— No Trade — 2026-07-06

I actually think you've stumbled onto something that could become a core part of your model. I don't think I've ever seen ICT explicitly classify displacement this way, but I think it makes a lot of sense from an auction market perspective.

I'd separate displacement along two independent dimensions:

1. ▸The character of the displacement (how it moves)
2. ▸The authority of the displacement (what timeframe it occurs on)

Those are different things.

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Part 1: Character of the Displacement

I'd give them names that immediately tell you what type of order flow you're seeing.

Type 1: Impulse Displacement

This is your "monster candle."

Characteristics:

• ▸One or two exceptionally large candles
• ▸Very little overlap
• ▸Strong body closes
• ▸Creates one or more FVGs immediately
• ▸Usually follows a liquidity sweep
• ▸Looks violent

Example:

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FVG

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This is telling you:

Institutions hit the market aggressively.

Think of:

• ▸CPI
• ▸FOMC
• ▸Opening drive
• ▸Major liquidity sweep
• ▸Short squeeze

These are explosive.

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Type 2: Campaign Displacement

(This is my favorite name.)

Instead of one giant candle...

Institutions simply never stop buying.

Example:

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Every candle closes near its high.

Every pullback is shallow.

Price keeps making progress.

This is exactly what your chart showed.

I call it "campaign" because institutions are campaigning higher.

They're accumulating throughout the move rather than emptying the clip in one burst.

Characteristics:

• ▸Multiple consecutive bullish candles
• ▸Small pullbacks
• ▸Multiple small FVGs
• ▸Strong closes
• ▸Persistent buying
• ▸Controlled advance

Think of it as:

Impulse = Sprint

Campaign = Marathon

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Which is stronger?

Neither.

They're just different.

Impulse says:

Buyers overwhelmed sellers immediately.

Campaign says:

Sellers never regained control.

I actually trust campaign displacement more during normal trading hours because it's often genuine institutional participation instead of a news spike.

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Part 2: Authority of the Displacement

This is where timeframe comes in.

Not all displacement carries the same weight.

I think of it like military ranks.

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1 Minute

Tactical Displacement

Changes:

• ▸Immediate order flow
• ▸Scalping direction

Good for:

• ▸Entries

Weak for:

• ▸Bias

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5 Minute

Operational Displacement

Changes:

• ▸Intraday auction
• ▸Morning session
• ▸Session bias

This is where most of your entries come from.

A clean 5-minute displacement tells me:

"The institutions participating this morning have shown their hand."

That's powerful.

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15 Minute

Session Displacement

Changes:

• ▸The entire cash session
• ▸London → NY transition
• ▸PM → AM transition

Much more important.

If the 15-minute displaces...

I expect continuation unless something major changes.

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1 Hour

Structural Displacement

This is different.

This changes market structure itself.

Now we're talking:

• ▸Daily direction
• ▸Swing bias
• ▸Macro narrative

If a 1-hour candle displaces through a weekly high...

That can affect the next several days.

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4 Hour

Macro Displacement

Institutions have likely repriced value.

This is often where:

• ▸Weekly trends begin
• ▸Major reversals occur
• ▸Multi-day moves originate

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Here's how I'd rank them

Notice something.

The 5-minute isn't "small."

It governs exactly what you're trading.

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Where I Think Your Model Gets Interesting

You've already built your strategy around multiple timeframe alignment.

Imagine a checklist like this:

That's an A+ trade.

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One Last Classification I'd Add

I'd also classify the quality of the displacement itself.

Grade A – Conviction Displacement

• ▸Clears liquidity
• ▸Breaks structure
• ▸Creates FVG
• ▸Holds FVG
• ▸Continues

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Grade B – Reaction Displacement

Strong move...

...but stalls quickly.

Needs confirmation.

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Grade C – Exhaustion Displacement

Huge candle...

Immediately retraced.

Usually news.

Often a trap.

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I think this framework would fit your trading style really well.

You could literally annotate your journal with shorthand like:

• ▸CD-5 = Campaign Displacement on the 5-minute
• ▸ID-15 = Impulse Displacement on the 15-minute
• ▸SD-1H = Structural Displacement on the 1-hour
• ▸QD:A = Quality Grade A (Conviction)

Then a journal entry might read:

HTF Bias: Bullish (1H Structural Displacement) Trigger: 5m Campaign Displacement through PMH Entry: 1m MSS into bullish FVG Quality: Grade A Conviction

That gives you a precise language to describe how price moved, where it moved, and how much authority that move should carry. Over time, you'll be able to review your journal and see patterns—for example, whether your highest expectancy trades are those with a 1H Structural Displacement in alignment with a 5m Campaign Displacement and a 1m entry trigger. That's the kind of framework that can make your reviews much more objective.