1. The Hidden Framework Behind Smart Money Price Delivery
📌 Price does not move randomly—there is an algorithm controlling it.
At this stage of your ICT Deluxe Edition journey, you must start thinking beyond price action and into the mechanics of price itself. The ICT Algorithm is a structured framework that Smart Money uses to deliver price in a controlled manner.
🚀 By the end of this chapter, you will understand:
✔️ How price delivery follows a pre-defined liquidity-seeking mechanism.
✔️ Why institutions create engineered liquidity to fill orders.
✔️ How to track and anticipate price movements based on algorithmic execution.
✔️ How to refine your trading based on these deep institutional insights.
This is Dave – No Nonsense Trader, and if you’re ready to understand why price truly moves, let’s break it down.
📌 Image Guide:
📷 Suggested Image: A visual breakdown of the ICT Algorithm showing how price moves between liquidity zones.
🎨 AI Prompt:
“Create a financial trading chart illustrating the ICT Algorithm, showing engineered liquidity, algorithmic price delivery, and Smart Money order flow. Use structured trading annotations.”
2. The Algorithmic Structure of Price – It’s Not What You Think
📌 Retail traders think price is driven by buyers and sellers—but in reality, price moves based on liquidity-seeking algorithms.
How the ICT Algorithm Structures Price Movement:
✔️ Premium vs. Discount Pricing – Price cycles between overvalued (sell zone) and undervalued (buy zone).
✔️ Liquidity Targeting – Price moves toward areas where the most orders are resting.
✔️ Fair Value Gaps (FVGs) and Rebalancing – Price fills imbalances before continuing.
✔️ Time-Based Execution – Institutions execute orders at specific times of the day.
🔍 Example:
A retail trader believes a breakout is happening, but an ICT trader sees that Smart Money is engineering liquidity to fuel the next major move.
This is why Dave – No Nonsense Trader teaches traders to focus on liquidity levels rather than chasing price movements.
📌 Image Guide:
📷 Suggested Image: A trading chart showing price cycling between premium and discount zones with liquidity sweeps.
🎨 AI Prompt:
“Create a financial trading chart illustrating how price cycles between premium and discount zones, targeting liquidity before reversing. Use structured annotations to highlight institutional execution points.”
3. The Four Stages of Algorithmic Price Delivery
📌 Price moves in a structured liquidity-seeking cycle.
The Four Stages of Price Movement:
1️⃣ Accumulation Phase – Smart Money builds positions at deep discount levels.
2️⃣ Manipulation Phase – Price sweeps liquidity to trap retail traders.
3️⃣ Expansion Phase – Price moves aggressively in the real direction.
4️⃣ Distribution Phase – Institutions exit positions at premium levels.
🔍 Example:
A retail trader enters at a breakout level, while an ICT trader waits for a liquidity sweep before taking a position in the real direction.
This is why Dave – No Nonsense Trader always preaches: “Wait for the liquidity grab before taking your trade.”
📌 Image Guide:
📷 Suggested Image: A four-phase price movement cycle showing Accumulation, Manipulation, Expansion, and Distribution.
🎨 AI Prompt:
“Create a structured trading infographic illustrating the four phases of price movement: Accumulation, Manipulation, Expansion, and Distribution. Highlight Smart Money execution points.”
4. How Price Seeks Liquidity Before Every Major Move
📌 Price moves toward liquidity pools before making any real directional move.
Liquidity-Seeking Algorithm Explained:
✔️ Buy-Side Liquidity (BSL) – Price moves up to trigger buy stops before reversing.
✔️ Sell-Side Liquidity (SSL) – Price moves down to trigger sell stops before rallying.
✔️ Internal Liquidity Engineering – Price is pushed into FVGs before continuing.
✔️ Time-Based Delivery – Price reacts at Kill Zones where Smart Money executes orders.
🔍 Example:
A trader who understands liquidity engineering will predict price movement with precision, rather than reacting blindly.
This is why Dave – No Nonsense Trader always tells traders: “If you know where liquidity is, you know where price is going next.”
📌 Image Guide:
📷 Suggested Image: A liquidity map showing Buy-Side and Sell-Side Liquidity sweeps before major price reversals.
🎨 AI Prompt:
“Create a financial trading chart illustrating how price sweeps Buy-Side and Sell-Side Liquidity before reversing. Highlight liquidity zones and engineered liquidity traps.”
5. How to Use the ICT Algorithm to Forecast Price Movement
📌 Once you understand how the ICT Algorithm operates, you can predict future price moves with precision.
Step-by-Step Price Forecasting Model:
✔️ Step 1: Identify major liquidity pools (BSL/SSL).
✔️ Step 2: Observe price reaction at FVGs and OBs.
✔️ Step 3: Align price movement with Kill Zones for institutional execution.
✔️ Step 4: Execute trades once liquidity is swept and price confirms reversal.
🔍 Example:
Instead of guessing price direction, a trader using the ICT Algorithm waits for Smart Money to confirm bias before entering.
This is how Dave – No Nonsense Trader ensures that every trade is taken with Smart Money-level execution.
📌 Image Guide:
📷 Suggested Image: A forecasting model showing how price moves algorithmically toward liquidity targets before reversing.
🎨 AI Prompt:
“Create a structured forecasting model showing how price moves algorithmically toward liquidity targets before reversing. Highlight execution points based on Smart Money positioning.”
6. What’s Next?
🔥 In the next chapter, we’ll go even deeper. You’ll learn:
✅ How institutions manipulate liquidity to create false trends.
✅ How to track Smart Money footprints using high-level liquidity engineering.
✅ How to time your trades at the exact moment Smart Money executes.
📌 Key Takeaways from This Chapter:
✅ Price doesn’t move randomly—it follows a structured liquidity cycle.
✅ Smart Money creates liquidity traps before real moves happen.
✅ Understanding time-based execution is key to predicting price.
✅ Forecasting price with the ICT Algorithm gives traders a real edge.
📌 Next Up: Chapter Three – Liquidity Manipulation at the Deepest Level 🚀
🔥 You now understand the algorithm behind price movement—keep going!