ICT Mentorship Core Content - Month 1 - Fair Valuation

Fair value is NOT what retail traders consider fair — it is the price level at which market makers can efficiently accumulate or liquidate positions. In discount zones, fair value means accumulation of longs; in premium zones, fair value means distribution/selling of longs or initiating shorts. This reframing is the central thesis of the entire teaching (0:08).

Equilibrium is the midpoint (50%) of a defined high-to-low price range and represents the "equal distance" fair value. When price consolidates around equilibrium, direction is determined by the most recent market structure break — if a swing high was broken, bullish bias prevails at equilibrium (3:45).

A liquidity void occurs when price moves rapidly in one direction with large-range candles and minimal wicks, meaning very little trading occurred at those intermediate price levels. The market will eventually want to revisit and "fill in" these voids, making them targets for future price movement (2:30).

Defined as the price gap between the low of an up-candle above and the high of an up-candle below a one-directional move — where only selling (or buying) occurred with no counter-movement. These gaps act as magnets for future price retracement and are key areas where market makers look to distribute or accumulate (3:15).