Video Summary - ICT Mentorship Core Content - Month 05

Main ideas / lessons conveyed

Open float definition (core concept)

An open float is the current open interest above and below the current market price.

It’s represented by resting pending orders (liquidity), such as:

Buy stops above price
- Examples: above old highs, above the current price, or above short-term highs
Sell stops below price
- Examples: below lows by a few pips or below significant lows

These orders can include:

Buy stops for traders looking to enter long (breakout-style)
Buy stops used as protective orders for existing shorts
Sell stops to enter short (breakdown-style)
Sell stops used as protective orders for existing longs

Practical meaning: open float is the total “stack” of liquidity the market may be drawn to, depending on where price is relative to those orders.

Using quarterly shifts + open float to anticipate liquidity targets

The video focuses on quarterly shift levels (noted about every ~3 months) and how they often act as liquidity magnets.

Buy-side liquidity (for longs / expecting upward liquidity grabs)

Protective/entry buy stops are expected above levels such as:

The last bearish shift
Short-term highs, including:
- Weekly high or monthly high
- Buy stops above the highest high in the last 3 months
- Buy stops above the current 6-month high
- Buy stops above the current 12-month high

The presenter’s note:

Don’t be discouraged by the 6/12-month references—price can remain within that range for a long time and still eventually reach the level.
Newer traders may assume it “must” take 12 months, but the presenter argues it often revisits sooner depending on how wide the range is.

Sell-side liquidity (for shorts / expecting downward liquidity grabs)

Protective/entry sell stops are expected below levels such as:

The last bullish shift
Short-term lows, including:
- Weekly low or monthly low
- Sell stops below the lowest low in the last 3 months
- Sell stops below the current 6-month low
- Sell stops below the current 12-month low

How the presenter decides whether price will run buy stops or sell stops

The key question is:

How to know whether the market will stop just above an old high and reverse, or continue lower after violating an old low

The method relies on observing what liquidity gets taken and how market structure evolves afterward.

Behavioral logic:

The market often runs one side’s liquidity first (e.g., takes buy stops above highs).
After that side is cleared, the market may shift and begin running the opposite side’s liquidity (e.g., sell stops below newly violated lows), with retracements filling liquidity voids.

Market structure / “clues” the presenter watches (daily chart emphasis)

Using a chart example, the presenter watches for:

Runs above old highs
Runs below old lows
Market structure shifts (breaks/violations)
Subsequent retracements into prior highs/lows where liquidity is stacked

Practical clues for bias toward sell-side liquidity:

If the market can keep moving below short-term lows, but rallies fail to make higher highs, that suggests price is likely seeking sell-side liquidity.

The presenter looks for repeated patterns:

Lower intermediate-term highs forming over time
Lower short-term lows occurring each cycle
Each rally being “distributed” (rejected and punished quickly)

Intermediate-term high / long-term high conceptualization (structure heuristic)

The video includes a simplified way to interpret structure:

An intermediate-term high is described as a high that has:
- A short-term high to the left, and
- A short-term high to the right

It’s compared to the “middle of a head-and-shoulders type” pattern—i.e., structure that may indicate a potential turning/rollover zone.

The same concept applies to intermediate-term lows (inverted).

Timeframe expectations

The presenter emphasizes:

Liquidity-driven moves can take a long time (months).
Studying them live can be difficult due to limited “turnaround time,” but in hindsight there are many clean examples.

Example windows mentioned:

Roughly 3–6 months for major directional runs (e.g., described ranges such as Dec 2015 → May 2016, then the subsequent leg to Dec 2016)

Concluding takeaway / framework promise

The framework—open float + quarterly shift mapping—aims to provide:

A daily chart directional bias
Alignment across different trading styles (day trading, scalping, short-term, swing)
A more institutional/smart money perspective on where liquidity is likely targeted

Detailed methodology / instruction-style bullet points

Step 1: Define what “open float” means on your chart

Treat open float as:

Pending buy orders above price (buy stops)
Pending sell orders below price (sell stops)

Include both entry and protective stops where traders would get triggered. Price often behaves as if it’s “hunting” those orders depending on structure and liquidity availability.

Step 2: Mark quarterly shift reference levels (~every 3 months)

Every quarter, identify and note:

The highest high in the last 3 months
The lowest low in the last 3 months

Expect:

Buy stops above the 3-month high
Sell stops below the 3-month low

These are likely targets, especially after relevant structure shifts.

Step 3: Build the buy-side liquidity map (bullish liquidity pursuit)

Mark buy-stop targets such as:

Above the last bearish shift
Above short-term highs (weekly/monthly)
Above the highest high in the last 3 months
Above the current 6-month high
Above the current 12-month high

Step 4: Build the sell-side liquidity map (bearish liquidity pursuit)

Mark sell-stop targets such as:

Below the last bullish shift
Below short-term lows (weekly/monthly)
Below the lowest low in the last 3 months
Below the current 6-month low
Below the current 12-month low

Step 5: Use “liquidity taken” vs “liquidity not taken” to decide reversal vs continuation

Watch what happens as price approaches old highs/lows:

If price runs up and clears buy-side liquidity (buy stops above major highs get triggered/taken), that can precede a shift.
If after a move, the opposite side appears vulnerable (e.g., new lows violated → sell stops below), that can indicate the next target side.

Step 6: Identify directional bias from market structure behavior

On a daily chart, look for repeated structure outcomes (“tug of war”):

If the market:

Continues breaking below short-term lows, and
Fails to form convincing higher highs during rallies,

Then the bias is that price likely wants the sell-side liquidity below those violated points.

Step 7: Confirm with intermediate-term structure

Track how intermediate-term highs/lows form:

If intermediate-term highs keep becoming lower while lows also go lower, it supports the idea that price is distributing rallies and seeking downside liquidity.

Step 8: Apply open-float logic across pairs/assets for consistency

The presenter claims that studying multiple markets helps:

Validate the daily directional bias
Support a broader “institutional” viewpoint

Speakers / sources featured (as identifiable in the subtitles)

Primary speaker/presenter: Not explicitly named in the subtitles (speaks throughout; references their own methods and teaching)
Referenced educator / source: Larry Williams (mentioned as an influence on how the speaker learned to view market structure)

ICT Mentorship Core Content - Month 05 - Open Float

Key takeaways