Anyone who takes ICT trading seriously knows that the key lies in combining several concepts into one coherent strategy. I’ve been seeing this for some time—most traders know FVG, turtle soup, or market structure, but they can’t put it all together into something functional. Today, I’d like to share my approach, which really works.

I always start with the weekly chart, where I look for two things: IRL/ERL (imbalance range low and external range low) and how the previous candle reacts to the current one. This is the foundation. Price always moves toward these levels—or toward extremes; that’s simply how the market works. Every move on higher timeframes is accompanied by a market maker model on lower timeframes—this is something every ICT trader should understand.

What strikes me when analyzing a candle is how it behaves relative to the previous one. If the high or low gets shifted and the candle is engulfing, wait for a reversal. That’s the signal. You can also view it through Fibonacci, as a range shift and reversal.

Now I move on to the daily. Ideally, weekly and daily should align—then entries have the highest chances. If the daily isn’t clear, I don’t force it; I wait until it’s clean. Then I drop down to H4 and H1 to confirm the move using market maker models. Here, I look for that intraday structure that I’ll trade.

TBL, meaning time-based liquidity—these are the highs and lows from a specific period. These points are key for identifying reversals. It’s worth keeping an eye on them.

Once I have my biases on the higher timeframes, I move down to M15 and M1. On M15, I look for IRL/ERL that fit my overall bias. Then on M1, I watch for FVG. That’s where I enter, stopping above the structure. The goal is the opposite liquidity on M15.

I confirm three things before every entry. The first is a change in market structure—M15 IRL/ERL aligned with my bias, plus a shift on M1 through FVG. Second is SMT divergence, meaning the moment when correlated assets break their correlation—then wait for a big move, especially if you combine it with HTF. Third is iFVG—if one side of the order flow isn’t respected at a key HTF level, the reversal is likely starting.

Practically speaking, when TBL is broken, the price is above the open, and the structure on the lower timeframes confirms the change, and iFVG aligns as well, I enter. This is the moment.

The whole point of this ICT trading approach is to have clear rules and apply them. Study these concepts, mark them on your charts, and observe how they evolve. Anyone can learn this—it’s a matter of practice and patience. Trading ICT isn’t magic; it’s simply a systematic approach to what the market is doing.