CHAPTER 11

Zone Marking Systems 1-20

Ten traders draw ten different zones on the same chart. These 20 systems teach you which zone belongs to which timeframe, how to draw it exactly, and when it is dead.

Every zone must answer three questions: how to mark it, when it is valid, and when it is void. Without those three, a zone is just a coloured rectangle.

Fair Value Gap Zone

The three-candle gap is the most used zone in both SMC and ICT: easy to see, easy to define, tight stop.

Topic	Rule
How to mark it	Candle 1 high to candle 3 low for a bullish gap.
When it is valid	Made in a killzone, in discount, with displacement.
When it is void	A body close through the gap voids it.

Order Block Zone

The last opposing candle before displacement is where the bulk order sat, so the reaction is strongest.

**Fig. 11.2** Bullish OB and the displacement

Topic	Rule
How to mark it	Body and low of the OB; the CE is the 50 percent.
When it is valid	When an FVG sits inside or beside it.
When it is void	A body close below the OB low.

Breaker Zone

The stops of traders trapped in a failed OB fuel the next leg, which makes the retest of that zone reliable.

**Fig. 11.3** The violated OB is now a breaker

Topic	Rule
How to mark it	The full body of the OB that broke.
When it is valid	With a liquidity sweep and a HTF array.
When it is void	After more than two retests.

Mitigation Zone

Trapped orders want to exit at break-even, so price returns to the origin of the failed move to let them out.

Topic	Rule
How to mark it	Where the failed leg started.
When it is valid	Price returns and prints an MSS.
When it is void	A body close beyond the zone.

Rejection Block

Repeated rejection at one price means real sellers or buyers live there, and the wick is the zone.

Topic	Rule
How to mark it	From the highest wick to the body.
When it is valid	Two or three rejections at the same price.
When it is void	A body pushes through it.

Supply and Demand Base

When price leaves a consolidation base impulsively, the base itself is usually the strongest zone.

Topic	Rule
How to mark it	The whole base range, wicks included.
When it is valid	The exit was displacement.
When it is void	Three closes inside the base.

Volume Imbalance

The body gap is small but price often returns to it. Use it as confluence, never alone.

Topic	Rule
How to mark it	The gap between one close and the next open.
When it is valid	Inside a bigger FVG or OB.
When it is void	Never trade it on its own.

Liquidity Void

Almost no trade happened in the fast run, so price returns to restore balance.

Topic	Rule
How to mark it	First and last body of the fast leg.
When it is valid	As a target; entry only at the array on its edge.
When it is void	Once it is filled.

Equal Highs and Lows

This is not support or resistance, it is a line of stops: a target, not an entry.

Topic	Rule
How to mark it	Two or three equal extremes.
When it is valid	A target, or the entry after the sweep.
When it is void	A body closes and holds above.

Asian Range Extremes

The first range of the day is the first liquidity; London often takes one edge and reverses.

Topic	Rule
How to mark it	The 06:00-12:00 Dhaka high and low.
When it is valid	London sweeps one edge.
When it is void	The range is unusually wide.

Educational material only · not financial advice.