The silver bullet: a one-hour window and one clean entry
The silver bullet is ICT's most approachable intraday setup because it is defined almost entirely by the clock. It confines you to specific one-hour windows and asks for one simple pattern inside them: a liquidity sweep followed by a fair value gap you enter on. The tight time box is the discipline; it stops you trading all day and forces patience. This module gives the exact windows in Eastern Time and walks through the sweep-to-gap entry as it plays out on gold.
What the silver bullet is
The silver bullet is a time-boxed entry model. Inside a defined one-hour window you look for price to sweep a nearby liquidity pool, displace, and leave a fair value gap, then you enter on the return into that gap. That is the whole setup. Its strength is the constraint: by limiting you to an hour and one pattern, it removes the overtrading and second-guessing that wreck most intraday plans. You are not hunting all session; you are waiting for one clean thing in one hour.
The three one-hour windows
ICT defines three silver bullet windows in Eastern Time: the London window at 03:00 to 04:00 ET, the New York AM window at 10:00 to 11:00 ET, and the New York PM window at 14:00 to 15:00 ET. In UTC those are roughly 08:00 to 09:00, 15:00 to 16:00, and 19:00 to 20:00, shifting with daylight saving. The 10:00 to 11:00 ET New York AM window is the best known and often the cleanest on gold, sitting just after the data and the equities open have set the morning tone.
The setup: sweep then fair value gap
Inside the window the sequence is strict. First a sweep: price raids a nearby pool, the session high or low, an equal high or low, or the previous hour extreme. Then displacement back the other way that leaves a fair value gap. That gap is the entry. You are trading the reaction to the raid, timed to the hour when it is most likely. No sweep, or no gap, means no trade, and you let the window close empty rather than forcing something.
Entering on the fair value gap
Enter on the return into the gap, ideally at its consequent encroachment, the midpoint, for a tighter stop. The stop sits just beyond the sweep extreme, which is now defended; because the window forces a recent, local sweep, that stop is usually tight. The entry is mechanical once the gap forms: you place a limit at the midpoint or wait for a lower-timeframe confirmation as price returns. Keep it simple; the edge is in the timing and the clean sweep, not in a clever entry tweak.
Stop and target
Keep management mechanical. Stop beyond the sweep extreme. Target the opposing liquidity: for a short that took the high, aim for the nearest sell-side pool below, such as the session low or the previous hour low; for a long, the buy-side above. Many silver bullet trades resolve inside the same session, so a defined target near obvious liquidity suits the setup. Take partials at the first pool and let a runner go to the next if structure keeps shifting your way. Judge the trade by its risk to reward, not by the move you imagine.
The silver bullet on gold
On gold the 10:00 to 11:00 ET window is a reliable place to apply this, because the morning sweep of the London or opening range liquidity often completes right around then. Line the silver bullet up with your daily bias: in a bullish bias, favour the long version where price sweeps a low and leaves a bullish gap; in a bearish bias, the short version. Trading the window against your higher-timeframe draw is the common way this setup disappoints, so keep bias first and the clock second.
FAQ
What are the silver bullet windows?
Three one-hour windows in Eastern Time: London at 03:00 to 04:00 ET, New York AM at 10:00 to 11:00 ET, and New York PM at 14:00 to 15:00 ET. In UTC those are roughly 08:00 to 09:00, 15:00 to 16:00 and 19:00 to 20:00, shifting with daylight saving.
What is the silver bullet setup?
Inside one of the windows, you wait for a liquidity sweep and a displacement move that leaves a fair value gap, then enter on the return into that gap. Stop goes beyond the sweep extreme, target the opposing liquidity. No sweep or no gap means no trade.
Which window is best for gold?
The New York AM window, 10:00 to 11:00 ET, is the best known and often cleanest on gold, because the morning sweep of London or opening-range liquidity tends to complete around then, just after the data and equities open.
Where do I enter and place the stop?
Enter on the return into the fair value gap, ideally at its midpoint (consequent encroachment) for a tighter stop. Place the stop just beyond the swept extreme, which is now defended. The window forces a recent local sweep, so that stop is usually tight.
Does the silver bullet override my daily bias?
No. Line it up with your bias: take the long version in a bullish bias and the short version in a bearish one. Trading the window against the higher-timeframe draw is the main way the setup disappoints, so bias comes first and the clock second.