Been testing order blocks for a while now and honestly this is one of those setups that actually works if you understand the mechanics. Let me break down what I've learned.

So order blocks basically are the final candle before a big impulsive move that breaks market structure. Think of it as where institutions dumped their orders. The key thing is price has to actually break structure for it to be valid. If there's no new HH or LL, then that final candle doesn't count as a real OB.

Here's what matters: newer OBs are always better than old tested ones. An untested supply or demand zone will give you more reliable reactions than one price has already hit multiple times. I've noticed the 50% equilibrium point of an OB acts as a strong level where price tends to mitigate before continuing. Once price fills that 50%, you can basically mark that OB as completed and move on.

The timeframe you're trading on is huge. If you see bullish market structure, you want to be hunting for longs at demand zones and bullish order blocks, not shorting bearish ones. Same logic applies in reverse for bearish structure. Higher timeframes give you more reliable zones. A 4H bullish order block that moved $5000 is way more significant than a 15M setup that only moved $500.

Let me explain the mechanics of a bullish order block. It's that last down candle before the impulsive move up that breaks structure. You get massive upside momentum which leaves behind price imbalance. Basically institutions had big orders sitting there and price needs to come back to fill that liquidity and rebalance. Entry is simple: go long at the top of the bullish order block, stop loss sits at or just below the low. You can adjust a few pips lower if you want to account for wicks.

Bearish order blocks work the same way but opposite. Last up candle before the impulsive downside move. Price leaves imbalance and eventually gravitates back to rebalance. Same entry logic applies at the top of the block with your stop positioned accordingly.

One refinement technique I use: if a candle follows the OB but doesn't fully engulf it, you can narrow down the bullish order block to that momentum candle instead of the entire previous move. Makes your levels cleaner.

The reason this works is supply and demand. When you find untested zones where institutions have positioned, price gravitates back there. Market structure breaking confirms the move. Combine that with proper timeframe selection and you've got a solid framework. Not saying it's 100% but it's been the most consistent approach I've tested across different market conditions.