A quick-lookup reference for every abbreviation that appears across the protocol, posts, and analysis. Click the letter to jump to that section.

A

AMD - Accumulation, Manipulation, Distribution. The three-phase structure behind every session and most larger moves. Asia accumulates a range, London manipulates it, New York distributes. Visual Concepts

ATR - Average True Range. A volatility measure that reflects the average range of a candle over a set period. Used for gauging typical session range and stop placement relative to market conditions. Concepts A-Z

B

BOS - Break of Structure. When price takes out a prior swing high (in an uptrend) or swing low (in a downtrend), confirming the directional move is continuing. Concepts A-Z

BSL - Buy-Side Liquidity. Resting buy orders and stop losses that sit above swing highs and equal highs. A target for smart money before a reversal lower. Concepts A-Z

C

CE - Consequent Encroachment. The 50% midpoint of a Fair Value Gap. Used as a precision entry point within the gap rather than waiting for a full fill. Concepts A-Z

CHoCH - Change of Character. The first break of structure that signals a potential shift in direction. Used interchangeably with MSS in most contexts. Concepts A-Z

CPI - Consumer Price Index. A high-impact economic release that measures inflation. Treated as a no-trade window - positions are avoided around the release. Concepts A-Z

CSD - Change in State of Delivery. Step 6 of the Reversal Sequence Protocol. The entry trigger - a displacement candle that closes beyond a key level and shifts the market’s directional delivery. CSD

D

DOL - Draw on Liquidity. Step 2 of the protocol. The price level where the market is aimed - a pool of resting orders that acts as a magnet for price. Draw on Liquidity

DXY - US Dollar Index. A weighted index of the US dollar against a basket of major currencies. Relevant for reading macro context on equity and commodity instruments. Concepts A-Z

E

EOD - End of Day. Used in the context of prop firm drawdown rules - an EOD trailing threshold moves the floor once per day at the close, not intraday. Concepts A-Z

ERL - External Range Liquidity. Liquidity that sits outside the current price range - equal highs, prior swing highs, or prior swing lows that have not yet been taken. Concepts A-Z

ES - E-mini S&P 500 Futures. The primary correlated instrument to NQ. Used in SMT analysis to detect divergence between the two indices. SMT

F

FOMC - Federal Open Market Committee. The Fed committee that sets interest rates. FOMC decision days are treated as no-trade windows due to extreme algorithmic volatility. Concepts A-Z

FVG - Fair Value Gap. A three-candle pattern where the middle candle’s body leaves an imbalance between the prior candle’s high and the next candle’s low (or vice versa). Price tends to return to fill the gap. Concepts A-Z

H

HOD - High of Day. The highest price reached in the current trading session. A reference level for liquidity and structure. Concepts A-Z

HTF - High Time Frame. Any timeframe above the one being used for execution - typically monthly, weekly, or daily when working from a 15-minute chart. High Time Frame Order Flow

I

ICT - Inner Circle Trader. The methodology framework developed by Michael Huddleston. The foundation for most of the concepts and protocol steps on this site. Concepts A-Z

IDT - Imbalance Displacement Through. A form of CSD where price aggressively displaces through a prior Fair Value Gap and closes beyond it, confirming the shift. CSD

IOF - Institutional Order Flow. The directional bias of large institutional participants, read from higher time frame structure. Step 1 of the protocol. High Time Frame Order Flow

IPDA - Institutional Price Delivery Algorithm. The model describing how price is algorithmically delivered over 20, 40, and 60 trading day cycles, repricing liquidity pools in sequence. Concepts A-Z

IRL - Internal Range Liquidity. Liquidity that sits inside the current price range - Fair Value Gaps, order blocks, and other PD arrays between the current high and low. Concepts A-Z

ITH - Intermediate Term High. A swing high of significance on the daily or weekly chart. Part of the market structure hierarchy used to classify highs and lows by timeframe. Concepts A-Z

ITL - Intermediate Term Low. A swing low of significance on the daily or weekly chart. Counterpart to ITH. Concepts A-Z

L

LOD - Low of Day. The lowest price reached in the current trading session. A reference level for sell-side liquidity. Concepts A-Z

LTH - Long Term High. A significant swing high on the weekly or monthly chart. The highest tier of the market structure hierarchy. Concepts A-Z

LTL - Long Term Low. A significant swing low on the weekly or monthly chart. Counterpart to LTH. Concepts A-Z

M

MMBM - Market Maker Buy Model. The full sequence of smart money activity in a bullish move: accumulate a range, manipulate the lows to take sell-side liquidity, then distribute price higher through buy-side liquidity. Visual Concepts

MMSM - Market Maker Sell Model. The bearish counterpart to MMBM: accumulate short positions, manipulate the highs to take buy-side liquidity, then distribute price lower. High Time Frame Order Flow

MNQ - Micro Nasdaq-100 Futures. The micro-sized version of the NQ contract at 1/10th the dollar value. $2 per point versus $20 for the full mini. Concepts A-Z

MSS - Market Structure Shift. A candle or sequence that breaks a prior swing high or low in a way that signals a change in directional delivery. Closely related to CHoCH. CSD

N

NDOG - New Day Opening Gap. The gap between the prior day’s close and the current day’s open. Often acts as a magnet for price early in the session. Concepts A-Z

NFP - Non-Farm Payroll. A monthly US employment report and one of the highest-impact economic releases. Treated as a no-trade window. Concepts A-Z

NQ - Nasdaq-100 E-mini Futures. The primary instrument traded on this site. $20 per point. Concepts A-Z

NWOG - New Week Opening Gap. The gap between Friday’s close and Sunday’s open. A significant reference level for the week’s early price action. Concepts A-Z

O

OB - Order Block. The last opposing candle before a significant displacement move. Represents where institutional orders were placed. Price often returns to fill the block. Concepts A-Z

OTE - Optimal Trade Entry. A Fibonacci-based entry zone, typically between the 61.8% and 79% retracement of a swing, used to enter after confirmation of direction. Concepts A-Z

P

PCH - Previous Cycle High. The highest point of the prior price cycle, defined by the IPDA model’s 20/40/60 day windows. Draw on Liquidity

PCL - Previous Cycle Low. The lowest point of the prior price cycle. Draw on Liquidity

PDH - Previous Day High. The high of the prior trading day. A common reference for buy-side liquidity and potential reversal targets. Draw on Liquidity

PDL - Previous Day Low. The low of the prior trading day. A common reference for sell-side liquidity. Draw on Liquidity

POI - Point of Interest. Step 3 of the protocol. A specific price zone where institutional activity is expected - an order block, FVG, or key PD array aligned with the higher time frame narrative. Point of Interest

PSH - Previous Session High. The high of a named session - London, NY AM, or NY PM. Distinct from PDH which spans the full day. Draw on Liquidity

PSL - Previous Session Low. The low of a named session. Draw on Liquidity

PWH - Previous Week High. The high of the prior week. A significant reference level for weekly DOL analysis. Draw on Liquidity

PWL - Previous Week Low. The low of the prior week. Draw on Liquidity

PXH - Previous [X] High. A generic notation used when the timeframe is variable - X substitutes for D (day), W (week), M (month), S (session), or C (cycle). Draw on Liquidity

PXL - Previous [X] Low. Counterpart to PXH. Draw on Liquidity

R

RBOB - Reformulated Blend Gasoline Futures. A refined gasoline futures contract traded on the NYMEX. Correlated with WTI crude as a downstream product. Concepts A-Z

RTH - Regular Trading Hours. The official exchange session for equities and futures. For NQ: 09:30 - 16:00 ET. Contrasted with the full Globex overnight session. Concepts A-Z

S

SMC - Smart Money Concepts. A broad label for the family of trading approaches that attempt to read institutional order flow from price action. ICT is the primary methodology within this space referenced on this site. Concepts A-Z

SMT - Smart Money Time. Step 5 of the protocol. A divergence between two correlated instruments (typically NQ and ES) at a key level, used as confirmation that smart money is active. SMT

SSL - Sell-Side Liquidity. Resting sell orders and stop losses that sit below swing lows and equal lows. A target for smart money before a reversal higher. Concepts A-Z

STH - Short Term High. A swing high visible on lower time frames (15-minute or below). The lowest tier of the market structure hierarchy. Concepts A-Z

STL - Short Term Low. A swing low visible on lower time frames. Counterpart to STH. Concepts A-Z

T

TOI - Times of Interest. Step 4 of the protocol. The time filter - specific macro windows and session times when algorithmic price delivery is most likely. An entry outside a TOI window is lower probability regardless of setup quality. Times of Interest

W

WTI - West Texas Intermediate. The US benchmark crude oil grade, traded as futures on the NYMEX. Referenced in energy market analysis on this site. Concepts A-Z