ICT's Market Maker Models describe a complete move from start to finish. The Market Maker Buy Model (MMBM) is a bullish reversal; the Market Maker Sell Model (MMSM) is its mirror. They tie together liquidity, PD arrays and structure shifts into one narrative.
The Market Maker Buy Model
- Original consolidation: price ranges near the top. This is where the move started and, eventually, the target.
- Sell program (engineering liquidity): price falls in stages. Each pause and drop draws in sellers and builds sell-side liquidity below.
- Smart money reversal: price reaches a higher-timeframe discount PD array, often sweeping a low, and shifts structure upward.
- Buy program: price climbs back, often reacting at each of the earlier consolidations, as the sellers from the left side are forced out.
- Target: the original consolidation, and the buy-side liquidity above it.
The Market Maker Sell Model
The mirror image: an original consolidation near the low, a buy program rising in stages, a smart money reversal at a premium PD array, and a sell program falling back through the same consolidations to the start.
| Stage | Buy model | Sell model |
|---|---|---|
| Start | Consolidation at the top | Consolidation at the bottom |
| First half | Sell program: falls in stages | Buy program: rises in stages |
| Turn | Discount PD array, sweep, bullish shift | Premium PD array, sweep, bearish shift |
| Second half | Buy program: retraces up through the stages | Sell program: retraces down through the stages |
| Target | Original consolidation and buy-side liquidity | Original consolidation and sell-side liquidity |
How to use it
- Identify the model on a higher timeframe, such as the 4-hour or 1-hour chart.
- Don't try to catch the exact turn. Wait for the smart money reversal to confirm with a shift on a lower timeframe.
- Use the earlier consolidations on the left side as partial-profit levels on the right side.
Key takeaways
- The Market Maker Buy Model runs from an original consolidation, down a sell program, through a reversal, and back up a buy program.
- The Sell Model is the mirror image.
- The turn happens at a higher-timeframe PD array, usually with a sweep and a structure shift.
- The earlier consolidations become targets on the way back; the original consolidation is the final target.