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| Forex ICT Daily Profiles |
If you’ve ever wondered why professional traders seem to “predict” market direction before it happens, the secret often lies in their deep understanding of daily profiles — how the market behaves at specific times of the day, and how institutional traders leave footprints in price.
In this blog, we’ll unlock what Forex ICT Daily Profiles really are, how to read them, and how you can apply them to become a consistently profitable trader. Let’s dive in.
1. The Hidden Rhythm of the Forex Market
Every financial market has a rhythm — a heartbeat that beats to time, liquidity, and human behavior. The Forex market, however, is unique because it operates 24 hours a day across different sessions: Asian, London, and New York.
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| Trading The Kill Zones in Forex |
ICT (Inner Circle Trader), a methodology developed by Michael J. Huddleston, teaches that each session holds distinct characteristics, and within those sessions, daily profiles form — repeating structures of price delivery that can be studied, anticipated, and traded with precision.
Think of it this way:
> “The market is not random — it’s engineered. The key is to understand who is engineering it and when.” — ICT
That “when” is where daily profiles come in.
2. What Are ICT Daily Profiles?
A Daily Profile represents how the market structures price delivery across one trading day — from the daily open to the daily close. It’s not just about price levels, but about liquidity distribution, session timing, and the psychology of institutions moving price.
In ICT, each day typically forms one of several profile types:
1. Accumulation–Manipulation–Distribution Profile (AMD Model)
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| Forx ICT AMD |
The market accumulates orders in a tight range (consolidation).
Then, it manipulates by running stops or creating a false breakout.
Finally, it distributes in the real direction of the day.
2. Reversal Profile
Price moves strongly in one direction during London, then reverses in New York — often around key time levels like 10:00 AM or 1:30 PM New York time.
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| Continuation vs Reversal |
3. Continuation Profile
The trend begins early in the London session and continues smoothly into New York, showing institutional alignment.
Understanding which profile the market is forming gives you a map — and that’s what professional traders use to navigate each day.
3. Why ICT Daily Profiles Matter
The majority of retail traders fail not because they lack knowledge, but because they trade blindly against the daily profile.
Here’s a simple truth:
If you buy during a manipulation phase, you’re buying liquidity for the institutions that plan to sell.
If you sell after distribution, you’re providing the exit liquidity for smart money that’s already taking profit.
By recognizing the daily profile structure, you align yourself with the smart money flow — trading with institutions, not against them.
Let’s visualize this concept with an example.
4. A Practical Example: The London Reversal
Imagine you’re trading EUR/USD on a Wednesday.
At 2:00 AM New York time, the London session opens. Price consolidates for about two hours. You notice equal highs just above the Asian range — a typical liquidity pool.
At 3:30 AM, price suddenly spikes above those highs — taking out stop losses. Many traders buy the breakout, thinking “London just opened, the market’s moving up!”
But smart money? They just engineered a liquidity grab.
By 5:00 AM, the price drops sharply — reversing the entire move.
You, as an ICT-trained trader, recognize this as a Manipulation–Distribution profile. You waited for the liquidity sweep, confirmed a shift in market structure, and sold at the right time.
Result: a high-probability trade that aligns with the institutional narrative.
That’s the power of reading daily profiles.
5. The Time Element: ICT “Kill Zones”
Understanding time is critical in ICT daily profiles.
ICT teaches that the market’s high-probability moves occur during specific time windows, called Kill Zones — when liquidity and volatility are at their peak.
Here’s a quick summary:
Asian Session (7 PM – 12 AM EST)
Often forms the accumulation phase. Low volatility, range-bound, setting up liquidity traps for later sessions.
London Kill Zone (2 AM – 5 AM EST)
This is where the market often manipulates — sweeping liquidity from the Asian session.
New York Kill Zone (7 AM – 10 AM EST)
Usually, the real move begins here — either continuation or reversal of the London trend.
New York PM Session (1 PM – 3 PM EST)
Common for retracements or profit-taking.
Understanding these time blocks helps you anticipate which part of the daily profile you’re in — and that’s your edge.
6. How to Read a Daily Profile Like a Pro
Let’s walk through how professional traders analyze a daily profile step by step.
Step 1: Identify the Daily Bias
Before the session begins, determine whether the market is likely to trend up or down that day.
ICT traders use:
Previous day’s high and low
Market structure (higher highs/lows)
Daily liquidity pools
If price is above the previous day’s high, it’s likely targeting liquidity below — and vice versa.
Step 2: Mark Liquidity Pools
Draw your equal highs, equal lows, and fair value gaps (FVGs).
These are the areas where smart money will engineer price to grab liquidity.
Step 3: Recognize Session Transitions
Notice what the market does as it transitions between sessions:
From Asia to London: Expect a liquidity sweep.
From London to New York: Expect continuation or reversal.
Step 4: Confirm with Market Structure Shift (MSS)
After a manipulation or sweep, wait for a market structure shift — a clear break in the short-term structure confirming direction.
Step 5: Execute During a Kill Zone
Never chase. Wait for your setup during high-probability times.
Your trade should align with:
The daily bias
The profile phase (accumulation, manipulation, or distribution)
The Kill Zone
This is how ICT traders maintain precision and patience.
7. Case Study: GBP/USD Daily Profile Breakdown
Let’s analyze a real scenario.
Date: Tuesday
Pair: GBP/USD
Asian Session:
Price moves sideways between 1.2640–1.2660. Equal highs at 1.2660 — a liquidity magnet.
London Session (2–5 AM EST):
At 2:30 AM, price spikes up to 1.2675, taking out the Asian highs. This is the manipulation phase.
New York Session (7–10 AM EST):
At 8:00 AM, price forms a bearish market structure shift, breaking below 1.2650.
You enter a short position with confirmation from an FVG and a 15-minute structure break.
By 11:00 AM, price hits 1.2600 — the day’s distribution phase and your target zone.
This is a textbook Accumulation–Manipulation–Distribution profile, perfectly aligning with ICT principles.
8. Common Mistakes Traders Make with Daily Profiles
Even with this knowledge, many traders still fall into traps. Here are the most common ones:
Trading too early in the session:
Don’t rush. Wait for the liquidity grab first.
Ignoring the daily bias:
Always know where price is relative to yesterday’s range.
Overanalyzing:
Keep it simple. Focus on time + liquidity + structure.
Skipping journaling:
Review your trades daily. Build a log of profile patterns you see repeatedly — that’s your personal edge.
9. The Psychological Edge: Thinking Like Smart Money
Daily profiles don’t just reveal price patterns — they reveal trader psychology.
The market’s purpose is to engineer liquidity, meaning it moves to create emotional reactions.
Retail traders react emotionally; institutional traders act strategically.
When you understand daily profiles, you no longer get tricked by false moves — because you see the intent behind every candle.
As ICT says:
> “You stop asking what the market is doing, and start understanding why it’s doing it.”
This mental shift transforms how you trade forever.
If you want to build consistency, focus on mastery over frequency.
You don’t need to trade every session — just one daily profile that repeats often.
For example:
If you’re in Asia, focus on the London reversal.
If you’re in the US, trade the New York continuation.
Track that one pattern across pairs for weeks. You’ll start noticing the same structure repeating again and again — like a song you’ve finally learned to play by ear.
That’s where mastery is born.
11. A Word of Wisdom
Success in Forex isn’t about finding a “holy grail indicator.”
It’s about understanding the interplay between time, liquidity, and intention — the three foundations of the ICT model.
When you combine those with discipline and patience, trading becomes less about guessing and more about reading — like reading a book that the market writes every single day.
Final Words: Your Key to Trading Success
The ICT Daily Profile is not just another concept — it’s the daily blueprint of institutional activity.
Once you learn to read it, you stop reacting and start predicting.
It won’t happen overnight. But with time, you’ll notice something powerful:
You begin to anticipate market movements before they happen — because you finally understand how smart money thinks.
> “Success in trading isn’t about seeing the future — it’s about reading the present with clarity.”
So, from today on, commit to studying one daily profile every day.
Draw it. Journal it. Observe it.
The more you do, the more the fog of uncertainty clears — and soon, you’ll see the markets for what they truly are: an organized, repeatable system of liquidity and timing.
And that, my friend, is your key to trading success.