A chart is easier to study when you can describe what happened before deciding why it happened. These ICT 2016 study notes build that habit through three connected lessons: recognize a market state, examine a liquidity explanation, then keep an observation journal.

This English edition is a curated adaptation of LiquidityLab's Chinese study notes. It combines each unit's main article and relevant extensions into one lesson. It is not an official transcript or a complete English edition of the full course. The first three foundational units are free; optional deeper concept references may require Pro access.

Start here

You should be able to recognize a candle, a swing high or low, and a trading range. If those are unfamiliar, read Market Structure Basics first. You do not need to memorize ICT terminology before starting.

Unit	Question	What you will practice
001: Four Market States	Is price consolidating, expanding, retracing or reversing?	Describe movement, then place OB, FVG, equilibrium and liquidity references in context.
002: Market Makers, Liquidity and Evidence	What can a chart tell us about the story behind a move?	Separate an observable boundary test from a liquidity explanation and unknown participant intent.
003: Balance and the Observation Journal	How do we study a range without guessing its next move?	Compare timeframes, track acceptance and return, and revise a written interpretation.
004: Balance, Discount and Relative Position	Where is price inside a selected range?	Measure equilibrium, describe premium/discount, and keep location separate from prediction.
005: Premium and Relative Value	What does “premium” describe?	Review the upper half of a range without turning relative value into a reversal rule.
006: Fair Value Gaps and Fast Repricing	What happens after a fast price sequence?	Mark an FVG, place it in range context, and record later interactions.

Read in order on your first pass. Unit 001 supplies the vocabulary; Unit 002 checks the evidence behind that vocabulary; Unit 003 makes the process repeatable. A concept lookup can clarify a term, but it does not replace the lesson's argument or exercise.

How to study each unit

First read the explanation and its everyday analogy. Then work through the illustrative scenario without treating its outcome as a rule. Finally, answer the review questions before reading the sample reasoning.

Keep three headings in your notes:

• Observation: what the selected chart and timeframe actually show.
• Framework interpretation: how ICT organizes those observations.
• Unknown: participant identities, motives or future outcomes that the chart does not establish.

Add a counterexample beside every attractive pattern. If you study a boundary test followed by a return, also record one that continues beyond the boundary. If you study a pullback into a fair value gap, also record a move that never returns. This makes the lesson about evidence rather than selecting only memorable outcomes.

Scope of this edition

Examples in these lessons are explicitly illustrative. They are not verified historical case studies, and they do not establish how often a pattern occurs. ICT language is used as a framework for mapping market structure, not as an additional signal system layered on top of it.

Later ICT 2016 units are outside this English pilot. After Unit 003, return to the ICT / SMC Learning Path for the broader English sequence, or use the English Lessons hub to choose another foundation topic.

The learning objective is a chart description you can explain and revise. These lessons do not provide trading recommendations or execution instructions.