The ICT School ( stands for Inner Circle Trader) and is one of the most famous and controversial technical analysis schools in recent years, founded by the trader "Michael Huddleston" (Michael J. Huddleston).

This school relies entirely on the concept of "Smart Money" (Smart Money Concepts - SMC), and its philosophy is based on the idea that markets are not random, but are managed by banking algorithms (referred to as IPDA), which aim for two main purposes: seeking liquidity and rebalancing price.
Here is a detailed and simplified explanation of the main pillars of this school:
1. The Basic Philosophy: How Does the Market Move?
In the ICT school, the price always moves between two points:
* From liquidity areas (Liquidity): where the stop-loss orders of small traders gather.
* To imbalance areas (Imbalance/FVG): where the price moved quickly and left price gaps that need to be filled.
2. Key Terms and Tools (The ICT Toolkit)
To understand ICT, you must master its specific terminology, which are the tools that traders base their decisions on:
A. السيولة (Liquidity)
It is the fuel that drives the market. "Michael" believes that market makers move the price to hit the retail traders' (Stop Loss) to accumulate their contracts.
* Buy Side Liquidity (BSL): Buy liquidity, exists above the highs (Highs).
* Sell Side Liquidity (SSL): Sell liquidity, found below the (Lows).
> The rule: the price is attracted to liquidity like a magnet.
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B. فجوة القيمة العادلة (FVG - Fair Value Gap)

It is the most famous area in this school. It occurs when the price moves strongly with a long candle ( such that there is no overlap between the tail of the first candle and the tail of the third candle.
) Look at the picture under the post (
* This area is considered an "Imbalance" )Imbalance(, and the price often returns to it "to rebalance" and then continues its path.
C. The price mass )Order Block - OB(
These are the candles that indicate the concentration of the "market maker".
* In buying: it is the last bearish candle before a strong upward movement that broke the market structure.
* In selling: it is the last bullish candle before a strong bearish movement.
These areas are used as very precise entry points.
Dr. Market Structure Shift )MSS - Market Structure Shift (
It is the moment when the price changes its direction.
* Example: If the market is bullish )with higher highs and higher lows(, then the price breaks a major low forcefully, this is called MSS, which means that the trend has shifted from bullish to bearish, and we wait for a return to the FVG or OB area to enter a sell.
3. Time Zones )Time & Price(
The ICT School focuses heavily on "time". The price does not move randomly; rather, there are specific times when the algorithms become active, known as Kill Zones:
* Asian Range: Period of stagnation and range determination )Liquidity is often hit later (.
* London Kill Zone: Often creates the high or low of the day ) London Stock Exchange opening time (.
* New York Kill Zone: High volatility period and continuation or reversal of trend ) New York Stock Exchange opening time (.
4. The Ideal Entry Model ) ICT Setup (
The classic scenario for an ICT trade is as follows:
* Withdrawal of liquidity )Liquidity Sweep(: The price drops to hit a previous low )Taking selling liquidity(.
* Structure change )MSS(: After liquidity withdrawal, the price surges upward and breaks a previous peak.
* Return )Retracement(: The price quietly returns to fill the "Fair Value Gap" )FVG( or test the "Order Block" )Order Block(.
* Entry ): Buy from the FVG/OB area and target the liquidity present at the corresponding peak.
5. Premium & Discount (
The Fibonacci tool )Fibonacci( is used to divide the price wave:
* Above 50% )Premium(: A high area, we are looking to sell only.
* Under 50% )Discount(: Cheap area, we are looking to buy only.
Summary and Evaluation
The ICT school provides a logical interpretation of price movement away from traditional indicators )RSI, MACD, etc.(.
* Features: High accuracy in entry, excellent risk to reward ratio )Risk:Reward(, deep understanding of market psychology.
* Drawbacks: The terminology is very complex and numerous, the original lessons are very long, and it takes a long time to master the "correct" perspective of the chart.
Would you like me to perform a practical analysis example ) virtual scenario ( for a buy trade using ICT terminology to apply what I explained?