ICT core content notes Notes PDF (All Month) Free Download

Welcome! If you’re looking to download comprehensive ICT Core Content notes in PDF format, you’ve come to the right place. I have compiled a set of concise and well-organized notes that cover all the essential topics from the ICT 20216 mentorship program.

ICT Core Content Month 1 Notes

ICT in the first month of 2016 mentorship teaches elements of trade setup. Basically teaches how price moves and completes its cycle.

What is Expansion?

Expansion occurs when the price rapidly moves away from a level of equilibrium (50% of fib), indicating strong activity—either entries or exits—from major market participants. This phase is critical as it often sets the stage for significant future movements and can indicate the start of a new trend.

What is Retracement?

Following a strong movement, retracement is a natural part of the market’s ebb and flow. It involves a partial reversal or pullback to key price levels, which were previously established. This phase is crucial for traders looking to enter the market at a more favorable price point after a sharp move.

What is Reversal?

A reversal marks a complete directional change in the market’s movement. This phase can indicate a major shift in market sentiment or strategic institutional maneuvers, offering opportunities for traders to capitalize on the new trend.

What is Consolidation?

Often overlooked by novices, consolidation is where the market pauses and moves within a bounded range. This phase indicates a period of indecision or order building, which often precedes significant price movements. Recognizing consolidation can help traders prepare for the next breakout or breakdown.

Institutional Order Flow and Reference Points

Understanding institutional order flow is key to identifying potential entry and exit points. Institutions often leave footprints in the form of:

What are Order blocks?

These are levels where institutional traders have historically entered or exited significant positions, likely to serve as future support or resistance zones.

FVG and Liquidity Voids

Fair Value Gaps (FVG) and liquidity voids are areas where trading has been thin, presenting opportunities for price to move rapidly once these gaps are filled.

Liquidity Pools and Stop Runs

These are areas heavily populated with stop-loss orders. A trigger in these zones can lead to sharp price spikes or drops, providing quick profit opportunities or risks.

Equilibrium

Identifying the equilibrium price helps traders understand the balance between supply and demand, often found at the midpoint of a consolidation range.

Market movements typically start from a consolidation phase, where orders accumulate. From here, an expansion or impulse swing can initiate, leading to either a return to consolidation or a move into retracement. Following an expansion, the market might transition into a reversal pattern, which after playing out, leads back to retracement and eventually, consolidation.

Traders need to be adept at reading these signs and understanding the current market phase to make strategic decisions. Recognizing whether the market is in expansion, retracement, reversal, or consolidation can dictate whether to trade actively or wait for more clarity.

What Doesn’t Happen

• Consolidation doesn’t directly lead to Reversal:
  • It’s uncommon for the market to switch directions completely without first showing some expansion.
• Consolidation doesn’t lead directly to Retracement:
  • Prices don’t typically pull back unless there has been a prior expansion.
• Consolidation doesn’t lead to another Consolidation without Expansion:
  • The market doesn’t move from one quiet phase to another without a significant price movement in between.

Summary of Month 1

• Market Movements Start from Consolidation:
  • Orders accumulate during this phase.
  • Market prepares for a breakout or breakdown.
• Expansion or Impulse Swing:
  • Initiated after consolidation.
  • Leads to significant price movement indicating the start of a new trend or continuation of an existing one.
• Possible Outcomes Post-Expansion:
  • Return to consolidation: Market may stabilize and trade within a narrow range again.
  • Move into retracement: Partial reversal or pullback to previously established key levels.
• Transition into Reversal:
  • Following an expansion, the market may enter a reversal phase.
  • Indicates a complete change in the market’s direction.
• Cycle Completion:
  • After a reversal plays out, it leads to retracement.
  • Eventually, the market returns to consolidation, restarting the cycle.
• What Doesn’t Happen
• Consolidation doesn’t directly lead to Reversal:
  • It’s uncommon for the market to switch directions completely without first showing some expansion.
• Consolidation doesn’t lead directly to Retracement:
  • Prices don’t typically pull back unless there has been a prior expansion.
• Consolidation doesn’t lead to another Consolidation without Expansion:
  • The market doesn’t move from one quiet phase to another without a significant price movement in between.

ICT Core Content Download PDF

iCT core content month 2 notes PDF

Month 2 of inner circle trader mentorship deals with how to grow a small account.

When it comes to growing small trading accounts, it’s essential to follow disciplined trading strategies that focus on long-term growth rather than quick gains. For growing small trading account you must master the art of risk and reward ratio.

What You Need to Avoid

• Avoid rushing for massive gains: Whether it’s a large number of pips or high percentage returns, quick gains often lead to high risks.
• Avoid large risks for large returns: Exposing your account to large risks in hopes of large profits can lead to significant losses.
• Avoid underestimating small risk trades: Small risk trades can effectively contribute to account growth; don’t overlook them.
• Avoid poor planning: Sacrificing your trading equity due to lack of planning or poor strategies can deplete your account.

What You Need to Aim For

• Aim for a favorable reward-to-risk ratio: Determine how to realistically anticipate and achieve a favorable balance between potential rewards and associated risks.
• Focus on risk management: Learn to respect and prioritize the risk aspect of trades over the potential rewards to ensure sustainable trading.
• Look for high reward-to-risk trade setups: Identify trade setups that offer a potential of three times reward to one part risk or higher.
• Plan for minimal impact from losses: Frame your trades in a way that they have little negative impact if they turn out to be unprofitable.

Key Points to Consider

• Allow time for compounding: Compounding interest plays a crucial role in growing accounts over time; patience is key.
• Selective trading: It doesn’t take many trades to achieve significant returns like 50% in a month, but it requires highly selective and strategic trading.
• Monitor and minimize drawdowns: Pay close attention to drawdowns as they are critical. Aim to avoid substantial drops in your account’s value.
• Target a reasonable monthly growth: Focusing on achieving about 6% growth of your equity per month can lead to sustainable progress.

Effectively managing risk is critical in trading, especially when the aim is to build a robust and profitable portfolio with minimal exposure to potential losses.

Focus on Higher Time Frames

Why it matters: Trading based on higher time frame charts (like daily, weekly, or monthly) is ideal because these provide a clearer picture of the market trends and are less influenced by minor fluctuations.

Align with Institutional Analysis

Why it matters: Major institutions and banks typically analyze markets on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Aligning your trading decisions with these can lead to more consistent results.

Locate Key Price Level’s

Why it matters: Identifying price levels that coincide with institutional order flow is crucial. These levels are often significant for market movements and can guide entry and exit points.

Take Advantage of the Slower Pace

Why it matters: Higher time frame setups tend to form more slowly, giving traders ample time to plan and react without the pressure of rapid changes.

Core Content Month 2 :Strategies to Lower Risk in Trades

• Refine high time frame levels on lower time frames for tighter stop-losses.
• Focus on higher time frames for reliable market direction.
• Refine high time frame conditions on lower time frames for confirmation.
• Transpose significant high time frame levels to lower time frames for precise entries.

iCT mentorship month 3 pdf

ICT Month 3 of core content deals with the selection of time frames and discusses how to make your own trading model. Below are some the description of timeframe selection according to trading style

Timeframe and Trading Styles

• Monthly Charts (Position Trading)
  • Usage: Best for long-term trades held for months to years.
  • Advantages: Broad market trends, less impacted by short-term volatility.
  • Strategy: Focus on major economic trends and long-term profitability.
• Weekly Charts (Swing Trading)
  • Usage: Ideal for trades lasting several days to weeks.
  • Advantages: Balances significant market movements with reduced daily noise.
  • Strategy: Target swings in prices within primary trends.
• Daily Charts (Short-Term Trading)
  • Usage: Suited for trades lasting one day to a few weeks.
  • Advantages: Detailed market movements with quicker profit opportunities.
  • Strategy: Focus on shorter cycles and rapid sentiment shifts.
• 4 Hour or Less (Day Trading)
  • Usage: Used for trades closed within the same trading day.
  • Advantages: Captures intra-day movements, avoiding overnight risks.
  • Strategy: React quickly and actively manage trades in hours or minutes.

Timeframe Selection for Trading

Choosing the right timeframe for trading is essential as it dictates the trading style, the type of analysis used, and the potential risks and rewards involved. Here’s a breakdown:

Defining Setups For Your Model

Different trading strategies require different setups based on the chosen timeframe:

1. Trend Trader:
   • Approach: Focuses on trading in the direction of the trend identified on monthly and weekly charts.
   • Objective: To maximize gains from large movements by aligning with the market’s overall direction.
   • Method: Utilizes indicators and tools to confirm trend strength and potential continuations.
2. Swing Trader:
   • Approach: Trades intermediate-term price actions identified on daily charts.
   • Objective: To capture gains from market swings within a predominant trend.
   • Method: Looks for technical patterns or signals indicating short-term reversals or continuation of trends.
3. Contrarian Trader:
   • Approach: Focuses on identifying and trading reversal patterns at market extremes.
   • Objective: To profit from potential market turnarounds where others might not see it coming.
   • Method: Uses overbought or oversold indicators, divergences, and sentiment analysis.
4. Short Term Trader:
   • Approach: Trades the weekly ranges for short durations (1-5 days).
   • Objective: To take advantage of market volatility within a defined short period.
   • Method: Relies on breakout strategies and quick responses to market news or economic events.
5. Day Trader:
   • Approach: Intraday swing trading with all positions closed by 2:00 PM New York time to avoid overnight risks.
   • Objective: To secure profits from day-to-day price fluctuations.
   • Method: Employs a mix of technical analysis, scalping, and possibly algorithmic trading tools.

iCT core content month 4 Free Download

Mont 4 of ICT core content teaches how interest rates affect currency trades and the strategic implications of using interest rate analysis in forex trading.

Summary of Month 4 ICT Core Content

Smart Money Accumulation & Distribution: Key Concepts

• Strategic Role of Smart Money
  • Institutional investors and central banks significantly influence forex markets.

Dominant Influence of Interest Rates

• Why it Matters: Interest rates drive returns on currency investments, with higher rates attracting more demand and increasing currency value.

Key Interest Rate Strategies

• Interpreting Shifts:
  • Monitor central bank actions, policy meetings, and economic indicators.
  • Example: Rate hikes to combat inflation can strengthen a currency.
• Technical Analysis:
  • Use historical interest rate data to predict trends and market behavior.
  • Identify recurring patterns for better trade planning.

Interest Rate Triads (Bond Market)

• 30-Year Bond (Long-Term):
  • Reflects long-term economic expectations and investor confidence.
• 10-Year Note (Intermediate-Term):
  • Key benchmark influencing mortgages and medium-term economic sentiment.
• 5-Year Note (Short-Term):
  • Reacts to immediate economic changes, providing speculative opportunities.

Yield Curve Analysis

• Overlay and compare rates to analyze the yield curve.
• Insights:
  • Flattening curve → Slowing economy.
  • Steeper curve → Economic growth expectations.

Capitalizing on Failure Swings

• Look for discrepancies between market expectations and actual interest rate policies.
• Exploit these moments for high-reward trading opportunities.

Strategic Takeaway

• Align trading strategies with predictive insights into interest rate changes and economic shifts.
• Leverage smart money movements for refined, competitive trading decisions.

seojinleelee

Hi, I’m Seojin Lee, an experienced trader focusing on the U.S. stock market, particularly NASDAQ and E-mini S&P futures. As a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), I apply my knowledge of financial analysis and market strategies to identify profitable opportunities.

I specialize in both short-term and long-term trading, always balancing risk management with market trends. With years of experience, I continuously refine my strategies to adapt to market shifts. If you’re interested in trading insights or strategies, you’ve come to the right place!