# Build Your ICT Trading Model as Written Rules · DT Academy > Turn ICT's 2022 model (sweep, displacement, MSS, FVG entry) into a written checklist with stop, target and no-trade rules you can test in a backtest. [Back to ICT Concepts](https://www.thedtterminal.com/academy/courses/ict-concepts) Lesson 14Building your ICT model as written rules Chapters done # 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. Unlock the full lesson in the app Worked examples, the quiz and the interactive tools are in the app. Free account. [Continue in the app, free](https://www.thedtterminal.com/login?signup=true&redirect=%2Fjournal%2Facademy%2Fict-building-your-model) Chapter 1 of 5 ## 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 | **If two traders mark different trades from your rules, they are not finished.** Rewrite any line until a stranger with your rules and chart **takes the same entries**. **Go deeper** It is the checklist idea from [Day 16, The entry model](https://www.thedtterminal.com/academy/the-entry-model), filled in with ICT parts. Chapter 2 of 5 ## The 2022 model as a checklist One way to write it, long version. A short flips every step. **Your numbers come from testing.** 1. **Draw written.** Before the session, write down the pool price is more likely to reach next. 2. **Inside the window.** Sweep and gap both form **02:00 to 05:00** New York time. 3. **Sweep.** A wick beyond a marked pool **closes back inside**. 4. **Shift.** Within **6 candles**, a body closes beyond the last short-term high. 5. **Gap.** The shift leaves a fair value gap. **No gap, no trade.** 6. **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 **Read down a column.** Each faded row is missing one step, and one missing step means no trade. Schematic candles, not market data. **Each step in full** 1. **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.** 2. **Inside the window.** The sweep and the gap both form between 02:00 and 05:00 New York time. 3. **Sweep.** A wick trades beyond a pool you marked before the session, and **the same candle closes back inside**. 4. **Shift.** Within 6 candles of the sweep, a body closes beyond the last short-term high: **the MSS**. 5. **Gap.** The shift leaves a fair value gap (candle 1 high below candle 3 low). **No gap means no displacement.** 6. **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. Chapter 3 of 5 ## 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](https://www.thedtterminal.com/academy/how-to-choose-your-risk) and [Day 19](https://www.thedtterminal.com/academy/managing-risk-in-the-strategy). - **Management:** decided in advance, from [Day 18](https://www.thedtterminal.com/academy/managing-a-trade-after-entry). The entry is a buy limit ([Day 3](https://www.thedtterminal.com/academy/types-of-orders)). Worked example ### Example 01: Every step, one trade The worked example, with every number walked through, is in the app. [Continue in the app, free](https://www.thedtterminal.com/login?signup=true&redirect=%2Fjournal%2Facademy%2Fict-building-your-model%3Fsection%3Dstop-and-target%23stop-and-target) Free account Chapter 4 of 5 ## 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. [Continue in the app, free](https://www.thedtterminal.com/login?signup=true&redirect=%2Fjournal%2Facademy%2Fict-building-your-model%3Fsection%3Dno-trade%23no-trade) Free account The news line is your choice of number; the reason is in [Day 6, Key news events](https://www.thedtterminal.com/academy/key-news-events). Chapter 5 of 5 ## 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 Create a strategy for this model and add each checklist line to its Rulebook in the phase the table names. **Link the trades you take to it**, so the model's results can be read on their own. Replay it with the checklist on screen Link the strategy when you create a backtest session. Before each entry the backtester shows its entry criteria, and Proceed only unlocks once **every box is ticked**. Override is there too, and it tags the trade Broke rules. Quick review ## Check yourself Quick review · 0 of 0 Five questions, one for each part of the model. If one trips you up, reread that section. [All lessons in ICT Concepts](https://www.thedtterminal.com/academy/courses/ict-concepts) [Previous](https://www.thedtterminal.com/academy/ict-silver-bullet) ## The Silver Bullet Lesson 13 · 5 min read [Next in ICT Concepts](https://www.thedtterminal.com/academy/ict-psychology) ## ICT and your psychology Lesson 15 · 4 min read ## Try it on your own account Connect a broker and DT Terminal verifies every trade against it. Free to start. [Start free](https://www.thedtterminal.com/login?signup=true&from=academy&entry=closing_card&redirect=%2Fjournal%2Facademy) [Back to DT Academy](https://www.thedtterminal.com/academy) DT Academy is education, not financial advice. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any instrument. Trading carries a high risk of losing money, and past results, examples and backtests do not guarantee future results. [Risk disclosure](https://www.thedtterminal.com/risk-disclosure) --- Risk disclosure: Futures, forex and options trading contains substantial risk and is not for every investor. An investor could potentially lose all or more than the initial investment. Risk capital is money that can be lost without jeopardizing one's financial security or lifestyle. Only risk capital should be used for trading and only those with sufficient risk capital should consider trading. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. 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