ICT 2022 Model — The Complete Mentorship Framework

The ICT 2022 Model — formally known as the ICT 2022 Mentorship Model — is the most complete and structured trading framework ever released by Michael Huddleston (Inner Circle Trader). Published as part of his 2022 mentorship curriculum on YouTube, it synthesises over two decades of market research into a single, actionable process for identifying and exploiting institutional order flow.

Unlike many trading systems that offer entry signals without context, the ICT 2022 Model is a full decision-making framework. It begins at the monthly chart, works down through the weekly and daily for directional bias, then zooms into the 15-minute and below for execution. Every element — timing, premium/discount zones, liquidity mapping, displacement identification, and entry structure — is defined with precision.

The ICT 2022 Model flows from Monthly/Weekly/Daily bias down through 1H structure to 15M/5M/1M execution

Origin and Context

ICT released his 2022 mentorship as a free public course with the stated goal of producing traders who understood price delivery at an algorithmic level — not simply pattern-matching. The model builds on his decade of public teaching and represents the clearest distillation of his core concepts:

• The algorithm delivers price — markets are not random but driven by coded sequences of accumulation, manipulation, and distribution
• Institutional order flow leaves footprints — order blocks, fair value gaps, and breaker blocks are the traces of large-order execution
• Time is a filter — specific session windows concentrate institutional activity, making those windows the only periods worth trading
• Liquidity is the magnet — price moves toward concentrations of resting orders (above highs and below lows), not toward levels retail traders "expect"

Why the 2022 Model Stands Apart

Previous ICT material covered individual concepts in isolation. The 2022 model does something different — it provides an ordered sequence of decisions that takes a trader from pre-market preparation all the way through trade exit. This is the model that prop firm candidates and full-time traders study most intensively because it answers the question that most strategies ignore: "What do I do when my setup appears — and how do I know if the context is right?"

The ICT 2022 Model operates across a defined timeframe stack. Each timeframe has a specific role. Using a timeframe for the wrong purpose is one of the most common mistakes new traders make. This lesson maps out exactly which timeframe does what.

The Complete Timeframe Stack

Core Elements Every Trade Must Have

The ICT 2022 Model requires all of the following to be present before a trade is valid:

Premium and Discount: The Mandatory Filter

Before any trade is considered, the model requires that price is at an extreme of the dealing range — not at the middle (equilibrium). Here is how to apply the filter:

The premium/discount filter prevents the most common retail mistake: buying at the top of a range (paying retail price) or selling at the bottom. Smart money buys in discount and sells in premium — and the model aligns you with their activity.

The HTF (Higher Timeframe) bias is the single most important determination in the ICT 2022 Model. Every trade you take on a 1-minute chart is either aligned with or against this macro bias. Getting the bias wrong means every subsequent decision is built on a flawed foundation.

Step 1 — Monthly Chart Analysis

Open the monthly chart first. Ask these questions in sequence:

• Market structure: Is price making higher highs and higher lows (bullish) or lower highs and lower lows (bearish)?
• Current location: Is price at a major monthly order block, FVG, or premium/discount extreme?
• Draw on liquidity: Where are the nearest monthly equal highs (buy-side) or equal lows (sell-side)? These are the macro magnets.
• Recent Break of Structure (BOS): Has price recently broken a major monthly swing high or low? A monthly BOS carries enormous weight — it sets the bias for weeks or months.

Step 2 — Weekly Chart Analysis

Move to the weekly chart. The weekly chart reveals the intermediate trend and often tells you where the week's price will deliver:

• Does the weekly structure agree with monthly? If monthly is bullish but weekly shows a lower high being made, there may be a temporary correction before continuation. Do not fight both timeframes simultaneously.
• Weekly draw on liquidity: Mark the prior week's high and low — these are the most consistently targeted liquidity pools in the ICT model. In a bullish week, price often sweeps the prior week's low before rallying to the prior week's high.
• Weekly fair value gap: If a weekly FVG is present below the current price (bullish scenario), that is a high-probability magnet for the week's price action — institutions will want to fill that inefficiency before continuing higher.
• ICT Weekly PO3: Apply the Power of Three concept on the weekly chart — accumulation (Monday), manipulation (early in the week — often a false move), distribution (the real directional move mid-to-late week).

Step 3 — Daily Chart Analysis

The daily chart is where the daily bias is formally established — the bias that filters all intraday trades. This is your primary pre-session preparation step, done before the market opens each day:

The Alignment Requirement

For the highest probability setups, all three timeframes should agree on direction:

• Monthly: bullish structure → Weekly: bullish → Daily: in discount zone → All green light for longs
• Monthly: bullish but Weekly shows correction → Daily in discount → Still valid, but expect more volatility
• Monthly bullish but Daily in premium → No longs until price retraces to discount or pushes to new monthly highs

In the ICT 2022 Model, liquidity is everything. Price does not move toward support or resistance in the traditional sense. It moves toward pools of resting orders — and specifically toward the stop-loss orders of retail traders who have placed them at obvious levels. Once you learn to see these liquidity pools, you understand where price is being drawn before it gets there.

Buy-Side Liquidity (BSL)

Buy-side liquidity sits above price. It consists of:

• Short-sellers' stop-loss orders — retail shorts always place their stops above swing highs, equal highs, or resistance levels
• Breakout buy orders — momentum traders waiting to buy a breakout above obvious resistance
• Equal highs — two or more highs at the same level are an obvious magnet. The more equal the highs, the more stops cluster there.
• Prior session highs — yesterday's high, last week's high, London session high
• Trendline highs — retail traders who draw trendlines place their short entries and stops at these levels

Sell-Side Liquidity (SSL)

Sell-side liquidity sits below price. It consists of:

• Long-holders' stop-loss orders — retail longs always place their stops below swing lows, equal lows, or support
• Breakout sell orders — momentum traders waiting to short a breakdown below obvious support
• Equal lows — the ICT equivalent of "double bottom" is a liquidity magnet, not a support level
• Prior session lows — yesterday's low, last week's low, Asian session low
• Trendline lows — retail long entries on trendline touches become stop concentrations

Internal vs. External Liquidity

The Draw on Liquidity (DOL)

The Draw on Liquidity (DOL) is the concept that at any given time, price is algorithmically attracted to the nearest significant liquidity pool. Your primary analytical task is to identify the DOL before entering any trade.

How to Mark Liquidity on Your Chart

Precision marking prevents missed setups and false readings. Use this protocol:

• Mark equal highs: two or more candle highs within 1–3 pips/ticks of each other → draw a single horizontal line at that level, labeled "BSL"
• Mark equal lows: two or more candle lows within 1–3 pips → label "SSL"
• Mark prior session extremes: yesterday's high and low, prior week's high and low — these are the most consistently targeted intraday levels
• Mark Asian session range: the high and low of the 8:00 PM – midnight EST window — London frequently sweeps one or both of these levels

Displacement is the confirmation that institutional order flow has entered the market aggressively. It is not enough for price to sweep a liquidity level — that sweep must be followed by a strong, directional move in the opposite direction. That impulsive move is the displacement, and it is the trigger for your trade analysis on the lower timeframe.

What Displacement Looks Like

Displacement has specific visual characteristics that distinguish it from ordinary price movement:

Why You Must Wait for Displacement — Not the Sweep Alone

One of the most common errors in the ICT model is entering the trade at the exact moment of the liquidity sweep. This is wrong for two reasons:

1. The sweep can extend: Price may overshoot the obvious liquidity level and sweep even deeper before reversing. If you entered at the first sweep, you are now stopped out or deep underwater.
2. Without displacement, there is no confirmation: A sweep alone does not tell you that institutions have entered. The displacement is the evidence that smart money is now aggressively pushing in the opposite direction — validating the reversal thesis.

The Displacement + FVG Entry Mechanism

Once displacement occurs, it creates a FVG (fair value gap). This FVG is your entry vehicle. Here is the sequence:

One of the most underappreciated elements of the ICT 2022 Model is the relationship between the London session and the New York session. The model is explicit: these two sessions are not independent — they follow a sequential pattern where one session's outcome defines the other's opportunity.

The Two Possible London Outcomes

When London opens (approximately 2:00 AM – 5:00 AM EST), one of two things happens:

The Three-Session Daily Framework

The ICT 2022 Model views the trading day through three sessions:

Practical Application: Reading the Sequence Each Day

1. Mark the Asian session range (high and low) by midnight EST
2. At 2:00 AM (London open), watch which direction London moves
3. If London sweeps the Asian low on high volume with a sharp reversal → expect the day to be bullish → NY will target the prior day's high or equal highs above
4. If London sweeps the Asian high with reversal → expect bearish day → NY targets prior day's low or equal lows
5. If London makes no clear sweep → await NY open for the directional move → the 7–9 AM EST window often resolves the day's direction

Once your HTF bias is confirmed and you have seen the liquidity sweep followed by displacement, your work moves to the 1-minute and 5-minute charts. Here you identify the exact price delivery array (OB or FVG) that will serve as your entry zone. Precision at this step determines the quality of your stop loss placement and your risk-to-reward ratio.

Which LTF to Use

The ICT 2022 Model primarily uses three lower timeframes for execution, each with a purpose:

• 5-minute chart: First LTF to switch to after observing the setup on the 15M. Look for the MSS and FVG formation here. The 5M FVG is typically the primary entry zone.
• 3-minute chart: Alternative execution chart. Some traders prefer the 3M for a slightly tighter read on displacement candles.
• 1-minute chart: Used for the most precise entry — specifically to find a micro FVG within the displacement or to time a rejection candle at the FVG boundary.

Identifying the LTF Order Block

After a bullish displacement (following an SSL sweep), the order block is the last bearish candle before the displacement began. This candle is the final selling pressure before institutions reversed the market. Its body (specifically the high of the candle) becomes a key entry area on retracement.

Identifying the LTF FVG

The FVG created by the displacement is often the primary entry tool. Here is the step-by-step identification on the 5M or 1M chart:

The OB vs. FVG Choice

The ICT 2022 Model has clear, non-negotiable rules for how you enter, where you place your stop, and where you target. This structure is what separates professionals from guessers — every element of risk management is determined before the trade is entered, never improvised after.

Entry Method Options

There are three acceptable entry methods in the ICT 2022 Model. Each has specific conditions for use:

Stop Loss Placement Rules

Stop loss placement in the ICT 2022 Model is always structural — it is placed at a level that, if hit, definitively invalidates the trade thesis:

• For FVG entries (long): Stop below the low of the FVG. If price closes below the entire FVG, the trade thesis is invalid — the displacement's imbalance has been violated.
• For OB entries (long): Stop below the low of the order block candle. This represents the point beyond which the OB is fully mitigated and no longer valid.
• For MSS entries: Stop below the liquidity sweep extreme (the swing low that was swept before the reversal). This is the widest valid stop — use only if the FVG/OB stop is too tight relative to the target.

Target Rules and Profit-Taking Framework

Targets in the ICT 2022 Model are defined by the Draw on Liquidity — the next significant liquidity pool in the direction of your trade:

Position Sizing and Risk Management

• Risk per trade: ICT recommends 0.5% to 1% of account per trade for funded/live accounts. Maximum 2% per trade.
• Position size calculation: (Account Size × Risk %) ÷ Stop Loss in pips/ticks = Position Size
• Minimum R:R: 1:3 before entering. If target is less than 3× the stop loss distance, skip the trade.
• Break-even rule: After TP1 is reached (or 1R profit), move stop to break-even on the remaining position.

Theory crystallises into skill when you can follow a trade from analysis to execution and back again. This lesson walks through two detailed trade scenarios — one bullish and one bearish — using the complete ICT 2022 Model framework.

Example 1: Bullish EUR/USD Setup (NY AM Session)

Pre-market analysis (completed before 7:00 AM EST):

• Monthly: EUR/USD in a bullish structure — recent monthly candles making higher highs. Monthly dealing range shows price in the lower discount quadrant.
• Weekly: Prior week's low sits at 1.08400. Price is trading at 1.08600 — just above prior week's low. The prior week's high at 1.09250 is the primary weekly draw on liquidity.
• Daily: Daily dealing range from 1.08200 swing low to 1.09100 swing high. Current price at 1.08600 = approximately 44% of the range = discount zone. Daily bias: BULLISH. Draw on liquidity: 1.09100 (prior swing high with equal highs = BSL).

Session analysis (2:00–7:00 AM EST):

• Asian session formed a range between 1.08540 (low) and 1.08680 (high)
• London opens: at 3:15 AM, price drops sharply to 1.08350, sweeping the prior week's low at 1.08400 by 50 pips (SSL taken)
• Reversal candle forms on the 15M — long lower wick, price returns to 1.08500
• Expectation: London swept sell-side → New York should be bullish, targeting 1.09250

LTF execution (NY AM Kill Zone, 8:00–10:00 AM EST):

• At 8:30 AM, on the 5M chart, price makes one more test of 1.08420 (secondary test of the London low) with a small wick
• A displacement candle launches: one 5M candle covers 25 pips to the upside, creating a bullish FVG between 1.08440 (C1 high) and 1.08510 (C3 low). CE of FVG = 1.08475
• The 5M chart shows a bullish MSS — price breaks the prior 5M swing high at 1.08560
• Price retraces to 1.08480 (into the FVG, near CE)
• Entry: Long at 1.08480 (limit order at FVG CE)
• Stop loss: Below FVG low at 1.08440 → Stop = 1.08430 (10 pips below entry)
• TP1: Internal liquidity at 1.08700 (Asian session high) — 22 pips → 2.2R
• TP2: Prior session high = 1.09100 — 62 pips → 6.2R
• TP3: Weekly external liquidity at 1.09250 — 77 pips → 7.7R

Outcome: Price rallies through TP1 at 11:15 AM. Position partially closed (50%). Stop moved to break-even (1.08480). Price reaches TP2 at 1.09100 by 2:30 PM. TP3 remains open as a runner. Total R:R achieved on closed portions: approximately 4.2R weighted average.

Example setup: London SSL sweep → NY displacement → FVG retracement entry → liquidity target achieved

Example 2: Bearish NQ (Nasdaq Futures) Setup

Daily bias: NQ in a bearish daily structure — price in premium zone above daily equilibrium. Daily OB overhead unmitigated. Draw on liquidity: equal lows at 18,250 (SSL).

London session: From 3:00–5:00 AM, NQ rallies 120 points to sweep the prior day's high at 18,760 — buy-side liquidity taken. Sharp reversal begins within 15 minutes of the sweep. London expectation: bearish distribution in NY.

NY execution:

• At 9:00 AM, on the 5M NQ chart, price makes a secondary test of 18,745 with a failed breakout (lower high than the London sweep)
• Bearish displacement candle: one 5M candle covers 55 NQ points down, creating a bearish FVG between 18,700 (C1 low) and 18,645 (C3 high). CE = 18,672
• 5M bearish MSS confirmed — prior 5M swing low at 18,680 broken
• Price retraces to 18,670 (near FVG CE)
• Entry: Short at 18,672
• Stop: Above FVG high at 18,700 + 5 points = 18,705 → Stop distance = 33 NQ points
• TP1: Internal SSL at 18,600 — 72 points → 2.2R
• TP2: Prior session low at 18,400 — 272 points → 8.2R

The Unicorn Model is ICT's name for a high-precision entry that occurs when a Fair Value Gap forms directly inside a Breaker Block. The overlap of these two structures — the FVG sitting within the Breaker — creates what ICT calls a "Unicorn Zone," the highest-probability entry in his entire model.

Recap: What is a Breaker Block?

A Breaker Block is a failed Order Block that has been transformed into a new support or resistance zone after a liquidity sweep and market structure shift:

1. An order block forms (bullish or bearish)
2. Price approaches and initially rejects the OB
3. A liquidity sweep occurs — price breaks through the OB, hunting the stops behind it
4. A Market Structure Shift (MSS) follows — the broken OB is now a Breaker Block
5. The Breaker Block acts in the opposite direction: a broken bullish OB becomes a bearish Breaker; a broken bearish OB becomes a bullish Breaker

The Unicorn Formation Sequence

For a Unicorn to form, all of the following must occur in this exact sequence:

Unicorn Entry Specifications

Why the Unicorn is the Highest-Probability Setup

The Unicorn Zone concentrates multiple layers of institutional significance into a single price area:

• The Breaker Block represents institutional interest that previously drove price in one direction — and now those same institutions are defending the zone from the other side
• The FVG within it represents an unfilled imbalance — the market's algorithmic obligation to return and fill this zone
• The liquidity sweep that preceded it provided the fuel — confirming that this is a genuine institutional entry, not retail noise
• Three independent signals in one zone = dramatically elevated probability

The Turtle Soup setup is named after the legendary Turtle Traders of the 1980s, who were famous for trading breakouts of 20-day and 55-day highs/lows. The ICT Turtle Soup does the exact opposite — it exploits the failure of those breakouts, capitalising on the liquidity grab that occurs when obvious breakout levels are briefly violated and then sharply reversed.

Core Concept: False Breakouts Are Liquidity Events

When price breaks a significant swing high or low, two things happen simultaneously:

1. Breakout buy stops trigger (for a high breakout): momentum traders place buy stop orders above swing highs. When price breaks above, they enter long. This provides sell-side liquidity for institutions to sell into.
2. Short stop-losses trigger: traders short at swing highs have their stops above the level. As price breaks above, their stops are hit — adding more buying pressure for institutions to unload into.

Smart money uses the breakout to fill their selling orders at ideal prices — then immediately reverses the market, leaving all those breakout buyers trapped at the top. The "false breakout" is not an accident; it is the institutional mechanism for filling large positions.

Bullish Turtle Soup (Long Entry)

Bearish Turtle Soup (Short Entry)

Mirror of the bullish setup:

• Mark significant BSL (buy-side liquidity) — swing high, equal highs, prior session high
• Price briefly breaks above the BSL level (false breakout), sweeping buy-stops
• Sharp reversal back below the level — LTF bearish MSS confirmed
• Enter short at FVG CE on LTF retracement
• Stop: above the sweep high. Target: next SSL below (equal lows, prior session low)

Key Distinction: Turtle Soup vs. Breaker Block

The Judas Swing is the ICT name for the manipulation phase of the daily Power of Three (AMD). Like Judas Iscariot's betrayal, it is a deception — a price move that appears to be going one direction but is actually setting up for the opposite. It is one of the most consistent intraday patterns in the model because it occurs almost every trading day.

Definition and Timing

The Judas Swing forms between New York midnight (00:00 EST) and 5:00 AM EST, with the highest frequency occurring between 3:00 AM and 5:00 AM EST — coinciding with the London open kill zone.

How to Trade the Judas Swing

Bullish Judas Swing Setup (Long Trade):

1. Mark the New York midnight opening price on your 15M chart
2. At London open (2:00–5:00 AM EST), if price makes a false move below the midnight open → Judas candidate
3. The move should sweep a visible SSL level (prior day's low, Asian session low, equal lows)
4. Look for a sharp reversal: price recrosses the midnight open level on the upside
5. On 1M/5M: identify the bullish MSS (swing high break) and the FVG created
6. Enter long at FVG CE; Stop: below the Judas Swing low (the lowest point of the false move)
7. Target: prior day's high (BSL) or equal highs above
8. Stop loss distance: 10–20 pips on FX major pairs; ~30–60 NQ points

Bearish Judas Swing Setup (Short Trade):

1. Mark midnight open
2. London creates a false rally above the midnight open, sweeping a BSL level
3. Price fails to hold above the midnight open — reversal to the downside
4. LTF bearish MSS + FVG created
5. Enter short at FVG CE; Stop: above Judas Swing high
6. Target: prior day's low (SSL)

Power of Three Alignment

The Judas Swing is the "M" (Manipulation) in the Power of Three. When you identify it correctly, you automatically know the "D" (Distribution) direction:

• Judas Swing = false bearish → Distribution = bullish (day closes high)
• Judas Swing = false bullish → Distribution = bearish (day closes low)

The ICT 2022 Model was specifically designed for algorithmically-driven, highly liquid markets. Not all markets behave the same, and the model performs differently depending on the instrument and market environment. Understanding where the model excels — and where it struggles — prevents costly application errors.

Top-Tier Markets for the ICT 2022 Model

Conditions That Improve Model Performance

• Clear HTF trend: Monthly and weekly structure both trending in the same direction → highest win rate for the daily bias determination
• Premium or discount extremes: The greater the distance from equilibrium, the higher the reversal conviction. Entries deep in discount (below 30%) or deep in premium (above 70%) outperform mid-range entries
• Fresh, unmitigated PD arrays: Order blocks and FVGs that have never been touched since formation carry the most institutional weight
• Kill zone timing: Any setup taken within a kill zone (London 2–5 AM, NY 7–11 AM, NY PM 1–3 PM) has significantly higher institutional backing
• Clean liquidity levels: Well-defined equal highs/lows with a clear stop concentration → more reliable sweep and reversal

Conditions That Reduce Performance

• Conflicting HTF structure: Monthly bullish but daily bearish with no clear "retracement" context → avoid trading until structure resolves
• News events: NFP, FOMC, ECB meetings create chaotic price delivery that overrides normal algorithmic patterns. Avoid trading within 30 minutes on either side of major scheduled releases
• Asian session setups: Low liquidity; FVGs formed during Asian hours have no institutional backing for the ICT model
• Price at equilibrium (50%): Mid-range price action produces the most false signals — avoid all entries when price is near the 50% of the dealing range
• Ranging/choppy markets: When both monthly and weekly are sideways, the draw on liquidity is unclear → reduce position size or stay out