ICT Silver Bullet Strategy: Time Windows, Setup and Rules

Some ICT models are built mainly around structure. The Silver Bullet is built around time. It takes the general idea of kill zones and narrows it to three specific one-hour windows, then asks a simple question: inside this hour, did price take liquidity and leave a fair value gap pointing toward the next pool of liquidity? If yes, there may be a trade. If not, the trader waits for the next window.

What it is

The Silver Bullet uses three windows, all in New York local time (ET):

Within a window, the model is a compact sequence:

1. Draw on liquidity. There is an obvious target, such as a session high or low, the previous day high or low, or equal highs or lows.
2. Sweep and displacement. Price runs the liquidity on the opposite side, then moves sharply toward the target, often with a market structure shift.
3. FVG entry. The displacement leaves a fair value gap inside the window, and the trader enters on a retrace into it.

The appeal is clarity. The time rule removes most of the day, and the pattern rule removes most of what is left.

How to identify it

1. Before the window, mark the liquidity pools above and below price and decide which one is the likely target.
2. At the start of the hour, watch for price to move against that target and take a nearby high or low.
3. Look for a displacement candle or series of candles back toward the target.
4. Confirm a fair value gap formed by that displacement, with its candles inside the window.
5. Place a limit entry at the gap, often at its edge or its 50% level.
6. Put the stop beyond the sweep extreme, or beyond the first candle of the gap for a tighter version.
7. Check the distance to target. Many traders skip setups where the target is too close to justify the risk.

Worked example: XAU/USD in the 10:00–11:00 ET window

All prices are illustrative.

• Draw on liquidity: the previous day high at 2,412.50.
• Morning low: the New York session has made a low at 2,392.00.
• Sweep: at 10:05 ET, price drops to 2,391.20, taking out the stops below 2,392.00.
• Displacement: by 10:15 ET price rallies hard to 2,401.80, breaking a short-term high and leaving a bullish fair value gap between 2,394.60 and 2,397.40.
• Entry: a buy limit at 2,396.00, the 50% level of the gap. Price retraces and fills it at 10:24 ET, inside the window.
• Stop: 2,390.80, 40 cents below the sweep low. Risk = 2,396.00 − 2,390.80 = $5.20 per ounce.
• First target: the displacement high at 2,401.80, which is $5.80 away, about 1.1 times the risk.
• Final target: the previous day high at 2,412.50, which is $16.50 away, about 3.2 times the risk.

Position size: with a $10,000 account risking 1% ($100), and assuming a contract where one lot is 100 ounces (so $1 of price movement is worth $100 per lot), one lot would risk $520 over a $5.20 stop. The size is $100 ÷ $520 ≈ 0.19 lots, which risks about $98.80. Contract sizes vary by broker, so always check yours.

A common management choice would be to take partial profit at 2,401.80 and move the stop to breakeven, leaving the rest aimed at 2,412.50. Price may never reach the final target; the plan should be acceptable either way.

How traders use it

• As a routine. Some traders trade only one window, often 10:00–11:00 ET, every day, and do nothing else.
• With bias. The setup is cleaner when the target agrees with the daily bias.
• Across markets. It is applied to EUR/USD, GBP/USD, gold and stock index futures such as the Nasdaq 100. Behavior differs, so test each separately.
• Inside a bigger model. The entry sequence is close to the ICT 2022 model, compressed into one hour.

Rules of thumb

• No setup, no trade. Many windows produce nothing that fits. Waiting is part of the model.
• Gap must come from displacement. A small gap in a slow drift is weaker evidence than one created by a strong, decisive move.
• Mind the clock. If the gap forms at 10:58 ET, some traders still allow the entry after 11:00 ET; others do not. Decide your rule in advance.
• Respect news. Releases inside or just before the window can produce wild sweeps in both directions.
• One or two attempts. Repeated re-entries in the same window usually signal that the idea is not working.

Use the Risk Reward Calculator to check whether the target justifies the stop before you place the order.

Common mistakes

• Trading the hour, not the pattern. Entering simply because the window opened.
• Ignoring the target. A setup that points toward nothing in particular has no clear reason to continue.
• Stops inside the sweep. A stop placed just under the gap is easily taken by a deeper retrace.
• Chasing a missed entry. If price runs without filling the gap, the trade is gone.
• Mixing time zones. The windows are New York time. Convert carefully if your platform uses a different clock.

Summary

The ICT Silver Bullet combines three one-hour New York windows (03:00–04:00, 10:00–11:00 and 14:00–15:00 ET) with a simple pattern: a clear draw on liquidity, a sweep and displacement, and an entry on a fair value gap formed inside the hour. Targets are the next liquidity pool, stops sit beyond the sweep, and size follows from the stop distance. It is a disciplined framework, not a guarantee, so test it on your chosen market and keep risk per trade small.