TLDR;
This comprehensive Smart Money Concepts (SMC) trading course covers everything from basic market structure to advanced techniques used by institutional traders. It emphasizes understanding and following the behavior of "smart money" (large professional investors) to profit from market manipulation and liquidity. The course also covers risk management and trading psychology.
- Understanding Smart Money Concepts
- Market Structure and Trends
- Identifying and Trading Liquidity
- Risk Management and Trading Psychology
The Smart Money Concepts Trading Course That Would’ve Saved Me Years... [0:00]
The video introduces a comprehensive, free Smart Money Concepts (SMC) trading course designed to help traders profit in various financial markets. The course aims to provide a clear, step-by-step understanding of SMC, including advanced techniques often unknown to most traders. The instructor recommends watching the course in order, from beginner to advanced topics, to gain a complete understanding, though video chapters are available for those who want to jump to specific sections. The course uses Trading View for technical analysis, with a recommendation for Trading View Premium (a special link is provided for a 30-day free trial).
What is Smart Money & SMC? Understanding Institutional Trading 🏦 [2:51]
Smart money refers to large professional investors like institutions, hedge funds, and banks, who possess significant capital, advanced tools, and better data compared to retail traders. These entities influence price by creating liquidity and manipulating market levels. Smart Money Concepts (SMC) is a trading approach focused on identifying and following the behavior of these big players to take advantage of their manipulations.
Market Structure Basics: Uptrends, Downtrends & Sideways Markets [5:42]
The basics of market structure, including uptrends, downtrends, and sideways markets, are explained as foundational concepts for Smart Money Concepts (SMC). An uptrend is defined by price moving higher over time, characterized by higher highs (HH) and higher lows (HL), indicating buyer control and bullish momentum. A downtrend is the opposite, with price moving lower, forming lower highs and lower lows, signifying seller dominance and bearish momentum. A sideways market, or trading range, involves price moving horizontally between support and resistance, showing no clear direction and often representing a consolidation phase. Sideways markets can take various forms, including broadening structures and triangles.
Break of Structure (BOS) & Change of Character (CHOCH) [12:39]
Break of Structure (BOS) and Change of Character (CHOCH) are important market structure concepts in smart money trading. A break of structure occurs when the price moves above a previous high in an uptrend or below a previous low in a downtrend, confirming the continuation of the current trend. A change of character signals a possible shift in trend direction or a potential reversal, happening when the price breaks structure in the opposite direction of the previous trend.
Which Levels Actually Matter? (Strong vs Weak Highs & Lows) [17:55]
Strong versus weak highs and lows are defined based on their ability to break previous market structures. A strong low is followed by a move that breaks above the previous high, while a strong high is followed by a move that breaks below the previous swing low. Conversely, a weak low fails to break any previous high after bouncing, suggesting weak buying, and a weak high fails to break any previous low after a pullback, indicating weak selling.
Fair Value Gaps (FVG) - How to Identify & Trade Imbalances [21:30]
Fair Value Gaps (FVGs) are small price zones where the market moved quickly, resulting in thin or inefficient trading activity. An FVG forms when there is little overlap between three consecutive candles, often during a strong, impulsive move. These gaps can act as potential support and resistance areas, with price often returning to these levels, offering entry opportunities. A bullish FVG is the area between the highest point of the first candle and the lowest point of the third candle in an upward price movement, while a bearish FVG is the opposite.
Liquidity Concepts 💧 How Money Really Flows in Markets [25:52]
Liquidity in trading refers to how easily an asset can be bought or sold without causing a significant change in price. High liquidity leads to a tight bid-ask spread, low slippage, and market stability, making it easier to enter and exit positions. High liquidity markets include major forex pairs and large stocks, while low liquidity markets include penny stocks and small altcoins.
Liquidity Grabs & Sweeps - Stop Loss Hunting Strategy 🏹 [29:57]
Liquidity grabs and sweeps are strategies used by large players to find counterparties for their trades, targeting areas with many stop-loss orders. A liquidity grab is a quick, targeted move where the price briefly breaks a level and then snaps back, often appearing as a long wick on the chart. A liquidity sweep is a broader push through a liquidity zone, which can last multiple candles before reversing. Traders can use these concepts to trade in the same direction as smart money by identifying these patterns and setting stop losses and profit targets accordingly.
Trading Sessions - Best Times to Trade Markets [38:20]
Trading sessions follow major financial hubs like London, New York, and Tokyo, each with different characteristics in terms of volatility and trending behavior. The major sessions include the Asian (Tokyo) session (0-9 UTC), known for calmer, range-bound markets; the London session (7-16 UTC), characterized by high liquidity and strong trends; and the New York session (13-22 UTC), the most volatile, especially during the London-New York overlap. Overlapping sessions can increase liquidity and volatility. An indicator in Trading View can automatically display these trading sessions on the chart.
Momentum Trading 💥 How to Ride Strong Market Moves [51:21]
Momentum trading involves buying and selling assets based on strong price movements, capitalizing on the idea that assets already moving upward will continue rising. Key concepts include volume and liquidity, volatility, and confirmation through multiple indicators or price action methods. Momentum trading is suited for traders who enjoy quick decisions and fast-moving markets, but it comes with higher risk due to the potential for quick reversals. Strategies include identifying momentum candles, breakout trading, and using indicators like RSI and MACD.
Order Blocks: Finding Smart Money Footprints on Charts [1:08:58]
Order blocks are specific areas on a chart where large market participants, such as banks and hedge funds, have placed significant buy or sell orders, representing the footprints of smart money. Key concepts include high liquidity zones, institutional footprints, and price reactions when the price returns to an order block zone. Identifying order blocks involves looking for consolidation followed by an impulse move, volume spikes, and multiple touches.
Order Book Analysis 📘 How Pros Read Market Depth [1:19:17]
An order book shows all current buy (bids) and sell (asks) orders for a specific market, providing a live map of supply and demand. The bid-ask spread is the difference between the highest bid and lowest ask. The depth of market visualizes order sizes at different price levels. Limit orders are visible in the order book, while market orders execute directly. Key concepts include market depth, order size, buy and sell walls, and the bid-ask spread. Stock markets use a centralized order book, crypto exchanges have their own order books, and forex has no central order book. Indicators like volume footprint and volume profile can be used in Trading View to analyze order book data.
Risk Management for SMC Trading 🛡️ (Protect Your Capital) [1:34:31]
Risk management is the practice of protecting trading capital by controlling potential losses, essential for consistent profitability. Key building blocks include stop-loss orders, risk-to-reward ratios, position sizing, and the 1-2% rule (risking no more than 1-2% of trading account per trade). Common beginner mistakes include believing in quick riches, not using stop losses, overleveraging, and holding onto losing positions for too long. The risk-to-reward ratio compares potential loss to potential gain, helping determine if a trade is worth taking. Position sizing determines the number of shares or cryptocurrencies to trade to keep potential losses within limits. Expected value, the average amount one can expect to win or lose per trade, is a critical concept in risk management.
Trading Psychology: Master Your Mind, Master the Markets 🧠 [1:52:23]
Trading psychology determines success more than strategy. Even the best trading systems fail when traders let emotions drive decisions, can't handle losses mentally, need to be right on every trade, or lack consistent discipline. Successful trading requires a probability-based mindset, accepting that anything can happen, not needing to predict the market, and understanding that wins and losses come randomly. Traders must accept risk before the trade, recognize the market is neutral, and take full responsibility for results. Principles of consistency include knowing one's edge, defining risk, accepting risk, acting on the edge without hesitation, taking profits as available, monitoring for emotional mistakes, and sticking to the rules.
You Made It! Next Steps & Free Trading Resources [2:06:17]
The video concludes by congratulating viewers on finishing the Smart Money Concepts trading course and recommends further learning through additional free trading courses available on the channel.