ICT describes typical profiles: the shapes a week or a day tends to take. They are the Power of 3 applied to the weekly and daily candles, with a view on when the high and low usually form. Knowing the common profiles helps you anticipate where the extremes are likely to be.
Weekly profiles
| Profile | What happens | Where the extreme forms |
|---|---|---|
| Classic expansion | Early manipulation, then a trend for the rest of the week | Low (bullish) or high (bearish) on Monday or Tuesday |
| Midweek reversal | Price runs one way into Wednesday, then reverses | Wednesday, often at a higher-timeframe PD array |
| Consolidation, then expansion | Range early in the week, breakout later | Thursday, often around news |
| Seek and destroy | Choppy; both sides of the range taken | No clean extreme; a week to avoid |
Daily profiles
- London makes the low (or high): on a bullish day, London sweeps the Asian low or the previous day's low, then New York continues higher.
- New York reversal: London trends one way into a higher-timeframe level, then New York reverses it.
- Consolidation day: London and New York stay inside the previous day's range. Often before big news.
Using profiles
- Start from your weekly and daily bias (chapter 11).
- Ask which profile fits: has the extreme of the week already formed, or is it still to come?
- Plan entries in the session where the extreme usually forms, and targets in the session where expansion usually happens.
Key takeaways
- Profiles describe typical shapes for a week or a day, and when their high and low usually form.
- In a classic bullish week the low forms early (Monday to Wednesday); in a classic bullish day, often during London.
- Other common profiles include the midweek reversal, consolidation then expansion, and choppy seek-and-destroy weeks.
- Match the profile to your bias, and test which profiles your market really shows in your journal.