile
A tool that maps price movement through time using letters, revealing market distribution and acceptance.