ICT Silver Bullet: Session Windows, Conditions and Risk

Framework note: ICT terms are interpretations of price action, not proof of institutional motives or a market algorithm’s intent. No setup is guaranteed. Test clearly defined rules, account for costs and slippage, and use risk limits before risking capital. Read our editorial policy.

The Silver Bullet is an ICT entry framework associated with specified intraday time windows and conditions such as a liquidity sweep, displacement and FVG. The time window does not make every such sequence precise or repeatable; evaluate all qualifying and failed cases.

The Three Silver Bullet Windows

• •10:00 AM – 11:00 AM New York time: The primary Silver Bullet window. This is the first hour after the New York morning session has opened and the initial volatility from the open has settled. The algorithm frequently delivers a Silver Bullet setup during this window after establishing the morning directional bias.
• •2:00 PM – 3:00 PM New York time: The afternoon Silver Bullet window. This coincides with the early stages of the New York afternoon session and the transition from the midday doldrums into afternoon directional trading.
• •11:00 PM – Midnight New York time (or 1:00 AM – 2:00 AM): The overnight Silver Bullet window, relevant primarily for forex traders targeting pairs during the Asian session transition.

The Core Setup Mechanics

The Silver Bullet setup is built on three components: a liquidity sweep, a displacement move, and a Fair Value Gap. During the Silver Bullet window, price first sweeps liquidity — taking out a recent swing high or swing low. This sweep is the manipulation phase. Immediately after the sweep, a displacement move occurs in the opposite direction, creating a Fair Value Gap. This FVG is the Silver Bullet entry.

The sequence reads like this: price sweeps Buy-Side Liquidity (takes a swing high), then creates a bearish displacement that leaves a bearish FVG. You sell into that FVG. Or: price sweeps Sell-Side Liquidity (takes a swing low), then creates a bullish displacement leaving a bullish FVG. You buy into that FVG. The FVG created by the post-sweep displacement is your entry zone. The CE of the FVG is your specific entry point.

Step-by-Step Silver Bullet Entry Process

• •Step 1 — Determine HTF Bias: Before the window opens, identify the daily bias. Is the institutional order flow bullish or bearish? Only take Silver Bullet setups that align with the daily bias.
• •Step 2 — Identify the Liquidity Pool: Mark the most recent swing high (BSL) and swing low (SSL) on the 5-minute chart before the window opens.
• •Step 3 — Wait for the Window: Do not enter before 10:00 AM. The Silver Bullet only operates within its defined windows.
• •Step 4 — Watch for the Sweep: During the window, observe if price sweeps the BSL or SSL. For a bearish bias, you want a BSL sweep. For a bullish bias, you want an SSL sweep.
• •Step 5 — Identify the FVG: After the sweep, a displacement candle (or series of candles) creates an FVG. Mark the gap between candle 1 high and candle 3 low (for bearish) or candle 1 low and candle 3 high (for bullish).
• •Step 6 — Enter at the CE: Set a limit order at the 50% midpoint of the FVG (the Consequent Encroachment). This is your entry.
• •Step 7 — Place Stop and Target: Stop above the FVG high for short entries, below the FVG low for long entries. Target: the nearest liquidity pool in the direction of the trade.

What Makes a Silver Bullet High Probability

Not every FVG during a Silver Bullet window is a Silver Bullet setup. The key qualifiers that elevate probability are: the setup aligns with the daily bias, the liquidity sweep is clean and decisive, the FVG is created by a genuine displacement (large-bodied candles, not small doji candles), and the entry is at the first FVG after the sweep — not a secondary or tertiary FVG.

The commonly discussed Silver Bullet setups occur when the daily chart shows a clear draw on liquidity and the Silver Bullet sweep is in the direction that aligns with that draw. For example, if the daily chart shows a clear draw toward the previous week's high (BSL on the daily), and the Silver Bullet window shows a sweep of 5-minute SSL followed by a bullish FVG, the two timeframes are aligned — the lower timeframe sweep collected sell-side liquidity before the higher timeframe delivery toward BSL continues.

Silver Bullet Risk Management

Set risk before entry according to your own account limits and plan. The presence of an FVG does not guarantee a tight or practical stop, and a favorable planned reward-to-risk ratio does not ensure the target will be filled.

Worked hypothetical example

A trader selects a Silver Bullet window from the source they follow and marks the relevant liquidity reference before it begins. Price makes a sweep and then produces a candidate imbalance, but the retracement does not meet the trader’s entry rule before the window ends. The setup expires and is recorded as no trade.

Failure case and what to test

Fixed time windows do not guarantee a trade or predictive advantage. Timezone errors, changing volatility, inconsistent definitions and selective screenshots can make the model look cleaner in hindsight than it performs live.

Test checklist

• •Specify timezone, session window and the source definition.
• •Write sweep, confirmation, entry expiry and invalidation rules before testing.
• •Compare qualifying windows with misses, losing entries and similar periods outside the window.

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