The anatomy, step by step
Step one: a defined pool, equal lows, a prior extreme, an Asian boundary, gets pierced, wick-first, on a push with urgency. Step two: the level is reclaimed fast, closes back on the original side within a candle or three, the speed mattering because genuine breakouts linger and build while raids reverse quickly. Step three: the reclaim holds its first retest, converting the swept level into the trade's defended line, the full sequence behind the sweep guide.
The two misreadings
Misreading one: calling every pierce a sweep, the pierce that closes and holds beyond the level is a breakout, and fading it is donating, the acceptance test decides, never the pierce itself. Misreading two: trading reclaims at meaningless levels; a sweep's information scales with its pool's significance, and mid-range noise pools produce noise reclaims. Location grades the trigger, per the liquidity map.
Execution geometry
The trigger's gift is its geometry: entry on the reclaim or its first retest, invalidation just beyond the sweep's extreme, a stop that is both tight and structurally meaningful, and first target at the opposing pool. That compact risk against pool-to-pool travel is why the pattern anchors so many playbooks, ours included, and why patience for the reclaim, rather than knife-catching the sweep itself, is the discipline that separates the trade from the gamble.
FAQ
How fast must the reclaim be?
Within a few candles of the sweep on the trading timeframe; the longer price accepts beyond the level, the more the evidence favours breakout over raid.
Where does the stop go?
Just beyond the sweep's extreme: if price returns through the raided territory, the reclaim thesis is dead and the exit is cheap.
Do sweep-and-reclaims fail?
Of course; double-raids happen. The failure signature is the reclaim losing its retest, which the tight geometry converts into a small, fast loss.
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