Kill Zones & Session Timing
Overview
Kill zones are specific time windows during the trading day when institutional activity peaks and the most significant moves occur. ICT identifies four main kill zones: Asian session (20:00–00:00 ET), London Open (02:00–05:00 ET), New York Open (07:00–10:00 ET), and London Close (10:00–12:00 ET). Trading only during kill zones improves probability.
Key Concepts
Asian session: establishes the range. London Open: high-volatility breakout of Asian range. New York Open: highest volume session, often reverses London. London Close: institutional positioning close, profit-taking. Macro timing: :00 and :30 minute marks for institutional entries.
Entry Signals
Trade London Open breakout of the Asian range, NY Open reversal setups after London extension, London Close retracement entries, Focus on macro time entries (:00 and :30 marks within kill zones)
Exit Signals
Close trades before the next kill zone transition, Time-based exits at the end of the kill zone, Move to break-even if price hasn't moved within the first 30 minutes of the kill zone
Best Timeframes
Kill zones themselves define the timeframes — primarily 1M-15M for entries within the KZ window
Pro Tips
You don't need to trade every kill zone. Pick one (e.g., NY Open) and become an expert at it. Kill zones filter out the choppy, low-volume hours where most retail losses occur.
More Topics in This Category
Mitigation Blocks
Mitigation blocks are price levels where institutional traders return to 'mitigate' or close out prior losing positions before continuing in the new trend direction. When smart money takes a position that initially moves against them, they mark the level for re-entry — when price returns, they close the losing trade at break-even and add to their new directional position. This creates a powerful support or resistance zone.
Breaker Blocks
A breaker block is a failed order block that becomes a powerful support or resistance level when price returns to it from the opposite side. When institutional buying or selling at an order block is overwhelmed and price breaks through, the original order block transforms into a breaker block. Smart money uses these levels to re-enter in the new trend direction as they represent an area where the previous thesis was invalidated.
Fair Value Gaps (FVGs)
A Fair Value Gap is a three-candle pattern where the wicks of candle 1 and candle 3 do not overlap, creating an imbalance or gap in price. FVGs represent areas where price moved so aggressively that there was insufficient opposite-side liquidity. Price tends to retrace into FVGs before continuing, making them excellent entry zones.
Institutional Candles
Institutional candles (also called displacement candles or impulse candles) are large-bodied candles with little to no wicks that represent strong institutional activity. They break through structure and create FVGs. The characteristics of these candles — body size, wick ratio, volume — reveal where institutions are committing capital.