Market Structure (Range) & Internal Liquidity
This indicator will simplify the price-action reading of any trader/investor by decluttering his/her charts from un-important & confusing candles to highlight the true momentum candles which are usually formed by institutional buying/selling .
The indicator will be a good tool in the arsenal of the following styles of Trading/Investing
Smart Money / Liquidity Concepts
Price Action Concepts
Demand & Supply Concepts
Support & Resistance Concepts
UNIQUE FEATURES:
1. Market Structure - Range & Internal Liquidity:
Unlike other liquidity indicators, this indicator only highlights liquidity levels of significant importance. Not every intermediate high & low in a chart are worthy of noticing, hence by enabling the 'Swings' & 'Range (BoS)' feature in the indicator settings, the structure highs and lows (external liquidity) in a chart can be identified.
Any other liquidity levels within a market range (Range between structural High & Low) is known as internal liquidity which price targets to collect enough orders before heading towards the external liquidity levels.
2. Gaps (Fair Value Gaps / Imbalance):
Not every imbalance / gap between candles are important & trade-worthy. This feature of the indicator is different from the other widely available imbalance indicators & only highlights gaps formed by true momentum candles. Gaps between unimportant inside bars are not highlighted, as these bars occur in the absence of momentum.
3. True Price Action:
Looking at the two charts below, we can clearly observe the difference between price action of a confusing normal chart & the simplified price action highlighted by the indicator. This feature declutters the charts by only highlighting the candles a trader / investor should notice in a chart.
This feature when used in confluence with the liquidity levels feature & gap feature of the indicator, helps identify the true demand & supply zones (order blocks) in a chart.
Before
After
4. Zig Zag Lines:
This unique feature which is useful to Identify & Backtest different entry types taught by Smart Money Traders . This feature helps the trader understand the True Fractal Nature of price. This can also be seen as an alternate to the default line chart feature.
Examples of Entry Types taken by Smart Money Traders
ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
(These features are essential addons to trade liquidity. However, these are derived from publicly available indicators from the Tradingview library, but with a different interpretation for a better visualization of charts & or to time better trade entries without cluttering the charts)
a. Inside Bar & Outside Bars:
Identify not just a single Inside Bar as highlighted by other indicators, but to highlight a series of candles which are within a master candle range and are exhibiting unimportant sideways price action.
Outside Bars only relevant to momentum candles are highlighted, ignoring candles that occur within a master candle range. Highs & Lows of such Outside Bars are used by aggressive traders to identify liquidity levels in the charts.
b. Highs & Lows of previous Monthly / Weekly / Daily & Hourly Candles:
This feature draws Highs & Lows of previous Monthly / Weekly / Daily & Hourly Candles on the extreme right hand side of the chart to keep the charts clean.
Additionally for Hourly time frame, the indicator includes a setting to select the hourly candle time frame (60 min / 75 min / 240 min), which are personal and different for each trader.
UNDERLYING CONCEPT:
In the image below we see how a large majority of Traders / Investors incorrectly mark Structure markings, mistaking a raid of internal liquidity as a Break of Structure, thereby taking trades opposite to the broader trend of the markets
However, this indicator has a higher accuracy of identifying the correct price structure by only marking a structure high or low, when a subsequently opposite side liquidity is taken/raided. Further the broader trend of the markets can be easily identified by looking as to which side the Break of Structure has happened. (This is visible in the indicator in the form of 'Range' feature, so if a Range High is broken then it is understood to be in an uptrend & vice versa)
The underlying core functionality of the indicator is best displayed by the image below
USECASE OF THE INDICATOR:
Before taking any Buying/Selling position in the markets, a Trader / Investor must analyze the price action on the following parameters
HTF & LTF Trend Identification (To judge if trade is Pro-Trend or Counter-Trend)
Is Price at a High Probability Area of Interest?
Is Price satisfying the trade entry conditions?
Let us see how this indicator can be used as a complete trading system in itself and addresses each of the above parameters
Disclaimer: Illustrations shown below are just for understanding the features of the indicator & does not guarantee profitability. Every trader must back test their setups to arrive at a setup with an edge (positive expectancy) before they start actively trading the setup.
1. HTF & LTF Trend Identification (Pro-Trend / Counter-Trend) using 'Range (BoS)' feature of the indicator
Let's assume a Day Trader, uses hourly chart (75 min) to frame his Higher Time Frame (HTF) ideas & 15min charts (LTF) for trade entries
Looking at the chart below the Trader concludes that the HTF has most recently broken the structure to the downside and is considered Bearish till price action is below the range high of 48600 levels. It can also be concluded that the price is currently in a Bullish retracement.
The Trader can choose to take both Pro-Trend or Counter-Trend Trades, timing the trade entries using the LTF charts.
Looking at the LTF chart below, it is evident that price on LTF has also broken structure to the downside and is now aligned with the HTF Bearish Trend. The Trader will now look to get into short trades, to take trades both in line with HTF & LTF trend.
2. Let's identify if Price is at a High Probability Area of Interest, using either single or combination of the 'Swings' / 'Gaps' / 'Outside Bars' / 'HL of previous M,W,D, H candles' features of the indicator
Definition of High Probability Level / Area differs from each Traders perspective depending upon which of the Trading Styles (mentioned in the beginning) does one use.
Smart Money Traders
SMC Traders are known to get into trades early and their high R:R trades are taken mostly at a High Probability Area of Interest which are identified by them on HTF, by looking for candles with imbalance (gaps) & or candles which have taken out a previous liquidity and then having creating imbalance (gaps).
Also Turtle Soups is one of the favorite setups for SMC traders, where a trader enters a trade on LTF (typically 1 min/3min & 5min) after grabbing HTF liquidity lying at H/L of outside bar / previous monthly, weekly, daily or hourly candles.
Demand & Supply Traders
Some of the Best Demand & Supply Traders have the patience to wait for trades and take trades at the extreme Demand & Supply Zones within a market Range.
As illustrated below, the extreme hourly supply zone just below the structure high, which has the confluence of imbalance and Bearish HTF confirmation resulted in a good R:R trade.
Price Action Traders & Support & Resistance Traders
From the illustration below we can see how the 15 min Range breakdown confirms the breakdown of the Inverted Cup Pattern for Price Action Traders & Support & Resistance Traders using the same area of breakdown as the new Resistance to enter Short trades
3. Let's identify if Price is satisfying the Trade Entry Conditions using the 'Zig-Zag Lines' feature
Statistics say that majority (> 80%) of Traders blow up their accounts multiple times or completely give up and never achieve profitability.
One of the primary reasons for this is Traders punching trades randomly and without having proper Setup or rules for entering Trades.
Also in order to arrive at rules or execute the different entry models (couple of examples highlighted earlier) taught by different Trainers, a Trader needs to learn to visualize charts in a similar format to what the trainers are teaching.
The Zig-Zag lines feature is a form of line chart that joins the swing high points to the swing low points on the chart to represent the True Price action & a proper fractal nature of the markets, unlike the line chart which is formed by only by joining the closing value of each candle.
From the image below we can see that the Zig-Zag lines feature eliminates the randomness visible in the line chart and is a more smoother chart. Using this feature one can back test the various entry models widely available on the internet or arrive at a user specific model which he/she is comfortable with.
CONCLUSION:
Trading with a deeper understanding of Price Action allows a Trader/Investor to enter or exit trades with ease. Price Action trading allows individuals to keep their charts clean and stay away from the other lagging technical indicators and enter trades much earlier than other technical indicators.
This indicator attempts in simplifying the understanding of price action for every one and identify potential high probability areas / levels where one should enter / exit trades.
This indicator will be an important tool in the arsenal of any Trader / Investor to take better informed trades, however it does not guarantee profitability of a Trader, due to the randomness of the markets & external factors that influence each trader.
GET ACCESS:
Refer Author's instructions below to get access to the indicator
Liquiditysweep
Liquidity Grab Screener | Flux Charts💎 GENERAL OVERVIEW
Introducing our new Liquidity Grab Screener! This screener can provide information about the latest liquidity grabs in up to 5 tickers. You can also customize the algorithm that finds the liquidity grabs and the styling of the screener.
Features of the new Liquidity Grab Screener :
Find Latest Liquidity Grabs Accross 5 Tickers
Price, Size, Status Information
Customizable Algoritm / Styling
📌 HOW DOES IT WORK ?
Liquidity grabs occur when one of the latest pivots has a false breakout. Then, if the wick to body ratio of the bar is higher than 0.5 (can be changed from the settings) a bubble is plotted.
The bubble size is determined by the wick to body ratio of the candle.
This screener then finds liquidity grabs accross 5 different tickers, and shows the latest information about them.
Price -> The price when the liquidity grab happened.
Size -> Size of the liquidity grab, determined by the wick-body ratio.
Status -> Shows the elapsed time of the liquidity grab.
🚩UNIQUENESS
Liquidity grabs can be useful when determining candles that have executed a lot of market orders, and planning your trades accordingly. This screener will find liquidity grabs from up to 5 tickers and give information about their price, size and status. The screener also lets you customize the pivot length and the wick-body ratio for liquidity grabs.
⚙️SETTINGS
1. Tickers
You can set up to 5 tickers for the screener to scan order blocks here. You can also enable / disable them and set their individual timeframes.
2. General Configuration
Pivot Length -> This setting determines the range of the pivots. This means a candle has to have the highest / lowest wick of the previous X bars and the next X bars to become a high / low pivot.
Wick-Body Ratio -> After a pivot has a false breakout, the wick-body ratio of the latest candle is tested. The resulting ratio must be higher than this setting for it to be considered as a liquidity grab.
Liquidation Levels with Liquidity Sweeps/Breakouts [AlgoAlpha]🌊📈 Dive into the depths of market liquidity with "Liquidation Levels with Liquidity Sweeps/Breakouts" - your ultimate tool for navigating the turbulent waters of trading! 🧹💹 Crafted by the wizards at AlgoAlpha, this Pine Script™ masterpiece illuminates the unseen liquidity levels and sweeps, guiding you through the financial seas with insight. 🚀🔍
Key Features:
🕒 Timeframe Flexibility: Customize your analysis with a TimeFrame Multiplier, allowing the indicator to operate on higher timeframes for broader market insight.
💥 Dynamic Volume Threshold: Set your sensitivity to breakouts with the High Volume Threshold, ensuring you catch significant market movements while avoiding fakeouts.
👀 Visibility Controls: Toggle the display of swept liquidity and highlight liquidity breakouts with customizable background colors for clear, actionable insights.
🎨 Custom Appearance: Personalize your chart with bullish, bearish, and breakout colors to match your trading style.
How to Use the Liquidity Levels with Liquidation Sweeps Indicator:
Maximize your trading efficiency with the Liquidity Levels with Liquidation Sweeps Indicator by following these simple steps! 🚀🌟
⚙️ Customize Settings: Access the indicator settings to personalize the TimeFrame Multiplier, High Volume Threshold, and Relative Volume Period. Tailor these settings to match your trading strategy and chart preferences.
👁️ Analyze Liquidity Levels: Monitor the chart for liquidity levels and sweeps. Bullish sweeps are marked with green labels, bearish sweeps with red, and breakouts highlighted by the chart background.
🔔 Set Alerts: Enable alert conditions for liquidity breakouts and sweeps within the indicator's settings. This feature allows you to receive real-time notifications, helping you to act promptly on trading opportunities.
How It Works:
The heart of this indicator lies in its ability to track and highlight liquidity levels derived from swing pivots, and sweeps across multiple timeframes. By calculating relative volume against a user-defined threshold, it identifies strong volume movements indicative of liquidity breakouts, this helps filter out fake-outs. When a liquidity level is breached but not completely mitigated, it's either marked as a bullish or bearish sweep, which come with the option to show an estimate of the number of liquidations during the sweep.
if peakform and peakprinted != 1
aR.push(line.new(bar_index-mult, h.get(1), bar_index+1, h.get(1), color = red))
aRv.push(h.get(1))
peakprinted := 1
if valleyform and valleyprinted != 1
aS.push(line.new(bar_index-mult, l.get(1), bar_index+1, l.get(1), color = green))
aSv.push(l.get(1))
valleyprinted := 1
Liquidity Grabs | Flux Charts💎 GENERAL OVERVIEW
Introducing our new Liquidity Grabs indicator! This indicator can renders bubbles with different sizes at candles that have liquidity grabs, which happen when a liquidity areas (buyside / sellside liquidity) is swept. These candles often fill a lot of market orders that were sitting on the liquidity zone. You can check "How Does It Work" section for more information.
Features of the new Liquidity Grabs Indicator :
Renders Liquidity Grabs
Customizable Algorithm
Customizable Styles
Alerts
🚩UNIQUENESS
Liquidity grabs can be useful when determining candles that have executed a lot of market orders, and planning your trades accordingly. This indicator renders liquidity grabs in an unique bubble style, the size of the bubble is calculated by the size of the wick that caused the liquidity grab. The indicator also lets you customize the pivot length and the wick-body ratio for liquidity grabs.
📌 HOW DOES IT WORK ?
Liquidity grabs occur when one of the latest pivots has a false breakout. Then, if the wick to body ratio of the bar is higher than 0.5 (can be changed from the settings) a bubble is plotted. Using the wick length as a metric to measure liquidity is good because long wicks can translate to a large amount of buyers / sellers entering the market.
The bubble size is determined by the wick to body ratio of the candle.
⚙️SETTINGS
1. General Configuration
Pivot Length -> This setting determines the range of the pivots. This means a candle has to have the highest / lowest wick of the previous X bars and the next X bars to become a high / low pivot.
Wick-Body Ratio -> After a pivot has a false breakout, the wick-body ratio of the latest candle is tested. The resulting ratio must be higher than this setting for it to be considered as a liquidity grab.
Liquidity Sweeps [LuxAlgo]The Liquidity Sweeps indicator detects the presence of liquidity sweeps on the user's chart, while also providing potential areas of support/resistance or entry when Liquidity levels are taken.
In the event of a Liquidity Sweep a Sweep Area is created which may provide further areas of interest.
🔶 USAGE
A Liquidity Sweep occurs when the price breaks through a liquidity level (further referred to as LqL ), after which the price returns below/above the liquidity level , forming a wick.
The script provides 2 options when this can happen:
A wick passes a LqL after which the price quickly returns.
First the closing price breaks through a LqL . After a while, the price retests the LqL and forms a wick in the opposite direction.
The examples above show a bullish and bearish scenario of "a wick passing through an LqL where the price quickly comes back". This type of Liquidity Sweep is represented by a dotted line.
The following example shows a broken LqL , where the price retests the Liquidity zone and bounces back.
Instead of a dotted line, this type of Liquidity Sweep is represented by a dashed line.
When a Liquidity Sweep takes place, this is indicated by highlighting the "wick- LqL " distance. This distance is also the basis for the Sweep Area (see next sub-section). A small 3-bar long dotted line starts from the opposite wick as an extra aid to determine potential support/resistance/entry, ...
Colors can be set in the settings (here yellow and aqua blue instead of default colors for clarity).
🔹 Sweep Areas
The distance between the LqL and the maximum limit of the wick forms a Sweep Area , which can provide a potential support/resistance or entry zone.
These examples show both types of Liquidity Sweeps , followed by a box indicating the Sweep Area .
When the Sweep Area is mitigated or a certain amount of bars has passed (Settings - 'Max bars'), the boxes will no longer be updated.
In this case, the 'Trigger' label shows the bar where the high crossed a LqL , after which a red box starts between LqL and high.
The low of the 'Trigger' bar is the starting point of a short dotted line. Next to the 'Trigger bar' the high touches the Sweep Area before returning, providing a potential short entry. One bar further, another entry opportunity presents itself when the price breaks the small dotted line.
In the following bullish example, not only do we see opportunities when the LqL has been swept, but the following Sweep Area provides some potential entries.
The small green dotted lines also act as a guide where the price breaks above, then forms a small range, after which the price continues in an upward direction.
Here, the initial trigger on the left forms a Sweep Area that is quickly broken. However, the small green line provides a potential entry area later on. The price moves in a short channel before breaking above the LqL (green dashed line), providing more potential entries. Price retests this LqL , and goes below this level. The price remained around the previously formed channel, after which the price resumed its upward trend.
🔶 SETTINGS
🔹 Liquidity Sweeps
Swings: Period used for the swing detection, with higher values returning longer term Liquidity Levels .
Options:
- Only Wicks: Only detects a Liquidity Sweep when a wick sweeps a previous wick
- Only Outbreaks & Retest: Only detects a Liquidity Sweep when the price breaks a Liquidity Level , returns & retests the Liquidity Level , and forms a wick in the opposite direction.
- Wicks + Outbreaks & Retest: Both options can be detected.
🔹 Sweep Area
Extend: Enables/Disables extension of the Sweep Area boxes.
Max Bars: Limit the extension to a certain number of bars.
Color Sweep Area box.
Sweep institutionalThis indicator focuses on identifying "SWEEPs" based on taking liquidity at highs and lows. The application of the SWEEP strategy is highly determinant in the Swing points, as they serve as the target of our operations.
ALERTS INCLUDED
🔹Example of Strategy Application
1.-Create the BULLISH SWEEP.
2.-You can enter LONG.
3.-If it is a BULLISH SWEEP, take a long with a SWING HIGH target (2-3 pips up).
4.-If it is a BULLISH SWEEP, place your SL behind the SWEEP (2-3 pips).
(This example is bullish, but it would be the same in a bearish setup, applying everything in the opposite way)
t's very crucial for the strategy to reference SWING POINTS, as these points will be our take profit and stop loss points.
The strategy is based on identifying a SWEEP. After this, we can look for trading opportunities with targets on the opposite side of the fractal. Remember, if you decide to enter, the Stop Loss should be placed protected by the Sweep, and the Take Profit should be set at the opposite Swing, as seen in the example.
Use this STRATEGY IN TIMEFRAMES GREATER THAN 30M. If you decide to use it in timeframes <30M, there's a higher probability of encountering false SWEEPs (the most optimal are 1h & 4h)
🔹Use
The Sweep strategy involves identifying potential trades based on the creation of a "SWEEP" (liquidity grab) at the Swing High or Swing Low. Below is an example of a bearish opportunity after taking liquidity from a Swing High with a wick and no candle body closing above it.
🔹Details
As you have seen, it indicates the surpassing of a high without the candle body, this is called a “SWEEP.” Each time this occurs, the price is likely to surpass the opposite SWING High/Low. The following example will show more clearly how it works in both bullish and bearish scenarios.
🔹Configuration
-Cooldown period: is the length of the operating Range line
-Swing detection: determines the points to be used as SL and TP protection
Bullish/Berish Sweep
-Line Width: size of the line
-Line Style: design type
-Color
Session Breakout/Sweep with alertsThis indicator is based on popular London breakout strategy. but as I noticed that it don't work good with breakouts so I made it to be used as reversal entries as well. By default the timing is set for asian session but you can change it according to your need.
Use as breakout
Use as liquidity sweep
Note:
On some pairs the timing changes automatically (I don't know why), if you face this issue , go to settings and set the timing accordingly and save it as templet so that you don't have to change it every time you load the chart with timing issue.
I hope you guys find it useful. Do share your though and feedback in comments.
Liquidity PeaksThe "Liquidity Peaks" indicator is a tool designed to identify significant supply and demand zones based on volumetric analysis. It analyzes the volume profile within a specified lookback range to pinpoint the most volumetric point and draw corresponding zones on the price chart.
The 𝐋𝐢𝐪. 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 indicator utilizes volume data to identify key supply and demand areas on the price chart. By examining the volume profile within a defined lookback range, it highlights three distinct zones: liquidity grab, volume containment, and the most volumetric point.
Zones and their meanings:
Liquidity grab (Orange box): This zone represents a price level where there is a significant swipe of the previous demand zone within the volume range. It indicates a potential shift in market sentiment and serves as a key supply or demand area.
Volume containment (Gray box): This zone displays the area of volume contained before the peak in volume. It provides insights into the range where buying or selling pressure was concentrated, highlighting potential support or resistance levels.
Most volumetric point (Light blue box): This zone represents the point within the lookback range that exhibits the highest volume. It signifies a significant area of market interest and indicates a potential supply or demand level.
Adjustable options:
Adjust liquidity Grab: This option allows you to adjust the size of the boxes. When enabled, the box size is set to twice the size of the high or low of the candle's wick. This adjustment enhances the visibility and accuracy of identifying swipes at specific price levels.
Show origin: Enabling this option ensures that the liquidity boxes are drawn from the wick they were created from. This provides a clear visual reference to the specific candle and highlights the liquidity levels associated with it.
Utility:
The 𝐋𝐢𝐪. 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 indicator is a valuable tool for traders and investors seeking to identify significant supply and demand zones in the market. By analyzing volume data and drawing corresponding zones on the chart, it helps to pinpoint areas where buying or selling pressure is likely to emerge.
Traders can utilize this information to identify potential support and resistance levels, plan their entries and exits, and make more informed trading decisions. The liquidity grab zones can act as potential reversal or breakout points, while the volume containment zones and most volumetric points provide insights into areas of high market interest.
It is important to note that this indicator should be used in conjunction with other technical analysis tools and indicators to confirm trading signals and validate market dynamics.
Example Charts:
Price based concepts / quantifytools- Overview
Price based concepts incorporates a collection of multiple price action based concepts. Main component of the script is market structure, on top of which liquidity sweeps and deviations are built on, leaving imbalances the only standalone concept included. Each concept can be enabled/disabled separately for creating a selection of indications that one deems relevant for their purposes. Price based concepts are quantified using metrics that measure their expected behavior, such as historical likelihood of supportive price action for given market structure state and volume traded at liquidity sweeps. The concepts principally work on any chart, whether that is equities, currencies, cryptocurrencies or commodities, charts with volume data or no volume data. Essentially any asset that can be considered an ordinary speculative asset. The concepts also work on any timeframe, from second charts to monthly charts. None of the indications are repainted.
Market structure
Market structure is an analysis of support/resistance levels (pivots) and their position relative to each other. Market structure is considered to be bullish on a series of higher highs/higher lows and bearish on a series of lower highs/lower lows. Market structure shifts from bullish to bearish and vice versa on a break of the most recent pivot high/low, indicating weak ability to defend a key level from the dominating side. Supportive market structure typically provides lengthier and sustained trending environment, making it an ideal point of confluence for establishing directional bias for trades.
Liquidity sweeps
Liquidity sweeps are formed when price exceeds a pivot level that served as a provable level of demand once and is expected to display demand again when revisited. A simple way to look at liquidity sweeps is re-tests of untapped support/resistance levels.
Deviations
Deviations are formed when price exceeds a reference level (market structure shift level/liquidity sweep level) and shortly closes back in, leaving participating breakout traders in an awkward position. On further adverse movement, stuck breakout traders are forced to cover their underwater positions, creating ideal conditions for a lengthier reversal.
Imbalances
Imbalances, also known as fair value gaps or single prints, depict areas of inefficient and one sided transacting. Given inclination for markets to trade efficiently, price is naturally attracted to areas that lack proper participation, making imbalances ideal targets for entries or exits.
Key takeaways
- Price based concepts consists of market structure, liquidity sweeps, deviations and imbalances.
- Market structure shifts from bullish to bearish and vice versa on a break of the most recent pivot high/low, indicating weak ability to defend a key level from the dominating side.
- Supportive market structure tends to provide lengthier and sustained movement for the dominating side, making it an ideal foundation for establishing directional bias for trades.
- Liquidity sweeps are formed when price exceeds an untapped support/resistance level that served as a provable level of demand in the past, likely to show demand again when revisited.
- Deviations are formed when price exceeds a key level and shortly closes back in, leaving breakout traders in an awkward position. Further adverse movement compels trapped participants to cover their positions, creating ideal conditions for a reversal.
- Imbalances depict areas of inefficient and one sided transacting where price is naturally attracted to, making them ideal targets for entries or exits.
- Price based concepts are quantified using metrics that measure expected behavior, such as historical likelihood of supportive structure and volume traded at liquidity sweeps.
- For practical guide with practical examples, see last section.
Accessing script 🔑
See "Author's instructions" section, found at bottom of the script page.
Disclaimer
Price based concepts are not buy/sell signals, a standalone trading strategy or financial advice. They also do not substitute knowing how to trade. Example charts and ideas shown for use cases are textbook examples under ideal conditions, not guaranteed to repeat as they are presented. Price based concepts notify when a set of conditions are in place from a purely technical standpoint. Price based concepts should be viewed as one tool providing one kind of evidence, to be used in conjunction with other means of analysis.
Price based concepts are backtested using metrics that reasonably depict their expected behaviour, such as historical likelihood of supportive price movement on each market structure state. The metrics are not intended to be elaborate and perfect, but to serve as a general barometer for feedback created by the indications. Backtesting is done first and foremost to exclude scenarios where the concepts clearly don't work or work suboptimally, in which case they can't be considered as valid evidence. Even when the metrics indicate historical reactions of good quality, price impact can and inevitably does deviate from the expected. Past results do not guarantee future performance.
- Example charts
Chart #1 : BTCUSDT
Chart #2 : EURUSD
Chart #3 : ES futures
Chart #4 : NG futures
Chart #5 : Custom timeframes
- Concepts
Market structure
Knowing when price has truly pivoted is much harder than it might seem at first. In this script, pivots are determined using a custom formula based on volatility adjusted average price, a fundamentally different approach to the widely used highest/lowest price within X amount of bars. The script calculates average price within set period and adjusts it to volatility. Using this formula, the script determines when price has turned significantly enough and aggressively enough to constitute a relevant pivot, resulting in high accuracy while ruling out subjective decision making completely. Users can adjust length of market structure basis and sensitivity of volatility adjustment to achieve desired magnitude of pivots, reflected on the average swing metrics. Note that structure pivots are backpainted. Typical confirmation time for a pivot is within 2-3 bars after peak in price.
Market structure shifts
Generally speaking, traders consider market structure to have shifted when most recent structure high/low gets taken out, flipping underlying bias from one side over to the other (e.g. from bullish structure favoring upside to bearish structure favoring downside). However, there are many ways to approach the concept and the most popular method might not always be the best one. Users can determine their own market structure shift rules by choosing source (close, high, low, ohlc4 etc.) for determining structure shift. Users can also choose additional rules for structure shift, such as two consecutive closes above/below pivot to qualify as a valid shift.
Liquidity sweeps
Users can set maximum amount of bars liquidity levels are considered relevant from the moment of confirmed pivot. By default liquidity levels are monitored for 250 bars and then discarded. Level of tolerance can be set to anything between 100 and 1000 bars. For each liquidity sweep, relative volume (volume relative to volume moving average) is stored and added to average calculations for keeping track of typical depth of liquidity found at sweeps.
Deviations
Users can set a maximum amount of bars price has to spend above/below reference level to consider a deviation to be in place. By default set to 6 bars.
Imbalances
Users can set a desired fill point for imbalances using the following options: 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%. Users can also opt for excluding insignificant imbalances to attain better relevance in indications.
- Backtesting
Built-in backtesting is based on metrics that are considered to reasonably quantify expected behaviour of the main concept, market structure. Structure feedback is monitored using two metrics, supportive structure and structure period gain. Rest of the metrics provided are informational in nature, such as average swing and average relative volume traded at liquidity sweeps. Main purpose of the metrics is to form a general barometer for monitoring whether or not the concepts can be viewed as valid evidence. When the concepts are clearly not working optimally, one should adjust expectations accordingly or take action to improve performance. To make any valid conclusions of performance, sample size should also be significant enough to eliminate randomness effectively. If sample size on any individual chart is insufficient, one should view feedback scores on multiple correlating and comparable charts to make up for the loss.
For more elaborate backtesting, price based concepts can be used in any other script that has a source input, including fully mechanic strategies utilizing Tradingview's native backtester. Each concept and their indications (e.g. higher low on a bearish structure, lower high on a bullish structure, market structure shift up, imbalance filled etc.) can be utilized separately and used as a component in a backtesting script of your choice.
Structure feedback
Structure feedback is monitored using two metrics, likelihood of supportive price movement following a market structure shift and average structure period gain. If either of the two employed tests indicate failed reactions beyond a tolerable level, one should take action to improve feedback by adjusting the settings. If feedback metrics after adjusting the settings are still insufficient, the concepts are working suboptimally for the given chart and cannot be regarded as valid technical evidence as they are.
Metric #1 : Supportive structure
Each structure pivot is benchmarked against its respective structure shift level. Feedback is considered successful if structure pivot takes place above market structure shift level (in the case of bullish structure) or below market structure shift level (in the case of bearish structure). Structure feedback constitutes as one test indicating how often a market structure state results in price movement that can be considered supportive.
Metric #2 : Structure period gain
Each structure period is expected to present favorable appreciation, measured from one market structure shift level to another. E.g. bullish structure period gain is measured from market structure shift up level to market structure shift down level that ends the bullish structure period. Bearish structure is measured in a vice versa manner, from market structure shift down level to market structure shift up level that ends the bearish structure period. Feedback is considered successful if average structure period gain is supportive for a given structure (positive for bullish structure, negative for bearish structure).
Additional metrics
On top of structure feedback metrics, percentage gain for each swing (distance between a pivot to previous pivot) is recorded and stored to average calculations. Average swing calculations shed light on typical pivot magnitude for better understanding changes made in market structure settings. Average relative volume traded at liquidity sweep on the other hand gives a clue of depth of liquidity typically found on a sweeps.
Feedback scores
When market structure (basis for most concepts) is working optimally, quality threshold for both feedback metrics are met. By default, threshold for supportive structure is set to 66%, indicating valid feedback on 2/3 of backtesting periods on average. On top, average structure period gain needs to be positive (for bullish structures) and negative (for bearish structure) to qualify as valid feedback. When both tests are passed, a tick indicating valid feedback will appear next to feedback scores, otherwise an exclamation mark indicating suboptimal performance on either or both. If both or either test fail, market structure parameters need to be optimized for better performance or one needs to adjust expectations accordingly.
Verifying backtest calculations
Backtest metrics can be toggled on via input menu, separately for bullish and bearish structure. When toggled on, both cumulative and average counters used in backtesting will appear on "Data Window" tab. Calculation states are shown at a point in time where cursor is hovered. E.g. when hovering cursor on 4th of January 2021, backtest calculations as they were during this date will be shown.
- Alerts
Available alerts are the following.
- HH/HL/LH/LL/EQL/EQH on a bullish/bearish structure
- Bullish/bearish market structure shift
- Bullish/bearish imbalance created
- Bullish/bearish imbalance filled
- Bullish/bearish liquidity sweep
- Bullish/bearish deviation
- Visuals
Each concept can be enabled/disabled separately for creating a selection indications that one deems relevant for their purposes. On top, each concept has a stealth visual option for more discreet visuals.
Unfilled imbalances and untapped liquidity levels can be extended forward to better gauge key areas of interest.
Liquidity sweeps have an intensity option, using color and width to visualize volume traded at sweep.
Market structure states and market structure shifts can be visualized as chart color.
Metric table can be offsetted horizontally or vertically from any four corners of the chart, allowing space for tables from other scripts.
Table sizes, label sizes and colors are fully customizable via input menu.
- Practical guide
The basic idea behind market structure is that a side (bulls or bears) have shown significant weakness on a failed attempt to defend a key level (most recent pivot high/low). In the same way, a side has shown significant strength on a successful attempt to break through a key level. This successful break through a key level often leads to sustained lengthier movement for the side that provably has the upper hand, making it an ideal tool for establishing directional bias.
Multi-timeframe view of market structure provides crucial guidance for analyzing market structure states on any individual timeframe. If higher timeframe market structure is bullish, it doesn't make sense to expect contradicting lower timeframe market structure to provide significant adverse movement, but rather a normal correction within a long term trend. In the same way, if lower timeframe market structure is in agreement with higher timeframe market structure, one can expect a reliable trending environment to ensue as multiple points of confluence are in place.
Bullish structure can be considered constructive on a series of higher highs and higher lows, indicating strong interest from bulls to sustain an uptrend. Vice versa is true for bearish structure, a series of lower highs and lower lows can be considered constructive. When structure does not indicate strong interest to maintain a supportive trend (lower highs on bullish structure, higher lows on bearish structure), a structure shift and a turn in trend might be nearing.
Market structure shifts are of great interest for breakout traders who position for continuation. Structure shifts can indeed be fertile ground for executing a breakout trade, but breakouts can easily turn into fakeouts that leave participants in an awkward position. When price moves further away from the underwater participants, potential for snowball effect of covering positions and driving price further away is elevated.
Liquidity sweeps as a concept is based on the premise that pivoting price is evidence of meaningful depth of liquidity found at/around pivot. If liquidity existed at a pivot once, it is likely to exist there in the future as well. When price grinds against liquidity, it is on a path of resistance rather than path of least resistance. Pivots are also attractive placements for traders to set stop-losses, which act as fuel for price to move to the opposite direction when swept and triggered.
Behind tightly formed pivots are potentially many stop-loss orders lulled in the comfort of having many layers of levels protecting their position. Compression that leaves such clusters of unswept liquidity rarely goes unvisited.
As markets strive for efficient and proper transacting most of the time, imbalances serve as points in price where price is naturally attracted to. However, imbalances too are contextual and sometimes one sided trading is rewarded with follow through, rather than with a fill. Identifying market regimes give further clue into what to expect from imbalances. In a ranging environment, one can expect imbalances to fill relatively quick, making them ideal targets for entries and exits.
On a strongly trending environment on the other hand imbalances tend to stick for a much longer time. In such environments continuation can be expected with no fills or only partial fills. Signs of demand preventing fill attempts serve as additional clues for imminent continuation.
Stophunt WickAcknowledgement
This indicator is dedicated to my friend Alexandru who saved me from one of these liquidation raids which almost liquidated me.
Alexandru is one of the best scalpers out there and he always nails his entries at the tip of these wicks.
This inspired me to create this indicator.
What's a Liquidation Wick?
It's that fast stop-hunting wick that stophunts everyone by triggering their stop-loss and liquidation.
Liquidity is the lifeblood of stock market and liquidation is the process that moves price.
This indicator will identify when a liquidity pool is getting raided to trigger buy or sell stops, they are also know as stop-hunts.
How does it work?
When market consolidates in one direction, it builds up liquidity zones.
Market maker will break out of these consolidation phases by having dramatic price action to either pump or dump to raid these liquidity zones.
This is also called stop-hunts or liquidity raids. After that it will start reversing back to the opposite direction.
This is most noticeable by the length of the wick of a given candle in a very short amount of time and the total size of the candle.
This indicator highlights them accordingly.
Settings
Wick and Candle ratio works with default values but finetune will enhance user experience and usability.
Wick Ratio: Size of the wick compared to body of a candle.
Adjust this to higher ratio on smaller timeframe or smaller ratio on bigger timeframe to your trading style to spot a trend reversal.
Candle Ratio: The size of the candle, by default it is 0.75% of the current price.
For example, if BTC is at 20,000 then the size of the candle has to be minimum 150.
This can be fine tuned to bigger candle size on higher time frames or smaller for shorter timeframe depending on the trade type.
How to use it?
This indicator will identify when a liquidity pool is getting raided to trigger buy or sell stops, they are also know as stop-hunts. It can be used of its own for scalping but there are also a good few indicators which would most definitely help to confluence bigger timeframe trades.
Scalp
This indicator shows the most chaotic moments in price action; therefore it works best on smaller timeframes, ideally 3 or 5 minute candle.
- Wait for the market to start pumping or dumping.
- Current candle will change colour (Bullish/Bearish).
- Enter trade as soon as price starts to reverse back.
- Place the stop-loss outside of the current candle.
- Wait for the Liquidation Wick to appear as confirmation.
Price is very chaotic during a liquidity stop-hunt raid but there is a saying:
"In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity" - Sun-Tzu
Since this is a very high risk, high reward strategy; it is advised to practice on paper trade first.
Practice until perfection and this indicator would be the perfect bread and butter scalp confirmation.
Fair Value Gap
FVG strategy is the most accurate in conjunction with this indicator.
Normally price would reverse after consuming fair value gaps but often it's difficult to know when and where.
This indicator would identify those crucial entry points for reverse course direction of the price action.
Support and Resistance
This indicator can also be used in conjunction with support and resistance lines.
Generally the stophunt will go deep below the support or spike much further up the resistance lines to liquidate positions.
Bollinger Bands
Bolling Bands strategy would be to wait until the price breaks out of the band.
Once the wick is formed, it would be an ideal entry point.
Script change
This is an open-source script and feel free to modify according to your need and to amplify your existing strategy.
Liquidity Raid - Stop HuntLiquidity Raid - Stop Hunt
The market always seeks liquidity. Liquidity rests above previous highs and below previous lows as many traders see these as obvious points to place their stops. These are areas in the chart where many orders are placed together and serve as tipping points for market makers.
The script marks the breach of a market structure high/low with a vertical line. The script has the option to show the current W,D,4H & 1H market structure high and low.
How to use:
Once a raid occurs, use a higher timeframe to search for high probability supply and demand zones. Price needs to react to something. You may have multiple breaches before a reversal happens as price is likely looking for fresh(untested) zones. So don't trade blindly.
A good understanding of supply and demand concepts, odds enhancers, and how to identify fresh levels is expected to utilise it's full potential.
Lines and colours are all customizable
Alerts function included.
Indicator in use:
