Learn Liquidity Liquidity Pools — BSL, SSL, Equal Highs & Lows
Liquidity Pools — BSL, SSL, Equal Highs & Lows
Stop orders cluster beyond obvious highs and lows — smart money treats them as targets, not barriers.
Every swing high carries buy-side liquidity (BSL) — the buy stops of shorts and breakout orders resting just above it. Every swing low carries sell-side liquidity (SSL) below it.
Equal highs (EQH) and equal lows (EQL) are especially potent: two or more highs at nearly the same price look like a "strong resistance" to retail, but to ICT they are a fattened pool of stops begging to be run.
Previous day and week highs/lows (PDH/PDL, PWH/PWL) and session extremes are liquidity by definition, and large moves routinely terminate right after raiding one of these pools.
How to trade it
- Treat obvious equal highs/lows as targets for your trades, not as safe places to set breakout entries.
- Expect the run: when price approaches a pool, anticipate a sweep through it before any real reversal.
- Keep PDH/PDL and session highs/lows marked at all times — they are the market’s reference targets.
Pitfalls
- Buying breakouts of equal highs — you are often the liquidity being collected.
- Placing stops exactly at the obvious level along with everyone else; give them room beyond the pool.
See Liquidity Pools — BSL, SSL, Equal Highs & Lows detected live.
The workstation marks it on the chart the moment it prints.