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SMC

Ultimate Guide to Smart Money ConceptsWhat Are Smart Money Concepts? Introduction: If you’ve been trading for a while, you’ve probably noticed that sometimes the market moves in ways that just don’t make sense. You’ve got your technical analysis all set, but the market seems to go in the opposite direction. That’s where Smart Money Concepts (SMC) come in. At its core, SMC is all about understanding how big players in the market (think hedge funds, institutions, and banks) move prices. These players have massive amounts of capital and information, and they don’t trade like the average retail trader. Understanding their behavior can help you see where the market is going next before it happens. What is Smart Money? In the world of trading, smart money refers to the institutional investors who move markets with their huge orders. Unlike retail traders, who might be relying on indicators or patterns, smart money trades based on liquidity, market structure, and order flow. While retail traders are typically reacting to price movements, smart money is the one causing those moves. They’re out there seeking out places where they can accumulate positions or distribute them. The tricky part is that they’ll often make the market go in one direction just to trap retail traders and get them to take positions before flipping it back to where they wanted it to go in the first place. Key Concepts in Smart Money Trading 1. Market Structure Market structure refers to the way price moves in a trend. It’s essentially a pattern of higher highs and higher lows for an uptrend, or lower highs and lower lows for a downtrend. Smart money uses these patterns to their advantage. When they see the market creating a series of higher highs and higher lows, they’ll take advantage of that momentum to push prices further, knowing retail traders will follow along. But when they want to reverse the market, they’ll push it in the opposite direction, creating a market structure shift or a break of structure, which signals that the trend is over and a new one is starting. 2. Liquidity Liquidity refers to the amount of orders available to be filled at different price levels. Smart money knows exactly where retail traders are likely to place their stops or buy orders. They’ll often push the price to these levels, triggering those stops and collecting the liquidity. Once that liquidity is grabbed, they’ll reverse the price and move it in the intended direction. A common way to spot liquidity is by looking for equal highs or equal lows, where traders often place their stop-loss orders. These are often areas smart money will target. 3. Order Blocks Order blocks are areas on the chart where institutions have placed big orders. These are key levels that represent where price might return to later, and they can act as areas of support or resistance. Order blocks are usually found after big price moves. Institutions place these orders to either accumulate positions or offload them, and price often comes back to these levels to fill orders that were left behind. 4. Fair Value Gaps (FVG) Fair value gaps, or imbalances, are price areas where the market moves quickly, leaving gaps between candlesticks. These gaps represent areas where the market has moved too fast for regular orders to fill, and price tends to return to these levels to fill the gaps. Smart money knows that these imbalances are critical areas for future price action, and they’ll use them to re-enter the market after a move has been completed. Why Does Smart Money Matter? Understanding smart money concepts is like learning to think like an institution. Instead of chasing after price based on typical retail indicators, you start looking for the big moves that smart money is making. You begin to notice when the market is setting traps for retail traders, and how these large players accumulate positions before pushing price in a big way. With SMC, you stop guessing and start anticipating. By looking for liquidity zones, order blocks, and market structure shifts, you can get in sync with the big players and follow their moves, not fight them. Conclusion Smart Money Concepts are all about shifting your perspective. Instead of thinking like a retail trader looking for quick breakouts, oversold/overbought conditions, or chasing trends — start looking at the market as the big players do. Pay attention to where the liquidity is, identify key order blocks, and use market structure shifts to guide your trades. By learning to spot these key signs, you’ll stop being the one who’s trapped and start being the one who’s in sync with the smart money. Ready to trade smarter? Keep an eye on those order blocks and liquidity zones — they’re where the real money is made. Next Steps - Start practicing by reviewing charts through the SMC lens. - Keep refining your understanding of market structure, liquidity, and order blocks. - Stay patient, smart money trades aren’t about quick wins, but about positioning yourself for big moves. __________________________________________ Thanks for your support! If you found this guide helpful or learned something new, drop a like 👍 and leave a comment, I’d love to hear your thoughts! 🚀 Make sure to follow me for more price action insights, free indicators, and trading strategies. Let’s grow and trade smarter together! 📈
Education
by TehThomas
79
USOIL CATCHING THE FALLING KNIFE|LONG| ✅CRUDE OIL lost 18% of it's Value in the last 5 days on the Trade war news, which makes The market to expect a recession And a sharp drop in the oil demand However, I still think that Oil Is locally oversold, therefore A local bullish correction is To be expected from the Horizontal support below Around 57.34$ and the Target being the resistance Above around 61.81$ LONG🚀 ✅Like and subscribe to never miss a new idea!✅ 

 Disclosure: I am part of Trade Nation's Influencer program and receive a monthly fee for using their TradingView charts in my analysis.
TVC:USOILLong
by ProSignalsFx
1
EURUSD - Short Trade Confirmation : 1. Bearish Order-Flow 2. Market retraced to the supply zone with the help of previous demand, which is liquidity now 3. Tapped into the premium supply zone 4. M5 CHoCH to the downside 5. Previous high reacted as an Inducement 6. Entered in the supply tap The only thing that is concerning the trade is market tapped into the 15m support trend-line. Once the trend-line is taken out with the strong bearish candle closure, that can add an confluence to the trade. Thanks for the time..
Short
by Naren_2410
SILVER: Move Up Expected! Long! My dear friends, Today we will analyse SILVER together☺️ The market is at an inflection zone and price has now reached an area around 29.921 where previous reversals or breakouts have occurred. And a price reaction that we are seeing on multiple timeframes here could signal the next move up so we can enter on confirmation, and target the next key level of 30.271.Stop-loss is recommended beyond the inflection zone. ❤️Sending you lots of Love and Hugs❤️
FOREXCOM:XAGUSDLong
by FreeXauusdSignals
1
COCOA Nearing Major Support - Rebound Towards 9,000$?PEPPERSTONE:COCOA is approaching a significant support zone. This area has consistently acted as a key level where buyers have stepped in, leading to notable reversals in the past. The current move suggests the potential for a bullish reaction if price action confirms rejection through signals such as bullish engulfing candles, long lower wicks, or increased buying volume. If the support holds, I anticipate a move upward toward the 9,000 level, aligning with the expectation of a short-term reversal. However, if the price breaches this zone and sustains below it, the bullish outlook may be invalidated, potentially opening the door for further downside. Monitoring candlestick patterns and volume at this critical zone is essential for identifying buying opportunities. Proper risk management is advised to navigate potential volatility. Just my take on support and resistance zones—not financial advice. Always confirm your setups and trade with solid risk management. Best of luck!
PEPPERSTONE:COCOALong
by TrendDiva
21
Potential Sell (1H Scalp)Here's my 3 point confluence analysis.. I could be wrong so any additional tips on the comments are welcomed 1. USDCAD was on a small uptrend until it broke the trendline then consolidated sideways. 2. After breaking the trendline a reversal pin bar has formed indicating a downward but this wasn't enough to support the idea 3. after a sell order block formed followed by two FVG I'm confident that it set to move the previous low or to the discount area. -------------------------------------------- Entry strategy (Enter on Pullback) -------------------------------------------- Since the stochastics indicator on the hourly is showing it is oversold my TRADE ENTRY is a pull back into the red oderblock & wait for stochastic indicator to be overbought to enter or a rejection of the orderblock note: the trade could just keep going down without doing a pullback
Short
by bethalldaybae
NIKKEI Long From A Massive Support! Buy! Hello,Traders! NIKKEI stock index has Lost almost 27% from the ATH Which means it is clearly oversold And the index is about to retest A massive horizontal support level Of 30,000 which is a great spot For going long on the index And even if the support gets Broken I would still hold the Position expecting a rebound Buy! Comment and subscribe to help us grow! Check out other forecasts below too! Disclosure: I am part of Trade Nation's Influencer program and receive a monthly fee for using their TradingView charts in my analysis.
TVC:NI225Long
by TopTradingSignals
2
GOLD Will Go UP! Buy! Hello,Traders! GOLD made a nice correction Of almost 7% on the general Panic over the trade wars which Gives us a great opportunity To jump into Gold with a discount From a nice horizontal support Level of 2945$ from where We will be expecting a Further bullish move up Buy! Comment and subscribe to help us grow! Check out other forecasts below too! Disclosure: I am part of Trade Nation's Influencer program and receive a monthly fee for using their TradingView charts in my analysis.
TRADENATION:XAUUSDLong
by TopTradingSignals
2
NZD_USD RISKY LONG| ✅NZD_USD has hit a key structure level of 0.5520 Which implies a high likelihood of a move up As some market participants will be taking profit from short positions While others will find this price level to be good for buying So as usual we will have a chance to ride the wave of a bullish correction LONG🚀 ✅Like and subscribe to never miss a new idea!✅ 

 Disclosure: I am part of Trade Nation's Influencer program and receive a monthly fee for using their TradingView charts in my analysis.
Long
by ProSignalsFx
1