What it is
In trading, liquidity means orders waiting to be filled. Stop losses tend to cluster just above equal highs and just below equal lows, because they look like obvious support and resistance. Smart money concepts call these pools buy side liquidity (above highs) and sell side liquidity (below lows).
WickSpeak finds those equal highs and lows on your chart, draws the ones nearest price and marks the moments price swept through them.
How it is calculated
1. Find the confirmed swing highs and lows in the newest 1,000 candles using the swing size setting. The swing still forming is ignored, so a level never appears and then vanishes. 2. Compare swings on the same side. Two highs (or two lows) within 0.15% of each other form an equal high (or equal low) level. 3. Keep the levels nearest the current price, 6 by default. 4. If mark sweeps is on, mark where price later traded through a level.
Settings
| Setting | Default | Range | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| swing size | auto | auto, or a fixed 0.25%, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 5%, 8%, 12% or 20% | How big a move must be to count as a swing. Smaller finds more, closer levels. |
| match within % | 0.15 | 0.01 to 2 | How close two swings must be to count as equal. Wider finds more levels, tighter finds only near exact matches. |
| levels shown | 6 | 2 to 20 | How many of the levels nearest price are drawn. |
| mark sweeps | on | on or off | Shows or hides the marks where price ran through a level. |
How to read it
How to trade it
- 1
Mark the nearest equal highs and lows on gold or US30 15 minute.
- 2
Entry trigger: price sweeps a level (trades beyond it) and the same or next candle closes back inside. Trade back the other way.
- 3
Stop: beyond the extreme of the sweep candle, for example 3 to 6 points beyond the wick on gold 15 minute.
- 4
Target: the opposite liquidity level, or 2 times the stop.
- 5
If price closes beyond the level and keeps going, treat it as a breakout, not a sweep.
A reversal after a sweep of equal highs is proved wrong if a candle closes back above the sweep's high.
WickSpeak draws the equal high and low levels and sweep marks on the chart and writes a plain-English reading: where the nearest liquidity is, how to trade a sweep and what would prove it wrong. The 146 pattern scanner also includes sweeps, and the Stop hunt map measures how often this market's swings get swept.
Best markets and timeframes
Works on any market. Gold, US30 and NAS100 show clear sweeps on 5 minute to 1 hour charts, especially at the London and New York opens.
Common mistakes
- Fading every touch of a level; wait for the sweep and a close back inside.
- Using a match tolerance so wide that unrelated swings are called equal.
- Forgetting the higher timeframe: a sweep against a strong trend often fails.
Works well with
Questions traders ask
What is liquidity in trading?
It is the pool of orders waiting at a price, mostly stop losses and pending orders. Equal highs and lows attract them because they look like obvious places to put stops.
What is a liquidity sweep?
A sweep is when price trades through a level where stops are resting, triggers them, then reverses. A close back inside the level is what separates a sweep from a breakout.
What are equal highs and equal lows?
Two or more swing highs (or lows) at almost the same price. WickSpeak counts them as equal when they are within 0.15% of each other by default.
Is a stop hunt the same as a liquidity sweep?
Yes, the two terms describe the same thing: price running stops just beyond a level before turning.