The trading
desk.
I day-trade Nasdaq-100 futures (NQ / MNQ) using ICT concepts. I trade only in the New York morning kill zone, only in the direction of the higher-timeframe draw on liquidity, and only after the day's manipulation has been confirmed.
Four ideas the
whole system rests on.
All of ICT comes down to one sentence: price moves from one liquidity pool to the next, and on the way it returns to premium/discount arrays. Everything else expands on that.
Time first
A perfect setup at the wrong hour isn't a setup. I trade only in the kill zones and macros, when the algorithm is actually moving price.
Draw on liquidity
The first question every day is where price is going today. Equal highs and lows are destinations, not support and resistance.
Wait for proof
A Judas swing can't be predicted in real time. It's proven only by displacement and a market-structure shift, so I don't hunt for it. I let the market confirm it.
Risk is non-negotiable
I'd rather miss an opportunity than lose money. Risk without a reason is just lost money, so I only take high-probability trades.
A Nasdaq day,
hour by hour.
Sessions, kill zones and algorithmic macros in New York time, with a live marker for now. Hover over any row to see what I expect from that window.
Hover over a session to see what usually happens there and how I approach it.
News rules
- 8:30 news: expect manipulation around the 8:30 price, usually from 8:30 to 9:45.
- 10:00 news: expect manipulation between 10:00 and 10:10, then look for a position.
- No news: expect the manipulation around the 9:30 open.
- Judas before or after the news: on a bearish day, if the Judas swing already happened before the news, the release usually triggers a sharp move down. If it hasn't happened yet, the news itself creates it. Bullish days are the mirror image.
- A 3 AM rally against bias is far more suspicious than an 11 AM rally.
Session-to-session rules
- If 7–9 AM trended clearly, 9:30–11:30 will probably just consolidate. Trade it with 12.5% octaves.
- If 7–9 AM ranged, get ready for a trend after 9.
- Treat the 7–9 range as a reference. After 9, ask where price sits within it.
- The 7–10 AM direction usually agrees with the higher timeframe. The Asia and London highs and lows are realistic targets.
- If New York continues London, it usually pulls back into the London range first on the 15m or 5m chart.
- London close (10:00–12:00): usually a retracement or a reversal of the morning move. If the day's target is hit by 10:30, take no new entries in the morning's direction.
High-impact news calendar for Nasdaq
| Release | Time (ET) | Frequency | How I handle it |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPI (consumer inflation) | 08:30 | Monthly | No trading before the release; expect the Judas around 8:30 |
| NFP (non-farm payrolls) | 08:30 | First Friday | Thursday and Friday of NFP week are low-probability |
| PPI & Retail Sales | 08:30 | Monthly | Treat like a normal 8:30 release |
| Jobless Claims | 08:30 | Every Thursday | Usually low impact, but mark the 8:30 price |
| ISM, JOLTS, Consumer Sentiment | 10:00 | Monthly | Manipulation from 10:00 to 10:10, then entry |
| FOMC statement | 14:00 | ~8× a year | FOMC mornings usually range; no trading before 14:00 |
| Fed press conference | 14:30 | FOMC days | Two-sided volatility; watch only |
Always confirm the exact dates in an economic calendar (e.g. Forex Factory).
How I build a trade,
top-down.
This is my weekly-review handbook. Each rule is either an ICT rule or a personal observation that still has to pass back-testing, and I keep the two clearly separate.
Size it right.
Locate it right.
Two calculators I use before every trade. The first sizes a position from the setup grade and stop distance (MNQ, NQ or shares). The second maps a dealing range into premium, discount, OTE and octaves.
Position size & risk
Risk is set by the setup grade, and size comes from the stop distance, not from conviction.
Dealing range mapper
Draw the range wick to wick from the swing that caused the last MSS. The tool shows where the current price sits.
The daily checklist.
I tick this list before every session. If any pre-session item has no answer, I only watch that day. Ticks are saved in your browser and reset each day.
Market notes.
Long-form guides and dated market maps. Dated analyses are kept as an archive, so the levels in them are historical.
ICT vocabulary,
explained plainly.
Every term in this playbook, each with a short definition and a practical note.