Market structure shift (MSS)

A sweep, then a displacement through the last swing: the market changed its mind.

A market structure shift is ICT's sign that the short-term direction has changed. It needs two things in order: liquidity taken on one side, then a fast move that breaks the most recent swing on the other side, usually leaving a fair value gap behind.

Illustration drawn by Propbook, not a real chart.

How to spot it

1
Wait for price to run a high (or low) where liquidity rested.
2
Then look for a displacement that closes beyond the last short-term swing in the opposite direction.
3
The fair value gap left by that move is where the entry is usually looked for.

On a prop firm account

Only trade a shift that agrees with your higher timeframe bias. Counter-trend shifts fail more often, and on a funded account a string of small losses costs more than one missed trade.

Position size

Watch ICT explain it

Your notes

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Related concepts

Liquidity: buy-side and sell-side

Stops rest above highs and below lows. Price goes there first.

Fair value gap (FVG)

Three candles, one gap: the imbalance price comes back to fill.

Breaker block

An order block that failed, and now works from the other side.

All videos are by Michael J. Huddleston, the Inner Circle Trader, and play from his YouTube channel. Propbook is not affiliated with ICT; this is an independent index.