lOMoARcPSD|21402664
Trade Entries Starter Guide
Smart money concept (IMC European Business School)
Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|21402664
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|21402664
02
table of contents
Introduction
Liquidity
Order Blocks (OB)
Conclusion
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|21402664
Introduction
03
95% of retail traders lose money. Why? Banks and institutions
exploit retail traders who use traditional concepts like support and
resistance, trendlines, and indicators. The real key is understanding
how the banks and market makers are trading, since these are the
institutions which drive the market, not regular traders like you and
I. These institutions are known as ‘smart money’ and they trade on
concepts like Liquidity, Order Blocks, Fair Value Gaps etc. which are
very different to common retail strategies.
This guide will teach you how to trade with the smart money,
explaining the most profitable setups and entries to look for. It is
written in a very clear and easy to understand format with
supporting diagrams and examples.
Some of the concepts taught may seem too good to be true and
almost like a cheat code to trading. Despite these strategies being
profitable, it is important to remember, you cannot win every trade
and you must develop a strategy which you back-test thoroughly.
You cannot catch every move; it is important to wait for the right
trade opportunities and not chase a trade or have FOMO. The market
will always be there for the next trade.
Traditional retail trading strategies like support and resistance, use
of indicators, trendlines, double tops and bottoms etc. may still work
for some traders and will still be important to identify liquidity levels.
However, they are not covered in depth in this guide to avoid the trap
of following what the majority of traders are still doing that banks
capitalise on.
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|21402664
04
Before we get into the ‘smart money concepts’ it is important to
understand a few basic principles to ensure you become a
consistently profitable trader:
Always have appropriate risk management: I would
suggest not risking more than 2% of your account per trade
especially considering the strategies we are about to cover
offer a large reward to risk ratio.
Always try to achieve a good reward to risk ratio: if the
setup doesn’t have a good enough reward to risk ratio,
then don’t trade it. I recommend at least a 1.5:1 reward to
risk ratio per trade using the strategies listed below. Use
Trading View to perform your analysis and calculate the
reward to risk ratio.
Try to have multiple take profit targets to maximise
your gains. These should be at different ‘liquidity
levels’ (covered later). You should partially take profits at
each liquidity level you are targeting.
Use top-down analysis: Always look at the higher
time frames (HTF) first (daily, weekly, monthly) since this
is what the banks trade on, then go down to the lower
time frames (LTF: 4h, 1h, 15m, 5m, 1m) to refine your trades
and get those sniper entries.
Look for high probability setups to increase your win
rate. These are setups where there may be multiple
signals from the different strategies mentioned that
compound to give a trade that is likely to win.
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|21402664
05
It’s ok to lose trades. It’s all about reacting to the market not
trying to predict it. When you identify the setup, place the
appropriate trade, and don’t try to chase losses. Stick to your
strategy.
Note:
I suggest using Trading View (free)
to perform
your
analysis.
It
has
many
annotation tools to help you
analyse all your charts easily.
Please join our Discord community
through the link on our TikTok or Instagram
so we can share and discuss potential
trades and answer any questions about
this guide.
Liquidity
This is a very important concept to understand when trading with
these ‘smart money’ setups. Liquidity gives us an indication of
where price will run through with strong impulsive candles. It allows
us to anticipate large moves into these areas and set take profit
targets at these levels.
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|21402664
06
What is liquidity?
The strict definition of liquidity is the ability to buy or sell an asset
quickly and easily without affecting its market price.
In simpler, more practical terms it is where there is likely to be a
large amount of buy or sell orders in the market e.g., where retail
traders have a lot of stop losses placed.
For example, if price is in a range, we expect retail traders to place
sells at the top of the range and buys and the bottom of the range.
Their stop losses will be just outside the range as shown below
which creates liquidity.
What most retail traders do:
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|21402664
07
Banks and institutions have billions of very large orders that they
need to place and so they look for pockets of liquidity to fill these
orders. We can use this information to understand where the banks
will try to move the market next…
When there are areas of liquidity, price will move quickly in and out
of these areas to fill their orders meaning price will not stay there
very long. This is represented by large candle wicks and bodies
around these liquidity levels.
There is liquidity all over the chart on any time frame:
Notice how when liquidity gets taken out (when price goes past the
liquidity level), the move has a lot of volume and large candlesticks.
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|21402664
08
Remember: When we look for liquidity, it is always above or below
the candlestick wicks, not the body.
Here are some good identifiers of liquidity:
Just above equal highs
Just below equal lows
Recent highs or lows in a trend
Daily/Weekly highs and lows
Just above and below areas of support and resistance (when
price is in a range)
The more equal highs or lows at the same level, the more liquidity
lies just above or below for banks to sweep.
Liquidity Sweep
A liquidity sweep is where banks quickly take out the stop losses set
by retail traders where the liquidity lies, and then they move the
market very impulsively in the opposite direction. We can think of
liquidity sweeps as fuel for the next move. This is seen all over the
markets every day.
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|21402664
09
To capitalise on a move like this, we wait for the sell-side liquidity to
be swept and once we see the first impulsive up candle, we know
there will be a liquidity sweep of the buy-side liquidity straight after.
We can take a buy position targeting above the buy-side liquidity.
However, this setup must be in confluence with a few other
strategies (order block, FVG, breaker block etc.) mentioned further
on.
We can also use liquidity levels to set our take profit targets:
For example, if we placed this buy trade, our take profit targets
would be placed at these 3 liquidity levels.
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|21402664
10
Order Blocks
Understanding the key price levels at which banks prefer to buy and
sell is crucial for comprehending institutional order flow, and this is
where Order Blocks come into play.
What is an Order Block?
An Order Block is a price area where banks have placed large orders,
either to buy or sell a particular asset and their sheer size often
causes large swings in the market. If we are able to identify these
areas, we can catch the large swings and win high reward trades.
Banks and institutions have massive orders to fill and will want to
buy at the lowest possible price and sell at the highest possible
price.
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|21402664
11
When price taps into a previous order block we expect a large
volume move, however there should still be confluence with a few
other concepts such as Change of Character, Liquidity, Fair Value
Gaps etc. to confirm the setup.
Bullish Order Block
This is the entire last down candle before a strong impulsive move to
the upside.
We look for price to re-test the bullish order block and we expect to
face a lot of buying pressure, causing a strong up move, similar to the
one previously. We can set our stop loss at the bottom of the order
block and take profit at liquidity levels. Example:
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|21402664
12
Bearish Order Block
This is the entire last up candle before a strong impulsive move to
the downside:
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|21402664
13
We look for price to
re-test the bearish
order block and we
expect to face a lot of
selling
pressure,
causing a strong down
move, similar to the
one previously. We can
set our stop loss at the
top of the order block
and take profit at
liquidity
levels.
Example:
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|21402664
14
High Time Frame OB
Order Blocks are much more significant on higher time frames.
Always perform a top-down analysis where you look at the higher
timeframes first, to identify the key order blocks, and then go down
to a lower timeframe when price enters the order block range to
refine your trade entry.
What makes a good order block?
The order block caused a large volume impulsive move
The order block cleared liquidity with its move
The order block caused a Break of Structure (explained in the
next concept)
The order block has Fair Value Gaps (explained later) directly
either side of it
There is liquidity that still needs to be cleared above a bullish
order block
There is liquidity that still needs to be cleared below a bearish
order block
The order block has not been tested before, so this is the first
time since the initial strong move that price has moved back to
this price area
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|21402664
15
Please note: The order block doesn’t need to have all of these
factors, but the more the better.
In-trade management
We usually expect price to react quickly off an order block. Once you
have placed your trade, if price takes a long time to move away from
the order block, it may be worth taking a closer look at the validity of
the order block and potentially closing the trade.
Order Blocks as take profit targets:
It’s important to be able to identify Order Blocks when setting your
take profit targets. You should not set your take profit past an order
block since you are likely to face a lot of resistance or a reversal. Try
to set your targets just before the next order block that suggests a
move against your trade direction:
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|21402664
16
Conclusion
Congratulations! You have completed the Trade Entries Starter
Guide and learned about 2 very important concepts, Liquidity and
Order Blocks. I hope this guide has given you a glimpse into the
exciting world of trading and helped you understand key price areas
that banks use when trading.
Trading is not for everyone but if you are serious about it, investing in
your learning is the most important step you can take towards
financial freedom and a better quality of life. Trading is not just a
hobby; it's a skill that can change your life. With the right knowledge
and strategy, you can turn your passion for trading into a lucrative
career. The Trade Entries Complete Guide is the easiest way to learn
how to trade with the smart money:
Trade Entries Complete Guide
Contents:
Introduction
Liquidity
Order Blocks (OB)
Break of Structure (BOS)
Change of Character (CHoCH)
Breaker Blocks
Fair Value Gaps (FVG)
Fibonacci Retracement
Elliott Wave Cycle
Example trade walkthrough (Sniper Entries)
News
Conclusion
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|21402664
17
By investing in the complete guide, you are investing in your future.
You will learn many more profitable concepts with diagrams and
examples that can really transform your trading future.
As a way to thank you for your support for Skyline Traders Club we
are offering 10% off the Trade Entries Complete Guide with discount
code: STC10
Discord
Please join our Discord community through the link on our TikTok or
Instagram so any questions can be answered.
Skyline Traders Club Discord:
Discuss crypto and forex trade ideas
Ask questions about technical analysis and smart money
concepts
Find out about the latest new crypto and forex trends and coins
Receive live news and price updates for crypto and forex
Interact and get help from serious like-minded traders
Become a member of the fastest growing trading community
Not a signals channel
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)
lOMoARcPSD|21402664
18
JOIN THE
TOP 1% WITH
SKYLINE
TRADERS CLUB
DISCORD!
Downloaded by Lingane Fane (lingane.fane.lf@gmail.com)