ICT Insight™
🧠 Power of Three – Theory #
Understanding the 3 institutional phases within an HTF candle
📌 What is the Power of Three (PO3)? #
The Power of Three (PO3) is a fundamental concept from the ICT methodology.
It breaks down price action into three successive phases, reflecting how institutions manipulate the market on higher timeframes (Daily, Weekly, Monthly).
Each HTF candle can be read as a mini-story structured like this:
- Accumulation
- Manipulation
- Distribution
🔁 The 3 Phases Explained #
1️⃣ Accumulation (Around the Open) #
- Price evolves near the candle’s opening
- Consolidation or extended range phase
- Smart Money accumulate positions without moving the market visibly
💡 This phase looks quiet… but that’s where everything begins.
2️⃣ Manipulation (The Wicks – Highs & Lows) #
- Price makes a violent move in one direction (often counter-intuitive)
- Liquidity sweep: stop hunts, fake breakouts
- This phase corresponds to the wicks of the HTF candle
💡 The goal: trigger retail orders, collect their liquidity, and reinforce institutional positions at better prices.
3️⃣ Distribution (The Real Body) #
- The true directional move begins
- Price moves away from the open, often after taking out an extreme
- This phase forms the body of the HTF candle
💡 This is where Smart Money execute their plan and benefit from the trap set during manipulation.
🔍 Institutional Candle Breakdown #
📈 Why is it useful? #
PO3 helps you:
- Read Smart Money logic from a single candle
- Anticipate traps before they happen
- Know when to enter (after manipulation) and in which direction
- Identify key levels to place your orders with precision
- Avoid getting trapped by fake breakouts or false moves
🧠 One Concept, Multiple Timeframes #
PO3 works on all timeframes, but it’s especially powerful on higher ones:
Daily → for intraday movements #
Asian: Accumulation
London: Manipulation
New York: Distribution
London Close: Retracement
Weekly → for broader trend structure #
Monday: Accumulation
Tuesday: Manipulation
Wednesday/Thursday: Distribution
Friday: Retracement, weekly close
Monthly → for long-term cycles #
Week 1: Accumulation
Week 2: Manipulation
Week 3: Distribution
Week 4: Retracement / Distribution
Week 5 (if present): Retracement
🎯 What PO3 Teaches You #
It’s not about where price goes…
It’s about the order in which it gets there.”
Understanding PO3 means you stop blindly following the price…
and start reading the plan behind Smart Money.
