The strategy in one screen
Direction from the weekly/daily, timing from the 1H/4H, execution on 5m (1m).
Wait for the market to take a pool of liquidity on 1H or higher, then tap a 1H/4H fair value gap, ideally a BPR sitting on an institutional level. Drop to 5m and wait for displacement + RSI divergence + a full-body engulfing candle.
Enter at the first FVG after the displacement, stop beyond the order block underneath (FVG is plan A, OB is plan B). Target the opposite liquidity or at least the next 1H FVG, move to break-even at TP1.
Trade Tuesday to Thursday, take 2–3 trades a week, and let price alerts call you to the chart.
He calls the confirmation-based entry RCC: Reaction → Confirmation → Continuation. Trading liquidity since 2019; says he passed an Apex $1M funding in June 2026 and holds $400K with FTMO. 0615@00:11:40 Sources: 32 Chart Fanatics streams plus one recorded video, 4 videos from his own channel and his Prop Firm Trader interview.
Learning path
Don't read the page top to bottom and stop there. He learned by repetition: "intuition is built by repetition." 0429@01:47:52 Do each phase as read → watch → drill on charts, and move on only when you pass its check.
01Ground rules he repeats
| Rule | What it means | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| No liquidity, no trade | "If you don't see the liquidity, you are the liquidity." Wait. | 0428@00:15:500923@00:43:03 |
| No TP, no trade | Every trade needs an entry reason and a target that makes sense. | 0428@00:16:000601@01:12:10 |
| Liquidity is king | An FVG reaction with untaken liquidity nearby is a trap ("SMT FVG"). | 0506@00:37:320608@01:34:20 |
| Higher timeframe wins | "Always right, like your wife." A 4H zone beats a 5m signal. | 0511@01:15:300916@01:15:22 |
| React, don't predict | Flip when the 1H/4H closes against you. "Don't marry a bias." | 0617@01:01:510817@00:38:42 |
| Quality over quantity | 2–3 trades a week. On funded accounts, A+ only. | 0428@00:56:510716@01:02:11 |
| Be the best sheep | Once liquidity is out, follow the big banks. Don't hunt the exact low. | 0428@00:11:020826@02:06:01 |
| One missing piece, no trade | "The stars are aligned but there is one piece of the puzzle missing, so maybe I'm not going to take the trade." A winning streak doesn't make today's analysis right: if the market says the opposite, close and wait. | 0930@00:53:030930@00:50:56 |
| Data over psychology | Same strategy for years plus a journal (TradeZella) removes doubt. | 0624b@00:33:010708@00:14:12 |
02Where, when, now
His three questions map to three timeframe bands. 0429@01:16:210511@01:10:130818@02:42:00
03The 3-step process
His clearest statement of the method. 0629@00:35:21
Liquidity out
The market takes at least one liquidity pool on 1H/4H/daily/weekly. A 5m sweep alone doesn't count.
FVG tapped
"I do not take any entries without at least a 1-hour FVG, aligned with liquidity taken first." 0603@00:55:10
Execute
Find displacement, divergence and an engulfing candle. Enter, stop beyond the OB, TP at the 1H FVG minimum. 0817@01:01:52
04Liquidity
Resting orders sit at every extreme: entries, stops, limits and breakout orders. 0428@00:18:30 Banks can't fill at a single price, so they revert to close earlier entries. That produces the M/W zig-zags and leaves liquidity at each swing. 0617@01:27:000902@02:01:20
Types he names
- Equal highs/lows ("relative equals"): "the purest liquidity."
- Trend-line liquidity: orders at each touch of the line.
- Support/resistance: stacked limits with stops just beyond.
- Order-block liquidity: a staircase of OBs that have all been triggered already. Nothing is left to activate, so price travels to the next untouched OB/FVG. 0615@00:41:310706@01:22:42
- Structural / internal: swings inside a leg.
- Session: Asia high/low (used during London), daily and weekly highs/lows.
- News: 5m spikes. FVGs created by news are taken "with a pinch of salt". 0706@00:34:13
- Bank holidays and Mondays: ranges that get revisited. 0706@00:28:31
Tiers
| Tier | Timeframes | Whose orders |
|---|---|---|
| Minor | 1–15m | Scalpers |
| Average | 1H–4H | Intraday traders |
| Major | D / W / M | Swing traders |
The higher the tier, the bigger the move. The ideal is a daily/weekly pool taken, then the 5m scalpers' pool taken too, then entry. "Get them all out before I take any trade." 0521@01:10:41 His numbers: the same setup on 1m liquidity might give about 20 ticks; on daily liquidity with a 1–5m entry it gave about 400 points. 0914@00:03:240906@00:31:51
Is the liquidity really taken?
- Is there a key level at the sweep: FVG, BPR, OB or institutional level, "something stronger than just equals"?
- Is there an RSI divergence between the swept swing and the one before?
- Is there displacement, with bigger candles showing new orders?
- Is there a full-body engulfing candle?
A sweep without displacement isn't enough. 0817@00:56:110506@00:49:21
05Key levels
| Level | How he uses it | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| FVG | The core tool. 1H minimum for zones and targets; 1–5m for entries. He enters at the FVG, not the OB. Price doesn't need to reach 50% of the gap; a touch is enough. Definition: three candles, with a gap between candle 1 and candle 3. | 0905@00:23:010706@01:19:520906b@00:01:10 |
| BPR | At least two FVGs that overlap (three is rare). The overlap is the "hot" zone and stronger than a single FVG. Not every BPR works, so it still needs confluence. | 0428@00:13:500521@00:59:510906b@00:03:050906b@00:04:41 |
| Order block | Plan B and the stop location. From ICT he uses only FVG and OB. | 0511@00:55:500601@01:28:23 |
| Institutional levels | Turns an A setup into A+. Two sets of lines: black (main) and red (added "inside" levels). | 0701@00:53:100701@01:00:51 |
| 50% of the leg | Only use FVGs in discount for longs (premium for shorts). An FVG above 50% is a trap. | 0428@00:58:300512@00:46:00 |
| Fib extension | 127.2% and 161.8%, only at all-time highs with no price to the left. Draw on the last 1–3 legs. | 0428@00:25:310506@00:09:58 |
| Big wicks | Wicks larger than about 50% of the body hold liquidity and tend to get filled. He says he's still researching this. | 0617@00:45:41 |
| CME gaps | On BTC, "almost cheat codes"; less reliable on DXY. | 0615@00:53:11 |
06Market psychology
Early buyers and early sellers
After a big impulse, the first counter-move pulls in traders who get trapped. Price then takes their stops, usually with an RSI divergence, before the real move. Never trade the first move against a climax. 0429@00:10:400603@01:23:30
Stages (his take on Elliott Wave and Wyckoff)
Stage 1: visionary banks set the direction. Stage 2: followers join. Then the big move. Stage 3: late traders at the "back of the train" get trapped. Then a new stage 1. He lines these waves up with liquidity. 0603@01:06:500923@01:14:00
Slowdown, then continuation
At a key daily/4H level, expect a slowdown and a new cycle first. Displacement and continuation legs come after. 0615@00:45:44
Daily "$" and "C" phases
Once a daily high or low is swept (the "$" phase), each previous daily low stays protected in an uptrend (the "C" phase). Look for entries inside the previous day's range. 0713@01:25:10 Gold example: Monday slows, Tuesday flushes early sellers, Wednesday confirms, so sell again Thursday and Friday. 0826@02:04:21
M pattern
Liquidity above, internal liquidity taken, order block tapped, then the move. "That's exactly my entry model." 0713@00:15:20
Supporting reads
DXY against EURUSD, NQ against ES divergence (SMT), BTC against NQ, and money rotating between assets. Confluence only, never the main reason. 0428@00:12:220716@00:20:300624@00:32:22
07Entry models
The three triggers at the zone
Displacement
(1) price takes a key level; (2) a high-volume move leaves an FVG plus OB; (3) the next candle confirms the volume in the same direction. 0521@00:50:40
RSI divergence
Price makes a new extreme, RSI doesn't. Default settings. Only counts at an FVG, OB or institutional level. 0902@02:36:00
Engulfing
The entire body covers the previous body; wicks don't count. It only matters after a sweep or at an FVG. Wait for the close. 0706@01:11:120923@00:37:04
How he reads RSI divergence
- Over-buying or over-selling means unnatural size, which he reads as manipulation to trigger orders. Ask what the market is pushing toward, then look left for the FVG, OB, liquidity or institutional level. 0429@00:38:21
- Only valid when the swing takes liquidity on the left. 0506@00:41:52
- Measure it within the current leg or session, on lower timeframes (5m is best). Higher-timeframe divergence only for crypto. 0511@00:49:320927@01:07:43
- "80–90% of the time there's a divergence where early buyers get flushed." But it is a helper, not validation ("like antibiotics"). A bigger divergence means a bigger move. 0429@00:38:410615@01:05:410708@01:19:24
RCC: Reaction → Confirmation → Continuation
- Reaction: you only know a low is in once a reaction forms, confirmed by an FVG plus an engulfing candle. Entering here is aggressive; he only does it when the 1m/30s supports it.
- Confirmation: price holds without a new extreme and takes the liquidity it needs. This is the safest entry and the one he uses "70–80% of the time".
- Continuation: entry at the next FVG in the direction of the move. Lowest risk-to-reward.
- Use it on 5m (1m if aggressive). There's no point on 1H/4H. Buying the exact bottom "can be stupid". 0429@00:10:400927@00:40:50
Model 2: the liquidity-sweep entry
"One model is based on the 1H FVG. If the market doesn't come to the 1H FVG, I use my second one: taking a liquidity." Liquidity is swept, then he enters at the BPR/FVG that forms. 0916@01:02:52 He walks through it step by step in a 14-minute video, which he says is the same entry he described on the Prop Firm Trader podcast. 1001@00:09:15
- Spot the sweep on a higher timeframe (daily, 4H, 1H, weekly or monthly; not the lower timeframes, which are only for entries). Price wicks past a previous candle's low or high and is rejected. The sweep triggers resting orders, and that's where the burst of volume comes from. 1001@00:01:411001@00:11:22
- Ask what caused the reaction. "95% of the time" it's an FVG, a BPR, an order block or an institutional level. Look inside the swept candle on a lower timeframe for it; he favours untapped order blocks and BPRs. Confluence example: the 5m OB sat inside the 1H OB. 1001@00:02:141001@00:03:231001@00:07:03
- Enter. Either stay on 5m and go in after the reaction from the order block, or drop to 1m and wait for an engulfing candle for a better R:R. 1001@00:03:441001@00:04:11
- Stop below the order block. Target the previous structure high on the 1H ("structure liquidity"). If there are several, pick one and highlight it. 1001@00:08:411001@00:12:01
- Sanity check: a clean pool of 1m liquidity left on the far side of the entry (a springboard) adds conviction. 1001@00:04:37
His three NQ case studies came out at 1:10 (1m entry), 1:7 and 1:4.5. 1001@00:04:301001@00:08:581001@00:12:36 When both sides of a weekly range have been swept, the sweep that matters most is the one with structural liquidity sitting behind a daily FVG. 1001@00:13:47
Buy-to-sell
With a bearish weekly but price reacting off a freshly taken low, he may buy first to take the high above, then sell from there. The buy still needs a slowdown, displacement and "texture". 0906@00:06:250906@00:07:17
Springboard ("booster") liquidity
Small equal highs/lows or a mini trend line on 1m/5m right next to your entry. Get in before they're swept: the sweep adds volume, which creates a new FVG/OB, which lets you add to the trade and tighten the stop. Which way it fuels depends on the 1H/4H bias. 0511@01:43:310610@00:58:52 Example: a second NQ entry off the springboard, 1:6–1:7 in total. 0914@00:06:29
Scaling in
Start with 1–2 micro contracts at the zone, which lets him afford a wider stop. Add more once it confirms: rejection of the institutional line, a 5m engulfing, new 5m FVGs, a rush of volume. 0923@00:51:20 On stream he calls the first two micros "a taste of the water": he accepts a small loss so he doesn't "miss the bus", and only adds once the market goes his way. 0930@00:27:340930@01:01:30
08Stops, targets, management
Stop
- Always beyond the order block. "Rule number one I would never change: put your FVG and your OB inside your stop." 0511@00:57:20
- Plan A is the FVG reaction, plan B the OB, plan C the next layer if there is one. If price sits on the OB with no momentum, get out at break-even: "now you are the liquidity." 0429@00:49:310817@01:01:24
- RCC stop options: safe (below the OB) or aggressive (below the reaction). Choose based on the state of your account. 0521@02:03:01
- From his weekly review: on EURUSD, a stop under the 5m structure was enough; under the 1H candle was too wide. 0624b@00:31:00
Targets
- Minimum target is the 1H FVG, then 4H/daily FVGs or opposite liquidity. 0428@00:16:110817@01:01:52
- In the liquidity-sweep model: the previous 1H structure high/low ("structure liquidity"). 1001@00:04:02
- Early on: "TP2 is the main target." Later: "TP1 is where I move to break-even." 0428@00:35:020818@01:35:13
Management
- If momentum dies in the first 1–5 minutes, a full-body candle closes against you, or a 5m OB holds against a 1m entry, cut it small: "I'd rather lose 0.15% than 1%." 0511@01:13:440716@01:14:22
- Move to break-even after TP1, after internal liquidity is taken, or once a new FVG forms in your favour. Or close part of the position to pay for the stop, so the OB plan B stays live. 0511@01:31:000610@00:52:31
- Hold your best trades as long as possible, and judge swings by the daily close. Don't close at TP1 without a 1m engulfing against you. 0511@01:35:210701@01:10:02
- Manage on the 1H. At a 1H slowdown, move to break-even. On a new high with divergence, close about 80%. With two liquidities taken plus divergence: "Too many things. I'm out." 0906@00:19:400906@00:20:560906@00:28:30
- If price retraces only to a shallow FVG instead of the BPR, momentum is very strong. On Fridays, don't be greedy: keep TP1 close. 0906@00:18:030830@00:21:08
- Close and re-enter when a better entry sits just above (in his example, a BPR lining up with the 1H/30m OBs) and the trade has no displacement in your favour. "Keeping your capital safe… is more important than making money." 0930@00:39:100930@00:49:43
- While in a trade, let the coming 30m, 1H and 4H closes tell you whether it's a small or a big move. His own mistake on the day: "focusing way too much on the lower time frame". He moved to break-even on a 5m close and is only satisfied once price retraces, respects the new FVG and continues. 0930@00:31:430930@01:22:060930@01:29:250930@01:30:01
09Risk & sizing
| Situation | Risk per trade | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Challenge (can afford several) | 1–2% · never 4% | 0428@00:53:000511@00:23:50 |
| Funded account | 0.5–1% (1% only with buffer) | 0511@01:07:23 |
| $1M Apex account | 0.25% · 1:3–1:4, build a buffer | 0831@00:17:33 |
| Only one account affordable | 0.25–0.5% | 0511@00:24:50 |
| Entries on 1–5m | 0.25%, add 0.25% on confirmation | 0518@00:51:30 |
| In drawdown | Halve risk · aim for 1:5 | 0511@00:17:11 |
| News day / fresh account | 0.10–0.25% | 0617@01:10:300701@00:48:57 |
- Risk-to-reward: 1:2–1:3 on funded accounts; 1:5–1:10 to pass a challenge. A higher R:R means more break-evens and a lower win rate. 0615@01:25:11 In a 3–4% drawdown, quality matters more; if you feel down, go "brick by brick" at 1:2–1:4. 0831@00:17:540831@00:19:04
- His old routine: one 1:5 trade a day on high-volume markets. One winner covers four 1R losses in a week, as long as you stop after one loss a day. 0831@00:22:46
- One stop-loss and he's done for the day. At most 1–2 trades a day; after about three break-evens he stops. 0512@01:09:210617@01:23:410617b@00:11:51
- Know your drawdown type. He lost a $250K account on a winning idea because it was a trailing drawdown; he prefers end-of-day drawdown accounts. 0716@00:49:120624@00:25:21
10When he stays out
| Filter | Detail | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Off Monday | "Monday is liquidity"; by Tuesday price is back at Monday's levels. His numbers: 80% of 500 trades, 87% of 1,000, and a 40% win rate on Mondays in his journal. Never trades his funded account on a Monday. | 0511@00:45:530927@00:46:440916@00:54:210817@01:09:31 |
| Light Friday | Scalps only; afternoons off. Don't be greedy with targets. He says his own data showed this. | 0511@01:40:000916@00:48:310831@00:45:53 |
| Care Month end | "Most of my challenges get destroyed at month end." Best results at the start of the month. | 0429@00:28:340624@00:49:120624b@00:27:11 |
| Off CPI · FOMC · NFP | Not in the same session. If he trades that day, it's hours earlier. Ignores PMI/ADP/ISM. | 0429@01:40:400521@00:43:14 |
| Care Bank holidays | A holiday Monday makes Tuesday count as "Monday". The holiday candle itself is liquidity. | 0526@01:23:200706@00:28:31 |
| Care Opens | Skip the Asia open. Be wary of the first minutes of the NY open. | 0927@00:59:560512@00:41:31 |
| Off "PVP" | When buyers and sellers are battling (engulfing candles both ways, liquidity building on both sides): "There is no way for you to be in the middle of this PVP. Stay away… let the market decide." He says it saved him 0.5–1%. | 0930@00:54:11 |
| Off ATH, no left data | Pick an index that still has price history to the left. | 0615@00:36:42 |
Instruments: EURUSD in London; NQ in New York (plus US30, ES and gold). He reads futures (NQ1!/MNQ, 6E) for price data. Rule of three: one slow market, one fast, one uncorrelated. 0429@01:01:240624@00:22:01
11Routine
- Top-down: monthly → weekly → daily → 4H → 1H. Mark liquidity (X when taken), FVGs, BPRs, OBs and institutional levels. Prepare charts before the session. 0518@01:29:30
- Two zones, alerts on both. Then walk away. "The most underrated tool." 0428@00:39:21
- When an alert fires: check the 1H/4H close, go to 5m, look for the three triggers, enter.
- Manage on the 30m–1H closes; the 1–5m is for entries only. 0906@00:19:02
- Saturday review (he's done it for 5 years): which trade types, market conditions and days worked; early or late entries and exits; stops too tight or wide; recurring problem → why → fix → how to apply it. He calls this his "100% win rate": "Why did I do better this week compared to last week?" 0624b@00:22:120831@00:44:48
- Use Mondays to forward-test and check you're "in sync" with the market. 0615@00:50:31
"The final step to profitability is opening the chart and knowing within seconds whether there's a trade today." 0916@00:55:51
12Trade checklist
Tick through it on your own chart. Ticks are saved in this browser only.
13Gaps & contradictions
- Institutional levels: how to construct them is never fully explained on this channel. On 30 Sep he said the video is already recorded and due in one or two weeks, and called the levels "a plus": "with everything that you have right now, you have way enough to learn." 0930@01:44:500930@01:45:17
- Big wicks: his big-wick theory 0617@00:45:41 versus "those big wicks doesn't mean too much to me" on a live short 0930@00:28:47. Possibly specific to that chart.
- How many entry models: "cut from 5 to 2" 0506@00:20:44 versus "I have like four" 0629@01:27:50. RCC and the liquidity-sweep model are now described; any others are not.
- NY open: "don't enter in the first 1–3 minutes" 0512@00:41:31 versus "I don't care about waiting 30 minutes" 0617@00:42:22.
- Monday stats vary (80% / 87% / 80–90% / 40% win rate). All self-reported.
- Win-rate claims (60–70% counting break-evens, "one stop a week") are unverified.
- RSI: "basic" settings; the length is never stated.
- Order flow / volume profile: he was still learning them and never used them on stream.
- Divergence: one of the "three triggers" 0716@01:24:21 versus "not an obligation" 0830@00:20:08.
- Managing timeframe: 30m closes 0629@00:41:32 versus "at least minimum 1 hour" 0906@00:19:02.
- Mondays: "never on a Monday", yet a recap calls a Monday NQ long "the perfect trade to start Monday". 0914@00:02:55
- Three streams had no captions: 2026-05-07 (NFP), 2026-05-14, 2026-08-10.
14Sources
Citation codes are upload dates (MMDD); a "b" marks a second video that day. 0830, 0906, 0906b and 0914 are from his own channel, 0831 from Prop Firm Trader, the rest from Chart Fanatics Live (1001 is a short recorded video, not a stream). Every code on this page links to the timestamp.
| Code | Stream | Why it's worth watching |
|---|