Mastering ICT Mentorship 2024: Lecture 2 Breakdown

In this blog post, we dive into the essential concepts covered in Lecture 2 of the ICT Mentorship 2024 program, focusing on post-7:00 AM price delivery and understanding how to anticipate market movements. By concentrating on key principles such as liquidity hunts, Fair Value Gaps (FVGs), and breaker blocks, this session arms traders with the tools needed to navigate the volatile morning markets effectively.

Important Topics of Lecture 2 ICT 2024 Mentorship Program

Why the 7:00 AM Line Matters

The lesson begins by stressing the importance of the 7:00 AM mark. Place a vertical line at 7:00 AM New York time and avoid trading before this point if you’re new to the system. The market dynamics shift significantly around this time, and price action typically retraces back into the London session range (2:00 AM to 5:00 AM). This is your first clue in framing the day’s trading opportunities.

Smooth Highs/Lows vs. Jagged Highs/Lows

A key focus after 7:00 AM is spotting Relative Equal Highs (REQH) or Relative Equal Lows (REQL), which are smoother, more stable price structures compared to jagged ones. These smooth highs and lows often yield liquidity, making them prime targets for manipulation.

Relative equal highs occur when two swing highs are closely aligned, with the left one slightly higher than the right.
Relative equal lows are the inverse, where a swing low is closely followed by a higher low.

When price smooths out these levels, it signals a potential manipulation setup, where liquidity is gathered before the price makes a significant move.

New York AM Session (8:30 AM – 12:00 PM)

The New York morning session typically brings price manipulation, where the market traps retail traders by running in one direction and then reversing. During this time, price often creates a fake manipulation to hunt liquidity on the other side of the market, making it crucial to understand where these traps are likely to occur.

Price Objective:

• Smooth Price: After 7:00 AM, the market aims to turn smooth price areas into jagged ones.
• Jagged Price: When price breaks through smooth areas, it indicates that the market may be looking to reverse or shift direction.

FVG and Volume Imbalance

The lesson emphasizes the importance of incorporating Volume Imbalances (VI) into your trading strategy. An FVG (Fair Value Gap) aligned with a Volume Imbalance increases its significance, making it a stronger level for price reactions.

Tip: Ignore the wicks of candles when identifying FVGs; focus on the body-to-body gaps.

Inverse FVG (IFVG)

An Inverse FVG that aligns with a liquidity run becomes a highly reliable area to watch for price reactions. When price retraces to this level, it’s more favorable to act on the IFVG rather than a breaker block.

30-Minute Manipulation (Key Timeframes)

The first 30 minutes after 7:00 AM, 8:00 AM, and 9:00 AM often involve manipulation to gather liquidity. If you spot a relative equal low or high during this window, expect the market to create a fake movement in the opposite direction before continuing its trend.

For example:

• If there is a Relative Equal Low after 7:00 AM, anticipate the first 30 minutes to show a move upward (opposite to the immediate trend), before it swings down again.
• Similarly, a Relative Equal High signals an opposite move downward before the price resumes its intended direction.

Key Timeframes

In this model, we focus on using smaller timeframes such as 15 minutes, 5 minutes, 1 minute, and 15 seconds to analyze market structure and identify FVGs and liquidity traps.

Range Finding and Price Bias

When looking for the market bias, frame it by analyzing the following:

• Bearish Bias: Identify the highest high after 7:00, 8:00, or 9:00 AM and the lowest low at 7:00 AM. The same logic applies for finding highs and lows after 8:00 and 9:00 AM for continuing price movement.
• Bullish Bias: Reverse the approach by looking for the lowest low and highest high during the same times.

Advanced Concepts: CISD and PDH/PDL

• The very first FVG before a stop run is critical and must always be noted as CISD (Critical Inverse Swing Demand).
• When holding trades for longer periods, refer to the Previous Day High (PDH) or Previous Day Low (PDL) to frame your target or stop levels.

Conclusion

Lecture 2 of the ICT Mentorship 2024 program introduces essential strategies to navigate morning price action effectively. By focusing on key times like 7:00 AM, understanding the significance of liquidity runs, FVGs, and manipulations, traders can better anticipate market movements. The emphasis on smaller timeframes like 15-minute, 5-minute, and even 1-minute charts allows traders to sharpen their entries and exits, making them more equipped to face the challenges of fast-moving markets.

This blog post outlines some of the core principles discussed in the second lecture. By mastering these techniques, you can develop a refined approach to trading in the volatile New York AM session.