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ICT 2022 Mentorship: The Complete Smart Money Trading Blueprint 📈

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Posted by @Unknown Stranger

The ICT 2022 Mentorship by Michael J. Huddleston (The Inner Circle Trader) remains one of the most influential and practical series in smart money / institutional trading education for forex, indices, commodities, and futures.

Released throughout 2022 on YouTube, the full series consists of 41 episodes (roughly 40–60 minutes each), building a complete algorithmic intraday model centered on liquidity engineering, time-based windows, price imbalances, and market structure.

This model shifted many traders away from traditional retail indicators toward understanding how “smart money” (institutions, banks, market makers) actually moves price:

Run liquidity → Induce retail → Shift structure → Deliver directional move

Even in 2026, the 2022 model is still widely regarded as the foundational “core” ICT strategy. Many later models (Silver Bullet, MMS, etc.) build directly on it.

Why the 2022 Mentorship Stands Out

Practical and chart-heavy with real-time examples on recent price action at the time.

Focuses on high-probability intraday setups during London and New York killzones.

Emphasizes psychology, patience, and independent thinking over signals.

Free on YouTube with no paywalls or courses needed.

Official playlist: Search “2022 ICT Mentorship” on The Inner Circle Trader YouTube channel (starts with Episode 1 Introduction).

Many prefer the community “No Rant” edited versions (shortened to approximately 3–5 hours total) for faster learning, then revisit the originals for nuance.

Core Philosophy and Mantra

“Price is nothing without time.”

Markets do not move randomly. They raid liquidity pools (stop clusters) at specific times, create imbalances, then deliver the true directional intent.

Price seeks liquidity before efficiency (fair value). Trade only during high-probability killzones.

Key Trading Windows (Killzones – New York Time)

Asian Session (approximately 7 PM – 4 AM NY) Range building, lower volatility, sets daily highs and lows as liquidity magnets.

London Open Killzone (2 AM – 5 AM NY) Manipulation and initial directional bias often form here.

New York Open Killzone (8:30 AM – 11 AM NY) Highest volume and most reliable expansion setups.

New York Afternoon (PM session) Continuation or reversal into the close.

Best instruments: EURUSD, GBPUSD, NAS100, US30, XAUUSD during these windows.

Core Concepts Covered in the 2022 Series

Market Structure

Bullish: Higher Highs (HH) and Higher Lows (HL) Bearish: Lower Highs (LH) and Lower Lows (LL)

Break of Structure (BOS): Continuation signal Market Structure Shift (MSS or CHoCH): Key reversal signal and most important bias change confirmation

Liquidity

Buy-side liquidity: Equal highs or previous highs Sell-side liquidity: Equal lows or previous lows

Liquidity sweep, raid, or grab: Price runs stops to engineer reversal

Internal Range Liquidity (IRL) versus External Range Liquidity (ERL)

Fair Value Gap (FVG) / Imbalance

A three-candle gap created by aggressive displacement, leaving inefficiency between candle wicks or bodies.

Acts as a price magnet. Price often retraces to fill before continuing.

Bullish setup: Enter in discount array at bullish FVG after a low sweep. Bearish setup: Enter in premium array at bearish FVG after a high sweep.

Order Blocks (OB)

The last opposing candle(s) before strong displacement.

Includes mitigation blocks and breaker blocks.

Used as institutional support and resistance confluence zones.

Optimal Trade Entry (OTE)

Fibonacci retracement tool with the 61.8 percent to 79 percent “sweet spot.”

Applied from swing high to low (or low to high) into premium or discount zones.

High probability when aligned with FVG and Order Block.

Daily and Weekly Bias

Start with higher timeframes such as Weekly and Daily for directional bias.

Use Premium and Discount arrays via Fibonacci.

Asia high and low as reference → London expansion → New York confirmation.

Typical 2022 Model Setup Flow

Liquidity Sweep Price takes out a recent high or low (Asia or London session).

Market Structure Shift (MSS or CHoCH) Opposite break confirms bias change.

Displacement Strong impulsive candles create imbalance or FVG.

Retracement Price pulls back to FVG, Order Block, or OTE zone in discount (long) or premium (short).

Entry Lower timeframe confirmation such as inducement cleared or MSS on 5-minute or 1-minute chart.

Targets Next opposite liquidity pool, equal highs or lows, or next Premium/Discount array.

Bullish Example London sweeps Asia low → MSS higher → retrace to FVG → long targeting previous high or equal highs.

Bearish Example New York open raids high → MSS lower → retrace to bearish FVG → short.

Additional Tools and Ideas

Power of 3 (AMD) Accumulation → Manipulation → Distribution

SMT Divergence Correlated assets such as EURUSD and GBPUSD diverge, signaling potential reversal.

Judas Swing Fakeout move opposite to true intent.

Silver Bullet Refined later but rooted in the 2022 model, typically 10 AM – 11 AM NY setups.

Risk Management 0.25 percent to 1 percent risk per trade. Maximum 2 percent daily drawdown.

Journal Everything Document setup, time, bias, execution, and outcome.

Realistic Roadmap to Mastery (2026 Edition)

Start with the Market Maker Primer playlist for foundation.

Study 2016 Core Content, focusing on the first four months.

Complete the full 2022 Mentorship or the No Rant edit as your core model.

Study the Silver Bullet and Short Term Model videos.

Backtest 100 or more setups focusing on London and New York killzones on demo.

Forward test with small risk and journal obsessively.

Timeframe to Competence

Six to eighteen months of consistent study and screen time.

Win rate expectation Approximately 55 percent to 70 percent on properly filtered setups with at least 1:2 risk-to-reward, if executed with discipline.

The 2022 series remains timeless. Start there, paper trade seriously, and avoid indicator overload. Consistency compounds over time. 📈

#ICT2022 #InnerCircleTrader #SmartMoneyConcepts #LiquidityTrading #ForexEducation #InstitutionalTrading #FVG #OrderBlocks #MarketStructure #TradingMentorship

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