Structure
Wyckoff
Market analysis methodology created by Richard Wyckoff that studies the relationship between price, volume, and time to identify institutional accumulation and distribution phases.
What is Wyckoff
The Wyckoff Methodology is a market analysis framework developed by Richard D. Wyckoff in the early 20th century. It studies how institutions (the “Composite Man”) accumulate and distribute positions before moving price.
In SMC/ICT, Wyckoff concepts are used to identify where institutions are building positions and when price is likely to displace.
The 4 Wyckoff Phases
Phase A — Stopping the Trend
- Selling Climax (SC): Massive selling with high volume that stops the decline
- Automatic Rally (AR): Automatic bounce after the climax
- Secondary Test (ST): Re-test of the low to confirm selling is exhausted
Phase B — Building the Cause
- Sideways range where institutions accumulate positions
- Multiple tests of support and resistance within the range
- Volume gradually decreases
Phase C — Test (the Trap)
- Spring: False break below the range that sweeps liquidity (equivalent to a liquidity sweep in SMC)
- This is where most retail traders get stopped out
- In SMC, this corresponds to a sweep of equal lows
Phase D — Markup/Markdown
- Sign of Strength (SOS): Impulsive move that breaks structure (equivalent to BOS in SMC)
- Last Point of Support (LPS): Final pullback before the trend (equivalent to mitigating an Order Block)
Wyckoff and SMC: The Connection
| Wyckoff | SMC/ICT |
|---|---|
| Spring | Liquidity Sweep |
| Selling Climax | Displacement |
| Sign of Strength | Break of Structure (BOS) |
| Last Point of Support | Order Block mitigation |
| Accumulation range | Consolidation before displacement |
How We Use It on Gold
On XAU/USD, Wyckoff is especially useful on H4 and Daily timeframes to identify:
- Accumulation before large rallies — Gold forms 2-5 day sideways ranges before $100+ moves
- Springs (sweeps) of support — Price sweeps range lows before rallying hard
- Distribution at tops — Sideways range at highs before significant drops
When to Apply It
- Always in confluence with SMC — Wyckoff gives macro context, SMC gives precise entries
- A Wyckoff Spring + an unmitigated Order Block = high probability entry
- Don’t trade Wyckoff alone — combine it with market structure and killzones