SMC primer
Break of Structure, Change of Character, Fair Value Gaps, Order Blocks, Equal Highs / Lows, Prior Period Levels, Premium / Discount — the vocabulary the new SMC indicators speak.
Smart Money Concepts (SMC) is a style of price-action analysis that frames the market in terms of liquidity engineering by larger participants. Six of the indicators added in the May 2026 wave are clean-room SMC ports. This page maps each concept to the indicator that detects it and to the rule-template strategies in the marketplace that use it.
Break of Structure (BOS)
A pivot high (in an uptrend) or pivot low (in a downtrend) being taken out by a subsequent close. Confirms the prevailing structure is continuing. The `market_structure` indicator emits `bos_signal` on the bar the break occurs.
Change of Character (CHoCH)
A pivot break against the prevailing structure — the first sign of a possible regime flip. Emitted as `choch_signal` by `market_structure`. CHoCH is louder than BOS: it suggests the trend that produced the swing chain has ended.
Fair Value Gap (FVG)
A three-bar imbalance where bar[n-2]'s wick and bar[n]'s wick leave a price range that bar[n-1] passed through without trading. Treated as an unfilled order zone that price often returns to. The `fair_value_gap` indicator tracks the gap until it fills.
Order Block (OB)
The last opposite-coloured candle before a Break of Structure — the body that produced the move. A canonical SMC long setup is: wait for a bullish BOS, mark the last bearish candle as the bull OB, enter on retest. `order_block` emits `bull_retest` for exactly this.
Equal Highs / Equal Lows (EQH / EQL)
When successive highs (or lows) form within a small tolerance, they pool resting stop-losses. Smart money sees these as liquidity targets. `equal_highs_lows` marks the level and emits `eqh_swept` the bar the level is taken out — often the kickoff of a reversal.
Prior Period Levels (PDH / PDL / PWH / PWL)
Prior day, prior week, and prior month open / high / low / close. These are intraday magnets and rejection zones. `prior_period_levels` exposes all twelve values keyed off the bar timestamp — no parameters needed.
Premium / Discount zones
Splits a trailing range into three Fibonacci zones: discount (lower third), equilibrium (middle), premium (upper third). The SMC long bias is to only buy in discount; short in premium. `premium_discount_zones.current_zone` returns the current zone name.
Where to see this in a strategy
The strategy marketplace ships rule templates that combine these primitives — for example, `smc-discount-fvg-retest-long` combines a discount-zone filter, a fresh bull FVG, and an OB retest. Browse them in the marketplace to see the YAML.