Building your ICT model as written rules
Lesson 14 · 6 min read · By DT Terminal
The 2022 mentorship sequence (sweep, displacement, MSS, entry at the gap) written as one checklist, with stop, target, size and no-trade rules, mapped onto a strategy's Rulebook and Trading Rules.
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One model, written so it can be tested
Earlier lessons gave you the parts; this one fixes their order, with numbers. Most ICT content today uses the order from ICT's free 2022 YouTube mentorship: a sweep of liquidity, a displacement that shifts structure, then an entry at the fair value gap that move left.
It is a definition you can test, not a proven edge: no peer-reviewed study has tested it. The writing rule: every adjective needs a number or a yes or no test.
| Vague | Testable |
|---|---|
| A clean sweep | A wick beyond the pool, and the same candle closes back inside |
| Strong displacement | The candles of the shift leave a fair value gap |
| A quick shift | A body closes beyond the last short-term high within 6 candles |
| In the killzone | The sweep and the gap form 02:00 to 05:00 New York time |
| A good target | The pool your written draw names, at least 2R away |
Go deeper
It is the checklist idea from Day 16, The entry model, filled in with ICT parts.
The 2022 model as a checklist
One way to write it, long version. A short flips every step. Your numbers come from testing.
- Draw written. Before the session, write down the pool price is more likely to reach next.
- Inside the window. Sweep and gap both form 02:00 to 05:00 New York time.
- Sweep. A wick beyond a marked pool closes back inside.
- Shift. Within 6 candles, a body closes beyond the last short-term high.
- Gap. The shift leaves a fair value gap. No gap, no trade.
- Entry at CE. A buy limit at the gap's 50%, cancelled at 05:00 if unfilled.
The 2022 model
All steps, and the three near misses
- The pool
- Shift level
- Gap from the shift
Long
sweep below a low, shift up
Short
sweep above a high, shift down
All steps
sweep, shift, then a gap from the shift
No shift
the bounce never closes beyond the high
No sweep
a break with a gap, but no liquidity sweep first
No gap
it shifts in small overlapping candles
Each step in full
- Draw written. Before the session you write down the pool price is more likely to reach next, and its price. Only trades toward it count.
- Inside the window. The sweep and the gap both form between 02:00 and 05:00 New York time.
- Sweep. A wick trades beyond a pool you marked before the session, and the same candle closes back inside.
- Shift. Within 6 candles of the sweep, a body closes beyond the last short-term high: the MSS.
- Gap. The shift leaves a fair value gap (candle 1 high below candle 3 low). No gap means no displacement.
- Entry at CE. A buy limit at the gap's 50%, its consequent encroachment, cancelled at 05:00 if unfilled.
Times are New York time. New York changes its clocks on 8 March 2026, so 02:00 New York is 07:00 UTC before that date and 06:00 UTC after it.
Stop, target and size
The setup gives the entry. Four more lines finish the trade, and none is left to the moment.
- Stop: 2 pips beyond the sweep's wick. Back through the sweep means the idea was wrong.
- Target: the pool your draw names, at least 2R away, or no trade.
- Size: the same 1% every time, as in Day 4 and Day 19.
- Management: decided in advance, from Day 18. The entry is a buy limit (Day 3).
Worked example
Example 01: Every step, one trade
The worked example, with every number walked through, is in the app.
When the model says no
Most of a model is the list of times it says no. Write these before you need them.
| What you see | What the model says |
|---|---|
| No draw written before the session | No trade Nothing to trade toward |
| The setup forms outside 02:00 to 05:00 | No trade Different sample |
| A high-impact release within 30 minutes | No entry Spreads widen, stops slip |
| A shift that leaves no gap | No trade No entry level |
| The setup points against your draw | No trade Step 1 fails |
| The pool is closer than 2R | No trade Never stretch the target |
| 2 trades already this session | Done Stop for the day |
Worked example
Example 02: A sweep and a shift, but no gap
The worked example, with every number walked through, is in the app.
The news line is your choice of number; the reason is in Day 6, Key news events.
Put it in your Rulebook
A model in your head drifts: the sweep gets smaller and the window gets wider. Written into DT Terminal, every trade is checked against the same lines.
| Checklist line | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Window, sweep, shift, gap, entry at CE | Strategy Rulebook: Before the trade, as entry criteria. Mark each one Critical |
| Trades only toward the written draw | Strategy Rulebook: Before the trade |
| Stop beyond the sweep, target at the pool | Strategy Rulebook: In the trade, as stop / target rows |
| How you manage it once in | Strategy Rulebook: In the trade, as management |
| Write the draw; the news window | Trading Rules: Before Trading |
| Fixed 1% risk; 2 trades a session | Trading Rules: During Trading |
Write the model as a strategy
Replay it with the checklist on screen
Check yourself
Quick review · 0 of 0
Five questions, one for each part of the model. If one trips you up, reread that section.