Institutions take the other side of predictable retail behavior.
Retail traders cluster stops at "obvious" levels (below swing lows, above swing highs, on round numbers, on trendlines). Institutions need those orders to fill their own — so they manufacture moves to those zones first, then reverse.
In the ICT framework, Smart Money vs Retail is produced by these upstream concepts:
Understanding Smart Money vs Retail is essential because it feeds into:
These mentorship strategies incorporate Smart Money vs Retail in their playbook:
Open the Foundations — The ICT Premise interactive module — see Smart Money vs Retail on a real chart with step-by-step annotations.
🎯 Open in IMS App →