ICT Suspension Blocks | Flux Charts

GENERAL OVERVIEW:
ICT Suspension Blocks is built around the idea that one candle can become important when it is suspended between two volume imbalances - one above it and one below it. In ICT theory, that suspended area can behave like a compact inefficiency zone and may later act as a reaction point when price revisits it.

The indicator automates that idea by scanning for bullish and bearish three-candle formations, identifying the suspended price area between the two imbalances, plotting the zone directly on the chart, and then managing its lifecycle through retest and invalidation logic.

The goal of the indicator is not just to mark a pattern, but to keep the structure practical for chart use: active zones can be prioritized by proximity, invalidated zones can optionally remain visible for reference, retests can be marked, and overlapping zones can be merged when the user wants a cleaner display.

(Screenshot: Full chart view showing bullish and bearish Suspension Block zones)


(Screenshot: Example of a Suspension Block forming between two body-to-body imbalances)


WHAT IS THE THEORY BEHIND THE INDICATOR?:
This indicator is based on the ICT idea that a single candle can become meaningful when it is suspended between two volume imbalances. The logic starts with understanding what a volume imbalance is, then how two of those imbalances can frame a single candle and turn that area into a Suspension Block.

What IS A VOLUME IMBALANCE?
A volume imbalance, in this context, is a body-to-body inefficiency between two consecutive candles. It appears when the open of the newer candle gaps away from the close of the previous candle, showing that price moved so aggressively that the candle bodies did not match smoothly from one bar to the next.

• Bullish volume imbalance: the newer candle opens above the previous candle’s close.
• Bearish volume imbalance: the newer candle opens below the previous candle’s close.

Wick overlap is allowed. What matters is the body separation, not whether the wicks overlap.
These imbalances matter because they show inefficient price delivery. In ICT theory, the market often revisits inefficient areas later, which is why traders treat them as important reference zones.

Step by step:
1. Look at the close of one candle.

2. Compare it to the open of the next candle.

2a. If the next candle opens clearly above that close, it creates a bullish body-to-body imbalance.
2b. If the next candle opens clearly below that close, it creates a bearish body-to-body imbalance.

3. That body gap is the imbalance the indicator uses as part of the Suspension Block structure.

(Screenshot: Bullish volume imbalance example)

(Screenshot: Bearish volume imbalance example)


WHAT IS A SUSPENSION BLOCK?:
A Suspension Block is the price area created when one candle is framed by a volume imbalance on one side and another volume imbalance on the other side. In simple terms, the candle is “suspended” between two body-to-body inefficiencies, which is why the pattern gets its name.

In the theory referenced for this indicator, the suspended candle behaves similarly to a compact inefficiency zone or PD Array. That means the market may revisit the area later and react from it as support or resistance, depending on whether the structure is bullish or bearish.

Step by step:
1. Start with a three-candle sequence.

2. Check whether there is a valid body-to-body imbalance between candle 3 and candle 2.
Then check whether there is another valid body-to-body imbalance between candle 2 and candle 1.

3. If both imbalances exist in the same direction, the middle part of that structure becomes the Suspension Block setup.

• For a bullish Suspension Block, the sequence is bullish and the two imbalances are upward.
• For a bearish Suspension Block, the sequence is bearish and the two imbalances are downward.

The indicator then draws the zone from the close of candle 3 to the open of candle 1, which defines the suspended price area.

(Screenshot: Bullish suspension Block area highlighted between two volume imbalances)

(Screenshot: Bearish suspension Block area highlighted between two volume imbalances)


HOW THE INDICATOR SHOWCASES THAT THEORY:
Once the structure is confirmed, the indicator turns the concept into a practical chart tool. It plots the Suspension Block zone, extends active zones to the current bar, tracks valid retests, and stops the zone when invalidation happens.

• Bullish and bearish zones are displayed with separate colors for fast recognition.
• The zone is anchored to the suspended price area.
• Retests are stored and can be marked with triangle labels.
• Invalidated zones can be hidden or kept as historical reference.
• Nearby zones can be prioritized with Show Nearest, and overlapping same-side zones can be merged with Combine Overlapping Zones.
• This makes the indicator useful not only for learning the ICT concept, but also for applying it directly on live charts in a structured way.

(Screenshot: Indicator showcase with active bullish and bearish Suspension Blocks)

(Screenshot: Indicator showcase with retest markers and invalidation)

(Screenshot: Indicator showcase with combined overlapping zones)


FEATURES:
🔷Bullish

• Sets the fill color used for bullish Suspension Block zones.
• This controls how active and historical bullish zones appear on the chart.

(Screenshot: Bullish Suspension Block color styling)


🔷Bearish
Sets the fill color used for bearish Suspension Block zones. This gives bearish zones their own visual identity and helps separate them from bullish zones at a glance.

(Screenshot: Bearish Suspension Block color styling)


🔷Invalidation Method
Controls how a Suspension Block becomes invalid.

• Wick mode invalidates a zone as soon as price trades through the far side with the wick.
• Close mode invalidates a zone only when price closes through the far side.

(Screenshot: Wick invalidation)

(Screenshot: Close invalidation)


🔷Midline
Turns the midpoint line inside each zone on or off. When enabled, the indicator draws a center line halfway between the top and bottom of the Suspension Block.

(Screenshot: Midline drawn through the center of a Suspension Block)


🔷Midline Style
Controls whether the midpoint line is solid, dashed, or dotted. This is a visual preference setting that changes how prominent the midline appears.

🔷Zone Labels
Turns the SB+ and SB- labels on or off. The labels are placed inside the zone at the right-center area so the zone remains clearly identified without extending the label beyond the box.

(Screenshot: SB+ and SB- labels positioned inside the right side of each zone)


🔷Retest Labels
Turns retest triangle markers on or off. When enabled, the indicator stores retest times and displays a triangle marker for each valid retest that belongs to a visible zone.

(Screenshot: Green and red retest triangles displayed on valid zone retests)


🔷Combine Overlapping Zones
When enabled, overlapping Suspension Block zones of the same side are merged into one wider combined zone. The combined zone keeps the earliest left boundary, expands to the full overlapping price range, and merges the retest history from the older zones into the new one.

(Screenshot: Multiple overlapping zones merged into one zone)


🔷Hide Invalidated Zones
Controls whether mitigated or invalidated zones remain visible.

• When turned on, invalidated zones are removed from the chart.
• When turned off, invalidated zones are stored separately and can still be displayed as historical reference without being used again in active-zone logic such as nearest-zone selection or future retest checks.

(Screenshot: Invalidated zones hidden)

(Screenshot: Invalidated zones displayed for historical reference)


🔷Show Nearest
Limits how many bullish and bearish active zones remain visible at the same time. The indicator ranks active zones by distance from current price and shows only the nearest ones for each side.

(Screenshot: Only the nearest active bullish and bearish zones displayed)


🔷Minimum Size
Filters out very small Suspension Blocks by requiring the zone size to be at least a selected fraction of ATR.

• A value of 0 disables the size filter.
• Higher values make the indicator more selective and remove weaker or very small formations.

🔷Alerts
Users can enable alerts with this indicator via AnyAlert() functionality. The following alerts are available:

◇ New Bullish SB
Alerts for newly detected bullish Suspension Blocks.

◇ New Bearish SB
Alerts for newly detected bearish Suspension Blocks.

◇ Bullish SB Retest
Alerts for bullish Suspension Block retests.

◇ Bearish SB Retest
Alerts for bearish Suspension Block retests.

UNIQUENESS:
ICT Suspension Blocks is unique because it turns a relatively niche ICT concept into a structured chart tool that not only detects the pattern, but also manages its full lifecycle - from creation, to retest tracking, to invalidation, to optional historical display - while keeping the chart readable.

• The zone is drawn from candle 3 close to candle 1 open, so it reflects the actual suspended price space between the two imbalances rather than defaulting to the body of the middle candle.
• Daily and weekly opening gaps are filtered out from the imbalance checks, which helps avoid false detections caused by session-opening jumps.
• Retest logic is stricter than a simple touch: the indicator checks whether price approached from the correct side, touched the zone with the wick, and still closed back on the original side.
• Invalidated zones can be displayed as history without being recycled into active-zone logic, which keeps historical context available without contaminating nearest-zone selection or future retest processing.
• Overlapping same-side zones can be merged into one combined structure, making the indicator more practical on charts where multiple nearby Suspension Blocks form in the same area.

(Screenshot: Example comparing separate overlapping zones vs combined zone mode)