Trading glossary

Every SMC, ICT and Volume Profile term — English names kept as the standard, explained in your language.

SMC — Smart Money Concepts

A methodology that reads price through the actions of institutions: structure, liquidity, order blocks and imbalances.

ICT — Inner Circle Trader

The original body of concepts popularized by Michael J. Huddleston, from which most SMC ideas derive.

Liquidity

Clusters of resting orders — mostly stop losses above highs and below lows — that big players need to fill their positions.

Liquidity Sweep

A quick break of a high or low that triggers stops and immediately reverses, leaving a long wick — a false breakout.

BOS — Break of Structure

Price breaking the previous swing point in the direction of the trend — confirmation that the trend continues.

CHoCH — Change of Character

A structural break against the current trend — the first warning that direction may be changing.

Order Block (OB)

The last opposite candle before an impulsive move that breaks structure — a zone where institutions built positions.

FVG — Fair Value Gap

A three-candle imbalance: the gap between candle 1's high and candle 3's low left by an aggressive move; price often returns to fill it.

Premium / Discount

The upper and lower half of a swing measured from 0–100%. Institutions sell in premium and buy in discount.

OTE — Optimal Trade Entry

The 62–79% retracement zone of an impulse — ICT's statistically favorable entry area within discount/premium.

Kill Zone

The hours when institutions are most active (London and New York opens) — where the best setups form.

Judas Swing

A deceptive early-session move against the day's real direction, designed to sweep liquidity before the true move.

POC — Point of Control

The single price with the highest traded volume in a profile — the market's strongest magnet and 'fair price'.

Value Area (VA / VAH / VAL)

The price range containing 70% of traded volume; its edges (VAH above, VAL below) act like premium and discount in volume terms.

HVN / LVN — Volume Nodes

Thick profile areas (HVN) where price slows and consolidates, and thin ones (LVN) where price moves fast or rejects sharply.